Pickens County, SC Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

To use the program, an owner first applies for preliminary certification: the property must already carry historic designation, and county council must approve the proposed rehabilitation work before it begins. Historic designation under Section 36-177(b) means the property is listed on the National Register, individually or as a contributing property in a district, or is at least 50 years old and has been designated an individual landmark or contributing property in a local historic district by council and listed in the Code of Ordinances. Rehabilitation must be "eligible" under Section 36-178: expenditures on the work must exceed 20 percent of the building's fair market value, as certified by a licensed appraiser, a recent bona fide sale price, or the tax assessor's most recent appraisal, and the work must follow preservation standards that retain historic materials, features, and craftsmanship rather than create a false sense of history.

The project must be completed within two years of preliminary certification, though the assessment continues past that deadline if minimum expenditures have already been incurred. 00 for all other structures, and the planning commission inspects the completed work against the approved plans before granting it. Once certified, the property keeps the special assessment until it is decertified: at the owner's written request, if the county removes the historic designation, or if council rescinds its approval because of alterations inconsistent with what was certified.