U.S.A. Preservation Legislations

U.S.A.
PRESERVATION
LEGISLATIONS
U.S.A. PRESERVATION
LEGISLATIONS
 The Antiquities Act (1906), authorized the
president to set aside historic landmarks,
located on lands controlled by the U.S.
government, as national monuments
 The Historic Sites Act (1935) established a
national preservation policy. It authorized
the secretary of interior to make historic
surveys to document, evaluate, acquire, and
preserve archaeological and historic sites
across the country.
U.S.A. PRESERVATION
LEGISLATIONS
 The National Historic Preservation Act
(NHPA) (1966), broadened and
strengthened federal preservation
programs and represented a major step
forward in American historic preservation
law.
FEDERAL INVOLVEMENT IN
HISTORIC PRESERVATION
 The U.S. Congress has attempted to
resolve an age-old tension between the
old and the new by affording protection to
historic structures in two ways: by
enacting the NHPA of 1966 and by
establishing tax incentives under the 1986
tax code.
 The NHPA guarantees a federal role in
preservation activities.
 The NHPA authorizes the secretary of
interior to expand and maintain a National
Register of districts, sites, buildings,
structures, and objects of local, state, and
national significance.
The NHPA established the Advisory Council
on Historic Preservation:
 which advises the president and
Congress on matters relating to historic
preservation
 comments on federally licensed, funded,
or executed undertakings affecting
properties listed or eligible for inclusion on
the National Register of historic Places
(National Park services 1984).
 The NHPA’s broad definition of the word
significant was intended to encompass a
wide spectrum of cultural values that are
associated with events, a persons’ life,
characteristics of a period, or values that
have yielded or may contribute information
important to history (Ruzzi 1985).
 Through the National Register of
Historic Places, the NHPA has
established a vehicle for identifying
America’s historic resources.
One reason for the passage of the act
was to protect local historic properties
from federal action (Keune 1984; Van
Sanders 1985):
 They contend that Congress pass the
act partly because of federal laws that
were applied to a limited number of
nationally significant historic properties.
 During the 1950s and 1960s, several federal
projects such as highways, dams, and
urban renewal programs were undertaken
with little or no regard for the locally valued
historic context of the communities in which
they were located (Keune 1984; Van
Sanders 1985).
 As a result, these projects damaged or
destroyed hundreds of historic properties.
These concerns led to the development of
the Section 106 Review Process of the
NHPA:
 a process that seeks to protect historic
properties from unnecessary harm
caused by federal action.
 The head of any Federal agency having direct or indirect
jurisdiction over a proposed Federal or federally assisted
undertaking in any State and the head of any Federal
department or independent agency having authority to
license any undertaking shall, prior to the approval of the
expenditure of any Federal funds on the undertaking or
prior to the issuance of any license, as the case may be, take
into account the effect of the undertaking on any district,
site, building, structure, or object that is included in or
eligible for inclusion in the National Register. The head of
any such Federal agency shall afford the Advisory Council
on Historic Preservation established under Title II of this
Act a reasonable opportunity to comment with regard to
such undertaking. (Section 106 (16 U.S.C. 470f))
 Section 106 requires agencies to take into
account the effect of their actions on
historic properties.
 Included is a review process that outlines
steps to identify historic properties and to
determine the impact of agency actions
on the property (Advisory Council on
Historic Preservation 1979).
The federal role in preservation was further
expanded in 1971.
 Executive Order 11593, Protection and
Enhancement of the Cultural Environment
directs federal agencies to take a leadership
role in preserving, restoring, and maintaining the
historic environment of the nation.
 Agencies are directed to ensure that federal
plans and programs contribute to the
preservation and enhancement of nonfederally
owned historic resources.
The NHPA is seen to have two major flaws:
 1st, the act does not prohibit private
property owners from destroying historic
properties that have been listed on the
National Register.
 2nd, the Section 106 Review Process does
not require an agency to follow the
recommendations of the Advisory Council.
 Although a project may be directed until the
agency complies with Section 106’s procedural
requirements,
 The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
does not have the authority to alter or modify
projects that have an adverse impact on historic
sites or structures (Ruzzi 1985).
 Ruzzi (1985) contends that this major flaw in
section 106 leaves historic resources
inadequately protected from adverse actions.
 Section 106 contains NHPA’s only
restriction on actions adversely affecting
National Register property.
 The restriction provides for a federal agency
to take into account the effect of an
undertaking and gives the Advisory Council
an opportunity to comment on and minimize
the adverse consequences to the property
by consulting with the State Historic
Preservation Officer (SPO).
 This restriction does not, however,
protect the historic property from all
adverse actions, only from those in
which the federal government is
involved.
 Some believe that the NHPA did not go
far enough in providing incentives for
preservation (Silver 1982; Van Sanders
1985).
 The lack of federal tax incentives is
thought to be a major weakness of the
NHPA.
 Feigenbaum and Jenkinson (1984) and
Yeomans (1985) believe that federal
financial assistance is required to maintain
current levels of preservation activities in
the face of changing land use demands.
 New steps in urban revitalization and
employment opportunities must be taken in
order to guarantee the continuing benefits
of preservation
 In 1980, Congress amended the NHPA,
strengthening it by adding provisions
that helped bridge the gap between
national community development goals
and historic preservation.
 The amendments reauthorized the historic
preservation fund through 1987, required
public and local government participation
in the nomination process, strengthened
the role of state programs, established
statutory authority for existing elements of
programs such as State Historic
Preservation Offices, review boards, and
public participation, and established
standards for state programs.
 The amendments also established mechanisms to
certify qualified local governments to participate in
nomination and funding programs.
 Other changes included additional authority for
the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to
review federal programs, recommend
improvements, and educate government
agencies, organizations, and the public
concerning the council’s activities.
 In 1988, Congress reaffirmed the
legislative mechanisms through 1992
(National Trust for Historic Preservation
[NTHP] 1988).
 One of the most controversial
provisions was the requirement for
owner notification and approval before a
property could be listed on the National
Register.
 The consent issue may have a negative
impact on historic preservation by
encouraging demolition (Oldham 1980;
Silver 1982).
 If an owner wants to avoid regulation by
withholding consent for National Register
status, he or she may simply demolish the
structure and take the depreciation on the
structure without realizing any penalties.
 This has caused concern among some
preservationists who believe that historical
significance alone, regardless of the
owner’s wishes, should be the criterion for a
National Register listing.

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