Certifications of proposed rehabilitation (Part 2 application)

(a) Owners who want rehabilitation projects for eligible properties to be certified by the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program as being consistent with the historic character of the structure, and, where applicable, the district in which the structure is located, thus qualifying as a certified rehabilitation, shall comply with the procedures listed below:
(1)(A) To initiate review of a rehabilitation project for certification purposes, an owner must complete Part 2 of the Historic Preservation Certification Application according to instructions accompanying the application.

(B) The application may describe a:

(i) Proposed rehabilitation project;

(ii) Project in progress; or

(iii) Completed project;
(2)(A) These instructions explain in detail the documentation required for certification of a rehabilitation project.

(B) In all cases, documentation, including photographs (color processed or color digital accepted) adequate to document the appearance of the structure or structures, both on the exterior and on the interior, and its site and environment prior to rehabilitation must accompany the application.

(C) The Social Security or taxpayer identification number or numbers of all owners must be provided in the application.

(D) Other documentation, such as window surveys or cleaning specifications, may be required by the program to evaluate certain rehabilitation projects.

(E) Plans for any attached, adjacent, or related new construction must also accompany the application.

(F) Where necessary documentation is not provided:

(i) Review and evaluation may not be completed; and

(ii) A denial of certification will be issued on the basis of lack of information;
(3)(A) Owners are strongly encouraged to submit Part 2 of the application prior to undertaking any rehabilitation work.

(B) Owners who undertake rehabilitation projects without prior approval from the program do so strictly at their own risk.

(C) Because the circumstances of each rehabilitation project are unique to the particular certified historic structure involved, certifications that may have been granted to other rehabilitations are not specifically applicable and may not be relied on by owners as applicable to other projects; and (4)(A) A project does not become a certified rehabilitation until it is completed and so designated by the program.

(B) A determination that the completed rehabilitation of a structure not yet designated an eligible property meets the United States Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation does not constitute a certification of completion.

(C) When requesting certification of a completed rehabilitation project, the owner shall submit a Request for Certification of Completion (Part 3) and provide the project completion date and a signed statement that the completed rehabilitation project:

(i) Meets the United States Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation; and

(ii) Is consistent with the work described in Part 2 of the Historic Preservation Certification Application.

(D) Also required in requesting certification of completion are:

(i) Costs attributed to the rehabilitation;

(ii) Photographs adequate to document the completed rehabilitation; and

(iii) The Social Security or taxpayer identification number or numbers of all owners.
(b)(1)(A) For certification purposes, a rehabilitation project encompasses all work on the interior and exterior of the eligible property and its site and environment, as determined by the program, as well as related demolition, new construction, or rehabilitation work that may affect the historic qualities, integrity or site, landscape features, and environment of the eligible property.

(B) More specific considerations in this regard are as follows.
(2)(A) All elements of the rehabilitation project must meet the United States Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

(B) Portions of the rehabilitation project not in conformance with the United States Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation may not be exempted.

(C) In general, an owner undertaking a rehabilitation project will not be held responsible for prior rehabilitation work not part of the current project or rehabilitation work that was undertaken by previous owners or third parties.
(3)(A) However, if the program considers or has reason to consider that a project submitted for certification does not include the entire rehabilitation project subject to review hereunder, the program may choose to deny a certificate of completion or to withhold a decision on such a certification until such time as the program has determined the proper scope of the rehabilitation project to be reviewed.

(B) Factors to be taken into account by the program in this regard include, but are not limited to:

(i) The facts and circumstance of each application;

(ii) Whether previous demolition, construction, or rehabilitation work irrespective of ownership or control at the time was in fact undertaken as part of the rehabilitation project for which certification is sought; and (iii)(a) Whether property conveyances, reconfigurations, ostensible ownership transfers, or other transactions were transactions that purportedly limit the scope of a rehabilitation project for the purpose of review by the program without substantially altering beneficial ownership or control of the property.

(b) The fact that a structure may still qualify as eligible after having undergone inappropriate rehabilitation, construction, or demolition work does not preclude the program from determining that such inappropriate work is part of the rehabilitation project to be reviewed.

(4) Conformance to the United States Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation will be determined on the basis of the application documentation and other available information by evaluating the property as it existed prior to the commencement of the rehabilitation project, regardless of when the structure becomes or became an eligible property.
(5)(A) For rehabilitation projects involving more than one (1) eligible property where the structures are judged by the program to have been functionally related historically to serve an overall purpose (such as a mill complex or a residence and carriage house) a certificate of completion will be issued on the merits of the overall project rather than for each structure or individual component.

(B) For rehabilitation projects where there is no historic functional relationship among the structures, the decision will be made for each separate eligible property regardless of how they are grouped for ownership or development purposes.
(6)(A) Demolition of a building as part of a rehabilitation project involving multiple buildings may result in denial of a certificate of completion.

(B) In projects where there is no historic functional relationship among the structures being rehabilitated, related new construction that physically expands one (1) eligible property undergoing rehabilitation and, therefore, directly causes the demolition of an adjacent structure, will generally result in denial of a certificate of completion unless a determination has been made that the building to be demolished is not an eligible property.

(C) In rehabilitation projects where the structures have been determined to be functionally related historically, demolition of a component may be approved, in limited circumstances, when the component is:

(i) Outside the period of significance of the property;

(ii) So deteriorated or altered that its integrity has been irretrievably lost; or

(iii) A secondary one that generally lacks historic, engineering, or architectural significance or does not occupy a major portion of the site and persuasive evidence is present to show that retention of the component is not technically or economically feasible.

(7) In situations involving rehabilitation of an eligible property in a historic district, the program will review the rehabilitation project first as it affects the eligible property and second as it affects the district and make a decision accordingly.

(8) In the event that an owner of a portion of an eligible property requests a certificate of completion related only to that portion, but there is or was a larger related rehabilitation project or projects occurring with respect to the eligible property, the program’s decision on the requested certificate of completion will be based on review of the overall rehabilitation project or projects for the eligible property.
(c)(1) Upon receipt of the complete application describing the rehabilitation project, the program shall determine if the project is consistent with the United States Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

(2) If the project does not meet the United States Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, the owner shall be advised of that fact in writing and, where possible, will be advised of necessary revisions to meet such standards.
(d)(1) Once a proposed or ongoing project has been approved, substantive changes in the work as described in the application must be brought promptly to the attention of the program by written statement to ensure continued conformance to the United States Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

(2) The program will notify the owner in writing whether the revised project continues to meet the standards.

(3) Oral approvals of revisions are not authorized or valid.
(e)(1) Projects in progress may be inspected by an authorized representative of the State Historic Preservation Officer to determine if the work meets the Standards for Rehabilitation.

(2) The program may deny a certificate of completion if it is determined that the rehabilitation project was not undertaken as represented by the owner in the application.
(f)(1) If a proposed, ongoing, or completed rehabilitation project does not meet the Standards for Rehabilitation, an explanatory letter will be sent to the owner by the program.

(2) A rehabilitated property not in conformance with the Standards for Rehabilitation and that is determined to have lost those qualities that caused it to be nominated to the National Register of Historic Places will be removed from the National Register of Historic Places in accordance with United States Department of the Interior regulations.
(g)(1) All rehabilitation projects receiving tax credits must address one (1) or more of the following program priorities.

(2) Applications should indicate which of these priorities their project addresses when submitting the Part 2 application:

(A) Creation of a new business;

(B) Expansion of an existing business;

(C) Establishment of a tourism attraction;

(D) Revitalization of a commercial historic district; and

(E) Rehabilitation of a significant property in a historic neighborhood.