Historic Preservation Meeting and Resources

 

Community Meeting Overview

As part of the update to the Asbury Park Master Plan Historic Preservation Element, the City invited residents and community members to share what they value about Asbury Park’s history and character and what they believe deserves greater recognition and protection.

The meeting was designed as a listening session. Participants responded to digital polls, interactive mapping exercises, and open discussion focused on places, stories, neighborhoods, community resources, and historic character.

The conversation reflects a broader understanding of historic preservation. It is not only about individual historic buildings. It can also include neighborhoods, streetscapes, cultural landmarks, businesses, public spaces, music, community institutions, and the stories of the people who shaped Asbury Park.

What We Heard

Preservation needs to reflect the full history of Asbury Park. Participants repeatedly emphasized Black history, LGBTQ+ history, music, community institutions, immigrant experiences, racial segregation, the East/West divide, and the contributions of longtime residents. The West Side and Springwood Avenue were particularly prominent throughout the discussion.

Historic significance is not limited to landmark architecture. Participants identified businesses, churches, schools, music venues, private homes, streets, public spaces and community gathering places as important parts of Asbury Park’s history. This suggests that future preservation work should look beyond individually significant buildings and consider cultural history, neighborhood context and everyday places that have shaped community life.

Some of the City’s most valued historic resources are also perceived as vulnerable. Convention Hall was by far the most frequently identified place participants said they would hate to lose. The Carousel, Casino, Empress, waterfront buildings and other longstanding community resources were also repeatedly identified.

Preservation and redevelopment cannot be treated as separate issues. Participants identified Ocean Avenue, Springwood Avenue, the Boardwalk and other parts of the City as places that have changed substantially. The Historic Preservation Element therefore needs to address not only what should be preserved, but also how new development, rehabilitation and adaptive reuse can occur without erasing the qualities and histories that make these areas distinctive.

The Historic Preservation Toolbox

Historic preservation is not a single designation or regulatory process. Municipalities can use a combination of planning, regulation, incentives, documentation, investment and interpretation. The effectiveness of each tool depends on the resource being protected and the problem being addressed.

That distinction is important. A historic survey can document a resource, but does not necessarily protect it. National or State Register listing can recognize significance and provide access to certain programs, but does not provide the same level of control as local land-use regulation. A local preservation ordinance can provide stronger protection, but only for properties and activities covered by that ordinance.

The question for Asbury Park is therefore not simply whether additional preservation tools exist. The more useful questions are:

  • Which resources are currently protected, and which are not?
  • Where is documentation outdated or incomplete?
  • Which important cultural and community resources fall outside traditional historic-designation frameworks?
  • Where could stronger standards, incentives or review procedures make a meaningful difference?
  • Which problems require regulation, and which are better addressed through funding, partnerships, adaptive reuse or public investment?

Historic Preservation Tools: What They Can and Cannot Do

Historic preservation can involve documentation, incentives, regulation, investment, and public education. These tools provide different levels of protection and require different levels of City involvement. Importantly, identifying a property as historic does not necessarily protect it, particularly when it is privately owned.

Preservation Tool What It Does Regulatory & Administrative Needs Key Limitations / Considerations
Historic Resource Survey & Inventory Identifies and documents historic buildings, neighborhoods, cultural resources, and places important to community history. Provides the foundation for future preservation decisions. LOW Requires research, funding, and periodic updates, but generally creates no additional approval process for property owners. Documentation is not protection. A surveyed private property may still be altered or demolished unless another regulatory tool applies.
Historic Preservation Master Plan Element Establishes Citywide preservation goals, priorities, and recommended actions and connects preservation with redevelopment, land use, resiliency, and urban design. LOW Primarily a planning and policy tool. A Master Plan can recommend action but does not itself prevent demolition or alteration of private property. Implementation requires follow-up actions.
State & National Register Listing Formally recognizes a property’s historic significance and may provide access to grants, incentives, and certain State or federal reviews. LOW for most private development. Nomination requires research and documentation. Additional review may apply when government funding or actions are involved. Recognition does not necessarily equal protection. Listing generally does not prevent a private owner using private funds from altering or demolishing a property when no governmental review is triggered.
Design Guidelines Establish expectations for rehabilitation, additions, storefronts, and compatible new construction. Can help property owners and developers understand what is appropriate before designing a project. LOW if advisory; MODERATE if incorporated into mandatory development review. Guidelines are most effective when connected to a clear implementation process. Advisory guidelines alone generally cannot prevent demolition or inappropriate alterations.
Local Historic Landmark Designation Allows the City to regulate certain changes to specifically designated historic properties through its local preservation ordinance. HIGH Requires designation procedures, standards, applications, professional or commission review, public meetings, records, and coordination with permitting and land-use review. Provides stronger protection precisely because it places additional requirements on private property. The City must have the capacity to administer those requirements consistently and efficiently.
Local Historic District Protects the collective character of an area and can establish standards for demolition, alterations, additions, and new construction. HIGH Creates an ongoing review process potentially affecting many properties. Requires staff support, commission review, procedures, and coordination with other development approvals. Can be highly effective but creates additional requirements for property owners. Boundaries, standards, and the public purpose for regulation need to be clearly established.
Historic Preservation Commission / Regulatory Ordinance Establishes the City’s formal preservation review process and the authority for administering local historic protections. HIGH & ONGOING Requires qualified commission members, meetings, notices, application review, records, staff support, legal guidance, and coordination with other City boards and departments. Regulation is only as effective as the City’s capacity to administer it. An unclear or understaffed process can create delays, inconsistent decisions, and frustration for both residents and applicants.
Demolition Review / Delay Creates an opportunity to identify significant buildings before demolition and provides time to explore preservation alternatives. MODERATE Adds a step to demolition permitting and requires criteria, staff review, tracking, and procedures. Delay does not necessarily prevent demolition. If no buyer, funding, reuse, regulatory solution, or other alternative emerges, demolition may ultimately proceed.
Adaptive Reuse & Zoning Flexibility Makes it easier to give older buildings viable new uses by addressing zoning, parking, dimensional, or other regulatory barriers. LOW–MODERATE May require ordinance changes or development review but can actually reduce regulatory barriers to preservation. Cannot guarantee that a private owner will pursue reuse. Building condition, rehabilitation costs, ownership, financing, and market demand still matter.
Preservation Grants Provides financial assistance for surveys, planning, stabilization, rehabilitation, interpretation, or capital improvements. LOW regulatory / MODERATE administrative Requires applications, eligibility documentation, grant management, and often matching funds. Competitive and limited. A grant generally cannot compel an unwilling private owner to preserve a property. Eligibility also varies by program.
Tax & Rehabilitation Incentives Helps make rehabilitation more financially feasible and can reduce the economic advantage of demolition and replacement. LOW City burden for State/federal programs, although participating owners may face substantial documentation requirements. Usually voluntary and dependent on owner participation and eligibility. Incentives may not overcome very high rehabilitation costs or redevelopment values.
Preservation Easement A willing owner voluntarily establishes legally enforceable restrictions protecting important historic features over the long term. MODERATE Requires legal documentation and an organization capable of monitoring and enforcing the easement. Requires a willing owner. It is generally not a solution when a private property owner does not want preservation restrictions.
Public Acquisition Allows the City or another public entity to obtain direct control of an exceptionally important property and determine its future use. VERY HIGH Requires acquisition funding, legal and environmental due diligence, capital investment, maintenance, insurance, staffing, and long-term management. Government cannot realistically purchase every threatened historic property. Acquisition also transfers the cost and responsibility for maintaining the property to the public.
Interpretation, Oral Histories, Markers & Digital Storytelling Documents and shares important people, events, businesses, communities, and places, including histories that may not be represented by traditional landmark architecture. LOW Requires research, partnerships, funding, and ongoing content management rather than land-use regulation. Preserves the story, not necessarily the physical place. Particularly important where historic resources have already been lost, but should not substitute for physical preservation where preservation remains feasible.

LOW: Planning, recognition, incentives, or education
Generally does not add significant regulatory requirements for private property owners.

MODERATE: Targeted review, administration, or voluntary participation
Requires additional City administration or property-owner participation but does not necessarily impose comprehensive preservation controls.

HIGH: Regulatory protection or public responsibility
Can provide stronger protection but requires substantially more municipal administration, professional support, review procedures, and/or direct public investment.

Important to Know: Historic Does Not Always Mean Protected

Many of Asbury Park’s historic and culturally significant places are privately owned. Identifying a property as historically important does not give the City ownership of it or automatically give the City the authority to require its preservation.

What is a Master Plan?

The Municipal Master Plan guides future development, redevelopment, preservation, and investment throughout Asbury Park.
It helps shape decisions about housing, transportation, sustainability, resiliency, economic development, parks, infrastructure, and neighborhood character.

What is the Historic Preservation Element?

The Historic Preservation Element is part of Asbury Park’s Master Plan. It identifies the buildings, neighborhoods, streetscapes, landmarks, and cultural resources that contribute to the City’s identity and establishes goals and strategies for their preservation.

The update also considers how historic preservation relates to new development, neighborhood change, cultural heritage, and future City decision-making.

Community Meeting

As part of the Historic Preservation Element update, the City held a community meeting on June 18, 2026 to hear directly from residents and stakeholders.

Through digital polling, interactive mapping, and discussion, participants identified important places and stories, changes they have observed, resources they believe may be vulnerable, and priorities for preservation.

Meeting Materials
→ View the Community Meeting Presentation
→ View the Polling Results

Contact Us!

Planning & Redevelopment / Zoning

Physical Address
1 Municipal Plaza
2nd Floor North
Asbury Park, NJ 07712

Phone: 732-502-5724

Michele Alonso, AICP, PP
Director of Planning and Redevelopment
Email Michele Alonso