Section 26.21 - Issuance and Restriction of Historic Buildings and Structures Permits(a) Issuance of permit. The commission shall review the permit application submitted pursuant to § RSA 26.20 of this title (relating to Application for Historic Buildings and Structures Permits) and may issue the permit, issue the permit with special conditions, request additional information for review, request a revised scope of work, or deny the permit application. (1) Review by commission staff. Within 30 days of the receipt of a permit application, staff shall notify the applicant in writing that the permit application is complete and accepted for filing or that the permit application is incomplete and specify the additional information required for review, such as additional drawings, construction details, or product information. The commission will issue or deny the permit within 60 days of the receipt of a complete permit application, unless additional time is required for review by the Antiquities Advisory Board and/or the commission under paragraph (2) of this subsection. The commission will notify the permit applicant if more than 60 days is required to act on the application. Permits are issued by the commission and must be signed by the executive director, the director of the Division of Architecture, or a designated representative.(2) Review by the Antiquities Advisory Board. The executive director may choose to submit the permit application to the Antiquities Advisory Board for its consideration and potential recommendation to the commission for permitting. Permits that are denied by commission staff may be appealed by the applicant to the Antiquities Advisory Board. The board shall review such applications at its next scheduled meeting, provided it shall have a minimum of 30 days to prepare for such review. Recommendations of the board shall be taken to the next scheduled meeting of the commission by the chair of the board or by one of the other commissioners who serve on the board for action thereon.(3) The deadlines in this section may be extended for good cause. In the event a deadline is extended, the commission shall provide notice of the extension and the good cause to the applicant in writing. The applicant may complain directly to the executive director if the staff exceeds the established period for processing permits and may request a timely resolution of any dispute arising from the delay.(b) Terms and conditions. When a permit is issued, it will contain all standard and special terms and conditions governing the project work.(c) Permit period. No permit will be issued for less than six months, nor more than ten years, but may be issued for any length of time within those limits as deemed necessary by the commission in consultation with the applicant and project architect.(d) Transferal of permits. No permit issued by the commission will be assigned by the permittee in whole or in part to any other institution, museum, corporation, organization, or individual without the consent of the commission.(e) Permit expiration. The expiration date is specified in each permit and is the date by which all project work must be complete, including submission of the required completion report and fulfillment of all terms and conditions of the permit. It is the responsibility of the permittee, project architect, and professional firm to meet any and all permit terms and conditions prior to the expiration date listed on the permit. (1) Expiration notification. The permittee and project architect will be notified 60 days in advance of permit expiration.(2) Expiration extension. The permittee or project architect must provide a written request to the commission if an extension of the final due date for completion of the permit is desired. The request must detail the reason(s) an extension is necessary and state when completion of the permit requirements is expected. The Division of Architecture (DoA) of the commission will review the extension request to determine whether an extension is warranted. Permit extensions will be issued by letter and may extend the permit completion due date once for no less six months and no more than ten years as deemed appropriate. Permit extensions requested for preparation of the completion report, following substantial completion of the permitted work, will be issued for no greater than nine months, unless authorized by the Antiquities Advisory Board. If an additional extension is subsequently requested, the DoA may issue the extension or request that the Antiquities Advisory Board review the request and make a recommendation to the commission regarding further extension. The commission may, by a majority vote of its members, approve or disapprove an additional extension of the final due date of an Antiquities Permit, provided that the following conditions are met: (A) the permittee, project architect, and/or the professional firm listed on the permit must provide written documentation to the Antiquities Advisory Board and give an oral presentation justifying why an additional permit due-date extension is warranted; and(B) justification for the additional extension must show that the extension is needed due to circumstances beyond the control of the permittee, project architect, or professional firm. Examples include, but are not limited to: funding problems or death of the project architect.(f) Expiration responsibilities. Professional firms must ensure that a project architect is assigned to a permit at all times, until all obligations under the permit have been fulfilled, regardless of whether the permit is active or has expired. Expired permits are considered to be in default and will be reported to the Antiquities Advisory Board. Commission staff or the board may request that the permittee, project architect, and/or professional firm appear and give an oral presentation regarding the need for an extension pursuant to subsection (e)(2) of this section, or the board may pursue other remedies as allowed under § RSA 26.24 of this title (relating to Compliance with Rules for Historic Buildings and Structures Permits).(g) Permit amendments. Proposed changes in the terms and conditions of the permit must be approved by the commission's executive director, the director of the DoA, or their designated representative. This includes changes in the permitted project plans and specifications that could affect the integrity of the structure, building, or site.(h) Permit hold or cancellation. The commission may place on hold or cancel a Historic Buildings and Structures Permit pursuant to § RSA 26.24 of this title under the following circumstances: (1) the death of the project architect;(2) failure of the permit applicant to fully fund the permitted project work;(3) project work undertaken does not comply with the terms, conditions and approved project documents under the permit; and/or(4) violation of § RSA 26.24 of this title.(i) Institutions of higher education. If an institution of higher education notifies the commission that it protests the terms of a permit granted to an institution of higher education under this section, the matter becomes a contested case under the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, Texas Government Code § RSA 2001.051, et seq. The institution of higher education must notify the commission of its protest within 30 days of its receipt of notice of the terms of the permit to initiate a contested case. The hearing officer and the commission will follow the procedures and take into account the criteria listed in Texas Natural Resources Code, §RSA 191.021<subdiv>(c)</subdiv>. Weighing these criteria against the criteria specified in §RSA 26.20<subdiv>(b)</subdiv> of this title (relating to Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties), the commission shall include a requirement in a permit only if the record before the committee establishes by clear and convincing evidence that such inclusion would be in the public interest.13 Tex. Admin. Code § 26.21
The provisions of this §26.21 adopted to be effective May 20, 2013, 38 TexReg 2980; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 09, February 26, 2016, TexReg 1442, eff. 2/29/2016; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 46, Number 08, February 19, 2021, TexReg 1241, eff. 2/24/2021