Burlington, NC Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

Chapter 37 lets Burlington's building inspector order repair, alteration, vacating or demolition of any nonresidential structure that fails the minimum standards in section 37-5. Section 37-10 adds a carve-out for historically significant properties. Under subsection (c)(1), if the building is designated a local historic landmark, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, or sits within a locally designated historic district or a National Register historic district, the city council must first hold a public hearing and determine that the structure is individually significant or contributes to the district's character.

Only after that finding, and only if the building has not been condemned as unsafe, can an order require it to be vacated and closed rather than demolished outright. The companion provision for dwellings, section 14-21(e), works the same way: if a historic district commission determines after a public hearing that a residence is of particular significance or value to the district's character, and the dwelling has not been condemned as unsafe, an unfit-housing order may likewise require only that it be vacated and closed, citing G.S.

160D-1203(3)(b). Section 37-10(c)(2) adds a parallel limit for vacant manufacturing facilities and industrial warehouses: an order cannot force repairs meant to preserve the original use, only vacating and closing, unless repairs are needed for structural integrity or to abate a health or safety hazard. Together these provisions mean Burlington cannot fast-track demolition of a landmark building or house the same way it can an ordinary derelict structure.