§ 67.8 - Certifications of statutes.

§ 67.8 Certifications of statutes.

(a) State or local statutes which will be certified by the Secretary. For the purpose of this regulation, a State or local statute is a law of the State or local government designating, or providing a method for the designation of, a historic district or districts. This includes any by-laws or ordinances that contain information necessary for the certification of the statute. A statute must contain criteria which will substantially achieve the purpose of preserving and rehabilitating properties of historic significance to the district. To be certified by the Secretary, the statute generally must provide for a duly designated review body, such as a review board or commission, with power to review proposed alterations to structures of historic significance within the boundaries of the district or districts designated under the statute except those owned by governmental entities which, by law, are not under the jurisdiction of the review body.

(b) When the certification of State statutes will have an impact on districts in specific localities, the Secretary encourages State governments to notify and consult with appropriate local officials prior to submitting a request for certification of the statute.

(c) State enabling legislation which authorizes local governments to designate, or provides local governments with a method to designate, a historic district or districts will not be certified unless accompanied by local statutes that implement the purposes of the State law. Adequate State statutes which designate specific historic districts and do not require specific implementing local statutes will be certified. If the State enabling legislation contains provisions which do not meet the intent of the law, local statutes designated under the authority of the enabling legislation will not be certified. When State enabling legislation exists, it must be certified before any local statutes enacted under its authority can be certified.

(d) Who may apply. Requests for certification of State or local statutes may be made only by the Chief Elected Official of the government which enacted the statute or his or her authorized representative. The applicant shall certify in writing that he or she is authorized by the appropriate State or local governing body to apply for certification.

(e) Statute certification process. Requests for certification of State or local statutes shall be made as follows:

(1) The request shall be made in writing from the duly authorized representative certifying that he or she is authorized to apply for certification. The request should include the name or title of a person to contact for further information and his or her address and telephone number. The authorized representative is responsible for providing historic district documentation for review and certification prior to the first certification of significance in a district unless another responsible person is indicated including his or her address and telephone number. The request shall also include a copy of the statute(s) for which certification is requested, including any by-laws or ordinances that contain information necessary for the certification of the statute. Local governments shall also submit a copy of the State enabling legislation, if any, authorizing the designation of historic districts.

(2) Requests shall be sent to the SHPO in participating States and directly to appropriate NPS WASO in nonparticipating States.

(3) The Secretary shall review the statute(s) and assess whether the statute(s) and any by-laws or ordinances that contain information necessary for the certification of the statute contain criteria which will substantially achieve the purposes of preserving and rehabilitating properties of historic significance to the district(s) based upon the standards set out above in § 67.8(a). The SHPO shall be given a 30-day opportunity to comment upon the request. Comments received from the SHPO within this time period will be considered by the Secretary in the review process. If the statute(s) contain such provisions and if this and other provisions in the statute will substantially achieve the purpose of preserving and rehabilitating properties of historic significance to the district, the Secretary will certify the statute(s).

(4) The Secretary generally provides written notification within 30 days of receipt by the NPS to the duly authorized representative and to the SHPO when certification of the statute is given or denied. If certification is denied, the notification will provide an explanation of the reason(s) for such denial.

(f) Amendment or repeal of statute(s). State or local governments, as appropriate, must notify the Secretary in the event that certified statutes are repealed, whereupon the certification of the statute (and any districts designated thereunder) will be withdrawn by the Secretary. If a certified statute is amended, the duly authorized representative shall submit the amendment(s) to the Secretary, with a copy to the SHPO, for review in accordance with the procedures outlined above. Written notification of the Secretary's decision as to whether the amended statute continues to meet these criteria will be sent to the duly authorized representative and the SHPO within 60 days of receipt.

(g) The Secretary may withdraw certification of a statute (and any districts designated thereunder) on his own initiative if it is repeal or amended to be inconsistent with certification requirements after providing the duly authorized representative and the SHPO 30 days in which to comment prior to the withdrawal of certification.