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While previous attempts to capture youth attention might have failed, Redwood City's Historic Resources Advisory Committee has committed itself to finding better ways to spark engagement within the elusive demographic.
During a Tuesday, Nov. 7 Planning Commission meeting, HRAC Chair Lindamarie Rodriguez Roche said its primary connection to the younger crowds was through volunteer-led field trip tours of historic sites around the city over the past 25 years. But, the pandemic made it challenging to find volunteers, and with smartphones in every young person’s hand, it was hard to compete for their attention.
"The distractions young people have now didn't exist when the tours started, so if you have somebody talking about old history and the origins of the timber industry and you have somebody competing with Pokemon on a cellphone, it is challenging," Rodriguez Roche said.
Commissioner Isabella Chu is optimistic young people are interested in topics like climate change, urban planning and transportation issues. Still, the committee would need to know how to capture their interest, suggesting social media platforms, such as TikTok, could be the connecting fiber that could link the younger audience to local history. Yet, Chu believes it would require a tech-savvy person to operate these platforms in a way that truly resonates with a younger population.
"I think young people are interested in these topics. It's just that they engage with them differently," Chu said. "If you know of young people interested in this topic, that may be a way to engage a younger audience."
The pandemic caused the committee to stop guiding history tours, but after a three-year hiatus, Rodriguez Roche said she plans to bring them back and hopes to have younger volunteers reinvigorate youth attention.
The committee works to safeguard the city's historic preservation by reviewing landmark designations, development applications for historic properties, and reviewing and evaluating structures built before 1940 for remodels and demolitions, according to a staff report.
While Roche highlighted the challenges to get young people interested in local history, she is equally committed to spreading the word about the tax benefits that buildings contracted under the Mills Act could have for a property owner. The Mills Act contract is an incentive program in the state that works toward the restoration and preservation of qualified historic buildings owned by private property owners, according to the California Office of Historic Preservation's website. The historic committee facilitates registration and review of potential properties, and one of the committee's goals in the next two years is to increase the amount of Mills Act contracts within the city.
Rodriguez Roche said she is concerned more people need to be made aware of the program, its benefits, and the misinformation that may dissuade people from learning more.
"It can set panic into the hearts of the property owners if they think historic landmarking in a neighborhood is going to take away their rights, so it is something we definitely would like to clarify," Rodriguez Roche said.
Public engagement within the entire community has been a challenge for the committee.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Rodriguez Roche presented and outlined the committee's plans to tackle such issues in the next two years, which the commission unanimously approved.
Along with finding ways to better engage with the community, Rodriguez Roche is looking to expand its historical catalog in the city, which could help the community better understand its history.
She said some of the city's history needs to be better documented and studied. One example was the Japanese flower growers along the southern part of Woodside Road, which deserves more public awareness.
Next Steps
The Redwood City Council will review and potentially approve the committee's goals, or it could provide further direction to suggest what it should focus on in the coming years.
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