FAQs • Normal, IL • CivicEngage

When is a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) application required?: Property owners must fill out a COA for any exterior alteration (other than landscaping or painting an already painted surface) to a designated landmark or property within a historic district. This application must be approved before the Town Inspections Department will issue a permit.

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Historic Preservation Commission

1. When is a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) application required?: Property owners must fill out a COA for any exterior alteration (other than landscaping or painting an already painted surface) to a designated landmark or property within a historic district. This application must be approved before the Town Inspections Department will issue a permit.

2. Who approves a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA), and when?: The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) reviews COA applications according to the guidelines set forth in the Historic Preservation Code Sec. 15.16-5(f). The HPC meets monthly on the second Tuesday of the month at 12:30 pm on the third floor of Uptown Station at 11 Uptown Circle, unless otherwise posted. Some applications qualify for expedited review by the commission chairperson and Town staff without review by the full commission.

Expedited review of an application generally takes 3-4 working days. The following projects qualify:

Work being done to a noncontributing structure (often homes built post-1945)
When materials are being replaced with like materials (i.e., asphalt shingles replaced with asphalt shingles, wood siding replaced with wood siding, etc.)
Emergency situations