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The Oxnard
Heritage Foundation Advocacy Program
What is Advocacy?
Advocacy takes many forms. Anyone can become an advocate for historic
preservation, and if you are reading this, you are ready to begin. Advocating
Oxnard’s
historic preservation issues agenda does not require scholarly expertise in
local history and architecture. But it does require a knowledgeable interest
in Oxnard's
built environment, a willingness to donate time and effort, and a passion for
community heritage.
What
does it mean to advocate for historic preservation?
Tracking the plans and policies of local, state, and national agencies
and officials and how their actions effect historic preservation is a form of
advocacy. Attending and speaking at meetings of the local preservation
commission is advocacy. Joining The Oxnard Heritage Foundation is also a form
of advocacy because "strength in numbers" is not just a cliché.
Your participation enables the organization to function with a powerful voice
with policy makers, developers, and others who make decisions about the
community's historic environment.
How
does The Oxnard
Heritage Foundation advocate for historic preservation?
The Oxnard Heritage Foundation is a catalyst for community
preservation action, a proactive motivator for heritage issues, and a
respondent to specific preservation issues, concerns, and opportunities.
To take part in The Oxnard Heritage Foundation’s Advocacy program or
to learn more about how to become empowered to work on preservation in your
neighborhood, contact the ohf@oxnardheritagefoundation.org.
Educate yourself:
- Find out about local laws, planning and development regulations,
preservation ordinances, and other regulatory measures the city and
state have established. Knowing the law and the ways it protects (or
doesn’t protect) historic resources is one of the first steps to
advocating effectively for the preservation of the built environment.
- Learn more about local history. Visit Oxnard’s
many historic sites to educate yourself about the history of your
community. Explore neighborhoods on foot, take photographs, and gather
information from long-time residents. Observing and recording the
history of your home and neighborhood not only keeps a record for
family, friends, and neighbors; it also makes you a more effective
advocate for preservation. Stories connected to buildings and places
remind us that they are intimately tied to written and remembered
histories.
- Join a neighborhood group or community council, and get to know the
local leaders, organizers of neighborhood watch groups, and other
community activists. Most neighborhoods in Oxnard
support such organizations, which serve as an important liaison between
the community and city officials. Knowing how these networks operate,
and bringing preservation issues to the attention of these groups and
individuals is a great way to get others involved in advocating for
local and city-wide heritage resources, and can help protect the unique
character of your neighborhood. Taking a leadership role in one of these
groups is an even more effective way to enlist the help of city
representatives in promoting your cause.
Volunteer your time and resources:
- Offer your research or writing skills for landmarks nominations,
local preservation or heritage conservation plans, or other advocacy
efforts undertaken by The Oxnard Heritage Foundation, city agencies, and
other groups. Learn about training opportunities from these
organizations, and recruit other researchers to help with such efforts.
Gathering material records, conducting deed research, and taking
photographs are great ways to contribute to the protection of threatened
buildings and sites.
- Participate in community outreach and education events such as
National Preservation Month celebrated each May. Contact The Oxnard
Heritage Foundation or other preservation groups to volunteer for their
planned activities, or organize an event in your own neighborhood to
increase awareness of your community’s history and possible threats to
its preservation.
- Join in hands-on preservation efforts in your neighborhood or
larger community, such as the restoration of a house, church, or school
for community, museum or other use. Donate your time, skills, or dollars
in support of such projects. Hands-on experience gained in a group
restoration project can be a valuable asset in sensitively remodeling
your own historic home, another way to preserve Oxnard’s
neighborhoods one building at a time. This experience can also give you
some perspective on what is required to preserve, protect, and re-use
historic buildings and sites, and is a wonderful way to connect with
other preservation-minded neighbors for future advocacy efforts.
Make your voice heard:
- Use the knowledge you have gained about preservation issues,
tools, and techniques to effectively voice your support for preservation
in your community. Become familiar with your local, state, and national
representatives, and share your concerns with them on a regular basis.
Using concise, accurate examples of the importance of historic sites and
structures can bolster your case and is more persuasive than a simple
request for attention or expression of concern.
- Vote. Larger issues of economic development, housing, and
transportation have very real effects on preservation in Oxnard,
and your vote for elected officials and ballot initiatives can make a
difference. Use the information in The Oxnard Heritage Foundation’s
website and newsletter and other published information to learn more
about local politics and the connection to preservation, and make your
vote count.
- Invest in your community. Money can often be more effective than
words. Patronize locally owned establishments and companies that occupy
and care for historic buildings, such as those in downtown and Heritage
Square. Rent from these businesses helps pay
for the maintenance of the buildings they occupy, and strengthening
local companies strengthens the neighborhood as a whole.
Join your voice with those of the larger
preservation community:
Become a member or contribute to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. This organization is devoted to the preservation,
protection, and use of local, state, and national historic resources, and
your contribution of time, money, research materials, or other resources will
bolster these efforts and extend the power of your advocacy to make a
significant difference in Oxnard,
California or the nation. To
become a member of The Oxnard Heritage Foundation, please click JOIN NOW.
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