If a building considered a contributing historic resource within the Central Business District is demolished, the height of new buildings on the property is limited to the height of the demolished historic building plus half of the difference between the height of the demolished building and the by-right height permitted for the property as identified in Figure 18-43.9 of the Land Development Code. The property owner demolishing the building may petition to remove this height restriction, which would then permit the maximum building height identified in Figure 18-43.9.
A pre-application meeting is required prior to submission of an application to remove the CBD height restriction. The purpose of the pre-application meeting is to provide an overview of the process and general guidance on the proposed request. Pre-application meetings may be scheduled by emailing the Historic Preservation team or calling 910.254.0900.
An applicant petitioning to remove a height restriction must demonstrate that the historic building to be demolished retains little or no significance according to each of the five categories established in Table 18-597 of the Land Development Code. A building shall be considered to have retained little or no significance if it receives a cumulative score of six or fewer points. Individual buildings on recombined lots will be scored individually.
As an application to remove a height restriction is quasi-judicial in nature, the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) will hold an evidentiary hearing. Evidentiary hearings differ from other public hearings in the following ways:
The Historic Preservation Commission will review the application and provide a cursory recommendation on whether the request should be approved to the Planning Commission.
The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the application and forward a recommendation to the City Council.
As an application to remove a height restriction is quasi-judicial in nature, the City Council will hold an evidentiary hearing. Evidentiary hearings differ from other public hearings in the following ways:
Applications are accepted on a monthly basis according to the Historic Preservation Commission schedule(PDF, 114KB) . Applications received after the established deadline will be included with the following month's review cycle submissions.
Applications may be submitted electronically by emailing the Historic Preservation team, but only after a pre-application meeting has been held.
All application components (e.g. application, information required for each alteration type , etc.) must be submitted individually and named accordingly.
Please contact the Historic Preservation team to make arrangements for files that exceed email limits.
Professional seals (engineers, land surveyors, architects, etc) on digital plans must be redacted from digital copies submitted to the city for review. Please be sure to mark, strike through, or otherwise conceal any professional seal located on your digital (re)submittals (e.g., PDF).
Application fees are based on the estimated cost of the project/proposed improvements as shown below. Fees for applications submitted for work that has already been started or completed (also known as retroactive or After the Fact) include the base fee noted below plus $100.
*A mailed notice fee of $0.85/notice shall apply to all applications received on or after July 1, 2024. This fee will be determined during the review process and a separate invoice issued. The supplemental fee must be paid prior to a hearing on the application.
If you plan to pay in advance, planning staff must first notify the collections department to enable acceptance of payments.
Payment by Phone (910. 343.4745)
Payment in Person
Payment by Mail
929 North Front Street, 1st Floor Wilmington, NC 28401