KENT COUNTY, MARYLAND
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

Historic Preservation Commission (Term 3 years)

Expiration of Term

187-4. Powers and Duties.

A. As part of its powers and duties, the Historic Preservation Commission:

(1) Shall adopt rules for the organization and conduct of meetings;

(2) Shall act upon applications for Certificates of Appropriateness;

(3) Shall inform the citizens of the County concerning the historic and architectural heritage of the County;

(4) May conduct an ongoing survey to identify historically and architecturally significant sites, properties, structures and areas that exemplify the cultural, social, economic, political or architectural history of the nation, state and county;

(5) Shall review all petitions for designation to the Kent County Register of Historic Places and submit recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners;

(6) Shall keep a register of all properties, sites and structures that have been designated as landmarks or historic districts, including all information required for each designation;

(7) For areas which are located within a designated Historic Site, Structure, or District, or which have preservation easements, the Commission shall review any application for a special exception, variance, site plan or subdivision, and any legislation or other proposals, including preparation and amendment of master plans, and may make recommendations thereon to the appropriate authorities;

(8) Shall be able to accept and use gifts and services for the exercise of its functions which are given to the Board of County Commissioners specifically for use by the Historic Preservation Commission;

(9) Shall recommend for adoption rehabilitation and new construction design guidelines and criteria for construction, alteration, reconstruction, repair, moving and demolition of property in designated districts or individually designated sites or landmarks which are consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties. Guidelines may include design characteristics intended to meet the needs of particular types of sites, structures, and districts, and may identify categories of changes that do not require review by the Commission because they are minimal in nature and do not affect historic, archaeological, or architectural significance. These design guidelines shall be used in the Historic Preservation Commission’s review of applications for Certificates of Appropriateness;

(10) May determine an appropriate system of markers and make recommendation for the design and implementation of specific markings of the street and routes leading from one site, landmark, or historic district to another. May confer recognition upon the owners of landmarks, sites or property or structures within historic districts by means of certificates, plaques or markers;

(11) May advise and assist owners of landmarks, sites, historic properties or structures within historic districts on physical and financial aspects of preservation, reconstruction, restoration, renovation, rehabilitation, and reuse, and on procedures for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

(12) May, with the written permission of the property owner(s), nominate landmarks, sites and historic districts to the National Register of Historic Places and review and comment on any National Register nomination submitted to the Commission for review;

(13) May consider applications for economic hardship that would allow the performance of work for which a certificate of appropriateness has been denied;

(14) May research sources of funding for historic preservation projects and recommend to the board of County Commissioners the acceptance of any grant, loan or aid, in any form, from federal, state or private sources on behalf of the County;

(15) May, at the request of an owner or applicant, offer consultation with respect to changes to interior features; and

(16) Shall review and recommend for action by the Board of County Commissioners the acquisition of historic preservation easements on designated landmarks, structures, or sites and, when deemed appropriate by the Commission, sites or structures located in, or adjacent to, a designated district, consistent with the County’s ordinances, resolutions, local public law, policies and procedures.

B. In addition, the Historic Preservation Commission shall have all the powers and authority enumerated in the Annotated Code of Maryland, Article 66B, Sections 8.01-8.17., as presently codified and as may be amended from time to time.

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