historic preservation

Standards for Historic Projects

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What standards apply to my project?

The Tacoma Landmarks Preservation Commission uses several sets of standards and guidelines to evaluate the appropriateness of proposed changes to historic buildings, including: 

This page is intended to provide access to the primary standards used for the review of projects involving historic properties in Tacoma.

Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings

First published in 1976 by the National Park Service, these standards are the primary basis for reviewing the appropriateness of changes to historic properties.  The links below are chapters excerpted from the 1991 Illustrated Guidelines.  (The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and Illustrated Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings. US Department of the Interior:  National Park Service.  Available from the US Government Printing Office, or online).

Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Rehabilitation 
REHABILITATION IS DEFINED AS the act or process of making possible a compatible use for a property through repair, alterations, and additions while preserving those portions or features which convey its historical, cultural, or architectural values.

1.     A property will be used as it was historically or be given a new use that requires minimal change to its distinctive materials, features, spaces, and spatial relationships.

2.     The historic character of a property will be retained and preserved. The removal of distinctive materials or alteration of features, spaces, and spatial relationships that characterize a property will be avoided.

3.     Each property will be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features or elements from other historic properties, will not be undertaken.

4.     Changes to a property that have acquired historic significance in their own right will be retained and preserved.

5.     Distinctive materials, features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property will be preserved.

6.     Deteriorated historic features will be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature will match the old in design, color, texture, and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features will be substantiated by documentary and physical evidence.

7.     Chemical or physical treatments, if appropriate, will be undertaken using the gentlest means possible. Treatments that cause damage to historic materials will not be used.

8.     Archeological resources will be protected and preserved in place. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures will be undertaken.

9.     New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction will not destroy historic materials, features, and spatial relationships that characterize the property. The new work will be differentiated from the old and will be compatible with the historic materials, features, size, scale and proportion, and massing to protect the integrity of the property and its environment.

10.  New additions and adjacent or related new construction will be undertaken in a such a manner that, if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.

Download the above Standards in document form (PDF)

Guidelines for Building Materials
Masonry
Wood
Architectural Metals

Guidelines for Building Exteriors
Roofs
Windows
Entrances and Porches
Storefronts

Guidelines for Building Interiors
Structural Systems
Interior Spaces, Features and Finishes
Mechanical Systems

Other Considerations
Building Site
Setting (District or Neighborhood)
Energy Conservation
New Additions to Historic Buildings
Accessibility Considerations
Health and Safety Considerations

For more illustrated examples of application of the Secretary of the Interior's Standards, please visit (will open in a new window):
The Rehab YES & NO Learning Program
Electronic Rehab:  an interactive class

Preservation Briefs

Preservation Briefs (PBs) are easy-to-read reports that provide guidance for preserving, rehabilitating and restoring historic buildings.  Over 40 topics are covered, including masonry cleaning and waterproofing, preservation of historic signs, storefronts, and so on.  PBs are published by Technical Preservation Services of the National Park Service, and are available in hardcopy from the US Government Printing Office or online.

Historic Preservation Ordinances

The Tacoma Historic Preservation Program is governed by two ordinances:  the Landmarks Preservation Commission code (TMC 1.42) and the Landmarks and Historic Special Review Districts Code (TMC 13.07).

Download 1.42
Download 13.07

Give me a Sign

Helpful hints for signage, awnings, lighting & painting for businesses in historic buildings & districts.
Download Document  
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