Historic Preservation Ordinance (Appendix G)
The master statute: Ord. No. 91-73, adopted October 15, 1991, codified as Appendix G of the Grapevine Code of Ordinances. Amended by Ord. 97-80 (1997), 99-179 (1999), 2009-21, 2011-28, 2013-23 (major CA/appeals rewrite — Brandon holds a highlighted copy), 2020-012 (demolition/development-services updates), and 2025-034 (Pattern Book adoption).
Current codification verified against Municode Supp. 56 (through Ord. 2025-085, Dec 2 2025). Full verbatim text archived in the workspace corpus; section map:
| § | Subject | Note in this vault |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Title | — |
| 2 | Purpose | 6 declared goals incl. property values, tourism |
| 3 | Commission — creation, powers | Historic Preservation Commission |
| 4 | Staff & HPO | Staff and Ex-Officio |
| 5 | Designation of landmarks/districts | how districts are born (HPC → P&Z → Council) |
| 6 | Ordinary maintenance | Ordinary Maintenance Exemption |
| 7 | Certificates of appropriateness | Certificate of Appropriateness Process — incl. §7(d) residential dimensional caps & Pattern Book, §7(e) adjustments |
| 8 | Minor exterior alterations | Minor Exterior Alterations (Staff-Level) |
| 9 | Demolition & economic hardship | Demolition and Economic Hardship |
| 10 | Status quo during zoning case | permit freeze — the anti-teardown lever |
| 11 | Enforcement | Penalties and Enforcement |
| 12 | Penalties ($2,000/day) | Penalties and Enforcement |
| 13 | Appeals | Appeals to City Council |
Key §7(d) numbers (residential, district & Township)
- Roof height: ≤35 ft above grade (never adjustable)
- Living area: ≥1,200 sq ft; max floor area 3,400 sq ft (never adjustable; garage ≤500 + storage ≤200 sq ft excluded)
- Lot coverage (all buildings): ≤40% (never adjustable)
- Lots: no subdividing below 50 ft width; replatting can't create lots >120% of the average width within 300 ft
- Front-entry garages prohibited unless on rear half of lot
- Conflicts → most restrictive wins
- Submittals must show neighbors: photos of adjacent properties' full width + street-facing elevations drawn with adjacent buildings
§7(d)(2)b sets the 1,200 sq ft minimum; the 3,400 sq ft maximum appears in §7(e)'s list of unadjustable limits. Staff and the Pattern Book treat 3,400 as the operative cap.
Sources: Source Index §Municode App-G; Brandon's highlighted Ord. 2013-23 copy.