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Office of Historic Preservation details COA reviews, preservation guidelines and demolition rules
Summary
Edward Hall of the Office of Historic Preservation described the COA process, the office’s review workload (roughly 2,200 reviews per year), the role of administrative approvals, and the high burden for demolition of designated landmarks under the Unified Development Code.
Edward Hall, design review manager at the Office of Historic Preservation, told the board that OHP administers certificate of appropriateness (COA) reviews, Section 106 federal reviews, and other preservation work. He said the office handles roughly 2,200 reviews annually (mostly administrative) and manages 32 local historic districts and multiple overlays.
Hall explained the COA process—completeness review, administrative approval where appropriate and a 180‑day validity period for COAs—and said the office maintains online maps and archives so the public can check application histories. He described policy documents the office has adopted (for porches, roofing, windows, fences and substitute materials) that provide staff and applicants clearer routes to administrative approvals and reduce the need for public hearings.
On demolitions, Hall said the Unified Development Code makes demolition of single‑family historic structures difficult by placing a high economic‑hardship burden on applicants, and he described prevention-of-demolition-by-neglect cases as an enforcement option for properties that are decaying through inaction. He said the vacant building program and OHP often coordinate enforcement when properties are both vacant and zoned historic, and that HDRC and CTAB procedures and training are designed to provide applicant assistance and reduce contested hearings.
Board members asked about designation criteria and the OHP criteria and 'scout SA' team for historic determinations; Hall explained the 13 statutory criteria used to review potential historic designations.
