TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) – The Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation is a nonprofit organization working to preserve and protect Tucson’s heritage and cultural resources.
There are five historic preservation areas in the city of Tucson. It’s a true calling for Executive Director Demion Clinco, who says, “When I came back I was really concerned with how Tucson treated its historic built environment. “
So he decided to step in and help. Clinco said, “We really needed a renewed focus on the places that make Tucson unique and special and we needed to find strategies to cultivate and preserve them. “
When a location is surveyed by the preservation foundation and determined to be of historic significance, the foundation names the landmark. “In the city of Tucson and Pima County there is what is called a preservation of local historic monuments and this is a protective layer created by the zoning that really provides protection to the historic resource under- jacente ”, explains Clinco.
Clinco says the foundation “uses the resources we collect to help identify, study, document, and then work with sympathetic owners to create these types of regulatory overlay tools to help manage and protect resources for future generations.” “.
Once a monument is proposed, it is examined by the commission. From there, it goes through a full rezoning process. According to Clinco, “There are about a dozen individual properties scattered across the city that have this type of protective zoning that really provides long-term management and helps ensure that when changes are made they are compatible and meet requirements. national standards.
Once the rezoning process is complete, the mayor and city council give their recommendations and make a final decision. Once a location is designated as a historic monument, the owners of the location must comply with the monument rules. Clinco says, “So the properties that are designated have to go through a review process, and then if someone tried to demolish them, they would have to go to the mayor and council for approval.”
It’s all to help protect the amazing places we have in Tucson. Most recently, the Beck House was designated a Historic Landmark in December. It was designed by architect John Beck in 1958 and built in 1960. Clinco says, “We worked with the Beck family to initiate the designation and in the middle of the designation process the house was sold and we completed the process with the new owner. “Which, according to Clinco, is not uncommon.
The process of designating a historic monument takes approximately 8 months to a year. The Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation is always looking for suggestions from the public.
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