Section 3.06. Certification of rehabilitation work.

 

(1)  The owner shall apply for and receive approval by the officer for proposed rehabilitation work using a part 2 application. The owner shall describe all rehabilitation work, including both eligible activities and non-eligible activities, such as site work and cosmetic interior work, and shall indicate on the part 2 application those portions of the project for which the tax credit will be claimed.

(2)  The part 2 application shall document the condition and appearance of the property before the start of rehabilitation work, including photographic documentation of all affected portions of the property and, where necessary to describe the project, architectural plans. The officer may waive photographic documentation or architectural drawings in cases where documentation is impossible.

(3)  The officer shall review the part 2 application if the owner has applied for a determination of historic property using a part 1 application and if the officer has determined that the property is historic property. If the officer reviews the part 1 application and determines that the property is not historic property, the officer shall return the part 2 application to the owner with an indication that the property is not historic property.

(4)  If the officer determines that the part 2 application is incomplete, the officer shall return it to the owner with recommendations for making it complete.

(5)  If the officer determines that the part 2 application is complete, the officer shall review and approve, approve with conditions, or deny the part 2 application in writing.

(6)  The officer shall approve the part 2 application if the officer determines that the proposed project meets all of the following rehabilitation standards:

(a) A property shall be used for its historic purpose or be placed in a new use that requires minimal change to the defining characteristics of the building and its site and environment.

(b) The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided.

(c) Each property shall be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features or architectural elements from other buildings, shall not be undertaken.

(d) Most properties change over time; those changes that have acquired historic significance in their own right shall be retained and preserved.

(e) Distinctive features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property shall be preserved.

(f) Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature shall match the old in design, color, texture, and other visual qualities and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features shall be substantiated by documentary, physical, or pictorial evidence.

(g) Chemical or physical treatments, such as sandblasting, that cause damage to historic materials shall not be used. The surface cleaning of structures, if appropriate, shall be undertaken using the gentlest means possible.

(h) Significant archeological resources affected by a project shall be protected and preserved. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken.

(i) New additions, exterior alterations or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment.

(j) New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.

(7)  The officer may approve the part 2 application with conditions if the officer determines that compliance with the conditions would result in the rehabilitation work meeting the rehabilitation standards.

(8)  When the officer approves a part 2 application, the officer shall sign the part 2 application and return it to the owner indicating that the officer has certified the property as historic property and has approved the proposed work and any conditions that may be attached to the approval.

(9)  An owner may reapply for certification of a rehabilitation project that has been denied by the officer. If the officer determines that the owner has made substantive revisions to the application to conform to the rehabilitation standards, the officer shall consider the application in accordance with procedures in this section.

History: Cr. Register, August, 1996, No. 488 , eff. 9-1-96.