Planning commission backs text changes to Beaufort County historic-preservation code to pursue CLG status

The Beaufort County Planning Commission voted unanimously to support staff-proposed amendments to the Community Development Code that would create a local historic-designation process, add cemetery-protection buffers and standards, and help the county qualify for Certified Local Government (CLG) status and related federal preservation grants.

Planning staff member Kristen, who presented the changes, told commissioners the amendments are intended to let the county apply for federal historic-preservation grants and to create a local inventory and designation process separate from the National Register of Historic Places. “This is to help the county with its historic preservation,” Kristen said.

The amendments revise multiple CDC sections governing certificates of appropriateness, historic designation criteria, public-hearing scheduling and the Historic Preservation Review Board’s duties. The draft adds the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation as a reference for COA (certificate of appropriateness) reviews, defines relocation and demolition review, and creates a process to add properties to a Beaufort County local inventory rather than relying solely on…