ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Legal, Administrative And Financial Issues

Report on the Seminar and Meeting of the ICOMOS International Committee on Legislative, Administrative and Financial Issues held in Toledo, Spain
July 21-25, 1999

Public participation in administrative agency decisionmaking has achieved something of a sacrosanct status in the United States during the last 35 years. Among the benefits cited are keeping officials more in touch with the public, allowing citizens to influence policies as they are being developed and implemented, giving voice to neglected groups, educating citizens on policy issues, understanding of different viewpoints by different segments of the public and, ideally, fostering consensus and inspiring civic responsibility. To be sure, there are negatives to increased public participation, but it has become institutionalized in most administrative processes in this country, including those in the preservation arena.

What we have come to take for granted in the United States is not always the case in other nations, nor is it always called for by international instruments. One aspect of public participation – its use in the planning and listing processes – was the subject of a seminar convened by the ICOMOS International Committee on Legal, Administrative and Financial Issues and sponsored by the Spanish National Committee in Toledo, Spain, July 21-23. [This was the third symposium in a many months hosted by ICOMOS Spain; see "US/ICOMOS Goes to Ibiza" in the May-June newsletter.] Many regions were represented by the presenters: Asia and the Pacific (Australia, Japan, and Sri Lanka), Africa (Benin), Europe (Bulgaria, Croacia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Rumania, Spain, and Sweden), the Middle East (Israel), and the Americas (Argentina, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, the United States, and Venezuela). Attending from US/ICOMOS was James Reap, and attorney and Professor of Preservation Law at the University of Georgia School of Environmental Design and member of the US/ICOMOS Committee on Legislation.

The seminar opened with two general papers. The first, by Maria Rosa Suarez-Inclán Ducassi of Spain, provided a view of heritage and urban planning as two conceptual and often poorly integrated legal universes, a theme that was echoed later by other presenters. The second, by Patrick J. O’Keefe of Australia, examined public participation in planning and listing provisions of international instruments, specifically the Council of Europe and of UNESCO.

The approach of the Council of Europe was viewed through two regional conventions, a recommendation and a draft convention, all representing different areas of heritage and all relying strongly on planning (and listing is an important part of that process). The Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe (1985) and the Draft European Landscape Convention, for example, include public participation, but it appeared to the author as more of an afterthought than well-integrated into the structure of protection. The European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (Revised 1992) mentions the public only as consumers of information to be provided by archaeologists and Recommendation No. R(98)4 on Historic Complexes does not contemplate public involvement at all, mentioning only the property owner’s opportunity to comment in the listing process.

In the case of UNESCO recommendations and multi-lateral conventions, a gradual progression toward recognizing the value of public participation was postulated. Early recommendations made little mention of it, but the Guidelines to the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage 1972 contain explicit statements recognizing the importance of public participation (although the convention itself is silent on the subject). All of the international instruments examined contain provisions for educating the public in the values represented by the particular instrument. However, if the public is to do more than act as passive recipients of information, they must be given a more vital part in the planning and listing processes that are key components of these international instruments.

Of course, public participation can take many forms. Viewed broadly, it can involve such activities as political party participation, lobbying and protest, public advocacy, solicitation of comments, review and reaction, interest group involvement, and service on advisory or review boards. Even litigation has been suggested as an example of public participation.

The remaining papers presented in Toledo focused on the situation in individual countries. For a number of them, there was little to report in the way of legislation or regulation providing for public participation. However, most presenters indicated the importance of lobbying, public protest, or as one paper described it, "vigilante action against the Establishment." It was noted in a number of papers that interest groups were having an effect on planning and preservation issues and were beginning to be recognized legally even in systems that had traditionally recognized only those with economic interests as parties to proceedings affecting them. In some countries, it was significant that individuals could exercise their right to vote for or against elected officials based on the candidate’s positions or actions in the areas of planning and heritage conservation. However as one presenter observed, with many competing subjects and issues, even at the local level, planning and preservation concerns may seldom affect the outcome of an election.

Delegates from former Eastern Block countries noted that democratization and economic reform are bringing changes to planning and heritage preservation, but that legislative reform is far from complete. Where almost everything was once owned or controlled by the state, the concepts of private property rights and public participation are continually evolving. Freedom of information principles are giving access to relevant documents and more decisions are being made in public meetings where interested individuals or groups are allowed to participate and the proceedings are open to the press. In these countries, reform seems to be coming more quickly in planning than in heritage conservation, particularly where public participation in concerned.

Other mechanisms to facilitate public participation such as advertising in the press and other forms of notice, public assemblies where issues are discussed and draft or final plans reviewed, requirements that authorities address public comments in their decisions, the right of the public to file objections to proposed actions were noted in papers from Western Europe, Israel and America.

The theme first sounded by Ms. Suarez-Inclán concerning a gulf between general planning and preservation was echoed by several presenters who pointed out the existence in many countries a more or less separate legal and administrative approaches to community planning and the preservation of monuments. This is also true in the United States, although there has been a trend in recent years to integrate the processes to the extent possible. Perhaps, as one speaker suggested, this dual track is necessary to preserve cultural and historical values in the face of economically powerful forces for development which exercise great influence in the planning arena. At any rate, procedures in these two areas are often different, as are their approaches to public participation.

Seminar sessions were held in the library of the Alcázar of Toledo, a building which has played an important role in the history of Spain and visually dominates other buildings in the city. Toledo is a World Heritage City, spectacular in its appearance and rich in history, art and architecture, reflecting a period of Spanish history where Christian, Jewish and Moorish cultures flourished and fused. Participants had an opportunity to walk the winding old streets and visit many of the monuments. Two guided tours, one at night – illuminated by moonlight and street lamps – and one in daylight provided an overview both of the city’s history and the many issues involving its preservation. The city’s Mayor, Sr. D. Josė Manuel Molina, welcomed committee members, entertained them at a reception at City Hall, and spoke at the closing session of the seminar. In his presentation, the Mayor discussed a number of planning and preservation issues. As in other historic centers, Toledo has seen its monuments preserved but a decline in its housing stock and quality of life as families moved out. The city has initiated a number of public infrastructure improvements, many designed to ease access to the old city. Some projects, including a massive military museum requiring additions to the Alcázar, have not always been welcomed by the preservation community. The primary thrust of revitalization efforts is now focused on making the city more livable and inducing people to return to the center. Restoration of some 800 houses is planned along with refurbishing squares and green spaces. Public participation in planning efforts was cited by the Mayor as a key to future successful implementation.

After the conclusion of the seminar, a meeting of committee members was convened during which the Spanish National Committee was recognized for its extraordinary efforts in hosting the seminar and its plans to publish the proceedings. The committee accepted an invitation to meet in the spring of 2000 in Croatia.

Prepared by James K. Reap
US/ICOMOS

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