Over the summer, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) issued a request for comments on the application and interpretation of the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. The ACHP intends to share the themes and issues it received with the Department of the Interior, which is the agency responsible for promulgating regulations and guidance related to the Secretary’s Standards.

The National Trust commented that the Secretary’s Standards are sufficiently flexible to balance historic preservation goals with market realities and social imperatives, and that a regular cadence of guidance documents that allows for public input will optimize the way the Secretary’s Standards are implemented and interpreted.

Read the National Trust’s comment letter.