About the Board

Duties

The Historic Preservation Board has jurisdiction to review and approve applications for a certificate of appropriateness for exterior alterations, site improvements, and new construction affecting:

• Designated landmarks
• Buildings and sites within historic districts
• Historic landscape districts

The board also makes recommendations to the Planning Board and City Council concerning amendments to the historic preservation ordinance and the designation of additional landmarks, historic districts, and historic landscape districts.

Eligibility

Members of the board shall have demonstrated interest, knowledge, ability, experience, or expertise in restoration, rehabilitation, or neighborhood conservation or revitalization and shall be residents of the City of Portland.

Background

A walk or drive through any of Portland’s eight historic districts reveals dramatic changes, as more and more of the city’s traditional building stock has been rehabilitated according to historic preservation standards.

In 1990, the city adopted a comprehensive historic preservation ordinance protecting more than 1,500 historically and architecturally significant buildings, landscapes, and sites from demolition and providing review standards to ensure compatible changes.

Today, the impact of this regulatory program is clear: protecting historic resources makes economic sense and stabilizes neighborhoods.