Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 110-37-6-.08 - Standards for Rehabilitation
(1) The Georgia Standards for Rehabilitation
are the criteria used to determine if a rehabilitation project qualifies as a
certified rehabilitation. The intent of the Standards is to assist the
long-term preservation of a property's significance through the preservation of
historic materials and features. The Standards pertain to historic buildings of
all materials, construction types, sizes, and occupancy and encompass the
exterior and the interior of historic buildings. The Standards also encompass
related landscape features and the building's site and environment, as well as
attached, adjacent, or related new construction.
(2) Projects meeting the Standards for
Rehabilitation must be in accordance with the Standards individually and
collectively, as applicable to existing conditions prior to the start of the
project, proposed work, and completed work, to be determined a certified
rehabilitation.
(a) The following Standards
are to be applied to specific rehabilitation projects in a reasonable manner,
taking into consideration economic and technical feasibility.
1. A property shall be used 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.
(3) The quality of materials and
craftsmanship used in a rehabilitation project must be commensurate with the
quality of materials and craftsmanship of the historic building in question.
Certain treatments, if improperly applied, or certain materials by their
physical properties, may cause or accelerate physical deterioration of historic
buildings. Inappropriate physical treatments include, but are not limited to:
improper repointing techniques; improper exterior masonry cleaning methods; or
improper introduction of insulation where damage to historic fabric would
result. In almost all situations, use of these materials and treatments will
result in denial of certification. Similarly, exterior additions that duplicate
the form, material, and detailing of the structure to the extent that they
compromise the historic character of the structure will result in denial of
certification. For further information on appropriate and inappropriate
rehabilitation treatments, owners are encouraged to consult the Division.
Owners are responsible for procuring this material as part of property planning
for a certified rehabilitation.
(4)
In certain limited cases, it may be necessary to dismantle and rebuild portions
of a certified structure to stabilize and repair weakened structural members
and systems. In such cases, the Department will consider such extreme
intervention as part of a certified rehabilitation if:
(a) The necessity for dismantling is
justified in supporting documentation;
(b) Significant architectural features and
overall design are retained; and
(c) Adequate historic materials are retained
to maintain the architectural and historic integrity of the overall
structure.
(5) Owners are
cautioned that the Standards require retention of distinguishing historic
materials of external and internal walls as well as structural systems. In
limited instances, rehabilitations involving removal of existing external
walls, i.e., external walls that detract from the historic character of the
structure such as in the case of a nonsignificant later addition or walls that
have lost their structural integrity due to deterioration, may be certified as
meeting the Standards for Rehabilitation.
(6) Prior approval of a project by the
Department and/or local agencies and organizations does not ensure
certification by the Department for state tax purposes.
(7) The qualities of a property and its
environment which qualify it as a certified structure are determined taking
into account all available information, including information derived from the
physical and architectural attributes of the building; such determinations are
not limited to information contained in Georgia Register or related
documentation.
(8) To be a certified
rehabilitation, a project must be determined by the Department to be consistent
with the Standards and the historic character of the structure(s) and, where
applicable, the district in which it is located.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.