Section 13.3 - Evaluation of Significance(a) Application Part A - Evaluation of Significance. Part A of the application requires information to allow the Commission to evaluate whether a building is a certified historic structure and shall be completed for all buildings to be included in the project. Part A of the application is evaluated against criteria for significance and integrity issued by the National Park Service.(b) Application Requirements. Information to be submitted in Part A of the application includes:(1) Name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address of the property owner(s) and Applicant if different from the Owner;(2) Name and address of the property;(3) Name of the historic district, if applicable;(4) Current photographs of the building and its site, showing exterior and interior features and spaces adequate to document the property's significance. Photographs must be formatted as directed by the Commission in published program guidance materials on the Commission's online Texas Historic Preservation Tax Credit Application Guide available by accessing thc.texas.gov;(5) Date of construction of the property;(6) Brief description of the appearance of the property, including alterations, characteristic features, and estimated date or dates of construction and alterations;(7) Brief statement of significance summarizing why a property is: (A) eligible for individual listing in the National Register of Historic Places;(B) contributes to a historic district listed in the National Register of Historic Places or a certified local district; or(C) contributes to a potential historic district, accompanied by: (i) a map showing the boundary of the potential historic district and the location of the property within the district;(ii) photographs of other properties in the district; and(iii) justification for the district's eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places;(8) A map showing the location of the historic property;(9) Signature of the Owner, and Applicant if different from the Owner, requesting the determination; and(10) Other information required on the application by the Commission.(c) Consultation with Commission. Any person may informally consult with the Commission to determine whether a property is:(1) listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places;(2) designated as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark or State Antiquities Landmark; or(3) certified by the Commission as contributing to the historic significance of a historic district listed in the National Register of Historic Places or a certified local district.(d) Automatic qualification as certified historic structure. If a property is individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places or designated as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark or State Antiquities Landmark, then it is a certified historic structure and should be indicated as such on Part A of the application.(e) Preliminary determination of significance. An Applicant for a property not listed in the National Register of Historic Places, neither individually nor as a contributing element to a historic district; not designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark nor State Antiquities Landmark; and not listed in a certified local district may obtain a preliminary determination from the Commission as to whether the property is individually eligible to become a certified historic structure or is eligible as a contributing structure in a potential historic district by submitting Part A of the application. Determination will be based on criteria for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Applications for a preliminary determination of significance must show how the property meets one of the following criteria for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and any applicable criteria considerations from the National Park Service.(1) National Register of Historic Places criteria. The quality of significance in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association and one or more of subparagraphs (A) - (D) of this paragraph:(A) Properties that are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or(B) that are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or(C) that embody distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or(D) that have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.(2) Criteria considerations. Ordinarily cemeteries, birthplaces, or graves of historical figures, properties owned by religious institutions or used for religious purposes, structures that have been moved from their original locations, reconstructed historic buildings, properties primarily commemorative in nature, and properties that have achieved significance within the past 50 years shall not be considered eligible for the National Register. However, such properties will qualify if they are integral parts of districts that do meet the criteria or if they fall within the following categories:(A) A religious property deriving primary significance from architectural or artistic distinction or historical importance; or(B) A building or structure removed from its original location but which is significant primarily for architectural value, or which is the surviving structure most importantly associated with a historic person or event; or(C) A birthplace or grave of a historical figure of outstanding importance if there is no appropriate site or building directly associated with his or her productive life; or(D) A cemetery which derives its primary significance from graves of persons of transcendent importance, from age, from distinctive design features, or from association with historic events; or(E) A reconstructed building when accurately executed in a suitable environment and presented in a dignified manner as part of a restoration master plan, and when no other building or structure with the same association has survived; or(F) A property primarily commemorative in intent if design, age, tradition, or symbolic value has invested it with its own exceptional significance; or(G) A property achieving significance within the past 50 years if it is of exceptional importance.(3) Issuance of a preliminary determination of significance does not bind the Commission to the designation of an individual historic structure or district. Applicants proceed with rehabilitation projects at their own risk. If a structure is ultimately not listed in the National Register of Historic Places, designated as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, or certified as a contributing element to a local district pursuant to 36 CFR § 67.9, the preliminary determination does not become final, and the owner will not be eligible for the credit. The Commission shall not issue a certificate of eligibility until or unless the designation is final.(f) Determination of contributing structures in existing historic districts. If a property is located in a district listed in the National Register of Historic Places or in a certified local district, an Applicant or an Owner of the property shall request that the Commission determine whether the property is of historic significance contributing to the district by submitting Part A of the application. The Commission evaluates properties located within historic districts listed in the National Register of Historic Places or certified local districts to determine whether they contribute to the historic significance of the district by applying the following standards: (1) A property contributing to the historic significance of a district is one which by location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association adds to the district's sense of time and place and historical development.(2) A property does not contribute to the historic significance of a district if it does not add to the district's sense of time and place and historical development, or if its location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association have been so altered or have so deteriorated that the overall integrity of the building has been irretrievably lost.(3) Generally, buildings that have been built within the past 50 years shall not be considered to contribute to the significance of a district unless a strong justification concerning their historical or architectural merit is given or the historical attributes of the district are considered to be less than 50 years old at the date of application.(4) Certification of significance will be made on the basis of the appearance and condition of the property before beginning the rehabilitation work.(5) If a nonhistoric surface material obscures a building's façade, it may be necessary for the owner to remove a portion of the surface material so that a determination of significance can be made. After the material has been removed, if the obscured façade has retained substantial historic integrity and the property otherwise contributes to the significance of the historic district, it will be considered eligible to be a certified historic structure.(g) Subsequent Designation. A building must be a certified historic structure prior to the issuance of the certificate of eligibility by the Commission as required by §172.105 (b)(1)(A) of the Texas Tax Code. If a property is not automatically qualified as a certified historic structure, an owner of a property shall request that the Commission determine whether the property is of historic significance by submitting Part A of the application in accordance with subsections (e) and (f) of this section. Upon listing in the National Register of Historic Places, designation as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, or certification as a contributing element to a local district pursuant to 36 CFR § 67.9, Commission staff overseeing the National Register program and the Official Texas Historical Marker program (as applicable), shall prepare a notification, to be filed with the tax credit application, indicating that the designation process required by Part A has been fulfilled.(h) Multiple buildings. If a property owned by one entity contains more than one building and the Commission determines that the buildings have been functionally related historically, per § 13.1(17) of this title (relating to Definitions), to serve an overall purpose (such as a residence and a carriage house), then the functionally related buildings will be treated as a single certified historic structure, regardless of whether one of the buildings is separately listed in the National Register of Historic Places or as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark or is located within a historic district. Buildings owned by the same applicant that were not functionally related historically must be submitted as individual buildings on separate applications.(i) Portions of buildings. Portions of buildings, such as single condominium apartment units, are not independently eligible for certification as an individual space without assessment of any work undertaken elsewhere in the building within the last 24 months, as described in § 13.6(f) of this title (relating to Application Review Process). This rule applies even when a building has multiple owners. A full description of all work at the building must be provided with the application.(j) Relocation of historic buildings. Relocation of a historic building from its original site may disqualify the building from eligibility or result in removal of designation as a certified historic structure. Applications involving buildings that have been moved or are to be moved will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis under the applicable criteria for designation as provided in this section. For a building listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the applicant will be responsible for updating the National Register of Historic Places nomination for the property or district, or the relocated building will not be considered a certified historic structure for the purpose of this credit. For a building designated as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, the applicant will be responsible for notifying the Commission and otherwise complying with the requirements of § 21.11 of this title (relating to Review of Work on Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks) prior to undertaking any relocation.13 Tex. Admin. Code § 13.3
The provisions of this §13.3 adopted to be effective September 11, 2014, 39 TexReg 7081; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 46, Number 21, May 21, 2021, TexReg 3249, eff. 5/26/2021; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 48, Number 16, April 21, 2023, TexReg 2089, eff. 4/30/2023; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 48, Number 46, November 17, 2023, TexReg 6739, eff. 11/23/2023