Texas Administrative Code
Title 13 - CULTURAL RESOURCES
Part 2 - TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
Chapter 26 - PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
Subchapter D - HISTORIC BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES
Section 26.20 - Application for Historic Buildings and Structures Permits

(1) Applicant qualification. Only the controlling agency, organization, or political subdivision having administrative control over a publicly owned landmark or the owner of a privately owned landmark (applicant/permittee) may apply for and be issued a Historic Buildings and Structures Permit. It is the responsibility of the applicant to obtain all necessary permissions and signatures prior to submitting a permit application for work on historic buildings, structures, and their sites.

(2) Notification. The commission must be notified of any anticipated, planned, or proposed work to a landmark or the site associated with a landmark. Notification must also be given for work to buildings or structures that have been nominated for designation as landmarks. Such notice should be made early enough to allow adequate time to prepare the formal application as described in paragraph (4) of this subsection. The notification must include a brief written description of the project and at least one photograph of the building or structure or affected portion of that building or structure. If a permit is required for the proposed scope of work, the commission staff will provide the applicant with the permit application form and notify him or her of the necessary attachments or application reports within 30 days of receipt of notification. Historic Buildings and Structures Permits can only be required for work to a designated landmark, or a building or structure treated as a landmark under the interim protection described in § 26.8(d) of this title (relating to Designation Procedures for Publicly Owned Landmarks); such permits cannot be required for a property that is eligible but not currently nominated for designation.

(3) Advance review. For more complex projects, it is advisable that the commission staff be consulted early in the planning or design process in order to avoid delays in issuing the final permit.

(4) Formal application. All applications should be submitted on the Historic Buildings and Structures Permit application form approved by the commission at least 60 days prior to the commencement of work or issuance of bid documents, whichever comes first. The application form must be submitted electronically with scanned signatures to the commission. The project professional personnel must be a project architect who has the required experience on historic buildings and structures in the type of project work proposed, or other professional as provided for in § 26.4(3) of this title (relating to Professional Qualifications and Requirements). At the request of commission staff, the professional personnel must submit a resume demonstrating the required education and experience.

(5) Emergency application. If emergency preservation or hazard abatement work must be performed quickly in a crisis situation or due to extenuating circumstances, the minimum 60 day submission requirement may be waived with approval from the commission staff. Staff shall determine appropriate procedures for issuance of emergency permits based on the specific circumstances and urgency of the work.

(6) Attachments. All permit applications must be accompanied by digital plans, specifications, or other documents prepared for the project that adequately describe the full scope of work. In addition, digital photographs with a minimum resolution of 300 pixels per inch of the overall building or structure and all areas of proposed work are required.

(7) Application reports. See § 26.23(a) of this title (relating to Reports Relating to Historic Buildings and Structures Permits) for a discussion of each type of report. In the case of more complex projects, one or more of the following reports may be required with the permit application:

(8) Project reports. Depending upon the scope of work, one or more of the following reports may be required as a condition of a permit to be prepared during the course of a project and to be submitted upon completion of that project prior to expiration of the permit. All Historic Buildings and Structures Permits require a completion report. For projects that receive a grant under the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program, described in Chapter 12 of this title, the completion report for the grant may suffice in lieu of a separate permit completion report, when specified by the commission. Any other required reports will be specified when the permit is issued. See § 26.23(b) of this title for a discussion of each type of report:

(9) Issuance of contract documents. Contract documents should not be issued for bidding purposes before a permit has been issued by the commission under § 26.21 of this title (relating to Issuance and Restriction of Historic Buildings and Structures Permits). Since changes may be required for issuance of a permit, the commission will not be responsible for delay caused by amending contract documents after issuance, price increases caused by reissuance of contract documents, or any other such consequences.