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• 1992 was a busy year for the Historic Preservation Commission staff. During this period the staff remained involved and engaged with a broad range of historic preservation issues and concerns in the city of South Bend and throughout St. Joseph County. The identification of the community's historic and cultural resources and the day-to-day administration of local historic districts and landmarks continued to be a primary element of our participation in the preservation of local cultural heritage. In addition, under the HPC's direction, the staff worked toward the designation of additional neighborhoods and structures and responded to grass-roots requests from the community to participate in the ongoing dialogue relevant to local historic preservation concerns. THE HPC'S ROLE AS A LOCAL CERTIFIED GOVERNMENT The HPC maintained its administrative responsibilities as a Certified Local Government (CLC,) under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. These responsibilities include enforcing appropriate state and local legislation for the designation and protection of historic properties and complying with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, in regard to federally -funded projects or activities undertaken by local government bodies. �As a part of this agreement the HPC undertook its responsibility to identify properties scheduled to be impacted by local agencies operating with federal money. If the affected properties were either National Register -listed or eligible, the staff informed the appropriate governmental body and worked toward mitigating potential harm to the property. The staff participated in the process by completing an "Environmental. Review" checklist, in most cases for projects being proposed by the Dept. of Economic Development. This checklist allows the HPC to notify the local governmental agency as to whether or not a property is on, or eligible for, the National Register whenever a project with federal money is proposed. If it is, the staff evaluates the project to determine whether or not there is an adverse effect on the property that would be harmful to the historic characteristics that make it eligible for National Register listing. Staff then completes a Section 106 Process form documenting the determination. Staff also monitored the agendas of the Department of Code Enforcement and the Area Plan Commission in order to identify locally -designated or National Register properties that would be impacted by those agencies', private firms' or individuals' actions. In 1992 the HPC staff completed twenty-three (23) Environmental Review checks for projects undertaken by the various agencies working through Economic Development. The staff also completed four (4) Section 106 Process *Review forms during the same period for projects affecting National Register or National Register -eligible properties. 1