Helpful Preservation Links
For exterior home improvements within Staunton's historic districts, including windows, exterior doors, siding, outbuildings, roofing, parking, fences...
City of Staunton Residential Historic District Guidelines
HSF and the City of Staunton follow the Secretary of Interior Standards and Guidelines for Rehabilitation, for further info:
Secretary of Interior Rehabilitation Standards and Guidelines
A recommended site for home maintenance and rehabilitation guides:
Guides for Maintaining and Rehabbing Your Historic Property
For information about historic rehabilitation incentives:
· State and National Historic Registers
Staunton links:
Staunton Historic Districts Zoning Code
Staunton Historic District Design Guidelines
Staunton's Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) download
Staunton's Historic Preservation Commission (HPC)
Sister Orgs:
Augusta County Historical Society
Newtown Neighborhood Association
Staunton Downtown Development Assoc. (SDDA)
TJ Collins & Son
distinct
impression on Staunton’s landscape, scattering unique residential, commercial,
and religious architecture in the varied and popular styles of the late 19th and
early 20th centuries throughout the town.
HSF
Preservation Resource Rooms 
Rehabilitating your historic Staunton home
and/or building &
Staunton's Historic Preservation Commission (HPC)
Note helpful preservation links (above) to direct you to the City's historic
district guidelines, COA downloads, and zoning code links.
Please view the City's website for the detailed understanding of Staunton's historic districts, guidelines, and application process.
In 1997, Staunton passed an historic districts ordinance which states, synopsis:
● any exterior change to your home
● that resides within a Staunton historic district
● that is visible from a city street
● must be approved by Staunton's Historic Preservation Commission.
The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) is a City appointed committee
of volunteers who review applications for exterior changes in historic
districts (called Certificates
of Appropriateness or COAs).
The Process:
COA applications may be picked up from the City's Planning office (3rd
floor, City Hall) or downloaded off the City's website. COAs submitted to the City's Planning Office by the 1st of the month
are reviewed and voted on at that's month's HPC meeting. The HPC meets 5:30 p.m. at City Chambers on the fourth Tuesday of each month. Homeowners/Building owners are required to be in attendance.
Frank Strassler, HSF's Executive Director, writes COA reviews for the
HPC based on the Secretary of Interior's Standards and Guidelines and Staunton's historic districts design guidelines. He is not a voting member of the HPC.
Historic Staunton Foundation is here to help homeowners & building owners understand the guidelines and how they apply to their project. This is a free service.
Please make an appointment! Contact Frank Strassler at
hsf@ntelos.net for more information. Note: HSF will not design your project or offer any design services that conflicts with the review process.
FAQ:
How do I know if my home is in a historic district?
The City's Website has a GIS map with a historic districts command; the historic district map is posted as well. Or, you may email us (vickiehsf@ntelos.net) with the property's address, and we will check for you.
Do repairs go before the HPC?
Ordinary maintenance & repairs made with the exact same materials do not go before the commission. See code 18.85.060 for clarification, either call our office (540) 885-7676 or email
hsf@ntelos.net.
Does the HPC review painting / paint colors?
The HPC does not normally review paint with two exceptions:
1) There is a clause in the code concerning "violent contrasts of materials or colors and intense and lurid colors or patterns, or a multiplicity of incongruous details clearly inconsistent with the character of the present structures or with the prevailing character of the surroundings and the historic district." which would go before the commission on a complaint basis.
2) The original painting of masonry surfaces is not exempted from review. If your home is unpainted brick, you must go before the commission before you paint it. This practice is not often encouraged. Many 19th century masonry homes were coated with a lime wash or linseed oil and iron oxide stain to give brick a uniform appearance and the mortar joints were then line stenciled. Most of those coatings have long ago deteriorated exposing the original brick. These historic materials were physically very different than coatings what we use today. The application of modern paints latex or oil to brick causes many problems with the preservation of the brick and encourages long term maintenance problems.
see Secretary of Interior Rehabilitation Guidelines
http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/standguide/rehab/rehab_masonry.htm
Can I get tax credits for my rehabilitation?
There are Federal tax credits and State tax credits available for rehabilitation. The process is involved. Homeowners usually hire consultants to help with the applications. Documentation usually needs to be made before any work is done on the property. Federal Tax credits are for commercials properties (for at least five years). See Virginia's Department of Historic Resources
(DHR) for more information.
My rehab is an obvious improvement to my neighborhood, why do I have to go before the
HPC?
Consistency and precedence. Everyone goes through the same process.