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Albany preservationists warn proposed changes to Section 106 could curtail local review
Summary
Commissioners and preservation advocates discussed proposed regulatory changes to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act that would shift the role of local governments from consultative participants to post‑decision reviewers; several speakers described the change as potentially devastating and suggested preparing a local comment or memo once the rule appears in the Federal Register.
Members of the commission, staff and preservation advocates used the public meeting to discuss proposed changes to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act that, if adopted, would alter the federal consultation process for projects that use federal funding, licensing or permitting. One participant flagged that the advisory council had voted on proposed changes and that the proposal was pending publication in the Federal Register; speakers urged focusing local public comments on how the change would affect Albany specifically.
A preservation advocate and several commissioners described the proposals as a significant rollback of the consultation process: "This is section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act," one speaker said when framing the topic for the public, and another said the changes would be "actually really awful" because they would remove local governments and interested parties from meaningful decision‑making and limit review to post‑decision comment. The commission discussed preparing a memo and coordinating with the city to consider a formal position once the proposed rule is published. Chair John Myers said he would work with staff and gather input from the commission while the city considers whether to take a position.
Provenance: topicintro SEG 699, topfinish SEG 825.
