[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 36, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 36CFR67.7]

[Page 365-367]
 
              TITLE 36--PARKS, FORESTS, AND PUBLIC PROPERTY
 
      CHAPTER I--NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
 
PART 67_HISTORIC PRESERVATION CERTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO SEC. 48(g) AND 
SEC. 170(h) OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 67.7  Standards for Rehabilitation.

    (a) The following Standards for Rehabilitation are the criteria used 
to determine if a rehabilitation project qualifies as a certified 
rehabilitation. The intent of the Standards is to assist the long-term 
preservation of a property's significance through the preservation of 
historic materials and features. The Standards pertain to historic 
buildings of all materials, construction types, sizes, and occupancy and 
encompass the exterior and the interior of historic buildings. The 
Standards also encompass related landscape features and the building's 
site and environment, as well as attached, adjacent, or related new 
construction. To be certified, a rehabilitation project must be 
determined by the Secretary to be consistent with the historic character 
of the structure(s) and, where applicable, the district in which it is 
located.
    (b) The following Standards are to be applied to specific 
rehabilitation projects in a reasonable manner, taking into 
consideration economic and technical feasibility. (The application of 
these Standards to rehabilitation projects is to be the same as under 
the previous version so that a project previously acceptable would 
continue to be acceptable under these Standards.)
    (1) 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.
    (2) 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.
    (3) 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.

[[Page 366]]

    (4) Most properties change over time; those changes that have 
acquired historic significance in their own right shall be retained and 
preserved.
    (5) Distinctive features, finishes, and construction techniques or 
examples of craftsmanship that characterize a historic property shall be 
preserved.
    (6) 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.
    (7) 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.
    (8) Significant archeological resources affected by a project shall 
be protected and preserved. If such resources must be disturbed, 
mitigation measures shall be undertaken.
    (9) 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.
    (10) 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.
    (c) The quality of materials and craftsmanship used in a 
rehabilitation project must be commensurate with the quality of 
materials and craftsmanship of the historic building in question. 
Certain treatments, if improperly applied, or certain materials by their 
physical properties, may cause or accelerate physical deterioration of 
historic buildings. Inappropriate physical treatments include, but are 
not limited to: improper repointing techniques; improper exterior 
masonry cleaning methods; or improper introduction of insulation where 
damage to historic fabric would result. In almost all situations, use of 
these materials and treatments will result in denial of certification. 
Similarly, exterior additions that duplicate the form, material, and 
detailing of the structure to the extent that they compromise the 
historic character of the structure will result in denial of 
certification. For further information on appropriate and inappropriate 
rehabilitation treatments, owners are to consult the Guidelines for 
Rehabilitating Historic Buildings published by the NPS. ``Preservation 
Briefs'' and additional technical information to help property owners 
formulate plans for the rehabilitation, preservation, and continued use 
of historic properties consistent with the intent of the Secretary's 
Standards for Rehabilitation are available from the SHPOs and NPS 
regional offices. Owners are responsible for procuring this material as 
part of property planning for a certified rehabilitation.
    (d) In certain limited cases, it may be necessary to dismantle and 
rebuild portions of a certified historic structure to stabilize and 
repair weakened structural members and systems. In such cases, the 
Secretary will consider such extreme intervention as part of a certified 
rehabilitation if:
    (1) The necessity for dismantling is justified in supporting 
documentation;
    (2) Significant architectural features and overall design are 
retained; and
    (3) Adequate historic materials are retained to maintain the 
architectural and historic integrity of the overall structure.
    Section 48(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 exempts certified 
historic structures from meeting the physical test for retention of 
external walls and internal structural framework specified therein for 
other rehabilitated buildings. Nevertheless, owners are cautioned that 
the Standards for Rehabilitation require retention of distinguishing 
historic materials of external and internal walls as well as structural 
systems. In limited instances, rehabilitations involving removal of 
existing external walls, i.e., external walls that

[[Page 367]]

detract from the historic character of the structure such as in the case 
of a nonsignificant later addition or walls that have lost their 
structural integrity due to deterioration, may be certified as meeting 
the Standards for Rehabilitation.
    (e) Prior approval of a project by Federal, State, and local 
agencies and organizations does not ensure certification by the 
Secretary for Federal tax purposes. The Secretary's Standards for 
Rehabilitation take precedence over other regulations and codes in 
determining whether the rehabilitation project is consistent with the 
historic character of the property and, where applicable, the district 
in which it is located.
    (f) The qualities of a property and its environment which qualify it 
as a certified historic structure are determined taking into account all 
available information, including information derived from the physical 
and architectural attributes of the building; such determinations are 
not limited to information contained in National Register or related 
documentation.