Title
Special Recognition - Proclamation Recognizing Olympia Heritage Month
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Proclaim May 2025 as Olympia Heritage Month and encourage all citizens to explore local heritage through online resources, to support Olympia’s economy by patronizing local businesses, restaurants and venues in our historic downtown and historic places.
Report
Issue:
Whether to proclaim May 2025 as Olympia Heritage Month and encourage all citizens to explore local heritage through online resources, to support Olympia’s economy by patronizing local businesses, restaurants and venues in our historic downtown and historic places.
Staff Contact:
Brittany Gillia, Historic Preservation Officer, Community Planning & Economic Development, 360.753.8427
Presenter(s):
Brittany Gillia, Historic Preservation Officer, Community Planning & Economic Development
Background and Analysis:
Each year in May, the City of Olympia celebrates our local history and heritage by declaring May to be Heritage Month. Throughout the year, the Olympia Heritage Commission (OHC) is partnering with local heritage organizations and communities to offer educational programming and community engagement.
Preservation Month began in 1973 with the National Trust for Historic Preservation as ‘National Preservation Week’. In 2005, the National Trust extended the celebration to the entire month of May and declared it Preservation Month to provide local preservation groups, state historical societies, and businesses and civic organizations across the country an even greater opportunity to celebrate the diverse and unique heritage of our country’s cities and states.
Climate Analysis:
The greenest building is the one already built. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) reports that “…all kinds of historic buildings and neighborhoods, archaeological sites, Tribal sites and resources, and culturally important landscapes (both designed and natural) throughout the country (collectively, “historic properties”), as well as associated intangible cultural heritage, are at risk from a broad range of potential climate impacts, including sea level rise; extreme weather events; increased
wildfires; drought; melting permafrost and erosion; and temperature changes. These impacts are both direct and cumulative and threaten not only historic properties but also the terrestrial and aquatic flora and fauna associated with historically and culturally important places. The loss of or damage to historic properties from such climate impacts can irrevocably change a community’s sense of place and erode people’s sense of personal identity and cultural stability.
About 39 percent of global carbon emissions come from the construction and operation of buildings. This impact can be reduced by reusing existing buildings, thus avoiding the embodied carbon emissions inherent in new construction, including the carbon associated with the manufacturing and transportation of new materials and the removal and disposal of building materials from demolished buildings. Reuse of existing buildings in urban areas also contributes to climate change mitigation by promoting density, helping to combat urban sprawl and its attendant negative environmental impacts.
Since approximately 40 percent of America’s building stock is at least 50 years old, it is critical that reuse and energy retrofit of older and historic buildings (including enhanced electrification and increased energy efficiency standards) be fundamental priorities.” Promoting historic preservation encourages the reuse of Olympia’s building stock, thus proactively aiding to the slow the tide of climate change within the City and beyond.
Equity Analysis:
The ACHP also reports that: “…historic properties important to disadvantaged and underserved communities may be disproportionately affected by climate change and that such communities often are ill-equipped to undertake needed interventions.” The changing demographics of America pose opportunities as well as challenges for Olympia’s historic preservation programming. The diversity of cultures in our city shape and enrich the community experience, and local government can continue to encourage wider involvement and representation in determining what historic sites are
worthy of recognition and preservation; how history and cultural heritage should be valued, interpreted, and preserved; and how we can ensure the American public as a whole can take advantage of the programs and tools created under federal, state, and local laws - in particular, OMC 18.12.
Historic preservation is not limited to historic structures or districts, and the City’s preservation efforts are dedicated to representing all stories and heritages that have transpired on this land, including histories from pre-settlement eras, hidden histories, and histories from underrepresented communities.
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
Historic Preservation is relevant to all communities in Olympia because the histories that have preceded us have shaped Olympia into what it is today. Preservation month may be relevant to folks with lineage tied to the region or who may live and/or work in historic structures or historic districts.
Financial Impact:
None
Options:
1. Proclaim May 2025 as Olympia Heritage Month
2. Do not proclaim May 2025 as Olympia Heritage Month
3. Take other action.
Attachments:
Proclamation