Fences in Durham's historic districts

In Durham's eight local historic districts, a new fence needs a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) before it goes up, even if it cannot be seen from the street (Durham COA). For most fences that means a short review by Planning staff. Here is how it works, and what the design guidelines allow.

Is the property in a local district?

Durham's eight local historic districts are (Durham historic districts):

• Cleveland Street
• Downtown Durham
• Fayetteville Street
• Golden Belt
• Holloway Street
• Morehead Hill
• Trinity Heights
• Watts-Hillandale

To check a property, open DurhamMaps with the historic layers turned on (Durham COA). A National Register district is not the same thing: National Register listing "does not include any restrictions on the use, treatment, transfer, or disposition of private property" (Durham National Register page), so on its own it does not call for a COA.

What needs a certificate

• A new fence or wall. The City lists "Construction of walls and fences" among the work that needs a COA, whether or not it can be seen from the street (Durham COA). The UDO names fences in its COA rule too (Durham UDO 3.17).
• Not small repairs that match. Minor repairs to fences need no COA "as long as the replacements match existing materials in scale, style, design, and materials" (Durham COA work list).

The usual path: a minor COA from staff

• Fences and walls are on the City's list of minor work, reviewed by Planning staff rather than the Historic Preservation Commission (Durham COA work list).
• Staff review minor applications on a rolling basis within 10 business days (Durham COA).
• The fee is $45 plus a processing fee (Durham fee menu).
• An approved COA is valid for two years, or for as long as a related building permit is active (Durham COA).

Leave time to answer any comments staff send back before they approve it (Durham COA).

When it goes to the Commission

Staff can decide that an application "cannot be approved administratively and must be scheduled for a hearing before the HPC" (Durham COA instructions). It then becomes a major COA:

• The Historic Preservation Commission meets on the first Tuesday of each month, and the application deadline is set nearly two months before each meeting (Durham COA).
• The fee for a major COA is $303 plus a processing fee (Durham fee menu).
• The UDO requires a final decision within 180 days of a complete application (Durham UDO 3.17).

What the design guidelines allow

The City reviews each application against its Local Review Criteria (Durham historic review criteria). For fences they say:

• Keep and repair historic fences and walls. If one can't be repaired, replace it to match the original in design and location.
• Put new fences only in the configurations and locations that are typical of the district's historic properties.
• On a property that is not itself historic (the criteria call it non-contributing), build new fences from materials historically used in the district.
• Chain link, wire and vinyl fencing, and exposed concrete block walls, are "generally not appropriate", whether or not the house is historic.
• Don't coat or cover a historic fence with modern materials.
• Downtown, new fences should not hide a building's character-defining walls or significant views of the district.

Durham's other fence rules apply on top of these. Heights, corner sight triangles and easements are on the rules page, and typical prices by material are in the cost guide.

If a fence goes up without one

Building without a required COA can bring a Notice of Violation, and after it a fine of $500 a day for every day the property stays out of compliance (Durham COA). Applying after the fact also costs more: $55 on top of the COA fee for a first offense (Durham fee menu).

Before you apply

1. Check the property on DurhamMaps. If it is in a local district, read the fence section of the Local Review Criteria for that kind of property.
2. Check the height, setback and easement rules on the rules page.
3. Choose a design and material the guidelines accept, and get the COA before any work starts. Allow at least two weeks for a minor COA in your timeline.
4. If you hire a contractor, ask whether they have worked on a Durham COA before, and agree in writing who applies for it.