Orange County NC Website
12 <br />EX>FIIBIT B <br />SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR'S <br />STANDARDS FOR THE TREATMENT OF ffiSTORIC PROPERTIES <br />(1992) <br />TREATMENTS <br />There are Standards for four distinct, but interrelated, approaches to the treatment of historic <br />properties -- Preservation, Rehabilitation, Restoration, and Reconstruction. Preservation focuses on the <br />maintenance and repair of existing historic materials and retention of a property's form as it has evolved <br />over time. (Protection and Stabilization have now been consolidated under this treatment.) <br />Rehabilitation acknowledges the need to alter or add to a historic property to meet continuing or <br />changing uses while retaining the property's historic character. Restoration is undertaken to depict a <br />property at a particular period of time in its history, while removing evidence of other periods. <br />Reconstruction re-creates vanished or non-surviving portions of a property for interpretive purposes. <br />In summary, the simplification and sharpened focus of these revised sets of treatment standards is <br />intended to assist users in making sound historic preservation decisions. Choosing appropriate treatment <br />for a historic property, whether preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, or reconstruction, is critical. <br />This choice always depends on a variety of factors, including the property's historical significance, <br />physical condition, proposed use, and intended interpretation. <br />PRESERVATION is defined as the act or process of applying measures necessary to sustain the existing <br />form, integrity, and materials of a historic property. Work, including preliminary measures to protect and <br />stabilize the property, generally focuses upon the ongoing maintenance and repair of historic materials <br />and features rather than extensive replacement and new construction. New exterior additions are not <br />within the scope of this treatment; however, the limited and sensitive upgrading of mechanical, electrical, <br />and plumbing systems and other code-required work to make properties functional is appropriate within a <br />preservation project. <br />STANDARDS FOR PRESERVATION <br />1. A property shall be used as it was historically, or be given a new use that maximizes the retention of <br />distinctive materials, features, spaces, and spatial relationships. Where a treatment and use have not been <br />identified, a property shall be protected and, if necessary, stabilized until additional work may be <br />undertaken. <br />2. The historic character of the property shall be retained and preserved. The replacement of intact or <br />repairable historical materials or alteration of features, spaces, and spatial relationships that characterize <br />a property shall be avoided. <br />3. Each property shall be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Work needed to <br />stabilize, consolidate, and conserve existing historic materials and features shall be physically and <br />visually compatible, identifiable upon close inspection, and properly documented for future research. <br />4. Changes to a property that have acquired historic significance in their own right shall be retained and <br />preserved. <br />5. Distinctive materials, features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship <br />that characterize a property shall be preserved. <br />