Westfield Architects & Preservation Consultants

Criteria for determining whether an undertaking constitutes an encroachment or will damage or destroy the historic property
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Historic Preservation in New Jersey

(a) An undertaking will have an adverse effect and therefore constitute an encroachment when the effect of the undertaking on a property listed in the New Jersey Register may diminish the integrity of the property's location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, or association. Encroachments include but are not limited to:
1. Physical destruction, damage, or alteration of all or part of the registered property;
2. Isolation of the registered property from or alteration of the character of the property's setting when that character contributes to the property's qualification for the New Jersey Register;
3. Introduction of visual, audible, or atmospheric elements that are out of character with the registered property or alter its setting; and
4. Acquisition, transfer, sale, lease, easement on, or an agreement or other permission allowing use of a registered property.
(b) An undertaking that would otherwise be found to constitute an encroachment pursuant to (a) above may be considered by the Department as not being an encroachment when:
1. The registered property is of value only for its potential contribution to archaeological, historical or architectural research, and when such value can be substantially preserved through the conduct of appropriate research and such research is conducted in accordance with applicable professional standards and guidelines;
2. The undertaking is limited to the preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, or reconstruction of buildings and structures and is conducted in a manner that preserves the historical and architectural value of affected historic property through conformance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and "Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring, and Reconstructing Historic Buildings" (guidelines issued by the National Park Service); or
3. The undertaking is limited to the acquisition, transfer, sale, lease, easement on, or an agreement or other permission allowing use of a registered property, and adequate restrictions or conditions are included to ensure preservation of the property's significant historic features.

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