1984-066 - ARCHITEXAS proposal for architectural services

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44724 Federal Register / Vol. 4R, No. 190 / Thursday. September 29, 19[13 / Notices Standard IV. Evahrotion Results Art Made Available to the Public Evaluation is the basis of registration and treatment decisions. Information about evaluation decisions should be organized and available for use by the general public and by those who take part in decisions about registration and treatment. Use of appropriate computer- assisted data bases should be a part of the information dissemination effort. Sensitive information, however, must be safeguarded from general public distribution. , Secretary of the Interior's Guidelines for Evaluation Introduction These Guidelines link the Standards for Evaluation with more specific guidance and technical information. These Guidelines describe one approach to meeting the Standards for Evaluation. Agencies, organizations, or individuals proposing to approach evaluation differently may wish to review their approach with the National Park Service. The Guidelines are organized as follows: The Evalauation Process Criteria Application of Criteria within a Historic Context Inventory Recommended Sources of Technical Information The Evaluation Process These Guidelines describe principles for evaluating the significance of one or more historic properties with regard to a given set of criteria. Groups of related properties should be evaluated at the same time whenever Possible; for example, following completion of a theme study or community survey. Evaluation should not be undertaken using documentation that may be out of date. Prior to proceeding with evaluation the current condition of the property should be determined and previous analyses evaluated in light of any new information. Evaluation must be performed by persons qualified by education, training and experience in the application of the criteria. Where feasible, evaluation should be performed in consultation with other individuals experienced in applying the relevant criteria in the geographical area under consideration; for example, the State Historic Preservation Officer or local landmarks commission. Evaluation is completed with a written determination that a property is or is not significant based on provided information. This statement should be Part of the record. Criteria: The purposes of evaluation criteria should be made clear. For example, the criteria may be used "to evaluate properties for inclusion in the county landmarks list," or "to implement the National Register of I listoric places program." For Federal cultural resource management purposes, criteria used to develop an inventory should be coordinated with the National Register criteria for evaluation as implemented in the approved State comprehensive historic preservation plan. Content of Criteria: Criteria should be appropriate in scale to the purpose of the evaluation. For example, criteria designed to describe national significance should not be used as the basis for creating a county or State inventory. Criteria should be categorical and not attempt to describe in detail every property likely to qualify. Criteria should outline the disciplines or broad areas of concern (history, archeology, architectural history, engineering and culture, for example) included within the scope of the inventory: explain what kinds of properties, if any, are excluded and the reasons for exclusion; and define how levels of significance are measured, if such levels are incorporated into the criteria. If the criteria are to be used in situations where the National Register criteria are also widely used, it is valuable to include a statement explaining the relationship of the criteria used to the National Register criteria, including how the scope of the inventory differs from that defined by the National Register criteria and how the inventory could be use to identify properties that meet the National Register criteria. Information Needed to Evaluate Properties: The criteria should be accompanied by a statement defining the minimum information necessary to evaluate properties to insure that this information is collected during identification activities intended to locate specific historic properties. Generally, at )east the following will be needed: 1. Adequately developed historic contexts, including identified property types. (See the Guidelines for t Preservation Planning for discussion of development of historic contexts.) 2. Sufficient information about the appearance. condition and associative values of the property to be evaluated to: a. Classify it as to property type; b. Compare its features or characteristics with those expected for its property type; and C. Define the physical extent of the property and accurately locate the property. To facilitate distinguishing between facts and analysis, the information should be divided into categories, including identification and description of pertinent historical contexts; description of the property and its significance in the historical context; and analysis of the integrity of the Property relative to that needed to represent the context. Usually documentation need not include such items as a complete title history or biography of every owner of a property, except where that information is important in evaluating its significance. Information on proposed or potential treatments or threats, such as destruction of a property through uncontrollable natural processes, is also not needed for evaluation, unless those effects are likely to occur prior to or during the evaluation, thereby altering the significant characteristic of the Property, If archeological testing or structural analysis is needed for evaluation, it should not proceeded beyond the point of providing the information necessary for evaluation and should not unnecessarily affect significant features or values of the property, When more information is needed: Evaluation cannot be conducted unless all necessary information is available. (See Information Needed to Evaluate Properties.) Any missing information or analysis should be identified (e.g. development of context or information on the property) as well as the specific activities required to obtain the information (archival research, field survey and testing, or laboratory testing). When adequate information is not available, it is important to record that fact so that evaluation will not be undertaken until the information can be obtained. In some cases needed information is not obtainable, for example, where historical records have been destroyed or analytical techniques have not been developed to date materials in archeological sites. If au evaluation must be completed in these cases, it is important to acknowledge what information was not obtainable and how that missing information may affect the reliability of the evaluation. Application of the Criteria within a Historic Context The first step in evaluation is considering how the criteria apply to the