Mayor Walsh Appoints Kate Auwaerter to Preservation Planner

Published on April 10, 2024

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh announced the appointment of Kate Auwaerter to Preservation Planner in the Office of Zoning Administration in the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development (NBD). Auwaerter will be responsible for managing the implementation of the City’s preservation program, establishing preservation planning priorities, and providing oversight on historic preservation efforts. She will also provide professional staff assistance to the Syracuse Landmark Preservation Board and administer the City’s Certified Local Government program.

Auwaerter most recently served as both the City’s Preservation Planner and Public Art Coordinator for the last 15 years. With the establishment of the Office of Zoning Administration, which moved from the joint Syracuse-Onondaga County Planning Agency (SOCPA) to NBD in July 2023, the preservation planner role was established as a full-time position. The City is currently in the process of hiring a new Public Art Coordinator.

Auwaerter has over 25 years of experience in historic preservation and planning related fields in the private, nonprofit, and public sectors. Her work includes positions at the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, the New York Main Street Alliance, the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, and the Center for Community Design Research at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF).

Auwaerter received her Masters’ Degree in Historic Preservation Planning from Cornell University and her Bachelor’s Degree in History from Oberlin College. She serves as president and board member of the Thornden Park Association and board member of the Syracuse Parks Conservancy.