Historic Olathe: The Comprehensive Historic Preservation Plan for the City of Olathe, Kansas

Rosin Preservation; Draw Architecture and Urban Design

From introduction: The Historic Preservation Plan is designed to support the principles laid out in PlanOlathe, the City’s comprehensive plan adopted in 2010. The goal of this project is to articulate a vision for the future of the City based within the context of Olathe’s rich heritage, its historic resources and neighborhoods, and from this vision, to develop a comprehensive set of goals, policies, and strategies to guide development and revitalization efforts while respecting historic character and generating a sense of place. The plan details concrete goals that focus on the preservation of historic resources through a targeted approach to city planning, education, and promotion. These goals aim to integrate preservation into processes and philosophies so that impacts to historic resources are automatically considered during revitalization and economic development activities. Preservation should not be considered a separate activity unto itself, but one of several tools that is critical to supporting Olathe’s unique identity. The six goals presented in this Historic Preservation Plan are organized in a logical progression that is part chronological and part hierarchical. The first three goals reflect the overarching theme of identify, evaluate, and protect historic resources. The first goal, the most important, is to understand the extent of historic resources in Olathe as well as to anticipate which resources may become historic in the near future. Developing and implementing a process for identifying and evaluating resources will form the basis for future preservation activities. The next goal is to incorporate preservation into city planning processes to ensure that potentially historic resources and areas are addressed consistently and proactively. One approach is to modify zoning and building codes to protect existing historic buildings and/or the historic character of a neighborhood. These codes can also help to attract compatible new uses and appropriate infill construction to create a vibrant Downtown. The third goal is to incorporate preservation-oriented incentives into economic development policies. As property owners and developers begin to understand that historic resources can play an integral role in revitalization, both visually and economically, a menu of incentives that supports historic resources and traditional development patterns can be a valuable tool. The right array of incentives can make the difference between rehabilitation and demolition or between sensitive, appropriately-scaled new construction and standard new development. Historic preservation, new development, and growth are not mutually exclusive. With some advanced preparation to identify potentially historic resources and to establish appropriate processes and protocols, development can grow the economy and enhance the city while respecting the qualities of the built environment that make Olathe unique. The final three goals focus on integrating historic preservation into the culture of Olathe, through promotion, education, and leadership. The fourth goal of integrating heritage tourism into the City’s economic development policy promotes Olathe’s historic resources regionally to take advantage of the growing heritage tourism industry. As the fifth goal, education about Olathe’s historic resources and preservation programs has three distinct tracts – to educate the general public about Olathe’s history; to promote Downtown Olathe as a place to live, work, and play; and to develop educational programs that assist preservationists, developers, and City staff." Project funding was provided in part by a 2012 Historic Preservation Fund grant to the City of Olathe (project number KS-12-008) administered by the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office (grant number 20-12-41924) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Olathe, Kansas is a Certified Local Government.

Historic Olathe: The Comprehensive Historic Preservation Plan for the City of Olathe, Kansas

Collections