Kansas Historic Preservation Law

• Brief History
• Submitting a Review
• Standards for Review

Brief History of Kansas Preservation Act

The Kansas Preservation Act was originally enacted in 1977. The initial legislation declared historic preservation the policy of the state and required the activities of governmental entities which encroached on national or state register properties to be reviewed by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). In 1981 lawmakers widened the law to require review of all projects involving national and state register properties and their environs which needed local building permits. Thus, projects undertaken by individuals, firms, associations, organizations, partnerships, businesses, trusts, corporations or companies became subject to review if they required permits. A 1988 amendment further defined the "environs" of historic properties, requiring that the SHPO receive notice of any proposed project within 500 feet of a listed historic property located within the corporate limits of a city or within 1000 feet of a listed historic property located in the unincorporated portion of a county.

Submitting a Review

It is the responsibility of the local building official or staff person who issues building permits to initiate the review of projects on historic properties or their environs. The most convenient way of ensuring compliance with the law is to post in the permit office a map on which all national and state register properties and their environs are clearly marked.
(You may receive a list of all registered properties in your community by contacting the state historic preservation office.) Many communities superimpose environs markings onto GIS maps, enabling building officials to quickly determine whether a project will affect a historic property or its environs.

If the project does occur within the environs of a listed property, the state office must be notified. In most governmental entities the responsibility of notification belongs to the building officials. Others place the responsibility of
notification on the person seeking the permit. Regardless of who submits the request, it should include the following information: a letter requesting the preservation office's comments on the proposed project in accordance with K.S.A. 75-2724, a written description of the work to be done, the address and legal description of the property, photographs of the property and its environs including, in the case of a property in environs, the relationship between the listed building and the project property. Requests for larger projects, such as additions to historic properties, should also include architectural drawings and specifications. Interiors of buildings in the environs of historic properties are not subject to review.

The State Review Process and Response

The historic preservation office reviews projects on National Register properties using the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation (see inset). It reviews projects within the environs of historic properties (State or
National Register) using Standards and Guidelines for Evaluating the Effect of Projects on Environs (see inset). The process is detailed in K. A. R. 118-3-1 through 118-3-16.

Although the state office has thirty days to return its findings to the contact person, it usually responds within a week. If the reviewer needs more information about the project in order to respond, he or she may request additional information. He or she may also visit the site. If the reviewer finds that the project will not "encroach upon, damage, or destroy" a historic property or its environs, the project may proceed.

If the reviewer finds that a project does not comply with the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation or Standards and Guidelines for Evaluating the Effect of Projects on Environs, he or she has two choices. He or she may include suggestions about project modifications which would meet the standards. If conditions toward meeting the standards are not met, the reviewer may issue a letter stating that the project will "encroach upon, damage, or destroy" a historic property or its environs.

Appeal Process

If the reviewer determines that a project will "encroach upon, damage, or destroy" a historic property, the project cannot proceed unless the governing body determines that no feasible or prudent alternative to the project exists and that the project contains provisions to minimize damage to historic properties. In the case of projects requiring a local building permit, the governing body is the city commission/council. Any person who is dissatisfied with the ruling by the governing body may appeal to the district court.

Conclusion

The purpose of the Kansas state historic preservation law is to protect the state's historical and architectural treasures. The State Historic Preservation Office therefore believes that it is important that local governments understand and adhere to the law. If you have any questions concerning the Kansas historic preservation law, please contact the historic preservation office at (785) 272-8681 ext. 240.

Secretary of the Interior's 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 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 Kansas SHPO's Standards and Guidelines for Evaluating the Effect of Projects on Environs

1. The character of a historic property's environs should be retained and preserved. The removal or alteration of distinctive buildings, structures, landscape features, spatial relationships, etc. that characterize the environs
should be avoided.

2. Environs should be used as it has been historically or allow the inclusion of new uses that require minimal change to the environs' distinctive materials, features, and spatial relationships.

3.The environs of each property will be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Changes to the environs that have acquired historic significance in their own right should be retained and preserved.

4. Demolition of character-defining buildings, structures, landscape features, etc. in a historic property's environs should be avoided. When the severity of deterioration requires removal within the environs, compatible
reconstruction shall occur.

5. Archeological resources will be protected and preserved in place. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken.

6. New additions, exterior alterations, infill construction, or related new construction should not destroy character-defining features or spatial relationships that characterize the environs of a property. The new work
shall be compatible with the historic materials, character-defining features, size, scale and proportion, and massing of the environs.

7. Moved historic properties that have not retained or acquired historic significance in their new environs shall be considered as artifacts without environs.