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Residents, preservationists clash over plan to shift commercial historic reviews to planning board
Summary
A public hearing on TA-24-04 drew competing views: downtown owners urged moving nonresidential certificates of appropriateness to the planning board to speed redevelopment, while preservation advocates warned the change would remove trained citizen oversight and risk insensitive alterations. The board approved guideline amendments but the submission of the UDO text amendment recorded a split vote.
The Aberdeen Board of Commissioners heard more than an hour of public comment on June 24 over a proposed text amendment (TA-24-04) that would change who decides certificates of appropriateness (COAs) in the town's historic district.
Staff described the proposal as a clarification of review authority in Chapter 2 of the Unified Development Ordinance that would let the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) retain review of residential COAs while the planning board would be decision-maker for nonresidential, commercial COAs; town staff would be authorized to administratively approve minor work. Planning staff said the changes aim to speed downtown rehabilitation and align review authority with development expertise.
The hearing split downtown stakeholders. Ryan Lemille, who owns a downtown commercial building, said the change is necessary to attract investors and to avoid long delays: "I think moving from the HPC for just non residential commercial, just our central business district, to the planning department is the way to go because the planning department is planning and development for thinking, what does the town need to grow?" He and other property owners said many downtown buildings remain empty and that the current process can deter investment.
Preservation advocates urged caution. Leslie Bridal, a federally certified historic architecture professional and former HPC vice chair, told the board that "Aberdeen's historic commercial buildings are 1 of its greatest assets" and warned that removing day-to-day oversight from the citizen HPC risks insensitive alterations or loss of irreplaceable materials. Several speakers recommended updating the design-review guidelines, increasing outreach, and involving the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and North Carolina Main Street before shifting authority.
Commissioners and staff discussed training requirements and implementation. Planning staff said planning-board members would be required to undergo preservation training if the change proceeds, and suggested joint training so both bodies would have the same baseline knowledge. Commissioners debated whether the HPC should remain a recommending body for commercial cases and how to handle quorum or staffing issues.
When the board voted on submitting the UDO for TA-24-04, the recorded tally showed a 2–2 split and the record did not show a clear majority at that moment. Separately, the board approved amendments to the historic-district guidelines that staff said align the guidelines with the proposed UDO language.
What happens next: staff told the board they will arrange training if the change moves forward and that appeals processes are preserved under the proposed language. The board did not adopt a final ordinance on TA-24-04 during the meeting; related guideline amendments were approved and will be implemented as directed by the board.
The public hearing and the board's discussion highlighted the trade-off the town faces between accelerating downtown investment and preserving the institutional knowledge and protective role of a locally trained Historic Preservation Commission. The board signaled its interest in training and further refinement of documents before making any final, broader shift of authority.
