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1. What happens if I find out my property is historic?

Congratulations! It may qualify to be designated as a Park County Historic Landmark, and/or listed on the Colorado or National Register of Historic Places. The Director of the Park County Office of Historic Preservation can help you with the steps for nominating your property for one or all of these honors. That office and the Park County Historic Preservation Advisory Commission (PCHPAC) can assist you in planning for restoration or interpretation of your historic property or artifacts.

For more information, contact the Historic Preservation Office at (719) 836-4298.

2. Is someone going to take my arrowheads or tell me what to do with my property?

No. In Park County, your property is yours to do with as you see fit as long as it meets the zoning, health, and building regulations of the County. Any artifacts found on your property belong to you. The Office Of Historic Preservation can help with interpreting them or show you how to donate them to a museum where they can be displayed, or you may want to keep or sell them. We request that if you do uncover artifacts, you let the proper people photograph them and confidentially record where they were found to better understand the history of Park County. The Director of the Office of Historic Preservation can help you with this. Call (719) 836-4298 for more information.

If you have a historic building or structure, you probably will want to take care of it and use it somehow. Park County values its history and the Director of the Office of Historic Preservation can help you find ways to properly care for your historic property, suggest possible grants to help pay for the work, and explain how to comply with rehabilitation standards that might qualify the work on your property for State and or national tax credits.

3. Are there a lot of strings attached to grant money or tax credits?

If you accept grant money or tax credits for fixing up your place, you may have to abide by any agreement or covenants you’ve agreed to for receiving those benefits, but Park County does not demand anything special for historic properties. Designation is honorary and both the Office of Historic Preservation and Park County Historic Preservation Advisory Commission (PCHPAC) act as advocates for Park County’s historic properties. In fact, we help oversee proposed actions by federal agencies to protect against any adverse effects on listed and eligible historic properties.

4. What if I get my property designated and I decide to make some major changes?

It’s the goal of the Office of Historic Preservation and Park County Historic Preservation Advisory Commission (PCHPAC) to help Park County property owners to both preserve and be able to effectively use their historic properties.

Any changes to a listed or designated historic property will come before PCHPAC for review when you ask for your permit, so it’s a good idea to bring your plans to the Director of the Office of Historic Preservation to draw on PCHPAC’s input and ideas in advance. There is no charge for this service. PCHPAC will see if what you plan still is consistent with telling the story of the history of your property. If what you plan does not comply with the best interest of preserving the history of your place, the commission may offer some suggestions for appropriate methods. If you don’t care to comply with them, your property may simply lose its historic designation. Of course, your project would still need to comply with the regulations of the county’s Planning, Zoning, and Building Departments.

For more information, contact the Historic Preservation Office at (719) 836-4298.