Waynesboro staff outlines gaps in local historic-preservation ordinance; commission discusses design guidelines and enforcement

Planning staff gave the Waynesboro Planning Commission a detailed briefing on historic registers, design guidelines and the city’s current historic-preservation ordinance at the Oct. 22 meeting.

Allison, planning staff, reviewed federal and state frameworks, including the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and Virginia’s Department of Historic Resources (DHR). Allison said listing on the National Register or the Virginia Landmarks Register is largely honorary and “does not impose any additional restrictions on property owners,” but can make owners eligible for federal and state tax credits and other grant programs.

Staff described the steps commonly used in historic preservation planning—inventorying resources, writing preservation policy in the comprehensive plan, creating a preservation ordinance, and conducting public outreach—and outlined typical ordinance elements such as purpose statements, a process for designating landmarks and districts, creation of an historic review board (or architectural review board), a certificate of appropriateness (COA) process, and separate district design guidelines.

Waynesboro currently has three historic districts listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register: the…