So you want to start a remodel project on your property, perhaps a small addition, second story, interior remodel, or detached studio space. There is something in the back of your head that tells you this might not be an easy task to accomplish — you would be right about that. This is especially true if your property is a designated landmark or on a planning watch list of properties of interest. Most jurisdictions have codes or policies that set forth requirements for when historic properties are under consideration for an improvement project. Most require the application of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Standards for the treatment of historic properties. These standards are required if state or federal grants are involved. Typically these standards do not apply to interior spaces, but I advise you to use them for every aspect of your project. The standards are simply organized into groups by “Recommended” and “Not Recommended.” For more detail, download and read the documents at nps.gov/tps/standards.htm.
In my work as the county architect and specifically at the Santa Barbara Courthouse, these standards are applied to every facility-related project on the property. In recent activities, the Courthouse Legacy Foundation funded the complete conservation of the Mural Room, located on the second floor of the courthouse. This effort took the better part of 12 weeks at a cost of just over $650,000, 90 percent of which was from private sources. My role in that project was to ensure that the DOI Standards were applied to every aspect of the work.
The Standards are grouped into four broad categories: preservation, restoration, rehabilitation, and reconstruction. Each of these treatment courses has its own standards. The preservation of a historic element is the highest and preferred course of action, and reconstruction the least preferred. An example of reconstruction is the El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park, which largely falls within this category.