Lawmakers are considering a bill that could bring in third-party consultants to review housing and infrastructure projects in historic areas.
Under the bill, if the state Department of Land and Natural Resources cannot complete a project review within 60 days, the project would be passed onto a third party chosen by the State Historic Preservation Division.
The state defines a historic property as any building or structure over 50 years old. That means any building built before 1975.
Supporters of the bill said this broad definition has led to a large backup of permit applications, which has created long delays in reviews. They hope the 60-day deadline will help reduce both the time and workload.
Jessica Puff is with the DLNR's State Historic Preservation Division, which opposed the bill.
"If it requires federal review as well, that type of a project would not be appropriate and should not be eligible for the third-party reviewer program," Puff said.
"As long as we have that kind of flexibility, I think we could work with it. Having the mandate that anything that might take 61 days or longer would have to go to a third-party review is something that we're concerned about."
The bill passed through the Finance Committee and will next be heard by the full House.
