YOUR AD HERE »

About the Aspen Historic Preservation Task Force

ASPEN ” The Aspen Historic Preservation Task Force is made up of 22 citizens, who have been meeting since March. The commission is charged with making recommendations to the City Council on policies regarding Aspen’s historic preservation program.

The commission has been meeting twice a month and is expected to finish its work by the end of the year.

Up until their last meeting, time has been spent educating task force members on historic preservation both locally and nationally, with testimony from experts and historic preservationists.



At its most recent meeting, the task force agreed that its work will now be focused on the following issues:

– The philosophy of Aspen’s historic preservation and character.




– Criteria for designating a property as historic.

– Architecture and context; commercial concerns and codes; historic preservation commission guidelines; design criteria for interiors, landscapes and environmental issues.

– Incentives and economics of historic preservation.

– Voluntary versus involuntary participation of the program, and the practices of a property being identified on a list for potential historic designation.

– Historic districts and district boundaries.

– Community input, public participation, education and a possible survey of citizens.

The task force has spent $64,752, with $25,248 available. Aspen’s Historic Preservation Officer Amy Guthrie has asked for an additional $50,000, $40,000 of which would go toward hiring Economic Research Associates, a firm that would look at the economic impacts to property owners if their homes and buildings became historically designated.

Here is a line item look at the expenses associated with the task force to date:

– Historic preservation documentary and B-roll: $12,000

– Facilitation by Leslie Lamont: $25,000

– GrassRoots TV filming and airing of task force meetings: $7,000

– Advertising for task force meetings: $3,000

– The creation of the city’s new logo for historic preservation: $2,310

– Creation of new website: $3,000

– Jour de Fête lunch on March 13: $400

– Hickory House on April 10: $552.50

– Taster’s lunch on April 21: $307.67

– Rental fee for Given Institute venue: $900

– Conundrum lunch on May 12: $600

– Hotel expenses for visiting speakers: $800.94

– Dinner for visiting speakers and city staff: $192.90

– Bus rental for historic tour of buildings throughout town: $325

– Butcher’s Block lunch for bus tour: $499

– Bus tour guidebooks: $580

– Aspen Institute rental and lunch: $3,250

– Hotel for speaker in June: $876

– June speakers’ airfare: $1,148

– June speakers’ fees: $1,280

– Jour de Fête lunch on June 26: $330

– Aspen Square rental on July 10: $150

– Big Wrap lunch on July 10: $250