A plan for how to better integrate historic preservation into city and county planning will go before the public later this month.

After chewing on input gathered at three public meetings, the 11-member Historic Preservation Plan Task Force spent Tuesday afternoon discussing the finer details of a comprehensive document that lays out strategies designed to protect the cultural resources of Lawrence and Douglas County.

“It tries to establish some policies on where you might go in terms of development and actually trying to get a grasp on what are the historical resources,” said Dennis Enslinger, Lawrence’s historic resources administrator.

The plan eventually will become a component of Horizon 2020, the city-county long-range planning document.

The preservation plan identifies five goals:

Incorporate preservation as an important component of city and county planning processes.

Conserve the rural character of unincorporated Douglas County in strategic areas.

Incorporate preservation incentives into the city and county’s economic development policies and programs.

Incorporate heritage tourism as an economic development program.

Establish outreach and educational programs.

The public will have a chance to comment on the document, which can be viewed online at www.lawrenceplanning.org www.lawrenceplanning.org, at a hearing from 9 a.m. to noon Aug. 24 at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.

The task force will then make any necessary alterations and endorse a plan that will go before the Historic Resources Commission, city commission, county commission and Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission each of which must provide separate opportunities for public comment before it is approved.

Any questions about the plan may be directed to Enslinger at denslinger@ci.lawrence.ks.us.