OFFICE OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION

NOMINATIONS NOW BEING ACCEPTED FOR 2012 GOVERNOR'S HISTORIC PRESERVATION AWARDS

OHP is now accepting nominations for the 2012 Governor’s Historic Preservation Awards. The deadline for the receipt of nominations this year is May 11, 2012. OHP welcomes nominations of individuals who have made a difference, organizations that are helping California communities recognize and celebrate, interpret, or educate the larger community about the stories and artifacts that make them unique , and companies and public agencies that have exceeded expectations and contractual obligations in preserving the heritage of California. What is happening in your community that may be worthy of a Governor’s Historic Preservation Award?
 

The Greenest Building: Quantifying the Environmental Value of Building Reuse, the eagerly anticipated report from the Preservation Green Lab of the National Trust for Historic Preservation is now available. This report which provides the most comprehensive analysis to date of the potential environmental benefit of building reuse, concludes that, when comparing buildings of equivalent size and function, building reuse almost always offers environmental savings over demolition and new construction.

The report’s key findings offer policy-makers, building owners, developers, architects and engineers compelling evidence of the merits of reusing existing buildings as opposed to tearing them down and building new.

• Reuse Matters:  Building reuse typically offers greater environmental savings than demolition and new construction. It can take between 10 to 80 years for a new energy efficient building to overcome, through efficient operations, the climate change impacts created by its construction. The study finds that the majority of building types in different climates will take between 20-30 years to compensate for the initial carbon impacts from construction.

• Scale Matters:  Collectively, building reuse and retrofits substantially reduce climate change impacts. Retrofitting, rather than demolishing and replacing, just 1% of the city of Portland’s office buildings and single family homes over the next ten years would help to meet 15% of their county’s total CO2 reduction targets over the next decade.

• Design Matters:  The environmental benefits of reuse are maximized by minimizing the input of new construction materials. Renovation projects that require many new materials can reduce or even negate the benefits of reuse.

ROUTE 66 Corridor Preservation Grants Program Information and Application
Cost-share grants are available to support the preservation of the most significant and representative historic Route 66 buildings, structures, road segments, and cultural landscapes in the states through which Route 66 passes. Grant applications are due Friday, April 6, 2012.

PRESERVATION TAX INCENTIVES ALERT!

The National Park Service (NPS) has expanded and redesigned the Preservation Tax Incentives website with new web addresses (and related links). 

The NPS has also revised the Historic Preservation Certification Application forms and instructions. Applicants should begin using the 2011 applications immediately. 

NOTE: The new form blocks are fillable, but not expandable.  Therefore applicants and consultants who have developed their own versions of the narrative pages beyond the cover sheets may continue to use their versions (NPS headers must be on the top of each narrative page).

Applications on the old form will not be accepted in State Historic Preservation Offices after January 1, 2012.

NEW HISTORIC PRESERVATION CERTIFICATION PROGRAM REGULATIONS

On May 26, 2011, NPS published changes to the Historic Preservation Certifications Program in the Federal Register. The revisions are technical, update references to Internal Revenue Code section numbers, delete outdated references to NPS regional offices, extend appeal rights to include all denials of rehabilitation certification, and permit NPS to raise the fees charged for project reviews.

PRESERVATION MATTERS - OHP NEWSLETTER

WINTER 2012 Volume 5 Issue 1

HIGHLIGHTS

Section 106: One of the Best Preservation Tools
Design Review—It’s more Than Preparing Design Guidelines
New Listings on the Registers
Who Writes National Register Nominations?
Main Street Sustainability Program a Success
Lessons Learned: The Consultation Process and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)
Upcoming Events in Historic Preservation

Prior Newsletters

AMERICAN RECOVERY and REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009 and SECTION 106 REVIEWS

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. Many of the projects funded through the Recovery Act have the potential to support the preservation and productive use of historic properties.

Recovery Act Projects, like all federal and federally-sponsored programs and projects, are reviewed pursuant to Sections 106 and 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requires federal agencies to consider the effects of proposed federal undertakings on historic properties. NHPA’s implementing regulations found in 36 CFR Part 800, require federal agencies (and their designees, permittees, licensees, or grantees) to initiate consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) as part of the Section 106 review process. SHPO consultations should be initiated early in the project planning process, BEFORE the project is begun.