Greenville, NC

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.

Yes, landscaping may be subject to HPC review.  The addition of any structural elements, such as fencing, lighting, and hardscaping must be approved prior to commencing installation.  Plantings and softscape do not need to be reviewed by the HPC. 

Unless they are designated as historic, existing permanent accessory structures are not required to meet historic design standards.  Any new additions or renovations to these structures, however, must be approved by the HPC and be consistent with the Design Guidelines.

Greenville offers assistance in the form of a Historic Preservation Loan for designated properties or a Façade Improvement Grant for those properties in the Uptown area. Any exterior additions or renovations must be approved by the HPC before building permits can be issued, and must be consistent with the Design Guidelines.  Please contact Planning staff with any questions.

At the federal level, the National Park Service and Internal Revenue Service, in partnership with the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office, offer tax incentives to encourage restoration. 

By law, the Greenville Historic Preservation Commission must review any proposals for alterations to Local Landmarks or properties in College View Historic District and determine whether they have any effect on the significant features of a building or a historic district. Any effect must be harmonious or appropriate. When in doubt if your work needs approval, please contact the Planning Department staff.

Any exterior work that is visible from a public right-of-way that alters or involves a change of existing materials and is not normal upkeep and maintenance (i.e. replacing wood siding with synthetic siding, painting unpainted brick, installing new windows) requires a permit, referred to as a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA). Demolition and new construction as well as installation of fencing or a wall on the grounds of the property also requires a COA.

Permits are required for businesses wishing to put up new signs, even if it is behind the glass in a window, or to install or recover awnings as well as for other more permanent forms of signage and exterior lighting.

Repairs or minor changes that will not significantly alter the historic character of any structures or grounds of a Local Landmark or property in the Local Historic District require only a Minor Works COA. For example, repair or replacement of original but deteriorated wood siding, asphalt shingles, or brick mortar joints with in-kind materials is encouraged and does not require a COA or public hearing. See: list of repairs that require only a Minor Works COA.

Owners of Local Landmarks or properties in the Local Historic District are required to obtain a Certificate of Appropriateness before beginning any type of exterior construction, alteration, or demolition to a property, including changes that might significantly alter the historic character of any structures or the grounds. A COA requires a public hearing before the Historic Preservation Commission. A COA is not required for work done to the interior of a structure unless that work will affect the exterior appearance of that structure.

Applications must comply with local zoning codes. Applications must be filled out, signed by the owner, and submitted with documentation and architectural plans as required.  Guidelines for the submission are given in the Application.

A $50 Major Works or $20 Minor Works application fee is due with the application.

Applications may be turned in at any time of the month and are then reviewed for completeness by the HPC staff. The applications may be subject to a final review by the Design Review subcommittee of the HPC. Additional information may be requested. Once an application is deemed complete, the HPC staff will contact the applicant and give Notice of the Hearing.

Public Hearings before the Greenville Historic Preservation Commission begin at 6:00 pm on the fourth Tuesday of each month. The meetings are typically held in the City Council Chambers on the third floor of the Greenville City Hall located at 200 West Fifth Street. You will be informed of the completeness of your application and the exact time and place of your hearing two weeks prior to the hearing.

An applicant, architect or representative’s attendance is necessary at the public hearing to represent your application. If you are presenting architectural drawings, you will be asked to mount important drawings (elevations or sections) on boards for the hearing to aid in the discussion. If you have presented past schemes, those boards must be represented for comparison purposes, so the Commissioners understand what has changed.

At the hearing, HPC staff may help you present your application to the Commission and then Commissioners will ask direct questions regarding your application. It is often helpful to have a professional on hand to answer questions if you do not fully understand the logistics of installation or construction and the nature of the proposed materials.

The HPC may decide to approve, approve with conditions, or deny your application if it is determined that additional information is necessary. Applications that are held over will receive first priority as “Old Business” at future meetings. Interim sub-committee meetings with HPC staff may meet prior to returning with your application before the Commission.

A decision will be made as quickly as possible, but within a maximum of 60 days after the completed application has been referred to the Commission, unless a mutually agreed-upon extension is granted.

Yes. The property owner can proceed immediately, provided any and all required permits and certificates have been obtained from the City of Greenville and any conditions of permitting are followed.

Yes. If a property owner does not agree with the findings of the Commission, she/he may appeal to the Board of Adjustment. Thereafter, the owner can appeal through the courts of North Carolina.

Yes. Any activity that violates the provisions of the Ordinance must be stopped immediately. The property owner must then apply to the Commission for approval and take any steps necessary to preserve the property while the approval is pending. If a historic property is threatened with imminent harm by the actions of an owner who continues to violate the Ordinance, the City may apply to the courts to stop the activity. There are also fines which may be levied against owners following their conviction for a violation of the Ordinance.

Contact Preservation Planner Collette Kinane in the Planning Department at 252-329-4486 for any questions about historic preservation and historic overlay zoning.