While a graduate student at Berkeley, Mr. Claiborne helped author an award winning set of design guidelines for infill development responsive to established and often historic urban neighborhoods which speak to a concern for moving the historic context into the future.  Early in his professional career, he was a founding member of The Friends of Terra Cotta, a group of Bay Area architects and engineers interested in promoting the restoration and continued use of a façade material widely found on local buildings that is manufactured by the Gladding McBean Company near Roseville in the Central Valley.

San Jose, California:  As a staff person with the San Jose Redevelopment Agency, Mr. Claiborne managed the implementation of a signage program for a self-guided walking tour of historic buildings and places in the downtown area.  He also served as secretary to the Downtown Design Review Committee, which often addressed historic resource issues. 

Long Beach, California:  Mr. Claiborne managed development of the Master Plan and Interpretative Program for the historic Rancho Los Alamitos site in the City of Long Beach.  The property, a remnant of one the great Mexican land holdings in Southern California, is distinguished by a group of historic buildings, including an adobe structure from the era prior to statehood, a historic landscape and a National Register Archeological site considered sacred to the local Gabrielino tribe of Native Americans.

Fresno, California:  Mr. Claiborne led a team of like-minded planners to develop a preservation based Specific Plan for the Tower District, a set of 1920s streetcar neighborhoods on the north edge of the downtown.  The Plan includes an inventory of historic building types and landscapes, as well as the vintage Tower Theatre, a character defining movie house which is a central feature of the district.

Alameda County, California:   As a consultant member of the Planning Department staff, Mr. Claiborne has developed a number of adopted plans and implemented projects that address historic resource conservation concerns within the urbanized, unincorporated communities that make up the West County area.  The Ashland, Cherryland Business District Specific Plan includes preservation policies and project descriptions both for the Meek Estate, a historic house and gardens, and for the San Lorenzo Pioneer Cemetery.  Subsequently, a comprehensive historic resource inventory identified for the Ashland, Cherryland area has been expanded to include all unincorporated portions of the County.

A primary implementation project for the Castro Valley Business District Specific Plan, which Mr. Claiborne directed and help write, includes joint-development of a new Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Station area.  The site area includes the Strobridge House, a State designated historic resource.  Mr. Claiborne worked closely with the BART Real Estate Division and with BRIDGE Housing to plan the design of the mixed-use, housing and police station for the station area, including preservation of the historic building.  The project has been built and has won a number of awards.  Also in the Castro Valley community, which he has come to know well, Mr. Claiborne has written several historic evaluation reports under contract with individual property owners for development permit review purposes.

Lennar Mare Island:  For almost five years, Mr. Claiborne was under contract as the lead planner to prepare an updated Specific Plan for the Master Developer of the Mare Island Naval Base and Shipyards in the City of Vallejo, California.  The Plan, which has now been adopted, establishes development policies and programs that balance a complex range of preservation considerations with an economically feasible master plan.  The Plan Area includes a large, National Register Historic District containing approximately 500 buildings and structures, an archaeological site with 27 identified features, approximately 10 historic landscapes, and a four-part National Historic Landmark designation.  The cultural resource section of the Plan was developed in collaboration with several leading experts, including a preservation attorney, a firm specializing in preservation guidelines and the Director of the newly established Cultural Landscape Foundation.  The preservation issues addressed by the Plan are unusually complex and represent considerable innovation and creativity which have been endorsed by representatives of the western office of the Department of the Interior.