Kill Devil Hills, NC Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

S. 42. A property qualifies only if the Commission finds it of special significance in its historical, prehistoric, design, setting, workmanship, materials, feeling or association. Before adoption, the Commission's report goes to the Division of Archives and History for a 30-day comment period, and after adoption the ordinance is filed with the Dare County Register of Deeds, the Town Clerk and the building inspector, and flagged on Dare County tax maps. 43 requires a Certificate of Appropriateness before any exterior work, including masonry walls, fences, light fixtures, steps, pavement, above-ground utility structures or outdoor advertising signs, is erected, altered, restored, moved or demolished, even the State of North Carolina and public utilities need one.

Applications go through the Planning and Inspection Department to the Zoning Administrator two weeks before a Commission meeting, and the Zoning Administrator must notify neighbors within 100 feet by certified mail; the Commission has 90 days to act or the certificate is deemed approved. 44. 48 lets the Commission delay a demolition certificate up to 365 days (reduced for extreme hardship) or, for a proposed-but-unfinished designation, up to 180 days, to negotiate preservation with the owner.