(a) The General Assembly determines that the historical, archeological, architectural, and cultural heritage of Arkansas is among the most important economic and environmental assets of this state and that rapid development threatens to remove the remaining vestiges of Arkansas’s proud and unique heritage.
(b) Therefore, it is declared to be public policy and in the best interests of the general economic, social, and educational welfare of all the citizens of Arkansas for this state to engage in a comprehensive program of historic preservation, undertaken at all levels of the government of Arkansas and its political subdivisions, to promote the use and preservation of property for the public interest and the education, inspiration, pleasure, and enrichment of the citizens of this state.