Rehabilitating an Historic Structure

 

Introduction

Kansas Historic Preservation Law

State and Federal Preservation Standards

The Kansas Historical Preservation Office

The National Register

Listing a Property on the National Register

Grants and Incentives

The Historical Preservation  Board of Review

A List of Historic Sites in Wyandotte County

Unified Government Landmarks Ordinance

The Landmarks Commission

Homeowner's Guide to Real Estate Property Tax

A Guide to appealing your Real Estate Tax Valuation

Back to Historic Westheight Neighborhood Association Home Page

Information on this page provided by the Kansas State Historical Society

THE KANSAS HISTORIC SITES BOARD OF REVIEW

The Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review (KHSBR) is a statutory board created to help the Kansas State Historical Society implement a comprehensive state-federal historic preservation program. The board is charged with evaluating properties proposed for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places and the Register of Historic Kansas Places and with advising the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) and his staff on a variety of historic preservation related matters.

The board has eleven members, nine of whom are appointed by the governor. Two members are statutory, the SHPO and the Governor, and they each have the authority to appoint designees to serve in their stead. The nine appointed members must include persons professionally qualified in history, architectural history, architecture, prehistoric archeology, and historic archeology. The remaining four appointed members can be selected from the public with the one stipulation that they must have a demonstrated interest in historic preservation. The appointive members serve three-year terms and are divided into three classes of three so that the terms of one-third of the members expire each year. By law board members whose appointive terms have expired will continue to serve until a qualified replacement is appointed.

The review board usually meets four times a year. According to National Park Service requirements, it must meet at least three times yearly. Board meetings are usually held in Topeka but have occasionally been scheduled in cities around the state. Meetings elsewhere than Topeka have usually been tied to large numbers of nominations being considered in a particular community or in response to special circumstances.
Specifically the board evaluates and votes on properties proposed for National and State Register nomination. Properties the board recommends for the National Register can then be submitted to the National Park Service, which has final control over listing. Properties approved for the Register of Historic Kansas Places are submitted to the SHPO for signing on to the Register. Nominations rejected by the board will not be processed further. Most review board meetings have the consideration of nominations as their principal agenda item. The board also reviews and comments on various documents, plans, work programs, etc., prepared by the SHPO and staff for submission to the National Park Service. The board also has a very active role in the evaluation of grant applications submitted to the SHPO for federal Historic Preservation Fund assistance for survey, nomination, and planning projects and for Heritage Trust Fund assistance for the rehabilitation and preservation of historic sites and buildings. Another statutory responsibility of the board is to evaluate historic properties proposed by the public for state acquisition; the board visits such a property, holds a public hearing, and then prepares a report for the governor and the legislature. Listed below are the members of the Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review (as of August, 1999) with the statutory requirements they meet:
  • Mary Adair, University of Kansas, Lawrence, historic archeology
  • Donald J. Blakeslee, Wichita State University, Wichita, prehistoric archeology
  • Craig Crosswhite, Jetmore, public
  • Paula Davis, Greensburg, public
  • J. Eric Engstrom, Wichita, governor's designee
  • Pamela D. Kingsbury, Wichita, architectural historian
  • Robert L. Marsh, Ottawa, architect
  • Billie Marie Porter, Neodesha, public
  • Ramon Powers, Topeka, state historic preservation officer
  • Nancy I. Prawl, Hiawatha, public
  • James E. Sherow, Kansas State University, Manhattan, historian