Rhode Island preservation office details how federal and state reviews affect housing projects

Jeff Emmity, executive director of the Rhode Island Historic Preservation and Heritage Commission and the state historic preservation officer, told the commission for the study of the entire area of land use that federal and state preservation reviews are triggered when housing projects use federal or state funding, require federal or state permits, or occur on federal or state property. "Historic preservation and development, particularly housing development, are not mutually exclusive pursuits," Emmity said.

Emmity described the standard review sequence under the National Historic Preservation Act (Section 106) and the comparable state review called for under Rhode Island law: notification by the lead federal or state agency, identification of historic resources within an area of potential effect, a determination of effect (no historic resources, no effect, no adverse effect, or adverse effect), and consultation toward avoidance, minimization or mitigation when an adverse effect is identified. He emphasized that an adverse effect does not automatically stop a project: it…