Historic Preservation and RHDC (TC-3-24)
Historic Preservation and RHDC (TC-3-24): Amendments to State Law and a staff review of the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) identified issues in the code that warrant further review and correction....
Historic Preservation and RHDC (TC-3-24): Amendments to State Law and a staff review of the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) identified issues in the code that warrant further review and correction. To ensure continuous improvement of the city's land development regulations and align with State Law, the language of the historic preservation-related sections of the UDO were updated.
Read the draft ordinance.Information meeting presentation.Information meetings Q&A.
Background Information:
State enabling legislation determines what cities can and cannot do related to land development. This includes the authority of historic preservation commissions, the process for designating and amending historic overlay districts and local landmarks, the COA process, and quasi-judicial proceedings. This text change codifies the state law amendments already implemented as well as revises technical language. It includes reorganization within sections to improve clarity, grouping by role (staff, RHDC, City Council), and accommodating process changes. Additionally, the new Minor Work list makes more work types approvable administratively.
Due to the deletion and addition of lines and the section reorganizations, the draft ordinance appears to have more changes than there are. To assist with your review, the historic preservation staff has prepared documents that specify the changes. The PDFs should open with the comments pane open.
Full Text Change BlacklineNew Minor Work List BlacklineCurrent COA List of Work Blackline
The update contains the following items:
Throughout the text change:Adds and revises language to match and be in alignment with State LawEliminates duplicative language in favor of cross-referencesChanges references to design guidelines to design standardsHistoric Overlay Districts (HOD) — 5.4.1 and 5.4.2:Specifies that for specific exterior changes, the need for a COA may be different for each district based on the applicable design standards.Deletes the definition of exterior featuresClarifies what area of a property requires a COA for Streetside HODsUpdates the Streetside HOD diagram to include more examplesRevises when, for setbacks and height, the underlying zoning appliesClarifies the need for design standards, how they are applied, and lists the current HODsHistoric Development Commission 10.1.4:Notes the legal authority of the COA Committee to hear and decide Major Work COA applications.Allows for appointments to RHDC to occur on an as-needed basis.Common Review Procedures — 10.1.8 and 10.2.1:Updates the Summary of Review Authority chart to reflect changesAdds that landmark designation hearings are published in the newspaper for 2 weeks in a row.Subdivision Review — 10.2.5:Corrects an incorrect cross-referenceRezoning — 10.2.4:Clarifies that the rezoning process also applies to amendments to HODsAuthorizes RHDC to send designation reports to the State Historic Preservation Office per state lawCorrects an incorrect cross-referenceCOA Process — 10.2.15:Reorganizes the section for clarity and to differentiate the Minor Work and Major Work processesClarifies the legal authority of the COA Committee to hear and decide the Major Work COA application.Defines who can be an applicantMoves the Minor Work list from the RHDC Rules of Procedure to the UDO and makes more work types approvable administrativelyRemoved references to summary proceedings and programmatic COAsHistoric Landmark Designation Process — 10.2.16:Eliminates the joint public hearing with RHDC and City Council and changes to each body holding separate public hearings.Reorganizes the section to reflect the elimination of the joint public hearing and for clarity of the process.Authorizes RHDC to send designation reports to the State Historic Preservation Office per state lawAllows for City Council to adopt a designation ordinance immediately following the public hearingDefinitions — 12.2:Adds a definition of character-definingDeletes the definition of exterior featuresAdds a definition of footprint
Public Meeting Schedule:
This text change is scheduled for a Raleigh Historic Development Commission meeting on September 10.
This text change is scheduled for a Planning Commission Text Change Committee meeting on September 17. We will be collecting comments through September 11. Comments after this date should be submitted directly to Eric Hodge.
