Minor Exterior Alterations (Staff-Level)
Appendix G §8 creates a 5-working-day staff fast track for a defined list of small jobs — no Commission hearing, no 4-week agenda deadline.
What qualifies (§8(c), exhaustive list)
- Awnings — install or alter
- Fences
- Gutters & downspouts
- Incandescent lighting fixtures
- Landscaping/hardscaping < 25% of the front or side yard
- Restoration of original architectural features (even though it changes existing conditions)
- Painting wood (or other appropriate elements) in a new color
- Additions/changes not visible from any street, at the rear of the main structure or to an accessory structure
How it works
- Staff reviews against the district ordinances and approves/denies within 5 working days
- Any interested person can appeal a staff decision within 30 days — which bumps it to the full Certificate of Appropriateness Process. (Symmetrically: if staff denies you, the same 30-day appeal gets you in front of the Commission.)
Practical reading
- The rear-yard/not-visible-from-street clause is the workhorse: rear decks, rear accessory tweaks, back-of-house changes often clear in days. Corner lots lose much of this benefit — two street frontages.
- Paint: a color change on wood is staff-level; the Commission also maintains an adopted palette concept in College Street Preservation Criteria (Ord 93-58) — colors outside the palette can be routed to the Commission.
- When staff hesitates, they'll suggest filing the full CA; a pre-application chat with the HPO (Staff and Ex-Officio) usually settles which track you're on before you commit.
Sources: Source Index §Municode App-G §8.