The Alliance For Sustainable Communities

Who's protecting our historic treasures?

Recent news coverage has discussed flooding in Historic Bethlehem's Colonial Industrial Quarter and the City's plan—now withdrawn—to add parking spaces on Main Street right in front of the historic area.

These are important issues in their own right, of course, but I am more concerned about what appears to be a failure of process. Both the flooding and the construction of parking spaces in the smithy area had a potential for causing irreversible damage. Stewardship in this historic area is entrusted to the City and to the Historic Bethlehem Partnership [HBP], but these recent events raise some questions about the stewardship.

A 1970 archaeological study actually buried various artifacts in the area of the pottery to preserve them. No subsequent work has been done, although archaeologists from several universities and colleges have expressed interest. Brenda Hornsby Heindl, who did her Master's thesis on the Moravian potters, spoke at a July 2010 City Council meeting and made clear what an extraordinary resource this is.

Parking

At the July 7, 2010, City Council meeting, there was a public hearing on a proposed parking plan that would involve widening Main Street to provide parking across from the Moravian Book Shop, requiring about 20 feet of space between the existing street and the restored smithy.

The Assistant Archivist from the Moravian Church Archives spoke at the hearing and said that they had never been notified or consulted about the proposed construction work. She went on to describe a 1970 archaeological report that called for additional investigation before any further alterations were done on the site. Since then, it has become clear that the major reconstruction in 1998 also was done without such a study..

At the July 21 Council meeting, a City presentation implied that because construction work was done in 1998 with no archaeological survey, that no survey was needed before implementing the parking plan. The City detailed an extensive process of consultation with local stakeholders, primarily businesses, between 2007 and 2010, but a local businessperson indicated that neither the City or HBP had mentioned the archaeological concerns that were first mentioned at the July 7 Council meeting. And neither the the Moravian Archives or public were involved.

Why did the City not consult with the Moravian Church Archives, since they maintain extensive records on the Colonial Industrial Quarter?
Why wasn't the recommended archaeological work done in 1998?
Were HBP & the City not aware of the 1970 archaeological report that called for further studies before any further changes were done?—Or if they were aware, why did they fail to inform everyone at all those meetings on parking?
With respect to the plan that was withdrawn last night, why did the City proceed without even attempting to obtain the legally-required Certificate of Appropriateness from HARB and City Council?

Flooding

The recent flooding raises another question, especially there was a serious flooding problem several years ago, and several experts were consulted about how to prevent future flooding.

From what I recall, both the Lehigh & Northampton county watershed specialists [from the county conservation district offices] and a company called Land Studies all offered pretty much the same advice:

Remove the dam,
Restore natural stream bank contours
Install adequate riparian buffer,
Replace the impermeable pavement,
Restore or re-install the mill race, and
Review a large drainage pipe.

Since these recommendations were not implemented, it is not surprising that a major rainfall produced more flooding. But since the recommendations were, I think, fairly clear and undisputed, why wasn't anything done? It seems reasonably likely that Community Development Block Grant funds could have been used for this historic preservation and that DCNR would be a likely partner in restoring natural conditions along the Monocacy Creek and perhaps in removing the impervious pavement.

Why didn’t the City & HBP follow through on the recommendations from the experts?
Why haven’t the City & HBP been actively pursuing plans and funding to protect these resources instead of additional parking?
Why haven’t haven’t the City & HBP been convening meetings among all the stakeholders to at least figure out what to do? [Which would, at a minimum, include the City, HBP, the Moravian Church Archives, and Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor.]

In a related matter, it appears that the City & HBP did not meet the requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act [Section 106 requires archaeological surveys on any project using federal funds in designated historic areas] for the work completed in 1998 and was prepared to do the now-abandoned parking project without complying.

Taken together, these concerns suggest at least a possibility that the City & HBP may not be providing adequate stewardship for these extremely important historical resources.

I hope they will take action to either correct this perceived deficiency or demonstrate that it is incorrect.

By Peter Crownfield

[21 July 2010]