The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation

The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation are used by the City of Lancaster's Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB) and the Historical Commission when reviewing applications for proposed exterior changes to properties within Lancaster's historic districts.

The Secretary of the Interior's Standards (listed below) are good guiding principles to use on all historic properties, emphasizing the following approach to rehabilitation projects:

1. If a feature is intact and in good condition, maintain it as such. (Maintenance involves work meant to keep a property in good working condition. No alteration or reconstruction is involved.)
2. If the feature is deteriorated or damaged, repair it to its original condition. (Repair should take place as soon as deterioration becomes apparent, using procedures that retain the original character and finish of the features.)
3. If it is not possible to repair the feature, then replace it with one that is the same or similar in character to the original (including materials, detail, and finish). Replace only that portion that is beyond repair.
4. If the feature is missing entirely, reconstruct it from appropriate evidence. (Reconstruction means to recreate, out of new materials, a replica of an original feature. This technique is often used to replace ornamentation that has been removed from a building.)

In all cases, respect the historic design character of a building. Removal or alteration of historic building materials compromises the original character of a building or site and should be avoided.

At the National Park Service's web site, www2.cr.nps.gov/tps/tax/rhb/, you can pull up "Illustrated Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings," a practical guide that was developed to help property owners apply the Secretary of the Interior's Standards to specific rehabilitation projects by providing general design and technical recommendations, and suggested courses of action.

The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation are general rehabilitation guidelines established by the National Park Service. The Standards pertain to historic buildings of all materials, construction types, sizes, and use, and consider the building's site and environment as well as attached, adjacent, or related construction. The Standards are applied to specific rehabilitation projects in a reasonable manner, taking into consideration economic and technical feasibility.

The Secretary of the Interior's Standards

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 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