Fairfield, CT Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)
Key Facts
- Who designates
- Representative Town Meeting, on Commission recommendation
- Owner consent
- Required in writing before designation
- Properties designated
- 11, as of 8-25-2025 amendment
- Separate districts
- Old Post Road, Greenfield Hill, Southport
- Governing chapter
- Town Code Chapter 26, Historic Districts
Summary
In the Town of Fairfield, the Historic District Commission recommends individual properties, not just districts, for designation as historic properties, but only if the owner authorizes it in writing. The Representative Town Meeting then votes to designate them. Eleven properties, from 1520 Bronson Road to 515 Stillson Road, currently carry this designation under Chapter 26.
The Historic District Commission is authorized to study and make recommendations to the Representative Town Meeting to establish additional historic properties from time to time as the Historic District Commission sees fit to make such studies and recommendations. Only those properties authorized in writing by the owner or owners of record shall be recommended by the Historic District Commission and designated by the Representative Town Meeting as historic properties. ... The following properties have been designated as historic properties by the Representative Town Meeting: ... 1520 Bronson Road, more particularly described in Volume 596 at Page 1103 of the Fairfield Land Records; ... Nothing contained in this chapter shall relieve any property owner of complying with the requirements of any other state statutes, this Code or municipal ordinances or regulations affecting the uses of land within the Town.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 26, Historic Districts, creates three mapped historic districts (Old Post Road, Greenfield Hill and Southport) under §§ 26-1 through 26-3, but §§ 26-7.1 and 26-7.2, added in 1999 and last amended in 2025, give the Historic District Commission a separate tool: designating a single property as a 'historic property' outside those district boundaries. The Commission may only recommend a property with the written authorization of its owner or owners of record, and the Representative Town Meeting makes the final designation. As of the 8-25-2025 amendment, eleven properties carry this designation, identified by street address and land-records volume and page, including 1520 Bronson Road (Volume 596, Page 1103), 5210 Congress Street (Volume 3929, Page 223), 449 Mill Plain Road (Volume 4488, Page 293) and 515 Stillson Road (Volume 5859, Page 132).
Section 26-8 makes clear this designation is additive: it does not relieve an owner of complying with any other state statute, the Town Code, or municipal ordinances or regulations affecting the use of the land. The Historic District Commission otherwise adopts its own regulations and rules of procedure under § 26-7, subject to state statutes and the Town Charter. Owners inside the three mapped historic districts, or undertaking Town action involving a designated historic property, go through the Commission's certificate-of-appropriateness process referenced in § 35-3 of the Town Code.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 26 sets no separate fine for the historic-property designation itself; enforcement instead runs through the Commission's certificate-of-appropriateness review for work affecting historic districts and designated properties, referenced at § 35-3, and through the Building Department and Zoning Enforcement for any work undertaken without a required certificate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the Town designate my Fairfield property as historic without my consent?
How many properties has Fairfield designated as historic properties?
Does historic-property designation excuse other code requirements?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fairfield
Compare Fairfield to another location·View the Connecticut historic preservation overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.