(a) Nomination. Any group, public or private, individual, or public agency may submit a property in public ownership to the commission for official designation as a landmark. The nomination must be submitted to the commission on a form approved by the commission, and the commission will determine whether the nomination is complete. The nomination shall indicate the nature of the property's significance: as an archeological site, shipwreck, cache or collection, historic building or structure, or any combination thereof, per the criteria for evaluation specified in §§26.10 - 26.12 and §26.19 of this title.
  (1) Third-party nominations. Any private individual or private group that desires to nominate a property owned by a political subdivision as a landmark must complete and return to the commission a nomination form, and must give notice of the nomination at the individual's or group's own expense, in a newspaper of general circulation published in the city, town, or county in which the building, structure or site is located. If no newspaper of general circulation is published in the city, town, or county, the notice must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in an adjoining or neighboring county that is circulated in the county of the applicant's residence. The notice must:
    (A) be printed in 12-point boldface type;
    (B) include the exact location of the building or site; and
    (C) include the name of the group or individual nominating the building or site.
    (D) An original copy of the notice and an affidavit of publication signed by the newspaper's publisher must be submitted to the commission with a nomination form. The commission will not consider a site owned by a political subdivision for designation as a landmark unless the notice and affidavit required by this section are attached to a nomination form. This notification must be received by both the commission and the public agency a minimum of 60 days prior to a regularly scheduled public meeting of the commission at which the nomination may be considered. All decisions regarding when a nomination will be considered by the commission will be made by the executive director of the commission.
  (2) Requirements for buildings and structures. Nominations for buildings and structures must be accompanied by a deed or other legal description of the property nominated for designation. For a building or structure owned by a political subdivision, the nomination may be accompanied by a statement assessing fiscal impacts of the potential designation on the political subdivision.
(b) Evaluation. The executive director of the commission will determine whether the nomination is complete and acceptable, whether the property is eligible for designation, and when the nomination will be placed on the agenda of one of the commission's public meetings. In support of such determinations, the commission's staff will review the property according to the criteria for evaluation specified in §§26.10 - 26.12 and §26.19 of this title. Staff will recommend whether the nature of the property's significance indicated on the nomination form is accurate and if other areas should be considered.
(c) Notification of nomination. If the commission's staff wishes to nominate a property for landmark designation or intends to forward a nomination received for consideration, it must give the public agency or agencies that own the property a written notification that a nomination will be considered by the commission at one of its regularly scheduled public meetings. This notification must be received by the public agency a minimum of 15 days prior to the regularly scheduled public meeting of the commission at which the nomination is scheduled to be presented. The commission must also send the public agency complete site information on the proposed nomination. For a building or structure owned by a political subdivision, the notification will invite the political subdivision to submit a statement assessing the fiscal impacts of the potential designation.
(d) Interim protection and notification. Once a valid nomination for a landmark building or structure has been received and the commission's staff determines the property is eligible for designation, no project work may be undertaken on the property without a permit issued by the commission unless or until the commission denies the nomination or designation. Information regarding this protection will be included in the commission's notice on the nomination to the property owner.
(e) Presentation of nominations. Following staff evaluation and recommendations, nominations will be presented to the Antiquities Advisory Board. Written notice of the presentation will be sent to the owner. The Antiquities Advisory Board will review each nomination, the staff recommendations related to each nomination, and any testimony given by the owner of the property and the public at large. The Antiquities Advisory Board will then pass on its recommendations regarding each nomination to the commission. The chair of the Antiquities Advisory Board, or one of the other commission members who serve on the board, will present the nomination and recommendations to the commission at one of its public meetings.
(f) Comment period. No vote on final designation may be taken by the commission for a minimum period of 30 days, during which time all concerned parties may present evidence in support of or against designation of the property. Comments may be submitted to the commission at any time prior to the designation vote described in subsection (g) of this section, including during public testimony at the commission meeting where the vote will occur. Comments should address the property's merits in light of the criteria specified in §§26.10 - 26.12 and §26.19 of this title.
  (1) Political subdivisions. Comments may address the fiscal impact on a political subdivision from the designation of a building or structure owned by the political subdivision, per §191.092(h) of the Texas Natural Resources Code.
  (2) Institutions of higher education. Comments may address the impact on an institution of higher education from the designation of a building or land owned by the institution. If an institution of higher education notifies the commission during this timeframe that it protests to the proposed designation of a building or land under its control as a landmark, the matter becomes a contested case under the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, Texas Government Code, Chapter 2001. The hearing officer and the commission will follow the procedures and take into account the criteria listed in §191.021(b) of the Texas Natural Resources Code. Weighing these criteria against the criteria specified in §§26.10 - 26.12 and §26.19 of this title, the commission shall designate a property under the control of an institution of higher education as a landmark only if the record before the commission establishes by clear and convincing evidence that such designation would be in the public interest.
(g) Presentation of designation and designation vote. After the minimum comment period of 30 days has elapsed, the commission may consider the property for designation at one of its public meetings. The owners of the property will be informed of the agenda by written notice at least 15 calendar days in advance of the meeting date. Any person may present evidence or testify at the meeting when the final decision is to be made. The commission may then vote to designate, to deny designation, to request further information, or to make any other decision.
(h) Additional evidence. If designation of a property is denied, the owner or applicant may present additional evidence at any time for the commission's reconsideration. The new evidence will be considered by the commission at a duly-noticed meeting.
(i) Additional hearings. Any owner of a property designated as a landmark who is aggrieved by the designation procedure as applied to his or her property will receive a full evidentiary hearing upon request, or the formal designation can be removed by action of the commission.
(j) Notification of designation. Written notification of the commission's decision regarding the designation of a property as a landmark will be forwarded to the owner and nominator. The nominator and owner will also receive an application for requesting a landmark medallion.
(k) Listing and marking of landmarks. If a property is officially designated as a landmark, the property will be listed in the commission's inventory, a current list of all historic buildings, structures, sites, objects, and districts so designated. Landmarks may also be marked with a marker or medallion, to be installed by commission staff or designee, if requested by the nominator or owner.
  (1) Archeological sites designated as landmarks may be marked with a landmark marker, if deemed appropriate by the commission. The UTM coordinate of the marker will be retained in the commission's records.
Cont'd...