Content Information
Maintain a system for the survey and inventory of historic properties that furthers the purposes of the Act (National Historic Preservation Act as Amended).
Survey is a three-step process involving identification, evaluation, and registration.
The city and county are responsible for locating all kinds of historic properties (sites including archaeological sites, objects, buildings, structures, and districts). The activity is ongoing since each year, a new set of properties becomes potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places based on age criteria. To be listed on the National Register, a property must be fifty years old or older. Cities and counties may apply for CLG grants to underwrite preservation-related activities listed below.
All CLG historic preservation ordinances and resolutions contain two provisions under Commission powers which also appear in the CLG Agreement. The first provision specifies that the city or county will establish a system for identification and inventory that is compatible with that of the SHPO. The second provision specifies that the city or county will encourage nomination of properties to the National Register of Historic Places and in the case of municipal historic preservation ordinances may establish local registers of historic places.
Survey/Identification
Involves researching and documenting properties to get information on how and when the property was created, how it was used, who was associated with it and to describe the physical appearance of the property, locate it on a map, and document it with photographs.
Survey/identification should be undertaken in phases with each phase focusing on a geographic area, or a particular historic context/theme, or a particular property type, or an area that is experiencing change. The city or county can apply for CLG grant funds to underwrite survey/identification.
In addition, the local government can encourage property owners, volunteer or service organizations, and school groups to assist in surveys and evaluations. The most effective way of identifying historic properties is to set up an on-going system to research and record properties and develop historic contexts for the city or county. Research, recordation and context development provide the information needed to complete the next step evaluation.
Evaluation
A process whereby properties are determined to have historic importance, significance, or determined to lack historic importance (i.e., not significant). Typically, evaluation is done by applying the significance and integrity criteria of the National Register of Historic Places. Applying these criteria results in a document containing a detailed analysis of why the property is or is not significant. Evaluation focuses on historically significant properties and merit formal recognition through registration and prioritizes properties for preservation, protection, and appropriate maintenance.
Registration
Formal recognition of a property’s historic significance by placing it on a municipal or county register of historic places and/or by nominating the property to the National Register of Historic Places. The historic preservation commission plays a key role in the registration process. In the case of National Register nominations, the commission can initiate and fund the process with CLG grants. In addition, as a CLG participant the Commission and chief elected officials will be called upon to review and comment on all National Register nominations of properties within its jurisdiction.
Property Inventory
The foundation of the commission’s activities—the local information about “identified, evaluated, and registered” properties in the city or county. This documentation serves as a reference for any type of planning, be it rehabilitation of a building or developing a road-widening project. The inventory includes the location of properties, their type and, most important, their significance. It indicates which parts of a city or county have been surveyed and evaluated and for what kinds of properties. The inventory is developed through survey, evaluation, and registration projects. It documentation that consists of completed site forms with information about individual properties, survey and evaluation project reports, multiple property documents describing historic contexts, National Register of Historic Places nomination forms and local historic landmark and district nomination forms as well as maps, photographs, blueprints and other data relating to properties in the city or county.
The State maintains a state-wide inventory of historic properties that includes National Register nominations. The State’s inventory file typically contains information on the identity, location, condition, and basis of significance of historic sites, buildings, structures, objects, and districts within the jurisdiction of the local government. The inventory will include completed Iowa Site Inventory forms, multiple property documentation (reports on survey-evaluation projects), National Register and local designation nomination forms, photographs, maps, blueprints, and other data relating to properties in the local government’s jurisdiction. To learn more about the Iowa Inventory please visit: Historic & Archeological Inventory | Economic Development & Finance Authority.
Developing the property inventory is a top priority for the historic preservation commission. An accessible and well-maintained inventory is critical for land use planning, determining if a project will affect historic properties, determining if proposed work on a property is appropriate, and determining if a property qualifies for grant and incentive programs.
The inventory is a public record and should be stored in a location that is secure yet accessible within a city or County owned facility but also protects sensitive information such as archaeological site locations if included in the inventory please see Iowa Code Chapter 263B Section 10 for additional details. 263b.pdf
As CLG cities and counties accumulate information on historic properties within their jurisdictions, they are expected to provide the State Historic Preservation Office with copies of this information to keep the State Inventory updated. This would include: completed Iowa Site Inventory forms; landmark and district nomination forms to the city or county register; information on the condition of National Register eligible or listed properties within their jurisdiction; information on the condition of locally designated landmarks or properties within local historic districts; information on zoning actions such as the creation of historic overlay zones or conservation districts that would impact historic properties; or establishment of an easement program to preserve historic properties. If the CLG records archaeological properties, such documentation should be completed through the Office of the State Archaeologist.