Historic Preservation Commission

Note: Members of the Historic Preservation Commission also serve on the Design Review Board. Please see the Design Review Board webpage for additional information.

Purpose

As public stewards of the Davidson Historic District, the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) has several powers and responsibilities. These include recommending to the Board of Commissioners the designation, or the removal, of historic district overlay zoning; granting requests for proposed changes within the historic district that are congruous with state, federal, and local governments in pursuance of its responsibilities; and conducting meetings or hearings necessary to carry out these roles.

Meetings & Rules of Procedure

The HPC meets the third Wednesday of each month, immediately following the 5:30 PM Design Review Board meeting, unless otherwise noted. All meetings are open to the public.
Davidson Town Hall Community Room 120
251 South Street
Davidson, NC 28036
Town Staff Liaison: Lindsay Laird, Planner (llaird@townofdavidson.org)

The Historic Preservation Commission conducts meetings in accordance with the HPC Rules of Procedure (adopted 09.16.2020).

Agenda

The Design Review Board/Historic Preservation Commission will not meet in November or December 2023. They will hold their next regularly scheduled monthly meeting on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, in the Davidson Town Hall Community Room 120, immediately following the 5:30pm Design Review Board Meeting.

Meeting agendas may be found on the Board of Commissioners & Advisory Board Meeting webpage. Agendas are posted the week prior to the scheduled meeting. Please refer to our Development Projects page for major projects.

Meeting agendas prior to October 2019 may be found on NOVUS Agenda.

Upcoming COA Cases

The HPC will not meet in November or December 2023. At their January 17, 2024, regular meeting, the HPC will tentatively discuss the following:

Additional agenda items will be posted as applications are received. If you have questions or comments related to an upcoming case, please email Historic Preservation Commission liaison, Lindsay Laird, at llaird@townofdavidson.org prior to the scheduled meeting date.

Applications

Certificate of Appropriateness (COA): required prior to beginning any project(s) in the local historic district. Reference Sections 22 of the Davidson Planning Ordinance for additional information. COA cases are either reviewed by staff (Minor Works) or by the Historic Preservation Commission (Major Works) against the adopted Davidson Historic District Design Guidelines. A complete list of minor and major projects may be found here: Minor vs. Major Works List.
Historic Preservation Commission Witness Application: A Witness Application should be completed by those who wish to testify as a sworn witness at a COA hearing. Any testimony must be competent, relevant, and substantive to the issue before the Commission. Complete Witness Application(s) shall be emailed to HPC Staff Liaison, Lindsay Laird at llaird@townofdavidson.org at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled hearing.
Historic Preservation Commission Standing Application: A Standing Application should be completed by those who wish to participate in a COA hearing as a Party with Standing. The HPC reserves the right to grant standing based on the contents in this form if a proper showing of standing is made, to deny standing if the contents of this form fail to show valid grounds for standing, and to make further inquiries regarding any standing issue at the hearing. Any party who is denied standing will be allowed to participate as a witness, however, any testimony given must be competent, relevant, and substantive to the issue before the Commission. Complete Standing Application(s) shall be emailed to HPC Staff Liasion, Lindsay Laird at llaird@townofdavidson.org at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled hearing.

Application Deadlines

Application, fee and all required materials, drawings and documentation for new major projects must be received at least four weeks prior to the meeting date of the HPC. An FYI review is encouraged for all larger projects.
All required materials, drawings and documents for cases that are continued from previous meetings or presented to the HPC for verification of conditions must be received three weeks prior to the meeting date.
Application, fee and all required materials, drawings and documentation for signs in the local historic district, minor renovations, consent items and informational review only items must be received three weeks prior to the meeting date.
Witness and standing applications are due at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled hearing date.

Historic Preservation Commission Fees

Please contact Town staff to verify fees. The Town of Davidson Fee Schedule is located on the Finance and Budget webpage.

Membership

The Historic Preservation Commission, as appointed by the Board of Commissioners, are residents who have had special training or experience in a design field, such as architecture, landscape architecture, horticulture, planning, historic preservation or a closely related field. Members of the Historic Preservation Commission also serve on the Design Review Board. Please contact Town Staff if you are interested in serving on the Historic Preservation Commission/Design Review Board (llaird@townofdavidson.org).