Cleveland County, NC Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

section 160D-945 to designate landmarks in the county's unincorporated planning jurisdiction and in participating municipalities. Section 12-402 states the commission's purpose is to safeguard the county's heritage by preserving landmarks that embody important elements of cultural, social, economic, political, archeological or architectural history, to promote their use and conservation, to designate properties on the basis of individual merit and special historical significance, and to adopt guidelines for new construction, alterations, additions, moving and demolition of designated landmarks. Designation follows a defined process under section 12-404: the commission inventories candidate properties, sends its report to the state historic preservation officer for a 30-day comment period, holds a public hearing, and the board of commissioners then adopts, amends or rejects a landmark ordinance describing the property and its historically significant elements.

Once designated, section 12-405 requires a certificate of appropriateness from the commission before any exterior feature, from masonry walls and light fixtures to outdoor advertising signs, is erected, altered, restored, moved or demolished, and that requirement applies even to state agencies, municipalities and public utilities. Routine maintenance and repairs that do not change design, materials or exterior appearance are exempt under section 12-409. Applications go to the administrator, and the commission must act within 90 days or the application is deemed approved under section 12-406(c).