Quote:
Originally Posted by John Mercier
Not exactly how it works.
The buyer, should they need an excavation permit or some other change to the area, has to allow for the dig.
But they don't pay for it.
The State (mostly through grants) pays for the dig usually with ''volunteer'' labor from UNH.
|
That’s not accurate.
The land under the Weirs Drive In (as well as other adjacent land in the area) is listed on the National Register of Historic places. The Register itself does not have regulatory authority. However, there is a defacto means in which the State Office of Historical Preservation gets control of development properties, and the State can (and will) require the developer to perform preservation and/or mitigating procedures in recognition of any property the is listed on the Register, or even qualifies for the Register.
Any time a property is disturbed in excess of one acre, a federal EPA Stormwater General Permit is required. Generally, this permit is granted by default through the submission of an application. However, that permit application requires the applicant to review and certify that there are no historical properties of significance impacted by the development. If there are, the State is granted authority through the Federal Section 106 Historical Preservation Act, to intervene, and comment on the historical impacts of development. The State has a relatively unmitigated and undefined level of authority to review each case as they deem appropriate. Generally speaking, the EPA stormwater permit won’t be issued until the State has written a statement that the historic issues have been investigated, preserved, or other mitigation has been provided to the State’s satisfaction. There is an appeal process to the National Parks Service, but that is very time consuming, and not likely tp prevail. It is 100% the responsibility and expense of the developer to satisfy the whims of the State Office of Historical Preservation.
Typically, the historical significance is a building, or is something that is visible above the ground. In that instance, it is easier to establish what exists, and how it might be restored, relocated, documented, and/or mitigated. In the case of properties around the Weirs, the level of historic significance can’t be established without digging in the ground. Once you start digging, you have no idea what level of artifacts might be encountered, both in terms of quality and quantity. If the developer is lucky, they might be able to obtain a grant or 3rd party assistance to mitigate with the costs of the investigation/preservation, but that’s difficult to get, because even the 3rd party has no idea the scope of what might be required. UNH doesn’t just step in with an open checkbook, and say “we got your back”.
The unknown time, expense, and complexity of investigation, preservation, or mitigation, makes it nearly impossible to establish a sales agreement contingency that is satisfactory to both the buyer and the seller. Further, not many buyers want to start investigating something with an undefined end point, both in terms of time and money.
It’s a tough situation for the property owner. They would probably be best served by trying to establish the limits of what would be required to get State to sign off, but that in and of itself is a time consuming and expensive endeavor. I concur that it seems unfair, but the property is listed on the National Register, so it is what it is. It’s going to take somebody with a high tolerance for risk to undertake a development of that property.