Source: http://ksag.washburnlaw.edu/opinions/2000/2000-056.htm
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 02:53:40+00:00

Document:
In a state, such as Kansas, with an approved Historic Preservation Program, only the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) may formally submit a nomination for listing of a property on the National Register of Historic Places to the National Park Service. Only the State Historic Sites Review Board, in conjunction with the SHPO, can list a property on the State Register of Historic Places. Any person may submit a nomination form for any property to the SHPO. While private property may not be placed on the National Register without the owner's consent, no statutory provisions limit the placement of public property on either the National or State Registers. Cited herein: K.S.A. 75-2717; 75-2720; 75-2721; K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 75-2724; 16 U.S.C. § 470a; 36 C.F.R. §§ 60.1; 60.2; 60.3; 60.5; 60.11; 60.12.
You ask who has standing to petition for a vacated public school building to be placed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The question could also be phrased as, "May the school be placed in the Registers when the school board did not request for registration?"
To put this issue in context, listing on the National Register does not, so far as federal law is concerned, burden landowners, but it does require that federal agencies take into account the effect of any proposed action on the protected property.(1) Listing on the National Register does make the property owners eligible for various grants and tax credits.
Federal law requires the SHPO to consult with local authorities in the nomination process.(13) The SHPO is required to provide notice of its intent to nominate a property to the property's owners.(14) Owners are defined to include "public agencies holding fee simple title to property."(15) Owners of private property, however, are also notified that they have a right to object to the listing.(16) Privately owned property may not be placed on the national list if the owner objects (or if a majority of owners object in the case of a historic district).(17) Because the school building is not private property, the school board would be unable to keep it from being added to the National Register by objecting.
An attempt to limit the SHPO's authority to nominate public buildings could be inconsistent with the National Historic Preservation Act, and this inconsistency could possibly result in the program's loss of approval.
The State Register of Historic Places is established by K.S.A. 75-2721.
"(1) Undertake a statewide survey to identify and document historic properties, including all those owned by the state, its instrumentalities and political subdivisions.
"(2) Prepare and maintain a state register of historic places, which shall include all those listed on the national register of historic places. The historical society shall adopt standards for the listing and maintenance of historic properties on the state register consistent with relevant federal standards for preservation and care of historic properties."
In conclusion, in a state, such as Kansas, with an approved Historic Preservation Program, only the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) may formally submit a nomination for listing of a property on the National Register of Historic Places to the National Park Service. Only the State Historic Sites Review Board, in conjunction with the SHPO, can list a property on the State Register of Historic Places. Any person may submit a nomination form for any property to the SHPO. While private property may not be placed on the National Register without the owners consent, no statutory provisions limit the placement of public property on either the National or State Registers.
1. 36 C.F.R. § 60.2(a).
2. K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 75-2724.
3. 36 C.F.R. § 60.1(b)(3).
4. 36 C.F.R. § 60.1(b)(4).
5. K.S.A. 75-2717, Executive Order 76-17.
6. 36 C.F.R. § 60.11(a).
8. 36 C.F.R. § 60.5(j).
9. 36 C.F.R. § 60.5(l). If a private property owner disputes a nomination, it is still forwarded for determination of eligibility for listing. 36 C.F.R. § 60.5(n). Again, the effect determining that a property is eligible, but not actually listed, is to cause a review of harm from federal projects.
10. 36 C.F.R. § 60.12.
11. 36 C.F.R. § 60.6(t).
12. 36 C.F.R. § 60.6(r).
13. 36 C.F.R. § 60.5(b).
15. 36 C.F.R. § 60.3(k).
16. 36 C.F.R. § 60.5(b).
17. 16 U.S.C. § 470a(a)(6); 36 C.F.R. § 60.5(j). The prohibition on listing of property in the National Register without the owner's consent was not in the original Act, Pub. L. 89-665 (1966), but was added later in a major revision of the Act, Pub. L. 96-515 (1980).
18. 36 C.F.R. § 60.11; 16 U.S.C. § 470a(3).
19. 16 U.S.C. § 470a(b)(3)(B).
20. The KSHS informed this office that the State Historic Sites Review Board has adopted a policy of not listing private property on the State Register without the owner's consent.

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