CITY OF FREDERICK
HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION
Historic district property owners can obtain administrative approval for certain rehabilitation work, signs, changes to settings, and proposed outdoor features from City’s historic preservation planner or a qualified consultant,. The historic preservation planner or consultant will review all applications to the Historic District Commission for the appropriateness of administrative approval.
1. Administrative approval for the items included herein is authorized by the Historic District Commission (HDC), provided the Planning Department staff includes a historic preservation planner, qualified under 36CFR, Part 61. If a qualified historic preservation planner is not on staff, a consultant qualified under 36CFR61 must be under contract with the Planning Department to carry out administrative approvals. In this document, all references to the historic preservation planner pertain to a qualified consultant, in the absence of a historic preservation planner.
2. All work approved by the historic preservation planner must comply with the Frederick Town Historic District Design Guidelines and The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
3. The historic preservation planner can refer applications to the HDC if he or she is uncertain if the case concerns a category of administrative approval or if he or she has other concerns or reservations about issuing an administrative approval.
4. A building permit must be obtained before work can begin.
5. The applicant has the right to “appeal” the denial of approval through the administrative approval process. Appealed cases are submitted to the HDC for action.
6. Applications to be reviewed through the administrative approval program are subject to the fee schedule published by the Planning Department.
B. Procedures
1. The applicant will file for HDC approval using standard application forms developed by the Planning Department.
2. The historic preservation planner will determine if the application corresponds with the categories of work subject to administrative approval, detailed in II, below. If administrative approval is appropriate, the Planning Department must issue a Preliminary Certificate of Administrative Approval within 14 days of receipt of a complete application.
3. When the Preliminary Certificate of Administrative Approval is issued, the applicant will be issued a public notice sign, which must be posted for 10 days. The 10-day posting of the sign constitutes the “public comment period.”
4. In situations in which life and safety issues are at stake or where delaying proposed work could result in significant damage to the building, the public notice must be posted, but the public comment period is waived. Such waiver can occur only with the prior approval of the Planning Director and the Permit Director. A building permit must be obtained.
5. If no objection is submitted during the period, in writing to the Planning Department, the applicant will be sent a Certificate of Approval.
6. If an objection is submitted, the case will be referred to the HDC and scheduled for the next workshop and hearing.
7. If any conditions attached to the Preliminary Certificate of Administrative Approval are not met, the preservation planner may deny issuing a Certificate of Administrative Approval.
8. If the preservation planner denies administrative approval, the applicant can revise the proposal to correspond with staff comments or make written request for HDC review.
9. The historic preservation planner will provide the HDC with a report of administrative approvals at each HDC hearing.
1. Rehabilitation is defined by the Secretary of the Interior as “the process of returning a property to a state of utility, through repair or alteration, which makes possible an efficient contemporary use while preserving those portions and features of the property which are significant to its historic, architectural, and cultural values.”
2. Rehabilitation activities that are subject to administrative approval include but are not limited to the following types of projects:
a. The removal of materials and features that are not in compliance with the guidelines;
b. The replacement of materials and features not in compliance with the guidelines with materials and features in keeping with the guidelines;
c. The repair and replacement of deteriorated materials with historically appropriate materials. Such work may involve siding, doors, windows, gutters and downspouts, roofs, chimneys, doorstops, paving, and other exterior features.
d. The installation of missing materials and features, supported by documentation;
e. Repointing and other masonry repairs;
f. The installation of storm doors and storm windows;
g. Exterior placement of meters, vents, cable or telephone boxes, wiring, antennas, satellite dishes, and components of HVAC systems;
h. The installation of security devices, such as control panels, touch key plates, mirrors, cameras, and peepholes.
i. The replacement of exterior light fixtures;
j. Other exterior modifications, including mail slots and boxes and house numbers;
k. Minor changes to plans already approved by the HDC.
1. Signs are defined as any device, structure, painting or visual image designed to be seen by the public. Signage can incorporate graphics, symbols, letters, or numbers for the purpose of advertising or identifying any business, products, or services.
2. Signs that can be approved through the administrative approval program include but are not limited to:
a. The replacement of signs that are compatible with the guidelines with signs compatible with the guidelines;
b. The installation of signs on historically appropriate locations, such as signboards, brackets, windows, and awnings.
1. Settings include yards, streetscapes, and other open spaces within the historic district. The administrative procedure authority encompasses the treatment of such settings, including their rehabilitation, repair, and small-scale new construction. Types of features that can be approved through the administrative approval program include, but are not limited to
a. Fences and walls;
b. Paving, including the construction or replacement of paths, sidewalks, parking areas, patios, and driveways;
c. Sheds and other small-scale outbuildings;
d. Other minor landscape features.
HDC Focus Group
Revised 10-21-03