The heart of Downtown has been designated as both a National Register Historic District and local historic district. The National Register designation may assist in applications for historic rehabilitation tax credits from the state and federal governments. The local historic district designation exists to preserve the historic integrity and atmosphere of the downtown core.
All properties in the District are subject to the Historic District Design Guidelines, which were adopted by the Historic Preservation Commission in December 2003 and are available for reference at http://www.cityofclintonnc.com/planning-historic.html and at the Planning Department office (227 Lisbon Street).
One important part of the Design Guidelines is the review of proposed changes to properties in the District to ensure the historic character of the District is maintained. Certain kinds of work – namely, changes to exterior appearance, design, or materials, including signage – done on the outside of a building within the district require a stamp of approval called a Certificate of Appropriateness, which is issued by the Historic Preservation Commission. Please contact the Planning Department at (910) 299-4904 if you have any questions, or if you are considering doing work on the exterior of your building.
Current members of the Historic Preservation Commission: Joel Rose, Whit Tart, Susan Heath, Frank Leak, Debbie Roberts, Candace Taylor, and Greg Thornton.