purpose. They must make provisions for the
right of due process and they must not be so restrictive as to
deprive a property owner of all reasonable economic use of his
or her property.
Local ordinances in Virginia are adopted
pursuant to §15.2-2306 of the Code of Virginia. This
“enabling legislation” provides for the adoption of
an ordinance protecting historic resources and the appointment
of a review board to administer the ordinance. Local historic
district ordinances in Virginia’s communities often share
similarities and common provisions. However, while an existing
ordinance from one locality can be used by another seeking to
establish its own ordinance, most guidance would caution
against a simple “search and replace” action to
make a historic district ordinance from one community
applicable to another. In developing a historic district
ordinance a community should consider its unique resources and
character and should make provision for the protection of the
places that define that particular community and create its
sense of place.
Many of the ordinances adopted by Virginia
communities can be reviewed at the website of the Virginia Local
Preservation Reference Collection at the University of Mary
Washington’s Center for Historic Preservation. (http:
//departments.
umw.edu/chpr/www/vlprc/home.htm). The Preservation Reference Collection also includes examples of preservation components from local comprehensive plans and a link to a 1991 publication of the Preservation Alliance of Virginia (now merged with the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities), Handbook on Historic District Zoning. The Handbook includes an annotated ordinance with a compilation of some of the best sections found in Virginia’s historic district ordinances.
umw.edu/chpr/www/vlprc/home.htm). The Preservation Reference Collection also includes examples of preservation components from local comprehensive plans and a link to a 1991 publication of the Preservation Alliance of Virginia (now merged with the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities), Handbook on Historic District Zoning. The Handbook includes an annotated ordinance with a compilation of some of the best sections found in Virginia’s historic district ordinances.
WHAT SHOULD AN
ORDINANCE INCLUDE?
ORDINANCE INCLUDE?
One of the first provisions usually found
in a local historic district ordinance is a statement of
purpose and intent. Ordinances, of course, are primarily
established to avoid the loss of well known and familiar
landmarks and to discourage inappropriate new construction
resulting in buildings architecturally incongruous with the historic
district. But, a carefully crafted statement of purpose can
also refer to other goals that the local ordinance will
support. Those goals often include the protection of the
community’s quality of life, the promotion of tourism,
stabilization of property values, and education for residents
on local history and heritage, for example. These provisions
are essential in establishing the broad public purpose of the
local historic preservation program.
The ordinance should call for the
appointment by the governing body of a board or commission to
administer the ordinance. The DHR recommends that a separate
board be established for the purpose of administering the local
ordinance, rather than assigning the review responsibilities to
the planning commission or other existing board. The DHR
further recommends that all members of the local review board
have an interest, competence or knowledge in historic
preservation.
A local ordinance should include criteria
for the establishment of historic districts and should set out
a procedure for establishing such districts. District
boundaries must be clearly delineated, the actions subject to
review by the review board must be clearly defined and the
ordinance must substantially achieve the purpose of preserving local
resources of historic, architec
