AIA Ohio Issue Brief

Moratorium on Capital ProjectsOhio Historic Preservation Office Funding – HB 95 - HB 95

ISSUE

The recently passed HB 95 includes a 15% reduction for Line 504, which funds the Ohio Historic Preservation Office. To save Ohio’s investment in Historic Preservation, restore funding for the Ohio Historic Preservation Office (OHPO) in the Ohio Historical Society's FY2004 budget.

BACKGROUND

Historic preservation is a major factor in saving Ohio's historic places and revitalizing downtowns and neighborhoods - from Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine to Dayton's Wright-Dunbar District to Wooster's central business district to the Warehouse District in Cleveland. The Ohio Historic Preservation Office's programs are the critical underpinning to private sector investment in Ohio's historic properties. Over $1 billion has been invested in historic properties in Ohio through federal tax credit projects assisted by the OHPO.

The Ohio Historic Preservation Office is Ohio's official preservation agency with responsibilities that include nominating properties to the National Register of Historic Places, reviewing federally assisted projects for their effects on historic properties, and assisting applicants for federal tax credits for the rehabilitation of income producing historic properties.

The Ohio Historic Preservation Office (OHPO) derives its authority from the National Historic Preservation Act, which established a jointly funded federal-state program. The recently passed HB 95 includes a 15% reduction for Line 504, which funds the OHPO.

Coupled with the reduction in the federal 2003 and 2004 appropriations, this dramatically impairs the OHPO's ability to provide mandated services and mobilize private sector investment in Ohio's historic properties. Additionally, federal funds are at risk as the level of funding proposed in HB 95 is insufficient to meet the matching share requirement for the federal appropriation.

Without an increase in state funding, services that are threatened include:

· The review of historic rehabilitation projects using the federal tax credits: last year the OHPO assisted with 236 applications for use of the 20% investment tax credits to rehabilitate income-producing historic properties. Ohio ranked first in the country last year in the number of tax credit projects with over $100 million in such investments and over $1 billion since the start of the program. These investments mean jobs, economic revitalization, and the continued use of significant historic properties. Timely review of these projects is at risk.

· The timely review of federal undertakings for their effects on historic property as required under federal law: the Ohio Historic Preservation Office (OHPO) assisted agencies and applicants for federal assistance with over 6,000 project reviews last year. These include highway construction, CDBG projects, and waterline replacements, among others. The proposed cuts will slow the review process, hampering agencies and applicants for federal assistance in their ability to execute projects and programs, with negative effects on the economy.

· The nomination of properties to the National Register of Historic Places: Ohio added 773 properties to the National Register last year as part of 28 individual listings. Listing is often the first step in the successful preservation of properties significant in Ohio's history. Listing as an individual building or as contributing to a historic district is a requirement for the rehabilitation tax credit. Assistance to those seeking to nominate properties will be curtailed.

· Technical assistance to those Ohioans seeking to preserve their historic properties: the OHPO provides technical assistance to the general public and to local governments, including 38 Certified Local Governments. The OHPO has also provided design review services for 23 projects in communities participating in Ohio's successful Main Street program. This assistance cannot be continued without increased funding.

For additional information contact: David W. Field, CAE, Executive Vice President, AIA Ohio, 17 S. High Street, Suite 200, Columbus, Ohio 43215. Phone: 614-221-0338. Fax: 614-221-1989. E-mail: field@assnoffices.com.