Recently, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) circulated a draft of a sweeping rewrite of the regulations implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (36 C.F.R. Part 800) to Council members. This draft rewrite would gut this law that has guided preservation for 60 years. Specifically, the proposal would:

• Make consultation with SHPOs and THPOs optional.
• Make public participation “discretionary” not mandatory.
• Redefine in an adverse way the types of projects that will trigger a 106 review.
• Limit the scope of what impacts would be defined as adverse.

If approved, the proposal would move to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Office of Management and Budget for review before being published for public comment. Once the proposal is published for comments, landscape architects will be able to submit personalized comments about how these changes would impact their projects and the communities they serve. Landscape architects are leaders in working with communities to preserve and protect historic spaces at the onset of any design process, which leads to improved community outcomes.

ASLA is actively monitoring the Federal Register and will inform members when the portal is open to receive your public comments.