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Facilities Planning

Facilities Planning

SHPO Guidelines

State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) Approvals

The New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) reviews projects to determine if they may affect historic or cultural resources, such as buildings or archaeological sites. This includes older school buildings or properties near historic areas. The review helps ensure that important parts of New York’s history are considered during planning and design.

The process is guided by state and federal historic preservation laws, including Section 14.09 of the New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Law and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The NYS SHPO is part of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP).

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Memo of Understanding Between SHPO and NYSED

SED has entered into an agreement with SHPO, in the form of a Memo of Understanding (MOU), that clearly identifies categories of work that are exempt from review by SHPO for specific building construction and rehabilitation activities associated with New York State Public Schools Capital Construction and Public Library Construction Grant programs. This joint effort is established to protect NYS’s historic resources while maintaining the safety of students, staff, and the public.

For projects which do not qualify for review exemption per the MOU, SHPO approval is required as part of a capital construction project application regardless of size or scope. A project permit will not be issued by SED without SHPO project approval.

There may be cases where impact to a historic building or site cannot be avoided. In these instances, an agreement must be reached between SHPO and the district. Any resulting mitigation methods must be incorporated into the final design before a project permit can be issued. It is recommended that SHPO be contacted as early in the planning process as information is available.

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Connection with SHPO

  • Please identify all building projects completely in submissions sent to SHPO. It is important that you completely identify each one by District Name, County, and SED Project Number.

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US Secretary of the Interior Standards for Rehabilitation, and Preservation Briefs

  • Please also refer to theÌýfollowing links to the US Secretary of the Interior Standards for Rehabilitation, and Preservation Briefs