Administering

Timeline and Checklist

Application Forms. Applications for a certificate of appropriateness are available at designated town offices and at every HDC or HPC meeting.

Required Submittals. Application requirements, including property identification, scope of work, owner’s signature, and required attachments (photographs, plans, specifications, sample materials) are spelled out in the HDC or HPC rules of procedure and on the application form.

Pre-application Consultation. Applicant or property owner may request a pre-application consultation with the HDC or HPC at any of its regularly scheduled meetings. Intentions or opinions expressed at the pre-application consultation are not binding on either the applicant or the HDC or HPC.

Receipt of Application (beginning of the formal application process). The completedapplication is submitted to the designated town official and stamped with the date of receipt.

Initial Review of Application. The HDC or HPC chairman or a designated representative reviews the application to ensure that it is complete and that the property and scope of work are subject to HDC or HPC review.

Notice of Public Hearing. The HDC or HPC schedules a public hearing on the application, notifies the property owner or applicant, and runs a legal notice of the upcoming public hearing in a local newspaper not more than fifteen days and not less than five days before the hearing date.

Public Hearing. The HDC or HPC convenes with a quorum to conduct the public hearing and solicit comments on the application from the property owner and any other interested parties.

Public Hearing Continuation. If the allocated time for the public hearing is not sufficient to accommodate all parties who wish to speak, the HDC or HPC may continue the public hearing to a new date, notify the applicant of the continuance, and run a new legal notice in the newspaper.

Regular Meeting Agenda. When the chairman closes the public hearing, the application is placed on the agenda of the next meeting of the HDC or HPC. The agenda and notice of the meeting must be posted at least twenty-four hours in advance.

Review and Deliberation. The HDC or HPC convenes with a quorum at a posted meeting to deliberate on the application(s) listed on the agenda. The HDC or HPC may vote to (a) approve the application as submitted, (b) approve the application with conditions, (c) deny the application, or (d) continue the application for further deliberation and voting at the next posted meeting.

Applications cannot be continued beyond sixty-five days from the date of filing. If the commission fails to vote on the application within sixty-five days, the application is automatically approved.

Vote of the HDC or HPC (no later than sixty-five days after receipt of the application).The results of the HDC or HPC vote are provided to the property owner or applicant and made available for public inspection within forty-eight hours of the regular meeting at which the vote was taken.

Meeting Minutes. The minutes of the HDC or HPC meeting are filed with the municipal clerk and made available for public inspection within seven days of the meeting.

Right of Appeal. The property owner, applicant, or other aggrieved person may file an appeal of the HDC or HPC decision with the Superior Court within fifteen days of notification of the decision. A notarized copy of the appeal must be delivered directly to thechairman or clerk of the HDC or HPC or to their usual place of abode.