Skip to content

City of Burlington Historic Preservation Survey

Thank you for participating in our survey! Completing questions here should take about fifteen minutes.

The City of Burlington is developing a Historic Preservation Plan, preserveBTV, to better ensure that heritage resources contribute to Burlington’s future while reflecting its past – reinforcing Burlington’s identity, economic development, and quality of life.

The following questions have been designed to explore your understanding of Burlington’s historic and cultural character and opinions on how to improve stewardship of historic resources. There is space at the end for you to add any additional thoughts.

The City’s Planning Department is leading the production of preserveBTV, using a grant from the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. When final, it will be part of the City's comprehensive plan. What we learn from you here will also be considered in the next round of Burlington's long range planning, which is starting this fall.

If you have any questions about this survey, please email Elizabeth Watson, consulting team leader, at ewatson@heritagestrategies.com.

Thank you for your valuable input. Your participation is important to this community-wide effort!
1.Which kinds of historic places contribute most to Burlington's character and sense of place? (Check up to five and feel free to add more in the "other" text box at the end.)
2.Please name up to three historic places in Burlington that contribute to your enjoyment of Burlington and its sense of place.
3.To help us understand how Burlington residents name their neighborhoods, would you be willing to let us map your location with your name for your neighborhood? We promise to keep your contribution anonymous – that is, if we provide a map from this survey, we will identify areas, not individual points. If yes, please provide the following information for our mapmakers:
4.What types of historic resources do you think are most at risk in Burlington?
Least at Risk
Moderate Concern
Great Concern
At Highest Risk
Parks and public spaces
Downtown buildings (outside Church
Street and the Waterfront)
The Waterfront (including the Battery)
Municipal and civic buildings
Historic documents and stories
Church Street buildings
Residential neighborhoods
Commercial and industrial areas beyond Downtown, Church Street, and the Waterfront
Religious properties
Waterfront
5.Thinking of those historic resources you listed as “at highest risk,” please help us understand what you believe causes these historic resources to be at risk?
Not a problem
Trending toward a problem
Great concern
Highly problematic
Lack of financial incentives
Cost of appropriate preservation treatments
Incompatible new development and construction
Inadequate advocacy for historic preservation
Lack of prioritizing in local government
Abandonment and neglect of older buildings
Limited ability to find information on historic resources
Current local regulations, codes, and/or zoning requirements
Lack of understanding of historic preservation and interest from the public
Inappropriate changes to older buildings
Negative perceptions about historic preservation
6.Many educational tools can help create greater public appreciation of historic resources. Which of these would you like to see used, or used more?
We don't need more
We need more
Emphasize, please
Offer walking tours of historic neighborhoods and landscapes.
Create exhibits and public art interpreting Burlington’s history on downtown streets, in neighborhoods, in parks, and along trails.
Document neighborhoods and individual properties and share their histories with residents and visitors.
Provide online access to information on historic properties and historic municipal documents.
Offer community and neighborhood events that focus on Burlington’s local history and culture.
Provide public programming, educational materials, and workshops on historic places and the history of Burlington.
Mark Burlington's historic districts physically through specially designed street signs or other indicators.
7.Which incentives would you like to see used, or used more, in Burlington to support historic preservation and owners and/or developers of historic properties?
We don't need this idea
We need more of this idea
Emphasize, please
Expedited and no-fee City permitting for repair and rehab
A free or low-cost technical assistance program for repair and rehab
Local promotion and assistance with federal and state tax credits for rehabilitation projects
Grants to low-income property owners for repair and rehab
A free or low-cost technical assistance program for energy efficiency
A low-interest loan program for repair and rehab
Time-limited property tax abatement for eligible projects
An annual awards program for great rehab projects
Public recognition (i.e., a plaque)
8.Which regulatory actions would you like to see used, or used more, in Burlington to support historic preservation and owners and/or developers of historic properties?
We don't need more action
We need more action
Emphasize, please
Allow for flexibility in uses to make the preservation of a historic property in a historic district economically feasible (especially for non-residential buildings in residential areas).
Save older accessory structures in historic districts and encourage viable uses.
Identify more historic districts for Burlington to protect with design review supporting preservation of historic character.
Create 2-3 tiers of significance for differing historic districts with progressive levels of standards for design review.
(Instead of the idea above) Require the same standards for protections across all historic districts (the wider design review process would continue in areas outside historic districts that are nevertheless important to Burlington’s character and sense of place).
Require, on a case-by-case basis, archaeological investigation during permitting of new construction in known areas of archaeological sensitivity.
Protect the character of streets and roads within the public right of way.
Formal recognition of historic trees in private yards in historic districts, allowing City assistance with tree care.
9.Referring to the preceding question, if you have told us you would like to see an emphasis on protecting the character of streets and roads within the public right of way, please tell us about your greatest concern?
10.Are there any areas or properties in Burlington that you believe deserve additional special attention and protection for their historic and cultural characteristics?
11.If you answered YES to the preceding question, please name up to three areas or properties that deserve special attention and more protection through Burlington's historic preservation program.
12.If you could change ONE or TWO things about how the City of Burlington supports preservation of community character and historic places, what would they be?
13.How do you characterize yourself out of the following options? (Check all that apply)
14.Are you/have you been involved in a historic preservation or history organization at the local, state, or national level as a leader, member, employee, volunteer, or supporter?
15.Are you/have you been involved in rehabilitating one or more historic properties in Burlington, as an owner/trustee, contractor, and/or service provider (architect, electrician, etc.)?
16.Do you have any other thoughts or concerns about historic preservation in Burlington that you would like to share?
17.If you are willing to share your name and email (preferred) or phone number in order to receive more information about preserveBTV, please add them here. We will not share this information with others, but in keeping with City policy, it may be made available as a part of our project record.
OPTIONAL: If you have been involved in a historic rehabilitation project, please answer two more optional questions for us below.
18.OPTIONAL: Thinking of your most recently completed or nearly complete project, in what year was the project completed (or if current, year of expected completion)? (Please enter a four-digit year, e.g., 2020.)
19.OPTIONAL: From your perspective gained from participating directly in your most recent rehabilitation project, please share any thoughts or concerns about how to improve the prospects for preserving old buildings in Burlington.