Design guidelines serve as a tool for a community to reach its preservation goals. Prior to developing design guidelines, the community should identify and clearly define its shared goals. These goals are often written as objectives set forth in a written preservation plan. Once defined, the objectives should guide the development of a community's design guidelines.

Developing Design Guidelines for Your Community

The process of developing design guidelines takes place in a political setting and involves a number of interested parties, including residents, property owners, city planners, and elected officials, as well as preservationists. Public involvement and input is crucial to the success and effectiveness of design guidelines and the review process.

Here are some key aspects of design guidelines development:

• The process should include a number of interested parties and should receive public input.
• Design guidelines should reflect the community's shared overall preservation goals.
• The guidelines should reflect the specific needs and concerns of the district.
• The guidelines should be practical in nature to encourage compliance by property owners.
• The guideline document should be "user-friendly" and in a format that will facilitate uniform review procedures.

Step 1: Establish a Steering Committee

A core group or committee of representatives from interested parties should direct and monitor the process of design guideline development. This group will set the goals of the project, develop a timetable, and seek necessary funding. The guidelines may be produced in-house or with professional assistance. One person, either a staff member or volunteer, should be appointed as project administrator.

Step 2: Create the Guidelines

Design guidelines must be tailored to fit each individual district. The ultimate goal of all design guidelines should be to preserve the historic character of a given area, so it is important to first define the character of the district.

Define the District's Character

Identify the physical aspects and design elements of the district that most define its character. These shared elements and qualities will serve as the basis for the district's design guidelines. Residential guidelines are usually prepared separately from commercial areas because they have a separate set of design concerns.

Here are elements that define a district's character:

• Building Use: Is the neighborhood residential? Commercial? Industrial? Or perhaps a combination of these?
• Architectural Style: What architectural styles are dominant? Does the district contain primarily nineteenth-century Italianate and Queen Anne houses, or early twentieth-century Craftsman style homes, or maybe rows of vernacular houses?
• Period of Construction: Were the buildings constructed during the same era and represent a particular period, or do they represent a longer stretch of time and thus developments and changes?
• Building Relationships: How are the buildings spaced? How far are they set back from the street? What are the size and scale of the buildings?
• Additions: How can buildings be enlarged while at the same time maintaining their overall character? When would the size, scale, and placement of an addition result in a loss of integrity to a historic property?
• Setting and Street Features: Small-scale elements such as sidewalks, fences, driveways, and landscape also help to form a district's character.

Prioritize Essential Design Elements

Once the character-defining elements of a district are identified, a community must then determine which elements are most important to protect in order to preserve that character. Often design guidelines are based on the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, which provide guidance in the renovation of historic buildings to preserve their original character. Property owners who wish to take advantage of federal tax credits must follow these established guidelines.

The use of artificial siding materials and window replacement and repair are often problematic issues, and the governing board should take great care in making decisions regarding these elements when developing design guidelines. The committee must decide what will and will not be acceptable in the historic district, and it must establish precise criteria for property owners to follow. Things to consider when making these decisions include the current existence and degree of use of artificial siding and windows in the neighborhood, potential for tax credit work, and residents' opinions. In turn, the commission must be firm and consistent in its review and decisions regarding window repair and replacement and the use of artificial siding.

Review Existing Regulations

Review city zoning ordinances, building codes, and other existing regulations that relate to the design guidelines, and identify and resolve any potential conflicts.

Develop, Organize, and Write the Guidelines

Consider preparing and updating the guidelines using a task force comprised of commission members, property owners, and city staff. For example, the Madison community has used task forces comprised of residents of its historic districts to develop its guidelines.

Whether done in-house or by a hired professional, the guidelines document should be clear, concise, and easy to use and understand. The guidelines document often begins with an overview of the district's history and architectural character. Other sections are usually based on types of work, building materials, or architectural elements, such as new construction, additions, demolition, masonry, wood, porches, roofs, windows, doors, and signage. 

Most design guidelines contain illustrations of specific examples to help both property owners and commission members understand the established criteria. Some communities, like Milwaukee, have highly detailed and illustrated guidelines documents, while smaller towns, like Jefferson, have simple booklets.

Step 3: Follow Up

Once the committee approves and endorses the guidelines, the document should be reported to the city council or other administrative body for adoption. Design guidelines are considered public documents and must be available to the public at an accessible location, such as a library or town hall. Some municipalities make their design guidelines available on the internet as well. The guidelines should be used uniformly by the commission during the review process. The guidelines and the review process itself should be reviewed and evaluated on a regular basis to ensure the quality and effectiveness of the community's preservation efforts.

• Preservation Commission Design Guidelines
• Zoning and Land-Use Regulation