[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3911 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3911

  To establish the Great Falls Historic District in the State of New 
                    Jersey, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 26, 1996

 Mr. Pallone introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish the Great Falls Historic District in the State of New 
                    Jersey, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Great Falls Preservation and 
Redevelopment Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the Great Falls Historic District in the State of New 
        Jersey is an area of historical significance as an early site 
        of planned industrial development, and has remained largely 
        intact, including architecturally significant structures;
            (2) the Great Falls Historic District is listed on the 
        National Register of Historic Places and has been designated a 
        National Historic Landmark;
            (3) the Great Falls Historic District is situated within a 
        one-half hour's drive from New York City and a 2 hour's drive 
        from Philadelphia, Hartford, New Haven, and Wilmington;
            (4) the District was developed by the Society of Useful 
        Manufactures, an organization whose leaders included a number 
        of historically renowned individuals, including Alexander 
        Hamilton; and
            (5) the Great Falls Historic District has been the subject 
        of a number of studies that have shown that the District 
        possesses a combination of historic significance and natural 
        beauty worthy of and uniquely situated for preservation and 
        redevelopment.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to preserve and interpret, for the educational and 
        inspirational benefit of the public, the contribution to our 
        national heritage of certain historic and cultural lands and 
        edifices of the Great Falls Historic District, with emphasis on 
        harnessing this unique urban environment for its educational 
        and recreational value; and
            (2) to enhance economic and cultural redevelopment within 
        the District.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) District.--The term ``District'' means the Great Falls 
        Historic District established by section 5.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 5. GREAT FALLS HISTORIC DISTRICT.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established the Great Falls Historic 
District in the city of Paterson, in Passaic County, New Jersey.
    (b) Boundaries.--The boundaries of the District shall be the 
boundaries specified for the Great Falls Historic District listed on 
the National Register of Historic Places.

SEC. 6. DEVELOPMENT PLAN.

    (a) Grants and Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary may make 
grants and enter into cooperative agreements with the State of New 
Jersey, local governments, and private nonprofit entities under which 
the Secretary agrees to pay not more than 50 percent of the costs of--
            (1) preparation of a plan for the development of historic, 
        architectural, natural, cultural, and interpretive resources 
        within the District; and
            (2) implementation of projects approved by the Secretary 
        under the development plan.
    (b) Contents of Plan.--The development plan shall include--
            (1) an evaluation of--
                    (A) the physical condition of historic and 
                architectural resources; and
                    (B) the environmental and flood hazard conditions 
                within the District; and
            (2) recommendations for--
                    (A) rehabilitating, reconstructing, and adaptively 
                reusing the historic and architectural resources;
                    (B) preserving viewsheds, focal points, and 
                streetscapes;
                    (C) establishing gateways to the District;
                    (D) establishing and maintaining parks and public 
                spaces;
                    (E) developing public parking areas;
                    (F) improving pedestrian and vehicular circulation 
                within the District;
                    (G) improving security within the District, with an 
                emphasis on preserving historically significant 
                structures from arson; and
                    (H) establishing a visitors' center.

SEC. 7. RESTORATION, PRESERVATION, AND INTERPRETATION OF PROPERTIES.

    (a) Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary may enter into 
cooperative agreements with the owners of properties within the 
District that the Secretary determines to be of historical or cultural 
significance, under which the Secretary may--
            (1) pay not more than 50 percent of the cost of restoring 
        and improving the properties;
            (2) provide technical assistance with respect to the 
        preservation and interpretation of the properties; and
            (3) mark and provide interpretation of the properties.
    (b) Provisions.--A cooperative agreement under subsection (a) shall 
provide that--
            (1) the Secretary shall have the right of access at 
        reasonable times to public portions of the property for 
        interpretive and other purposes;
            (2) no change or alteration may be made in the property 
        except with the agreement of the property owner, the Secretary, 
        and any Federal agency that may have regulatory jurisdiction 
        over the property; and
            (3) if at any time the property is converted, used, or 
        disposed of in a manner that is contrary to the purposes of 
        this Act, as determined by the Secretary, the property owner 
        shall be liable to the Secretary for the greater of--
                    (A) the amount of assistance provided by the 
                Secretary for the property; or
                    (B) the portion of the increased value of the 
                property that is attributable to that assistance, 
                determined as of the date of the conversion, use, or 
                disposal.
    (c) Applications.--
            (1) In general.--A property owner that desires to enter 
        into a cooperative agreement under subsection (a) shall submit 
        to the Secretary an application describing how the project 
        proposed to be funded will further the purposes of the 
        District.
            (2) Consideration.--In making such funds available under 
        this section, the Secretary shall give consideration to 
        projects that provide a greater leverage of Federal funds.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 
out this Act--
            (1) $250,000 for grants and cooperative agreements for the 
        development plan under section 6; and
            (2) $50,000 for the provision of technical assistance and 
        $3,000,000 for the provision of other assistance under 
        cooperative agreements under section 7.
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