Purpose of Funding
The Historic Preservation Office, in partnership with the National Park Service, administers the Certified Local Government program. The goals of the program are to ensure the broadest possible participation of local governments in the national historic preservation program while maintaining standards consistent with the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Secretary of the Interior’s “Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation;” to enrich, develop, and help maintain local historic preservation programs in cooperation and coordination with the SHPO; and  to provide financial and technical assistance to further these purposes.

The Historic Preservation Office is required to regrant 10% of the state’s allocation of federal historic preservation funds for pass-through as sub-grants to Certified Local Government communities. The goals for the grant projects are:

• To identify buildings, sites, structures, objects and districts which are significant in the areas of history, architecture, archaeology, and engineering and which meet the criteria for inclusion in the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places; and
• To design and implement planning tools for the protection of historic resources.

Application
Announcements about the availability of the grant application can be found on the Historic Preservation Office website www.nj.gov/dep/hpo

Application Deadline
February 28, 2025

Total to be Distributed
Amount varies annually.

Source of Funding
US Department of Interior-National Park Service (NPS)

Statutory Citation
National Historic Preservation Act, P.L. 89-655, as amended

Who is Eligible
To qualify for a CLG grant, a municipality must meet three criteria:

1. CLG Status: The municipality must have applied for and received Certified Local Government status from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Only municipal governments that have been certified by the grant application deadline are eligible to compete for funds. The requirements and process for certification are outlined in New Jersey’s Certified Local Government Guidelines which is available on-line at www.state.nj.us/dep/hpo/3preserve/clgguides8_07.pdf.
2. Annual Report Submission: The participating municipality must be current in their submission of Annual Reports. This means that the annual report for the preceding calendar year has been submitted in accordance with Appendix C of New Jersey’s Certified Local Government Guidelines. Annual reports must be submitted by March 31st for the preceding calendar year. However, if a community has an unfulfilled reporting requirement, the report may be filed as an attachment to the application. This requirement does not apply to communities that attained certification within the past calendar year.
3. Regulatory Compliance: The municipality must agree to comply with all applicable state and federal regulations.

Qualifications Required for Consideration
The Historic Preservation Office uses a competitive selection process and awards grants to projects that best meet the evaluation criteria and funding priorities described in the application packet.

Grant Limitations
The maximum individual grant award is $50,000 and the minimum award is $15,000.  All grants are awarded contingent upon the availability of federal funds.

Application Procedures
Each year notification of availability is mailed to the mayors and copied to the historic preservation commission chairs. Announcements about the availability of the grant application can be found on the Historic Preservation Office website www.nj.gov/dep/hpo.

Evaluation Process
Applications are reviewed by staff for technical completeness and forwarded to a grant evaluation panel comprised of historic preservation professionals. The evaluation panel makes recommendations to the Assistant Commissioner of the DEP’s Community Investment and Economic Revitalization program and grants are awarded upon approval of the Assistant Commissioner.

Additional Information N/A

For More Information, Contact;

David Renitsky
Administrative Analyst
david.renitsky@njdepwptest.net
609-940-5169