Historic Property Project Documentation Completion

 

Instructions

The Historic Property Project Documentation (HPPD) has 6 sections. Completion of Sections 1 to 5 is required for Gate 3 (Schematic Design) submissions for all projects affecting historic buildings, structures, and cultural landscapes from the October 2024 BIRB (Bureau Investment Review Board) onwards. Sections 1 to 4 are ideally developed prior to starting Schematic Design, and Section 5 is best addressed during Predesign or Schematic Design. Section 6 is completed during construction.

Section 1: Proposed Project Information

Compiles information from Investment Concept approvals and the NPS’s Project Management Information System (PMIS), Cultural Resources Inventory System (CRIS), Facility Management Software System (FMSS), and the Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) site. Sufficient information is needed to:

• Understand the components and general details of a project scope.
• Identify the primary historic property addressed by the project.
• Identify historic property or properties that may be affected by the project.
• Define the extent of the property for which current condition assessment is necessary.
• Establish the proposed Area of Potential Effect (APE).
• Identify the project scope's potential effects to historic property integrity early in the process.

Section 1 completed by Park/Region Facility Manager (FM) and Cultural Resource Specialist (CRS).

Section 2: Administrative Data

For most historic properties, Section 2 information is already on file in CRIS, FMSS, or PMIS and can be incorporated through reference or attachment to the HPPD Workbook.

Use CRIS database to run a report for each historic structure and cultural landscape in the APE. Determine if additional information is needed to complete the section.

• Attach CRIS report(s) to the HPPD. It is not necessary to copy information from the report(s) into the HPPD Workbook.
• If Section 2 information is missing, work with the Park/Region CRS to locate necessary information in other documentation.
• If Section 2 data cannot be gathered from existing files, the property may not have been previously evaluated for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and you may not be able to use the HPPD process. Work with the Park/Region CRS to determine if you need a Determination of Eligibility (DOE) or other core resource management baseline documentation.

Section 2 completed by Park/Region FM and CRS.

Section 3: Primary Historic Property Information

Identify the following for all historic properties that the project may affect:

• relevant baseline information about historic property significance and integrity,
• character-defining features, and
• other documentation on file that can inform project design to meet Secretary of the Interior (SOI) Standards, an assessment of effect, treatment documentation, and post-treatment recordation.

For most historic properties, Section 3 information should be available in CRIS and can be incorporated through reference or attachment to your HPPD Workbook. It is not necessary to copy information from the report into the HPPD Workbook.

Review the CRIS reports for each historic property in the APE to determine if the minimum necessary information needed to complete Section 3 is included. If Section 3 information is missing, the HPPD team should collaborate to target the minimum necessary information.

If Section 3 data cannot be gathered from existing files, the property may not have been evaluated previously for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and you may not be able to use the HPPD process. Work with Park/Region CRS to determine if you need a Determination of Eligibility (DOE) or other core resource management baseline documentation. Architect/Engineer (A/E) services may be needed to develop missing Section 3 information.

Section 3 should be complete before proceeding with the design and formal National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106 process. To be complete, the Park/Region CRS needs to verify that adequate information is included to complete Section 5.

Section 3 completed by Park/Region CRS, DSC CRS, A/E.

Section 4: Current Condition Assessment

Document the current condition of each historic structure and cultural landscape that the project may affect. For most historic properties, Section 4 information should be available in the CRIS database and can be incorporated through reference or attachment to your HPPD Workbook. Attach the CRIS report(s) to the HPPD. It is not necessary to copy information from the report into the HPPD Workbook.

• For all historic properties in the proposed APE (listed in Section 3), collect and document key information on the current conditions, including the most recent treatment.
• Condition assessment for HPPD uses CRIS definitions and not FMSS or other definitions.
• Integrate current condition information into the project's design development.
• Condition assessment for HPPD uses CRIS definitions and not FMSS or other definitions.
• If the project is proportionally much smaller than the overall historic property, such as a project that only impacts 1 room in a large house or only the corral area of a large ranch, documentation is only necessary for the parts of the property that may be affected by the project.
• If Section 4 information is missing or out of date, the HPPD team should collaborate to target minimum necessary information. A/E services may be needed to develop missing Section 4 information.

Section 4 should be complete before proceeding with the design and formal NHPA Section 106 process. To be complete, the Park/Region CRS needs to verify that adequate information is included to complete Section 5.

Section 4 completed by Park/Region FM and CRS, DSC CRS, A/E.

Section 5: Correlation of Project Scope to Historic Property Integrity

Use information from Sections 1 to 4 to fill Table 5-1, addressing historic structures and their associated character-defining features and cultural landscape contributing features. The interdisciplinary HPPD team, led by the HPPD CRS, uses Section 5 to analyze information gathered in Sections 1 to 4 to identify the project's potential to have an adverse effect on historic structures or cultural landscapes that are listed or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Note: Section 5 is narrowly focused on historic structures and cultural landscapes present within the project APE. (There may be other historic properties that must be considered.)

Review and edit Section 5 as applicable with each phase of project development and design until an official assessment of effect can be made by qualified personnel in consultation with consulting parties and documented in the PEPC system.

• If the HPPD CRS or Section 106 Coordinator makes a preliminary determination that the project meets the SOI’s Standards (a no adverse effect determination), proceed with standard operating procedures for Section 106 and the NPS project continuum.
• If adverse effects are likely, determine if design revisions can be made to avoid or minimize the effects where technologically and economically feasible.
• Attach a statement of justification explaining the alternatives that have been considered, why they are not feasible, why the chosen treatment was selected, and what, if any, changes were made to help minimize the effect of the chosen treatment to the historic character of the property.

Section 5 completed by Park/Region CRS, DSC CRS, A/E, SHPO/THPO (State Historic Preservation Officer/Tribal Historic Preservation Officer).

Section 6: Historic Property Project Completion Report

During construction, the HPPD team should track major milestones, decisions, or discoveries made as the work is completed. In doing so, the HPPD team will create a summary report that can inform future work on the same historic properties. Such documentation is an essential component of NPS stewardship and provides critical information to inform cyclic maintenance and future projects affecting the same properties.

Create a "before and after" summary report documenting complete work and noting major discoveries and treatment decisions made during construction. The focus should be on capturing and highlighting important project execution information that is not included or primary in other project documentation closeout procedures. Use photographs, sketches, and written descriptions to quickly capture work, discoveries, and changes. Examples include unforeseen conditions, construction contract modifications, and materials and vendors used for key features.

Record, attach, or link information related to any substantial discoveries or differing site conditions that were revealed during construction that provided new evidence of the resource's physical history, or that changed the course of treatment from the original scope of work or materials originally specified. Include material specifications and product cut sheets relevant to understanding the changes.

If the project construction work has been contracted out, use information from the cultural resource reports or other construction and construction closeout documents to complete this section. If the project construction work is undertaken by NPS day labor, the Park or Center Project Manager should use this section to document work during and after construction.

Section 6 completed by Construction Management Representative (CMR), Park/Region CRS.

 

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