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Nolensville amends historic-district rules, adds certificate-of-appropriateness fee
Summary
The Town of Nolensville Board of Commissioners approved second reading of Ordinance 25-04 as amended, updating historic-district procedures and adding a requirement that certificate-of-appropriateness applications be submitted to the town planner with fees paid in full.
The Town of Nolensville Board of Commissioners on April 3 approved second reading of Ordinance 25-04, amending multiple sections of the town zoning code governing the historic district and adding procedural requirements and fees for certificates of appropriateness.
Commissioner Gough and other commissioners discussed an email from a citizen raising questions about how demolition and other review processes operate under the historic zoning commission. Chuck, a town staff member, told the board that the town's historic-district provisions and appeals processes are governed by state law. "It's my understanding under state statute that if the town adopts a historic district provision, that it rests, resides basically with the historic district commission, a body that this board appoints," Chuck said. He added that appeals from the historic district commission generally go to a court of proper jurisdiction under Tennessee Code Annotated.
To address concerns and clarify process, the board considered two amendments previously presented by Mr. Baumgartner. Chuck read the amendments into the record; the items added to the ordinance require that certificate-of-appropriateness applications be submitted to the town planner in accordance with the historic zoning commission's schedule and that required application, plan-review, and inspection fees "shall be as adopted and amended from time to time by the Board of Commissioners of the Town of Nolensville." The ordinance language included: "No application for certificate of appropriateness approval shall be considered for historic zoning commission action without the required fees being paid in full to the town."
The board voted to adopt the two amendments, then passed second reading of Ordinance 25-04 as amended. The votes were unanimous.
The amendments formalize submission and fee requirements for certificate-of-appropriateness applications; staff told the board the corresponding fee schedule appears in a separate schedule-of-fees ordinance. The record reflects that the town relies on Tennessee Code Annotated for the authority, appeals, and standards governing historic-district commissions.
The board placed the changes on the record and approved the ordinance during the council meeting; commissioners said they sought to be responsive to the citizen inquiry while following statutory requirements. The item passed unanimously.
The meeting later proceeded to other agenda items and public hearings, several of which drew no public comment.
