| (a) Definitions. The following words and terms, when
used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless context
clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Damage--To alter, in whole or in part. Damage to
historical or architectural integrity includes alterations of structural
elements, decorative details, fixtures, and other material; construction
of additions; relocation; or demolition.
(2) Integrity--Integrity refers to the physical condition
and therefore the capacity of the resource to convey a sense of time
and place. Integrity is the authenticity of a property's historic
identity, evidenced by the survival of physical characteristics that
existed during the property's historic or prehistoric period, including
the property's location, design, setting, materials, workmanship,
feeling, and association. In terms of architectural design, to have
integrity means that a building still possesses much of its mass,
scale, decoration, and so on, of either the period in which it was
conceived and built, or the period in which it was adapted to a later
style which has validity in its own rights as an expression of historical
character or development. The question of whether or not a building
possesses integrity is a question of the building's retention of sufficient
fabric to be identifiable as a historic resource. For a building to
possess integrity, its principal features must be sufficiently intact
for its historic identity to be apparent. A building that is significant
because of its historic association(s) must retain sufficient physical
integrity to convey such association(s).
(3) Normal maintenance and repair--Work that does not
have the potential to cause removal, damage or alteration to the integrity,
form, or appearance of the materials, features, or landform of the
historic building or structure and its site, is considered to be normal
maintenance and repair. Cleaning surfaces with non-corrosive mild
solutions and low-pressure water, repainting window frames or doorways
with similar paints, or minor repairs such as replacing putty on windows
are examples of normal maintenance and repair. Other work, however,
may not constitute normal maintenance and repair. For example, permanent
masonry damage can result from use of inappropriate cleaning methods,
such as sandblasting, high pressure water cleaning, or the use of
unsuitable chemicals, or from use of damaging repointing techniques
and materials. Replacing historic windows damages the historical integrity
of a building, and painting previously unpainted surfaces constitutes
alteration. Such work is not considered normal maintenance or repair.
(b) Procedure. As provided for in Texas Government
Code, §442.006(f), a person may not damage the historical or
architectural integrity of a structure the commission has designated
as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (landmark) without first notifying
the commission. Such notice shall not be required for normal maintenance
and repair; for interior work that does not affect the exterior integrity
of the property; or for work to the surrounding site unless included
as part of the designated landmark.
(1) Notice from the property owner to the commission.
At least 60 days prior to the proposed work on a landmark, a written
notification from the property owner describing the project shall
be submitted to the commission, along with construction documents,
sketches, or drawings which adequately describe the full scope of
project work and photographs of the areas affected by the proposed
changes.
(2) Notice from the commission to the property owner.
Written notice of the commission's comments pursuant to a review of
the proposed work shall be provided by the commission. Comments shall
be made based on the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the
Treatment of Historic Properties (1995 and subsequent revisions; codified
at 36 Code of Federal Regulations Part 67), which are summarized in
subparagraphs (A) - (C) of this paragraph:
(A) Definitions for historic preservation project treatment.
(i) Preservation is defined as the act or process of
applying measures necessary to sustain the existing form, integrity,
and materials of an historic property. Work, including preliminary
measures to protect and stabilize the property, generally focuses
upon the ongoing maintenance and repair of historic materials and
features rather than extensive replacement and new construction. New
exterior additions are not within the scope of this treatment; however,
the limited and sensitive upgrading of mechanical, electrical, and
plumbing systems and other code-required work to make properties functional
is appropriate within a preservation project.
(ii) Rehabilitation is defined as the act or process
of making possible a compatible use for a property through repair,
alterations, and additions while preserving those portions or features
which convey its historical, cultural, or architectural values.
(iii) Restoration is defined as the act or process
of accurately depicting the form, features, and character of a property
as it appeared at a particular period of time by means of the removal
of features from other periods in its history and reconstruction of
missing features from the restoration period. The limited and sensitive
upgrading of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems and other
code-required work to make properties functional is appropriate within
a restoration project.
(iv) Reconstruction is defined as the act or process
of depicting, by means of new construction, the form features, and
detailing of a non-surviving site, landscape, building, structure,
or object for the purpose of replicating its appearance at a specific
period of time and in its historic location.
(B) General standards for historic preservation projects.
(i) A property shall be used as it was historically,
or be given a new use that maximizes the retention of distinctive
materials, features, spaces, and spatial relationships. Where a treatment
and use have not been identified, a property shall be protected and,
if necessary, stabilized until additional work may be undertaken.
(ii) The historic character of a property shall be
retained and preserved. The replacement of intact or repairable historic
materials or alteration of features, spaces, and spatial relationships
that characterize a property shall be avoided.
(iii) Each property shall be recognized as a physical
record of its time, place and use. Work needed to stabilize, consolidate,
and conserve existing historic materials and features shall be physically
and visually compatible, identifiable upon close inspection, and properly
documented for future research.
(iv) Changes to a property that have acquired historic
significance in their own right shall be retained and preserved.
(v) Distinctive materials, features, finishes, and
construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize
a property shall be preserved.
(vi) The existing condition of historic features shall
be evaluated to determine the appropriate level of intervention needed.
Where the severity of deterioration requires repair or limited replacement
of a distinctive feature, the new material shall match the old in
composition, design, color, and texture.
(vii) Chemical or physical treatments, if appropriate,
shall be undertaken using the gentlest means possible. Treatments
that cause damage to historic materials shall not be used.
(viii) Archeological resources shall be protected and
preserved in place to the extent possible. If such resources must
be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken.
(C) Specific standards for historic preservation projects.
In conjunction with the eight general standards listed in subparagraph
(B)(i) - (viii) of this paragraph, specific standards are to be used
for each treatment type.
(i) Standards for rehabilitation.
(I) A property shall be used as it was historically
or be given a new use that requires minimal change to its distinctive
materials, features, spaces, and spatial relationships.
(II) The historic character of a property shall be
retained and preserved. The removal of distinctive materials or alteration
of features, spaces, and spatial relationships that characterize a
property shall be avoided.
(III) 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
elements from other historic properties, shall not be undertaken.
(IV) Changes to a property that have acquired historic
significance in their own right shall be retained and preserved.
(V) Distinctive materials, features, finishes, and
construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize
a property shall be preserved.
(VI) 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 where possible, materials.
Replacement of missing features shall be substantiated by documentary
and physical evidence.
(VII) Chemical or physical treatments, if appropriate,
shall be undertaken using the gentlest means possible. Treatments
that cause damage to historic materials shall not be used.
(VIII) Archeological resources shall be protected and
preserved in place to the extent possible. If such resources must
be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken.
(IX) New additions, exterior alterations, or related
new construction shall not destroy historic materials, features, and
spatial relationships that characterize the property. The new work
shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with
the historic materials, features, size, scale and proportion, and
massing to protect the integrity of the property and its environment.
(X) 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.
(ii) Standards for restoration.
(I) A property shall be used as it was historically
or be given a new use which reflects the property's restoration period.
(II) Materials and features from the restoration period
shall be retained and preserved. The removal of materials or alteration
of features, spaces, and spatial relationships that characterize the
period shall not be undertaken.
(III) Each property shall be recognized as a physical
record of its time, place and use. Work needed to stabilize, consolidate
and conserve materials and features from the restoration period shall
be physically and visually compatible, identifiable upon close inspection,
and properly documented for future research.
(IV) Materials, features, spaces, and finishes that
characterize other historical periods shall be documented prior to
their alteration or removal.
(V) Distinctive materials, features, finishes, and
construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize
the restoration period shall be preserved.
(VI) Deteriorated features from the restoration period
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, where possible, materials.
(VII) Replacement of missing features from the restoration
period shall be substantiated by documentary and physical evidence.
A false sense of history shall not be created by adding conjectural
features, features from other properties, or by combining features
that never existed together historically.
(VIII) Chemical or physical treatments, if appropriate,
shall be undertaken using the gentlest means possible. Treatments
that cause damage to historic materials shall not be used.
(IX) Archeological resources affected by a project
shall be protected and preserved in place to the extent possible.
If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be
undertaken.
(X) Designs that were never executed historically shall
not be constructed.
(iii) Standards for reconstruction.
(I) Reconstruction shall be used to depict vanished
or non-surviving portions of a property when documentary and physical
evidence is available to permit accurate reconstruction with minimal
conjecture, and such reconstruction is essential to the public understanding
of the property.
(II) Reconstruction of a landscape, building, structure,
or object in its historic location shall be preceded by a thorough
archeological investigation to identify and evaluate those features
and artifacts which are essential to an accurate reconstruction. If
such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken.
(III) Reconstruction shall include measures to preserve
any remaining historic materials, features, and spatial relationships.
(IV) Reconstruction shall be based on the accurate
duplication of historic features and elements substantiated by documentary
or physical evidence rather than on conjectural designs or the availability
of different features from other historic properties. A reconstructed
property shall re-create the appearance of the non-surviving historic
property in materials, design, color, and texture.
(V) A reconstruction shall be clearly identified as
a contemporary re-creation.
(VI) Designs that were never executed historically
shall not be constructed.
(3) If the proposed work meets the Secretary of the
Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, the
commission may waive the remainder of the 60-day waiting period. If
the proposed work does not meet these standards or otherwise would
damage the integrity of the landmark, the commission may require an
additional waiting period of no longer than 30 days, for a total of
up to 90 days. The waiting period is intended to enhance the chance
for preservation, and the commission may negotiate with the property
owner during this period. On the expiration of the time limits imposed
in the commission's response, the work may proceed, but must proceed
not later than the 180th day after the date on which notice was given
or the notice is considered to have expired.
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