The
National Register of Historic Places
The Consideration of Property
Owners Rights in the National Register Nomination Process
Background
The concern for considering the rights
of private property owners in the National Register of Historic
Places nomination process emerged with a case in Los Angeles,
California when a property owner found his redevelopment proposal
possibly subject to local regulatory restrictions because the
property was being nominated to the National Register. Although
infrequent, there have been instances where nomination to, or
listing on, the National Register is directly linked to, and triggers,
the application of more direct regulations under State or local
law which can affect a private property owner.
In the Los Angeles case, the property
owner believed that the National Register nomination process was
keeping him from demolishing buildings that he owned. The property
owner took his case to Representative
George Radanovich, Chairman of the National
Parks, Recreation and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House
Committee
on Resources, where he found a sympathetic ear. Representative
Radanovich also listened to Carol Shull, Keeper of the National
Register of Historic Places, and to John L. Nau, III, Chairman
of the Advisory
Council on Historic Preservation. This conversation continued
at the June 3, 2003 hearing on H. R. 3223 relating to the Advisory
Council on Historic Preservation. In response to questions from
Representative Radanovich, Mr. Nau, agreed to provide him with
a set of recommendations concerning improving the National Register
nomination process. Mr. Nau’s recommendations of August
13, 2003 included suggested actions the NCSHPO could undertake
toward that goal.
In its capacity as the State Historic
Preservation Officers (SHPOs) national professional association,
the NCSHPO has taken a leadership role in emphasizing the role
of private property owners in the National Register nomination
process and is working with SHPOffices to make certain that their
National Register materials are up-to-date and user friendly.
The NCSHPO has prepared two (2) companion pieces that address
private property rights in the National Register nomination process
– these are entitled: “Recommendations
for Improving the Consideration of Property Owners Rights in the
National Register of Historic Places Nomination Process”
and “The
National Register of Historic Places and Due Process”
(both documents are PDF format).
In the future, the NCSHPO will be working
with the SHPOffices to:
- Post “plain English”
letters on the NCSHPO website; and
- Post exemplary SHPO property owner
notification processes on the NCSHPO website.
Currently, SHPOs are subscribed to the
NCSHPO listserv and can use this as a means to post their questions
and comments in order to determine how other SHPOs handle specific
issues, share thoughts and ideas, and explore ways to improve
the National Register program.
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More Information
For more information about the National
Register of Historic Places click here.
For more information about
PDF format, please click here.
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