Your property is considered historic if it is a contributing part of a National Register Historic District, it is located in the College View Local Historic District, or it is an officially designated Local Landmark.  The Historic Preservation Commission may periodically nominate properties and/or neighborhoods to be included in the National Register of Historic Places or to be designated as Local Landmarks or Local Historic Districts. Please contact the Greenville Historic Preservation Commission to verify if your property is designated as historic.

Many property owners enjoy the sense of pride, prestige, and connection to history associated with owning an historic property. There are many tangible benefits of owning an historic property as well. Owners of properties in a National Register Historic District may be eligible to apply for federal tax credits for the qualifying rehabilitation of income producing properties. The State of North Carolina authorizes a 10-15% credit for those taxpayers who receive the federal credit, providing investors with a combined 30-35% credit against eligible project costs.

In addition, the state provides a 15% credit for the rehabilitation of non-income-producing historic properties, including private residences. In the Local Historic District, Design Guidelines encourage the purchase and rehabilitation of properties because investors can be confident that attractiveness of the surrounding neighborhood will be maintained. In general, historic areas tend to be attractive, human-scaled, walkable, and well-maintained.

The full ordinance is on file for your review at the Planning Office in the Greenville Municipal Building at 201 West 5^th Street or on the web at www.amlegal.com and searching for Greenville, NC.

At the moment your property is designated, you will not be required to make any changes to alter the exterior of your property.  You can continue to maintain your property as you have been.  However, after designation if you decide to make any changes to the exterior (especially additions or demolition) these changes will require prior approval from the HPC before applying for any building permits.  Guidelines are given in Design Guidelines, which are based on the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.  

It is not necessary to have HPC approval for any interior alterations, or for normal repairs that do not affect the exterior appearance of the house (such as repainting the same color or re-roofing with the same material).

No. Base zoning specifies the permitted uses of a property (commercial, office, residential, etc.) and some basic size and parking requirements.  All historic properties will keep their current base zoning and are still subject to relevant ordinances. The purpose of the designation is to preserve historic and architectural structures; not to control the use of the structure or property. 

Yes. Any previous legal use of the property permitted under its base zoning district is still allowed.

No. The interior design, interior renovation and use of a designated structure are not affected by historic overlay zoning. 

The HPC encourages historically appropriate restoration!  One of the purposes of the historic tax exemption is to encourage appropriate restoration and maintenance of historic properties.  However, any changes to the exterior (especially additions), must be approved by the HPC before obtaining any building permits, in order to verify that proposed changes are historically appropriate.  Guidelines are given in Design Guidelines.

It is not necessary to have HPC approval for any interior alterations, or for normal repairs that do not affect the exterior appearance of the house (such as repainting the same color or re-roofing with the same material).  Please contact Planning staff with any questions.