Washington, D.C.— Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) members have approved a Program Comment on Certain Housing, Building, and Transportation Undertakings that will make it faster and easier to meet the nation’s climate and housing goals while preserving historic places. The measure is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s all-of-government effort to clarify and enhance project permitting and reviews to deliver more accessible, climate-resilient, and connected communities.

The Program Comment, the first ever to be initiated by the ACHP membership, will accelerate historic preservation review timelines for billions of dollars in investments across the country supported by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda by providing federal agencies with an alternate way to comply with their responsibilities to protect historic resources under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

For nearly two years, and especially during the last nine months, ACHP members engaged in a robust, collaborative, and broadly consultative process to conceive of, scope, and draft this Program Comment. In addition to unprecedented levels of ACHP member engagement, the final Program Comment incorporated the feedback of the largest-ever number of people participating in the development of an ACHP program alternative, with 900 attendees attending 14 consultation meetings and listening sessions (and more than 3,400 attendees at events where the chair discussed the measure) and approximately 200 individual commenters submitting 2,500 distinct suggestions.

“This measure advances the goal Congress established in the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 for ‘our modern society and our historic property… [to] exist in productive harmony’ because it facilitates the reuse of buildings and enhances the accessibility of historic neighborhoods–to the tremendous benefit of the people who use them,” ACHP Chair Sara C. Bronin said. “I am humbled by and grateful for the unprecedented amount of engagement from ACHP members, consulting parties, and the public, who consistently inform and improve the ACHP’s work.”

The Program Comment enables most interior renovations (including electrification and energy efficiency upgrades) to proceed without further review, and it allows for federal agencies to engage in a broad range of maintenance and repair activities. It prioritizes the abatement of hazardous materials, including radon, lead, and asbestos. It clarifies the process through which windows, doors, siding, and solar energy systems may undergo historic preservation review. And it facilitates the installation of certain pedestrian, bicycle, micromobility, and public transit amenities, such as bike lane striping, micromobility docks, and bus shelters. The Program Comment has the potential to benefit more than 2 million federally owned or operated housing units and thousands of projects funded by federal agencies working to ensure all Americans have safe, habitable, and affordable housing. It can also be applied to tens of billions of dollars in federal investments in building-related energy efficiency, clean energy, and alternative transportation infrastructure.

This Program Comment follows the ACHP’s adoption of Policy Statements on Housing and Historic Preservation and Climate Change and Historic Preservation, which collectively identified the topics in the proposed Program Comment as likely benefiting from further efficiencies in review processes. The Program Comment also drew from the mechanisms, provisions, and approaches in a broad range of successfully implemented prior program alternatives, synthesizing and harmonizing them into one document with nationwide scope. 

A program comment is one of several administrative tools the ACHP can use to provide greater flexibility and tailored approaches for federal agencies as they work to ensure historic preservation interests are balanced with necessary investments to fulfill government priorities and obligations.

About the ACHP: An independent federal agency, the ACHP promotes the economic, educational, environmental, sustainability, and cultural values of historic preservation and advises the President and Congress on national historic preservation policy. It also influences federal activities, programs, and policies that affect historic and cultural properties. See www.achp.gov for more information.