With a background in urban planning and historic preservation, Karen Gordon, Seattle's Historic Preservation Officer, has extensive experience with preservation and public policy and a strong perspective on the history and development of historic preservation practice. As the director of Seattle's historic preservation program, Karen coordinates the official activities of the City with regard to the management and preservation of our historic resources. She moved to Seattle from Washington, DC in 1984, and has been a leader in local preservation ever since.

Karen supervises a core staff of six professionals and also relies on the contributions of many volunteers, including five citizen review boards that consist of over 50 individuals, to fulfill the Historic Preservation Office's mission.

Her job is a challenging responsibility. The role of the Historic Preservation Office is at once educational, political and regulatory -- and it keeps Karen on her toes. Because the folks at the Historic Preservation Office deal with such a wide variety of issues, every phone call and mail delivery brings something new.

Her office fields inquiries from interested citizens, people who are concerned about projects in their neighborhoods, and project applicants working through the permitting process, and also provides guidance for current city policy issues.

"If I ever had a typical day, I'd be bored," claims Karen. "There is no typical day."

In the Beginning

Although she has lived in Seattle for nearly 20 years, Karen grew up in a place that is quite different than Seattle in many ways.

"Something most people don't know about me, but find surprising, is that I was born and raised in Houston," she explains. "When I was growing up there wasn't much exposure to historic preservation, although, to their credit they have been recognizing it lately."

Karen attended college in Washington, DC at George Washington University, where she earned an undergraduate degree in Political Science and Journalism and a graduate degree in Urban and Regional Planning. Her interest in historic preservation was an outgrowth both of her academic studies and her personal interests.

While still an undergraduate, the university began planning to demolish several buildings across from her dormitory to make way for new development. Some were landmarks. Others seemed likely to be eligible for designation as landmarks. In response, Karen formed a student group called "Committee for the Campus," which was dedicated to the enhancement of the physical environment of the George Washington Campus.

Her involvement on campus exposed her to the many issues that historic preservation raises, including land use, zoning, economics, transportation, politics and the law. "Preservation appealed to me as a part of the larger process of community development strategy."

"We approached it as a planning issue," she says. "It was really good personal training." Although their efforts to get some of the threatened buildings designated as landmarks were not successful, it got Karen and her peers involved in the burgeoning local preservation movement.

It was an exciting time for preservation, especially on the local scene.

"At the time, Washington DC's landmarks legislation was young and untested. The Penn Central case hadn't been decided yet," says Karen, referring to the 1978 Supreme Court decision that upheld New York City's Landmarks Ordinance.

Many scholars consider the Pennsylvania Central Station case, which affirmed the regulation of city landmarks as a legitimate use of police power, one of the most important court decisions relating to historic preservation and an extremely important case in the history of land use law.

Soon after starting graduate school, Karen also became involved with the grassroots organization "Don't Tear It Down," and eventually become an Executive Committee member and then President. The organization dealt with preservation planning policy issues in the Washington DC area, including lobbying for the passage of the city's landmarks ordinances.

Following graduation, Karen worked for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) managing a national urban revitalization program, and then for the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Register of Historic Places. She became Seattle's Historic Preservation Officer in 1984.

Seattle's Commitment to Historic Preservation

Seattle's Historic Preservation Office is a part of the Department of Neighborhoods, the city department that administers Seattle's many local level programs, projects and initiatives. The mission of the Historic Preservation Office is to protect and preserve the historic environment and character of the city through protection of its historic buildings, objects and sites.

With authority outlined in city ordinance and policy, the Historic Preservation Office provides guidance in preservation matters, regulates Seattle's 200-plus designated City Landmarks and facilitates the Landmarks designation process, and informs public policy.

In its educational capacity, the Historic Preservation Office assists private citizens, property owners and project proponents, as well as other city offices and agencies.

"Every city department has different needs and issues, and just like the Federal Government, deals with preservation issues in their own way," explains Karen. The City of Seattle owns many City Landmarks and is an important steward of Seattle's history.

In addition to providing assistance to other departments, the Historic Preservation Office works with neighborhood groups, property owners, citizens and other city offices to raise awareness of preservation issues and educate people about the landmarks process.

As an office with regulatory authority, the Historic Preservation Office also plays an important role in project permitting and environmental review. This includes reviewing project proposals for potential impacts to historic properties, as well as providing professional staff support to the citizen review boards that ultimately approve project proposals involving Landmarks or historic districts.

To some applicants, the process can seem to get bogged down, but this is often because project reviewers haven't been provided with enough information to do a thorough review. "It can be a challenge, because people generally don't like to be regulated," says Karen. "But there are also people who appreciate the role of the Historic Preservation Office."

As Karen puts it, "We have to do a qualitative review of projects. That is our responsibility to the public trust."

Because of this, the preservation staff works closely with agencies such as the DCLU. "The historic preservation review process is a valid part of other processes," explains Karen. "We have a good relationship coordinating with other agencies."

Seattle's Successes

From a preservationist's perspective, a strong review process is just one of the many things Seattle has going for it.

Seattle's approach to landmarks legislation, including the Pioneer Square, Landmarks and Pike Place Market ordinances, is a model for local historic preservation regulation. Enacted during a period when many municipalities nationwide were just beginning to address preservation issues, Seattle's laws are some of the earliest and most successful. "That they have endured and thrived over the past 30 years is an accomplishment," she says.

The Historic Preservation Office and the preservation community in Seattle can also point to many instances where preservation concerns have been successfully integrated with other important issues.

As an example, Karen notes the relationship that the Landmarks Preservation Board and the Historic Preservation Office has developed with Seattle Schools. What started as a fairly contentious relationship over two decades ago has evolved into an effective working relationship. The Board and the School District have agreed to the common goals of preserving Seattle's impressive collection of historic schools while upgrading facilities to address changing educational needs and safety requirements.

She is also proud that many of Seattle's historic buildings rode out the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake so well. The earthquake's limited damage to historic buildings illustrated the importance of seismic retrofitting, which were a part of projects that the review boards, preservation staff and property owners had been working on for several years.

"The media focused on the damage, which was significant, but an important story is also what survived," explains Karen. "The city and property owners were able to work together and it saved many buildings."

Thanks to the combined efforts of non-profit organizations, housing groups and efforts of city offices such as the Office of Housing and the Historic Preservation Office, Seattle is also a leader in the rehabilitation of historic buildings for affordable housing. "It is the product of non-profits and housing developers willing to take risks," Karen says.

Through the combined use of federal and local incentives, such as the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit, Low Income Housing Tax Credit and Seattle's Special Valuation Tax Incentive and Housing Levy funds, developers have been able to build affordable housing while preserving Seattle's history, two important public policy goals.

Examples include the Lyon Building, the Eastern, NP and Rex Hotels in the International Special Review District, and the Josephinium Hotel in downtown.

Looking Ahead

Although Seattle's preservation community can look back on many successes, there is always work to be done.

As a city that has experienced repeated periods of explosive economic growth, Seattle's historic resources will always see threats from development pressures. On the other hand, a strong economy is an important part of a city's function.

"If there weren't any of those pressures, we wouldn't have much of an economic future," remarks Karen. This paradox highlights the need for continued preservation planning, and support from the community.

The city's ongoing support for the Historic Building Survey, which will help the city and the public identify and inventory its potentially important historic properties, is a major component to successful preservation planning. Currently this effort is being conducted both by the city and by citizen volunteers. Community support is essential for historic preservation, especially in times of limited government resources.

"There is a real need for citizen involvement," says Karen. "There is a strong preservation ethic in this city, but unfortunately, sometimes it is articulated only when the building next door is coming down."

Looking back, Karen sees less grassroots support for historic preservation nowadays than there was in the 1970s. "There isn't the same activism that there was 30 years ago," she observes. "There seems to be a belief or feeling that because there is a governmental role, that these issues are taken care of."

"But there is always a need for citizen involvement and support. People shouldn't rely solely on government and their elected officials to address these issues."

Because historic preservation involves many aspects of a neighborhood, including its history, the community and the visual context, preservation issues should concern more of Seattle's residents. Karen notes, "every neighborhood has a natural constituency for dealing with these kinds of issues."

Providing information and resources to the public is thus an important part of the Historic Preservation Office's role. Through the increased use of technology, such as the Internet, the city has made information more accessible than it was in the past.

"We would like to do more education and outreach to the public than we have current resources to do," says Karen, "including education about community history, development and architecture."

So You Want to Be a Preservation Planner?

For emerging professionals, Karen's advice is similar to that of many professionals in the field. It is important to have a well-grounded education, to get involved, and to be committed to the field.

Young people who are interested in preservation should pursue community involvement wherever there is opportunity. "Students should think of their town as something beyond merely the place where they're living while in school," says Karen. While participation in local affairs is an essential part of gaining experience and making connections, volunteerism is also very important to grassroots action and makes a big difference.

It is also important for aspiring preservationists to gain a working understanding of government processes. For several years, Karen has taught a graduate-level preservation-planning course, and her first assignment asks students, many of whom are practicing professionals, to research and describe the government structures of their respective hometowns.

Many are surprised to discover how much they learned. "But understanding your government is essential," says Karen.

In the end, however, passion and commitment are the most important factors. "Generally preservation is not a field you go into to please your father, to join the family firm," she concludes. "It is something you seek for yourself." In terms of skills and interests, she says, "different people bring different things to the table."

Although individuals can do fairly well in preservation, it is not commonly viewed as the most lucrative of fields. But as Karen explains, "If money is a motivation, there are many other noble occupations to pursue. Passion is a deeper question."

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