Historic District Action Guide

William E. Schmickle, Ph.D., is past chair of the Annapolis Historic Preservation Commission and cofounder of the Oak Ridge, North Carolina, Historic District. His services are available through his website, www.preservationpolitics.com.

In The Historic District Action Guide, Bill Schmickle provides communities and citizens with practical, accessible, and realistic advice for implementing and maintaining a historic district. The Guide doesn't dodge or hide the hard issues, and recognizes the essential politics of the process.

• Introduction: What D’ya Know? Part I: Preservation & the Politics of Historic District DesignationBefore You Take Another StepThinking Politically about Historic District DesignationHow It StartsA Walk through the Designation Process: A Guided Tour with Planner Kaye GraybealPart II: Campaign StrategyOn Planning and StrategyOur Strategic Line: A Community in/within ConflictMakers, Breakers, Takers, and Shapers: The Political Field of PlayLeadership and OrganizationWorking with a Local Historical Society: A Conversation with Historic Annapolis’ Greg StiversonA Practical VisionGentrification and Social Justice: An Exchange with the University of Georgia’s James ReapThinking Politically about Design GuidelinesIt’s PersonalSticks and StonesPart III: Campaigning in the CommunityThe Campaign KickoffTwitter CampaigningCommunity Meeting ArrangementsYour Community PresentationFAQs: Frequently Asked QuestionsThinking Politically about Q&A: The Moving Pattern of Opponents’ ChallengesOur Reframing Q&A StrategyAnswering Opposition Questions I: From “Distrust of Them” to the “Pivotal Shift”Answering Opposition Questions II: From the “Pivotal Shift” to “Distrust of Us”Property-Rights Extremists Petition PoliticsReaching Out to the OppositionPart IV: Managing the Formal Designation Process Moving on to City Hall: Preparing for Commission HearingsBehind-the-Scenes IntelligenceWorking with the Press: Guidance from a ReporterA Civic VisionThe Top Tier of Local GovernmentPart V: Winning the City Council VoteThe Politics of Public HearingsLobbying City Hall: A Conversation with a LobbyistSpeaking Mayor to Mayor: A Dialogue with Charleston’s Joseph P. Riley. Jr.A Checklist for One-on-One MeetingsOur Public Hearing PresentationThe Politics of CompromiseWinning the VotePart VI: The Politics of Administering the Historic DistrictOur Transition to the HPCOn Public Service Our Community Compact for Rooted Growth Drawing up Our Design Guidelines: Tackling the Problem with Consultant Peter BensonFusion Preservation: Thinking like a DistrictistPolitical Maintenance: Delivering Good GovernmentPart VII: Political Demolition by NeglectDispositional Gatekeeping The Temptation of Administrative LegalismMunicipal NeglectThe View from City Council: A Talk with a Council MemberDistricts under ThreatState-Level InterventionsPart VIII: Navigating the Municipal AdministrationThe Role of Your Preservation Planner: A Discussion with Raleigh’s Dan BeckerRelations with Your Mayor: The Views of a Mayor’s AdviserPart IX: The Politics of Aging Historic DistrictsThe Crisis of Second-Generation DistrictsOIMBYismGetting Helpful Local Coverage: The Perspectives of a Newspaper Executive EditorOur New Strategic LineA New Political Who’s Who: An OverviewWho’s Who, Part One: District Rooters Who’s Who, Part Two: District RottersConfronting PolarizersGentrification’s Dissidents: On Displacement with Baltimore’s Eric HolcombPart X: District Decline and Its ReversalPolitical Personalities: Who Leads?The Stages of Declining DistrictsThe Politics of Decision Making: Defensible and DefendableEnforcement: The Third Rail of Historic District Politics The Politics of AppealsChoosing Our BattlesPart XI: Repairing Our Community CompactTransformative EducationReconstructive ProgramsInstitutionalizing Community RelationsRenewal through Revising Design GuidelinesA Preservation Plan? Looking Ahead with Consultant Elizabeth WatsonOur Sustaining VisionEpilogue