CHAPTER 55-10
PRESERVATION OF HISTORIC SITES AND ANTIQUITIES
55-10-01. Policy. It is hereby declared to be in the public interest to provide for the
preservation of historic sites, buildings, structures, and antiquities of state and national<br>significance for the inspiration, use, and benefit of the people of the state of North Dakota.
55-10-02. Definitions.
1.
Land or water areas containing historical or archaeological value for the purpose of<br>this chapter are designated as "state historic sites". A state historic site is also an<br>area designated by the state historical society as a site possessing historical value of<br>state or national significance. The term state historic site includes the items defined<br>in this section.
2.
A "state historical marker" is a plaque, sign, or marker authorized by the state<br>historical society and includes markers maintained by the department of<br>transportation, the state parks and recreation department, or other departments or<br>agencies of the state and its governmental subdivisions.
3.
A "state archaeological site" is an area that primarily relates to prehistoric man,<br>designated by the state historical society as possessing state or national<br>significance.
4.
The "state historic sites registry" is a listing of sites designated by the state historical<br>board as state historic sites according to written criteria established by the board.<br>Sites that have lost characteristics for which they were determined to meet the<br>criteria may be removed from the registry by the state historical board. This registry,<br>and any subsequent annual updates, must be published and distributed.
55-10-03. State historic sites - Registry. Repealed by S.L. 2001, ch. 503, § 57.
55-10-04. State historic sites - Registry - State-owned lands administered by the
parks and recreation department or state historical society. Repealed by S.L. 2001, ch. 503,<br>§ 57.
55-10-05.
State historic sites - Registry - Federally owned lands.
Repealed by
S.L. 2001, ch. 503, § 57.
55-10-06.
State historic sites - Registry - Privately owned lands.
Repealed by
S.L. 2001, ch. 503, § 57.
55-10-07. Notice to state historical society of land acquisition. Whenever the state
or any governmental subdivision acquires any of the property listed in the state historic sites<br>registry as a state historic site, the officer in charge of the acquisition shall notify in writing, as<br>promptly as may be expedient, the director of the state historical society of the acquisition.
55-10-08. Duties of the state and political subdivisions in regard to state historic
sites - Historic easements - Prohibitions.
1.
The state, its departments and agencies, and each political subdivision are by this<br>chapter notified of the existence of state historic sites on land and water areas in<br>North Dakota listed in the state historic sites registry.
2.
The state or a political subdivision may not demolish or cause to alter the physical<br>features or historic character of any site listed in the state historic sites registry as a<br>state historic site without first obtaining the prior approval from the director of the<br>state historical society upon authorization of the state historical board, unless section
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55-02-07.2 applies to the site. The state and political subdivisions shall cooperate<br>with the director of the state historical society in identifying and implementing any<br>reasonable alternative to demolition or alteration of any state historic site before the<br>board approves the demolition or alteration.
3.
The state or a political subdivision may acquire fee title to a state historic site, or<br>property listed in the national register of historic places, or may acquire a historic<br>easement with respect to a privately owned state historic site, or property listed in<br>the national register of historic places, and buildings and structures thereon when<br>restored, reconstructed, or improved in accordance with plans approved by the<br>director of the state historical society. A historic easement is:
a.
A nonpossessory interest in the real property, imposing limitations or affirmative<br>obligations the purposes of which include preserving the historic aspects of the<br>property as so restored, reconstructed, or improved;
b.
Created and capable of being conveyed, recorded, assigned, released,<br>modified, terminated, or otherwise altered or affected in the same manner as<br>other easements, except as otherwise provided in this subsection; provided,<br>that no right or duty in favor of or against a holder or another party having a<br>right of enforcement arises under a historic easement before it is accepted by<br>the holder and the acceptance is recorded;
c.
Held by the grantee for the benefit of its citizens and the people of the state<br>generally;
d.
Specifically enforceable by the grantee or, if so provided by the grant, by the<br>state or a political subdivision;
e.
Binding upon the holder of the servient tenement and that person's successors<br>and assigns;
f.
Limited to a term of years provided in the grant and approved by the director of<br>the state historical society, not exceeding the estimated useful life of the real<br>property as restored, reconstructed, or improved, and not less than the term of<br>any loan made by the holder to finance in whole or in part the cost of the<br>restoration, reconstruction, or improvement;
g.
Subject to no other legal limitation upon the duration of estates or of restraint on<br>the alienation thereof, except the limitation contained in section 47-05-02.1; and
h.
Subordinate to any interest existing when the easement is created, in the real<br>property affected thereby, unless the owner of the interest is the grantor of the<br>easement or consents to it.
4.
A historic easement is valid even though:
a.
It is not appurtenant to an interest in real property;
b.
It can be or has been assigned to another holder;
c.
It is not of a character that has been recognized traditionally at common law;
d.
It imposes a negative burden;
e.
It imposes affirmative obligations upon the owner of an interest in the burdened<br>property or upon the holder;
f.
The benefit does not touch or concern real property; or
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g.
There is no privity of estate or of contract.
5.
A project comprising the acquisition of a state historic site or of a historic easement<br>with reference thereto, and the restoration, reconstruction, and improvement of the<br>site and buildings and structures thereon to preserve physical characteristics of<br>historic importance, is declared to be a proper and necessary purpose for the<br>expenditure of public funds. The proceeds of tax increments or bonds or both may<br>be expended by a city for such a project within an urban renewal area when<br>determined by the governing body to be desirable for the redevelopment,<br>rehabilitation, and conservation of the area in accordance with chapter 40-58.
6.
If any state agency or department or a political subdivision objects to any decision of<br>the state historical board to disallow alteration or demolition of a site listed on the<br>state historic sites registry, the objecting party may submit the objection to<br>arbitration. Arbitration may also be demanded by either the board or the objecting<br>party if the board or the objecting party determines that the other has failed to<br>cooperate in identifying or implementing reasonable alternatives to demolition or<br>alteration. The party desiring arbitration shall make a written demand therefor of the<br>other and in the demand shall name three arbitrators. The demand must also set<br>forth the objections that the party desires to submit to arbitration, with reference to<br>the particular state historic site. The demand must be made within ninety days of a<br>decision by the board. The demand must be served upon the other party, which,<br>within ten days, shall name in writing three arbitrators, and set forth in writing its<br>response to the objections set forth in the demand served upon it and any additional<br>objections that it desires to submit to arbitration on its part.
The six arbitrators
selected shall name a seventh arbitrator. If the party proceeded against fails or<br>refuses to name three arbitrators, the moving party may apply ex parte to the judge<br>of the district court of the county in which the state historical site in question, or any<br>part thereof, is located, for the appointment of the unnamed arbitrators. If upon the<br>appointment of three arbitrators by each of the parties, the six have been unable to<br>agree upon a seventh arbitrator within five days, either party, upon five days' notice<br>may apply to the district court for the appointment of the seventh arbitrator. The<br>political subdivision may select its arbitrators from among the governing board of the<br>affected political subdivision, from any regular or special committee appointed by the<br>governing board, whether serving on such governing board or not, or from any<br>combination thereof. A state agency may select its arbitrators from its officers or<br>employees. The state historical board may select its arbitrators from among the<br>board itself, from an executive committee of the board, or from any combination<br>thereof. When a panel of arbitrators has been appointed, a submission in writing<br>must be acknowledged by the parties in the same manner as a conveyance of real<br>property and may fix the time on or before which the award must be made. The<br>submission must provide for the entry of judgment upon the award by the district<br>court of the county within which the state historical site or some part thereof is<br>located.
The submission must also provide that each party shall bear its own
arbitration costs and expenses, however, the costs and expenses relating to the<br>seventh arbitrator must be borne equally by both parties to the dispute. The seven<br>arbitrators shall proceed to resolve the controversies brought before them, and the<br>decision of the arbitrators, or a majority of them, must be given in writing to the<br>parties concerned and is binding upon both parties. Thereafter, the arbitration must<br>proceed in accordance with chapter 32-29.2.
55-10-09. Cooperation. The state and its political subdivisions shall cooperate with the
director of the state historical society in safeguarding state historic sites and in the preservation of<br>historic and archaeological sites.
55-10-10. North Dakota historic sites - Changes. Sites designated as state historic
sites may be changed from time to time. The director of the state historical society shall notify<br>the legislative assembly of each change.
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55-10-11.
Recognition of federal historical preservation law.
The state of North
Dakota hereby recognizes the provisions of Public Law 89-665, [16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.] approved<br>October 15, 1966, an Act to establish a program for the preservation of additional historic<br>properties throughout the nation, and all acts amendatory and supplementary thereto. The state<br>historical society of North Dakota is hereby authorized and empowered to conduct, coordinate,<br>and carry out the purposes and objectives of this Act of Congress to the extent to which this Act<br>is determined by the state historical board to be beneficial to the state of North Dakota. The state<br>historical society may carry out a comprehensive statewide historic survey in accordance with<br>criteria established by the secretary of the interior for the preservation, acquisition, and<br>development of such property as provided in the Act of Congress. The society may transfer<br>funds made available to the state to other state agencies, local governments, and to other public<br>bodies, private organizations, and individuals for the acquisition of title or interests in, and for the<br>development of, any district, site, building, structure, or object significant in American history,<br>architecture, archaeology, and culture, or property used in that connection, and for its<br>development to assure the preservation for public benefit of any historic properties, in compliance<br>with this Act of Congress and with rules and regulations promulgated by the secretary of the<br>interior for its administration. For these purposes, the state historical society may inspect the<br>projects and examine the records of those projects eligible for grants and may establish<br>necessary rules and regulations for the projects.
55-10-12. State historical marker program. The state historical society may develop
and administer a historical marker program for the purpose of identifying local, state, and national<br>points of interest in this state. The society shall authorize official markers to mark recognized<br>sites and shall maintain an official historical markers' sites listing. All costs, including production,<br>installation, and maintenance of a historical marker, are the responsibility of the applicant or<br>sponsor of the marker.
55-10-13. Defacing historical marker - Penalty. A person is guilty of an infraction if the
person destroys, removes, alters, defaces, or damages any state historical marker.
55-10-14. Ronald Reagan historic site. If the state historical society acquires a missile
silo historic site, the site is named the Ronald Reagan historic site.
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Document Outline
chapter 55-10 preservation of historic sites and antiquities
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