New Historic Design Guidelines for Local Historic Districts in Salisbury NC!

Most of the North Main Neighborhood is not in a designated historic district, even though many of
our homes date back to the early 1900s.  However; right through the center of this long, linear neighborhood lies the North Main Street Historic District, which runs the length of N. Main Street from the 600 block (Lafayette Street) to the 1700 block (17th Street), and parts of side streets to the east, such as N. Lee Street, E. Henderson Street, E. Steele Street, Scales Street, E. Miller Street, and E. Henderlite Street.  The North Main Street District is both a nationally and locally designated Historic District.

Salisbury has ten National Register Historic Districts, and five of those are also Local Historic Districts. Each of the five local districts includes all or portions of a number of the National Register Districts. It is important to provide a distinction between national and local districts. National Register Historic Districts are primarily honorary, indicating that they include a collection of buildings that is important to architectural history and worthy of preservation. While honorary, districts do come with significant tax incentives for preservation. National Register District designation alone does not require a property owner to go through the City of Salisbury’s design review process detailed in this document.

Local historic districts have been designated by the Salisbury City Council to be important to the architectural heritage and history of the Salisbury community. These districts are established through local historic overlay zoning, which requires that exterior changes to properties be reviewed and approved prior to undergoing any improvements.  The North Main Street Historic District is one of these.

Historic Preservation Commission (HPC)

The design review process is facilitated by the City of Salisbury Historic Preservation Commission HPC).

The HPC is established by North Carolina State Law, City Council, and Chapter 14 of the Land Development Ordinance (LDO). The HPC is responsible for protecting the architectural integrity of Salisbury’s local historic districts.

This primarily includes receiving and reviewing applications for Certificates of Appropriateness (COA) from property owners and residents within locally designated districts, such as the North Main Street District. The HPC uses these Historic Design Guidelines to evaluate each certificate of appropriateness request based on its consistency with these guidelines.

In general, the Historic Design Guidelines detail:

• Rehabilitation guidelines for preserving and protecting the historic character of existing structures within each district.
• Site element guidelines to preserve the integrity of the overall district fabric including streetscapes, signage, lighting, paving, etc.
• New construction guidelines presenting preferred treatments for building new buildings or additions that respect the character of the existing historic architecture.
• District-specific guidelines that present the key architectural character and challenges within individual districts, as well as highlighting key guidelines most important for that district.

Revised Historic Design Guidelines

As many may know, the Historic Design Guidelines that have been in place for many years were fairly strict and were sometimes off-putting when it came to making repairs to these 100 year old homes.  But in May 2015, the City of Salisbury Historic Preservation Commission presented new & improved Historic Design Guidelines to City Council...and these were approved!  The changes allow some modern materials for repairs that were not approved in prior years!

Certain synthetic materials such as Hardie™ Board and other fiber-cement materials now can be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, providing:

• they are used only when the original material is no longer available or feasible,
• they are installed in a traditional manner that includes the installation of corner boards, architectural trim around windows and doors, etc.,
• they match the original in width of exposure, thickness, profile, texture, grain, and color.

The Guidelines encourage us to retain and preserve historic roofing material whenever possible, especially character defining roofing elements. If repair or partial replacement is necessary, use new material that matches the historic material in composition, size, shape, color, pattern, and texture.  Where before we were only allowed to use original materials, under the revised Guidelines, we can consider substitute material only if the original material is not available.

When an entire roof area must be replaced, contemporary substitute materials that closely imitate historic roofing materials appropriate to the structure, and that have demonstrated a record of quality and durability may be used. The physical properties of the new roof area should closely match or complement other roofed areas on the building. When a COA is being sought for the use of synthetic materials, the applicant should include with the application a sample of the new material as well as the existing material that is being replaced.

Sustainability

An important update in the new Guidelines addresses sustainability and energy efficiency ~
something that under the old guidelines was fairly ignored.  This is an important positive step.  Now, if you are thinking solar energy, rain barrels, and storm windows, you can review the guidelines for suggestions as to how to add these to your historic home.

   * * * * * * * * *

The newly revised Historic Design Guidelines contain a whole lot  more information, so if your or your neighbors' home is within the North Main Historic District, you will want to take a look at these, especially if you are considering work on your home!

You can download a copy of the new Guidelines >HERE<

When the North Main Historic District is preserved, the rest of the North Main Neighborhood is preserved along with it, and our quality of life in the neighborhood improves.

Happy Preservation!

The North Main Neighborhood (NOMA)
www.NextDoor.com
www.Facebook.com/NOMAnorthmain