| (a) Nomination. Any group, public or private, individual,
or public agency may submit a property in public ownership to the
commission for official designation as a landmark. The nomination
must be submitted to the commission on a form approved by the commission,
and the commission will determine whether the nomination is complete.
The nomination shall indicate the nature of the property's significance:
as an archeological site, shipwreck, cache or collection, historic
building or structure, or any combination thereof, per the criteria
for evaluation specified in §§26.10 - 26.12 and §26.19
of this title.
(1) Third-party nominations. Any private individual
or private group that desires to nominate a property owned by a political
subdivision as a landmark must complete and return to the commission
a nomination form, and must give notice of the nomination at the individual's
or group's own expense, in a newspaper of general circulation published
in the city, town, or county in which the building, structure or site
is located. If no newspaper of general circulation is published in
the city, town, or county, the notice must be published in a newspaper
of general circulation in an adjoining or neighboring county that
is circulated in the county of the applicant's residence. The notice
must:
(A) be printed in 12-point boldface type;
(B) include the exact location of the building or site;
and
(C) include the name of the group or individual nominating
the building or site.
(D) An original copy of the notice and an affidavit
of publication signed by the newspaper's publisher must be submitted
to the commission with a nomination form. The commission will not
consider a site owned by a political subdivision for designation as
a landmark unless the notice and affidavit required by this section
are attached to a nomination form. This notification must be received
by both the commission and the public agency a minimum of 60 days
prior to a regularly scheduled public meeting of the commission at
which the nomination may be considered. All decisions regarding when
a nomination will be considered by the commission will be made by
the executive director of the commission.
(2) Requirements for buildings and structures. Nominations
for buildings and structures must be accompanied by a deed or other
legal description of the property nominated for designation. For a
building or structure owned by a political subdivision, the nomination
may be accompanied by a statement assessing fiscal impacts of the
potential designation on the political subdivision.
(b) Evaluation. The executive director of the commission
will determine whether the nomination is complete and acceptable,
whether the property is eligible for designation, and when the nomination
will be placed on the agenda of one of the commission's public meetings.
In support of such determinations, the commission's staff will review
the property according to the criteria for evaluation specified in §§26.10
- 26.12 and §26.19 of this title. Staff will recommend whether
the nature of the property's significance indicated on the nomination
form is accurate and if other areas should be considered.
(c) Notification of nomination. If the commission's
staff wishes to nominate a property for landmark designation or intends
to forward a nomination received for consideration, it must give the
public agency or agencies that own the property a written notification
that a nomination will be considered by the commission at one of its
regularly scheduled public meetings. This notification must be received
by the public agency a minimum of 15 days prior to the regularly scheduled
public meeting of the commission at which the nomination is scheduled
to be presented. The commission must also send the public agency complete
site information on the proposed nomination. For a building or structure
owned by a political subdivision, the notification will invite the
political subdivision to submit a statement assessing the fiscal impacts
of the potential designation.
(d) Interim protection and notification. Once a valid
nomination for a landmark building or structure has been received
and the commission's staff determines the property is eligible for
designation, no project work may be undertaken on the property without
a permit issued by the commission unless or until the commission denies
the nomination or designation. Information regarding this protection
will be included in the commission's notice on the nomination to the
property owner.
(e) Presentation of nominations. Following staff evaluation
and recommendations, nominations will be presented to the Antiquities
Advisory Board. Written notice of the presentation will be sent to
the owner. The Antiquities Advisory Board will review each nomination,
the staff recommendations related to each nomination, and any testimony
given by the owner of the property and the public at large. The Antiquities
Advisory Board will then pass on its recommendations regarding each
nomination to the commission. The chair of the Antiquities Advisory
Board, or one of the other commission members who serve on the board,
will present the nomination and recommendations to the commission
at one of its public meetings.
(f) Comment period. No vote on final designation may
be taken by the commission for a minimum period of 30 days, during
which time all concerned parties may present evidence in support of
or against designation of the property. Comments may be submitted
to the commission at any time prior to the designation vote described
in subsection (g) of this section, including during public testimony
at the commission meeting where the vote will occur. Comments should
address the property's merits in light of the criteria specified in §§26.10
- 26.12 and §26.19 of this title.
(1) Political subdivisions. Comments may address the
fiscal impact on a political subdivision from the designation of a
building or structure owned by the political subdivision, per §191.092(h)
of the Texas Natural Resources Code.
(2) Institutions of higher education. Comments may
address the impact on an institution of higher education from the
designation of a building or land owned by the institution. If an
institution of higher education notifies the commission during this
timeframe that it protests to the proposed designation of a building
or land under its control as a landmark, the matter becomes a contested
case under the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, Texas
Government Code, Chapter 2001. The hearing officer and the commission
will follow the procedures and take into account the criteria listed
in §191.021(b) of the Texas Natural Resources Code. Weighing
these criteria against the criteria specified in §§26.10
- 26.12 and §26.19 of this title, the commission shall designate
a property under the control of an institution of higher education
as a landmark only if the record before the commission establishes
by clear and convincing evidence that such designation would be in
the public interest.
(g) Presentation of designation and designation vote.
After the minimum comment period of 30 days has elapsed, the commission
may consider the property for designation at one of its public meetings.
The owners of the property will be informed of the agenda by written
notice at least 15 calendar days in advance of the meeting date. Any
person may present evidence or testify at the meeting when the final
decision is to be made. The commission may then vote to designate,
to deny designation, to request further information, or to make any
other decision.
(h) Additional evidence. If designation of a property
is denied, the owner or applicant may present additional evidence
at any time for the commission's reconsideration. The new evidence
will be considered by the commission at a duly-noticed meeting.
(i) Additional hearings. Any owner of a property designated
as a landmark who is aggrieved by the designation procedure as applied
to his or her property will receive a full evidentiary hearing upon
request, or the formal designation can be removed by action of the
commission.
(j) Notification of designation. Written notification
of the commission's decision regarding the designation of a property
as a landmark will be forwarded to the owner and nominator. The nominator
and owner will also receive an application for requesting a landmark
medallion.
(k) Listing and marking of landmarks. If a property
is officially designated as a landmark, the property will be listed
in the commission's inventory, a current list of all historic buildings,
structures, sites, objects, and districts so designated. Landmarks
may also be marked with a marker or medallion, to be installed by
commission staff or designee, if requested by the nominator or owner.
(1) Archeological sites designated as landmarks may
be marked with a landmark marker, if deemed appropriate by the commission.
The UTM coordinate of the marker will be retained in the commission's
records.
(2) Historic buildings and structures designated as
landmarks may be marked with a medallion bearing the words "State
Antiquities Landmark". Third-party nominators and owners will be provided
with an application for requesting a landmark medallion. The application
and payment must be received by the Commission before the medallion
will be ordered and installed. If a medallion is installed, a photograph
of the installed medallion showing its context will be retained in
the commission's records.
(l) Privileged or restricted information. The location
of archeological sites is not public information. However, information
on sites may be disclosed to qualified professionals as provided by
Chapter 24 of this title (relating to Restricted Cultural Resource
Information).
(m) For previously designated landmarks, commission
staff may propose an amendment to clarify the designation boundaries,
nature of the property's significance, or other information pertinent
to the designation. The commission shall follow the process in this
section in considering such an amendment.
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