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It is the Policy of the State Historical Society of North Dakota that the following Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Building will be applied under the North Dakota Renaissance Zone for buildings listed in, or eligible for, the National Register of Historic Places and/or the North Dakota State Historic Sites Registry. The Standards apply to interior and exterior rehabilitation work.

Renaissance Zone projects involving rehabilitation and/or historic preservation and renovation will be reviewed for compliance with the Standards for Rehabilitation. Non-compliance with these Standards will result in disapproval of Renaissance Zone historic rehabilitation tax credits under the North Dakota Renaissance Zone program. Historic buildings are community assets and the Renaissance Zone law offers the opportunity for communities to promote the rehabilitation and preservation of these assets.

Standards for Rehabilitation

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 features or architectural elements from other buildings, shall not be undertaken.
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.

The above ten Standards are identical to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. The SOI Standards for Rehabilitation were chosen as Standards for the North Dakota Renaissance Zone because they are a proven method of retaining the historic features and character of significant historic buildings in North Dakota and throughout the United States.

The State Historical Society of North Dakota will also apply the Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings, which are the approaches, treatments, and techniques that are consistent with the SOI Standards. The Guidelines cover the following areas:

1. Identify, Retain, Preserve
2. Protect and Maintain
3. Repair
4. Replace
5. Design for Missing Historic Features
6. Alteration / Addition
7. Health and Safety Code Requirements
8. Energy Retrofitting

The SOI Standards are required for three other programs administrated by the North Dakota State Historic Preservation Officer: the federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit, and the Review and Compliance programs (Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended), and covenanted properties which have accepted Historic Preservation Funds.

When owners of properties listed, or eligible for, the National Register of Historic Places or the State Historic Sites Registry apply for historic rehabilitation tax credits under the North Dakota Renaissance Zone and the federal historic rehabilitation tax credit program, the State Historical Society of North Dakota will defer the approval/disapproval of the historic rehabilitation application to the National Park Service. The reason is because the National Park Service is the recognized authority for the application of the SOI Standards for Rehabilitation.

For more information on the SOI Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Building, check out the National Park Service's website:

[ http://www2.cr.nps.gov/tps/tax/rhb/stand.htm]

Or for a SOI Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines booklet, contact:

e-mail: histsoc@state.nd.us

Copyright ©2000-2002 State Historical Society of North Dakota. You are free to use information or non-copyrighted images from these pages for any non-commercial purpose. Any use of this information should credit the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

This page last revised September 10, 2004