Certified Local Government Status

What is a Certified Local Government?

  • Established by a 1980 amendment to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the Certified Local Government (CLG) program is a nationwide initiative that directly links a community's preservation goals to state and federal preservation programs.
     
  • Each State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) administers the program through a variety of services designed to help communities protect, preserve, and celebrate their historic resources.
     
  • In New York, the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation coordinates the federally-sponsored CLG and provides assistance to participating/member communities. 
     

How does Yorktown benefit from its CLG status?

  • CLG requirements include adopting local preservation law that meets state and federal criteria, a qualified and operational preservation commission, member training, an inventory of historic resources, preservation plan, public outreach programs, and demonstrated preservation results.
     
  • Yorktown has proudly met these requirements; the Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) became a CLG on August 1, 2006 and recertified on March 14, 2017, joining now over eighty other CLGs in New York State.
     
  • As a certified CLG, the HPC is eligible to receive a variety of services from SHPO, including:
    • technical preservation assistance and legal advice,
    • programs that allow us to identify properties that may be eligible for listing in the State and National Registers of Historic Places
    • training that increases our ability to protect our historic resources and integrate into short and long term planning initiatives
    • membership in statewide and national CLG networks
    • grants designated exclusively for CLG projects
       
  • The HPC has benefited greatly from our CLG status, including a 2018 CLG grant award; the grant enabled us to host a preservation symposium at Hilltop Hanover Farm on May 2, 2019, Preserving Yorktown’s Disappearing Architectural Legacy:  A Call to Action, at which several strategic preservation plans were formulated.
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