| (a) The public or private owner of property on which
a landmark is designated pursuant to this Chapter may apply to the
commission for removal of the landmark designation. The application
must be submitted to the commission on a form approved by the commission,
and the commission will determine whether the application is complete.
The application shall indicate the basis for the property's original
designation 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 (relating to Criteria for Evaluating Historic Buildings
and Structures).
(1) If the owner of the property is a public entity,
or if the property was, at the time of its designation, owned by a
public entity, the applicant owner must also give notice of the application
at their 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 to that
in which the landmark is located. 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 applicant/owner of the
building or site.
(2) An original copy of the notice and an affidavit
of publication signed by the newspaper's publisher must be submitted
to the commission with the application form. This notification must
be received by the commission a minimum of 60 days prior to a regularly
scheduled public meeting of the commission at which the application
may be considered. All decisions regarding when an application will
be considered by the commission will be made by the executive director
of the commission.
(3) Applications must be accompanied by a deed or other
legal description of the property at issue.
(b) Evaluation. The executive director of the commission
will determine whether the application is complete and acceptable,
whether the property is eligible for landmark designation removal,
and when the application 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.
(c) Notification of nomination. If the commission's
staff wishes to apply to remove a property's landmark status, it must
give the owner a written notification that an application will be
considered by the commission at one of its regularly scheduled public
meetings. This notification must be received by the owner a minimum
of 30 days prior to the regularly scheduled public meeting of the
commission at which the application is scheduled to be presented.
The commission must also send the owner site information on the proposed
application.
(d) Presentation of applications. For landmarks eligible
for designation removal, commission staff will evaluate the application
and make a recommendation on whether removal is appropriate. Applications
and staff recommendations will be presented to the Antiquities Advisory
Board. Written notice of the time and location for presentation to
the Board will be sent to the owner. The Antiquities Advisory Board
will review each application, the staff recommendations related to
each application, and any testimony given by the owner of the property
and the public at large. The Antiquities Advisory Board will then
determine by majority vote whether or not the landmark has any further
historical, archeological, educational or scientific value, and whether
or not it is of sufficient value to warrant its further classification
as a landmark. The Board will then pass on its recommendations regarding
each application to the commission. The chair of the Antiquities Advisory
Board, or one of the other commission members who serve on the Antiquities
Advisory Board, will present the application and recommendations to
the commission at one of its public meetings.
(e) Comment period. No vote on removal of designation
may be taken by the commission for a minimum period of 30 days after
the Antiquities Advisory Board presents its recommendation to the
commission, during which time all concerned parties may present information
to the commission in support of or against the application. Comments
may be submitted to the commission at any time prior to the vote described
in subsection (f) 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. This 30 day comment period
may be waived by the commission on application by the owner if the
commission finds that good cause exists.
(f) Presentation of application and vote. Unless waived
by the commission pursuant to subsection (e) above, after the minimum
comment period of 30 days has elapsed, the commission may consider
the application for removal of designation at one of its public meetings.
The owners of the property will be informed of the agenda by written
notice at least 30 calendar days in advance of the meeting date. Any
person may present information on the application or testify at the
meeting when the final decision is to be made. The commission will
then determine by majority vote whether or not the landmark has any
further historical, archeological, educational or scientific value,
and whether or not it is of sufficient value to warrant its further
classification as a landmark. The commission may vote to approve or
to deny the request for removal of designation, to request further
information, or to make any other decision.
(g) Notification of removal of designation. Written
notification of the commission's decision regarding the removal of
designation of a property as a landmark will be forwarded to the owner.
(h) Marker. If the commission approves an application
to remove landmark designation, the owner must, within 30 days and
at their own expense, remove any plaques or markers identifying the
property as a State Antiquities Landmark, and deliver the same to
the Texas Historical Commission at the address designated in the written
notification provided by the commission.
(i) Recording. If the commission approves an application
to remove landmark designation, it shall execute and record in the
deed records of the county in which the site is located an instrument
setting out the determination.
(j) 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). In order to comply with Chapter 24, applications for
removal of landmark status from designated archeological sites may
vary from other applications submitted under this section.
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