Appleton, WI Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

Sec. 23-651 of the Appleton Municipal Code creates the five-member Historic Preservation Commission (plus two alternates), appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Common Council, to recommend local designation of historic structures, sites and districts within city limits. Subsection (i) sets the substantive test: a property, natural area or district can be designated only if it meets at least one of five criteria: identification with an important event in the nation's, state's or community's cultural, political, economic or social history (Criterion 1); association with a significant person (Criterion 2); distinguishing architectural characteristics valuable for studying a period, style, construction method or craftsmanship (Criterion 3); representing the notable work of a master builder, designer or architect (Criterion 4); or having yielded, or being likely to yield, information important to prehistory or history (Criterion 5).

Designation follows a defined process under subsections (k) and (l): an application to the Community Development Department, an informal Commission hearing with 14-day mailed notice to owners within a 100-foot radius, then a Common Council public hearing noticed in a Class 2 newspaper before final approval or denial. Once a structure, site or district is nominated, subsection (q) freezes the Division of Inspections from issuing any building permit for alteration, removal or demolition from the initial Commission meeting until the Common Council's final disposition, for a maximum of 60 days, unless the Council authorizes the work by formal resolution for public health, welfare or safety reasons. Designations can later be rescinded under subsection (p) for economic hardship, failure to meet district or zoning standards, or loss of the qualifying integrity.