The City of Sarasota’s Historic Preservation Board was honored Tuesday with a Commission Excellence Award from the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (NAPC). Selected from a large pool of nominations from across the country, these national awards recognize and honor outstanding efforts and achievements by local preservation, historic district, and landmark commissions and boards of architectural review. Sarasota earned the award in the category of Best Practices in Identification/Registration for an ambitious citywide survey of historic resources completed last year. The project documented more than 11,000 historic homes, businesses and churches in Sarasota and lays the groundwork for future preservation planning as well as a range of public education initiatives for residents and visitors alike. “It was a major effort by the City and a team of historic resource professionals to survey and catalog all of the significant structures built in the city in 1970 or earlier,” said Senior Planner Dr. Clifford Smith. “Collecting all of this information provides a tremendous resource for our community and will help to further preserve our rich history.”