Question 1

What are the benefits of listing my property in the Virginia Landmarks Register and National Register of Historic Places?

Accepted Answer

Registration is an honor bestowed on historic properties by the state and federal governments. It recognizes the historic value of a property and encourages present and future owners to continue to exercise good stewardship. Owners of registered properties may donate historic preservation easements (which can reduce real estate taxes), qualify for the state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits, receive technical assistance from department staff for maintenance and rehabilitation projects, and purchase plaques that mark the property’s significance.

Question 2

Will anyone be able to stop me if I want to alter or demolish my property after it is listed in the Registers?

Accepted Answer

Not as a result of registration. Property owners who donate historic preservation easements, participate in the federal or state tax credit programs, or accept a federal grant must abide by certain restrictions on alterations or demolitions associated with those programs. Otherwise, only local building codes and permit requirements must be satisfied, as with any property.

Question 3

Are grants available for maintenance or repairs to a historic property that is listed in the Registers?

Accepted Answer

A range of federal and state grants now are available for documenting, nominating, and preserving historic places. Please note that most of the grants do not offer funds for repairing historic resources such as single-family dwellings, commercial buildings, or structures such as barns, bridges, or industrial resources. Information about various financial incentive programs for historic properties is available on our Grants & Funding webpage.

Question 4

Does listing my property in the VLR or National Register protect it from undesirable development or destruction by government projects?

Accepted Answer

Not necessarily. Registration informs owners, local planners, government agencies, and others involved in land-use planning of the existence of a historic resource. Neither the National Historic Preservation Act nor the Code of Virginia requires property owners, developers, or government agencies to avoid affecting or destroying historic resources. The National Historic Preservation Act does require, however, that federal agencies take historic properties into account when planning projects. State and federal agencies work with the public and property owners to mitigate the effects of a project on the historic property. A federal or state project usually will proceed even if it affects or destroys the historic resource; in some cases, however, a project may be redesigned to avoid the resource. DHR&#8217;s Review & Compliance Division manages federal and state undertakings that are subject to these procedures.

Question 5

What kinds of properties can be listed in the Registers -- isn’t it true that a place has to be associated with famous people or events to get listed in the Registers?

Accepted Answer

No. The Register criteria apply to places of local as well as of national or statewide significance. Many places are listed in the registers due to their architectural, engineering, or archaeological significance. Historic properties that are significant for their association with important historic events, trends and patterns of development, and individuals also are listed in the Registers.

Question 6

Is registration expensive?

Accepted Answer

The Department of Historic Resources (DHR) and National Park Service (NPS) do not charge any fees for any part of the nomination process. Costs may be incurred for items such as maps, postage, photocopies, and other materials the author may need to complete and submit the nomination packet. Many property owners successfully complete the Register eligibility evaluation process with advice from DHR staff. The preparation of a nomination is more complex and DHR staff do not have capacity to prepare nominations on behalf of a property owner. Staff are available, however, to provide guidance to anyone who is preparing a nomination for a Virginia property. Property owners also have the option of hiring a consultant to prepare a nomination. DHR&#8217;s Trades & Consultants Directory includes contact information for consultants with experience preparing nominations. We recommend that a property owner contact several consultants to compare estimated costs. Regardless of who prepares a nomination, the entire nomination packet must be reviewed and approved by DHR before it will be scheduled for presentation to the Virginia State Review Board and the Board of Historic Resources. There also are costs associated with ordering a register plaque for a historic property, and, again, contacting suppliers and comparing estimated costs and designs is recommended.

Question 7

Some friends live in a historic district, and they tell me that they have to get permission from a board to repair their porch or paint their house. Will I have officials looking over my shoulder if I register my house?

Accepted Answer

No. Only locally-designated historic districts are subject to local zoning ordinances and procedures that may include restrictions on use, maintenance, and/or alterations of private property. The process of designating a local district is entirely different from nominating a district to the Registers. Additionally, local designations often have an opt-out provision for property owners, whereas no such option exists when a district is nominated to the Registers. Such designation is entirely the purview of the local government. DHR has no involvement in designation of local historic districts. Listing of a historic district in the National Register and/or Virginia Landmarks Register does not automatically lead to local designation of the district.

Question 8

Do I have to open my property to the public if it is registered?

Accepted Answer

No. Listing in the National Register of Historic Places or the Virginia Landmarks Register does not require that you open a building or make your property accessible in any way to the public. Private property rights are not curtailed by listing in the Registers.

Question 9

Will registration or listing increase or decrease my property values and tax burden?

Accepted Answer

Many factors affect the value of real estate: location, improvements, supply and demand, zoning, surroundings, local and national economic conditions, business cycles, and actions of national, state, and local governments. Changes in any of these factors may increase or decrease the value of property. Registration itself has not been shown to have any influence on property values.

Question 10

Can a property be nominated individually if it is within a district?

Accepted Answer

Yes. However, property owners in districts already can receive the same benefits as owners of individually listed properties. In other words, if the district&#8217;s nomination includes the resource as contributing to the district, that property already is “just as registered” as if it were listed individually. If, however, a resource has been classified as noncontributing in the district&#8217;s nomination, it may be eligible for individual listing. Property owners are encouraged to review DHR&#8217;s evaluation and nomination process when contemplating whether they want to nominate their property for individual listing in the Registers.

Question 11

Can aluminum- or vinyl-sided buildings be registered?

Accepted Answer

Aluminum or vinyl siding is not a recommended treatment for historic buildings that predate the introduction of such siding because it may conceal historic features and/or may damage underlying historic material due to moisture retention. The national and state registers do not definitively exclude vinyl-sided buildings from consideration. A property must, however, retain physical integrity sufficient to convey its historic significance in order to be listed in the Registers. Non-historic and/or unsympathetic alterations tend to erode physical integrity. The cumulative effect of alterations may make a property not eligible for the Registers. Property owners are encouraged to review DHR&#8217;s evaluation and nomination process when contemplating whether they want to nominate their property for individual listing in the Registers.

Question 12

How are decisions made about what gets nominated?

Accepted Answer

The process consists of evaluation and nomination. During the evaluation phase, preliminary information about the property is examined by the DHR regional office and DHR’s Register Evaluation Committee, which then recommends to the State Review Board properties that appear to meet the criteria for registration. Once the evaluation phase is completed, property owners decide if and when they will proceed with a nomination of these qualified properties. As a general practice, DHR staff do not prepare nominations; however, as the State Historic Preservation Office, DHR is responsible for assuring that nominations meet program guidelines and standards, are factually accurate, and conform to state and federal regulations. Nominations that do not meet these requirements will be returned to the property owner and/or author for revisions.

Question 13

Will I be able to leave my property to my children or to anyone I want if it is listed?

Accepted Answer

Listing in the Registers in no way affects the transfer of property from one owner to another, or any other rights or responsibilities of property ownership.

Question 14

My property is included within the boundaries of a historic district even though my house is too new to be historic. Why can’t I just be left out of the district?

Accepted Answer

The concept of a district precludes excluding noncontributing resources from the body of the district. The district&#8217;s boundaries are drawn to include the highest concentration of resources that contribute to the district&#8217;s significance, but there will often be properties within the district that are noncontributing. For example, a typical residential neighborhood or downtown commercial area is likely to have at least a few buildings of more recent construction (less than 50 years ago), or resources that have been extensively altered over time. In such instances, the resource is classified as noncontributing to the district.

Question 15

Marker or Register--which is the program for me?

Accepted Answer

Marker
Register

Application process with deadlines based on quarterly schedule. Deadlines are in February, May, August, and October.
Nomination materials accepted any time of year. Nominations approved at quarterly board meetings (March, June, September, December).

Competitive application
Not competitive

Applicant/sponsor must pay for fabrication of marker (currently approx $3,000).
No cost to pursue register nomination, however, many property owners choose to hire an experienced consultant to prepare documentation because of complex technical requirements.

Topics of local significance do not qualify. Topics must be of regional, statewide, or national significance.
Properties may be listed under local, state or national level of significance.

Physical status of a place not a factor in marker topic selection. A building or site that has been demolished may still be a viable marker topic.
Physical status (integrity) plays an important role in determining if a building/site/neighborhood etc. qualifies for the Registers. Heavily altered buildings or locations may not qualify.

Process may take between a year and 15 months from initial application to installation.
Process may take up to a year from initiation of the process to approval by the National Park Service and often longer depending upon the complexity of the nomination.

Topics and final text must be approved by the governor-appointed Board of Historic Resources
Nomination materials must be approved by the governor-appointed Board of Historic Resources and the DHR Director-appointed State Review Board. After approval by these boards, the National Park Service provides final approval for listing in the National Register.

Highway markers, applications, and approvals do not have any bearing on grants or other incentive programs.
Successful listing in the Registers makes a property eligible for application to certain state and federal historic preservation grants, rehabilitation tax credits, and qualifies a property for DHR&#8217;s Easement program.

Markers are not honorific in nature. Their purpose is educational rather than celebratory.
The purpose of listing a property in the Registers is for documentation and planning purposes and to acknowledge that a place is worthy of preservation. A resulting benefit of listing in the Registers is that a property becomes eligible for application to certain state and federal historic preservation grants, rehabilitation tax credits, and DHR&#8217;s Easement program.

Marqueur	Registre
Processus de candidature avec des échéances basées sur un calendrier trimestriel. Les dates limites sont fixées en février, mai, août et octobre.	Les dossiers de candidature sont acceptés à tout moment de l'année. Les nominations sont approuvées lors des réunions trimestrielles du conseil d'administration (mars, juin, septembre, décembre).
Candidature concurrentielle	Non compétitif
Le demandeur/parrain doit payer la fabrication du marqueur (actuellement environ3,000).	Il n'y a pas de frais de candidature au registre, mais de nombreux propriétaires choisissent d'engager un consultant expérimenté pour préparer la documentation en raison de la complexité des exigences techniques.
Les sujets d'importance locale ne sont pas éligibles. Les sujets doivent être d'importance régionale, nationale ou régionale.	Les propriétés peuvent être répertoriées selon le niveau d'importance local, national ou de l'État.
L'état physique d'un lieu n'est pas un facteur dans la sélection du sujet du marqueur. Un bâtiment ou un site qui a été démoli peut encore constituer un sujet de marquage viable.	L'état physique (intégrité) joue un rôle important pour déterminer si un bâtiment, un site, un quartier, etc. peut être inscrit sur les registres. Les bâtiments ou les sites fortement modifiés peuvent ne pas remplir les conditions requises.
Le processus peut durer entre un an et 15 mois, de la demande initiale à l'installation.	La procédure peut durer jusqu'à un an entre le début de la procédure et l'approbation par le Service des parcs nationaux, et souvent plus longtemps en fonction de la complexité de la proposition d'inscription.
Les thèmes et le texte final doivent être approuvés par la Commission des ressources historiques nommée par le gouverneur.	Les dossiers de candidature doivent être approuvés par la Commission des ressources historiques nommée par le gouverneur et par la Commission d'examen de l'État nommée par le directeur du DHR. Après approbation par ces conseils, le National Park Service donne son accord final pour l'inscription au National Register.
Les marquages routiers, les demandes et les approbations n'ont aucune incidence sur les subventions ou autres programmes d'incitation.	Une inscription réussie dans les registres permet à une propriété d'être éligible à certaines subventions fédérales et d'État pour la préservation des monuments historiques, à des crédits d'impôt pour la réhabilitation, et de bénéficier du programme de servitude du DHR.
Les marqueurs ne sont pas de nature honorifique. Leur objectif est plus éducatif que festif.	L'inscription d'un bien dans les registres a pour but de documenter et de planifier, et de reconnaître qu'un lieu mérite d'être préservé. L'un des avantages de l'inscription sur les registres est qu'une propriété devient éligible à certaines subventions fédérales et d'État pour la préservation des monuments historiques, à des crédits d'impôt pour la réhabilitation et au programme de servitudes du DHR.

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