Teaching > RWU HP202 Preservation Planning > Assignments >

Design Guidelines

• Design Guidelines — Reading

Northampton, Massachusetts.

Guidelines Selection (with reference to your "adopted" states).

• Select design guidelines from two municipalities (towns, cities) in different states. Google states or municipalities and check the NSPC listing, below.
  • Historic Preservation Design Guideline, National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (NAPC), Owens Library, University of Georgia.
• Have at least one be "urban" design guidelines, as distinguished from those of more "residential" or "rural" character).
• Print out the Guidelines. They are typically illustrated and will be found as PDF files.

Examples (A variety of examples to peruse. Do not use these for your analysis. Find others.)

• Downtown Design Guidelines, Historic Preservation Program, City of Boulder [Download as PDF file, also under Applications and Forms.]
• Historic District Program Manual & Design Guidelines, Greensboro, North Carolina [Download as PDF file.]
• Design Guidelines for West Chester Historic District, West Chester Historic and Architectural Review Board, West Chester, Pennsylvania
• Design Review Guides, Department of Planning and Zoning, Burlington, Vermont
• Design Guidelines, City of Saratoga, New York [Download as PDF file.]
• Historic Preservation Design Guidelines, Office of Planning, Washington DC

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

Charleston, South Carolina

Questions for Each Guidelines

1  Why are design guidelines called "guidelines"?

• Historic Preservation Design Guidelines, National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (NAPC), Owens Library, University of Georgia.

2  What historic districts (by name, date of creation) in your municipality have been established as the enforcement mechanism for the Guidelines?

3  Do the Guidelines reference any of the following:

1. State enabling legislation
2. Land-use regulations, zoning, and/or other regulatory requirements
3. Municipal, downtown, or district- or area-specific , approved Plan (by title, publishing department, date)
4. Historic district commission
5. Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings, National Park Service.
6. Other standards.

4  Who uses the Guidelines?

5  Administration

1. Who is primarily responsible for administering the Guidelines, by name(s)?
2. What entity do they "report" to, by title?

6  Which of the the following do the Guidelines list to be candidates for possible review?

1. Exterior of buildings
2. Exterior of buildings, principally the portions visible at the pedestrian level from public rights-of-way, including alleyways.
3. Site features
   1. Trees
   2. Parking
4. HVAC units and other mechanical, structural or electrical appurtenances
5. Appearances
   1. Commercial signage
   2. Awnings, canopies
   3. Lighting
   4. Banners and flags
   5. Others
6. Paint color
7. Maintenance
8. Amenities in a public right of way (public improvements)
   1. Plants, trees (specie, spacing, minimum head height, tree grates)
   2. Sidewalk treatment
   3. Furnishings: tables with seating, benches, trash receptacles, bollards, kiosks, magazine/newspaper boxes
   4. Wayfinding signage
   5. Handicapped ramp
   6. Railings, post, piers
   7. Bike rack
   8. Public art
   9. Others
9. Others

7  Which of the following documentation may be required for submission by the property owner for review by the administrative body?

1. Location map
2. Photographs
   1. Views: context, site, elevations, details
   2. Format: printed, digital
3. Drawings (orthographic, etc., scaled)
   1. Site plan, boundaries, dimensioned
   2. Restrictions, special conditions (flood plains, shadows, land restrictions, existing conditions)
   3. Existing conditions and proposed "enhancements", distinguished
   4. Floor plans
   5. Building sections
   6. Exterior elevations
   7. Others
4. Specifications (separate or indicated as notes on the drawings)
   1. Materials
   2. Colors
   3. Special products
   4. Execution of work
5. Materials and products
   1. Samples and/or chips
   2. Brochures,"tear" sheets
   3. MSDS sheets
6. Mass model, study model
7. Colored perspective sketches
8. Analysis of shadow impact

Bar Harbor, Maine.

8  Examine the guidelines that are offered for the following (No specific questions.)

1. New construction
2. Remodeling non-contributing buildings
3. Transitions from district to non-district, and/or different zoned (commercial to non-commercial) areas

9  Which of the following are granted by the administrative body?

1. "No COA Required" determination by staff. (If so, is there a list of projects that do not require a COA such as maintenance and repair work, traffic signs, tree pruning, tree houses in back yards, painting
2. Certificate of Appropriateness (COA), staff approval, commission approval
3. Building Permit
4. Certificate of Occupancy (CO or "C of O")
5. Revocable right-of-way permit

10  How do the Guidelines address treatment of missing elements on commercial properties (storefronts, signage, etc.) and residential properties? (Provide a short answer, quoting specific language.)