Parma, OH Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)
Key Facts
- Board size
- 7 members appointed by Mayor
- Designation criteria
- 9 factors, Section 1104.06
- Application decision window
- 30 days
- Negotiation extension
- up to 60 more days
- Appeal deadline
- 30 days to Zoning Board of Appeals
- Penalty class
- Misdemeanor, 1st degree
Summary
Parma's Design Review Board designates landmarks and preservation districts under Codified Ordinances Chapter 1104, weighing nine criteria including architectural distinction and historic association. Owners then need a certificate of appropriateness before any building, demolition, sign or tree permit is issued.
In considering the designation of any area, property or site in the City as a preservation district or landmark, due to historical significance, the Review Board shall apply the following criteria: (a) The character, interest or value of the area, property or site as part of the development, heritage or cultural characteristics of the City, the State or the United States. (b) The location as a site of a significant prehistoric or historic event. (c) The identification with a person or persons who significantly contributed to the culture and development of the City. (d) The exemplification by the area, property or site of the cultural, economic, social or historic heritage of the City. (e) The embodiment of distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type or specimen. ... (h) A unique location or singular physical characteristic representing an established and familiar visual feature of a neighborhood or of the City.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-30: Local legislation current to August 3, 2026 | State legislation current to June 25, 2025).
Full Breakdown
01. 02(h). 06, ranging from association with a significant historic event to embodiment of a distinctive architectural type. 07, the Board notifies the owner, takes written comments, then forwards a recommendation through the City Planning Commission to Council, which makes the final designation and records it with the Cuyahoga County Recorder. 08 blocks the Division of Buildings from issuing any building, demolition or sign permit unless the Review Board has first issued a certificate of appropriateness. 09 gives the Board thirty days to decide an application, up to sixty more days to negotiate changes with the applicant if it disapproves, and lets a rejected applicant appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals within thirty days.
10 directs the Board to apply the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation when judging whether a proposed alteration is compatible with the property's historic character.
Violations & Fines
Violating Chapter 1104, including altering, demolishing or erecting a sign on a landmark or district property without an approved certificate of appropriateness, is punished under the Planning and Zoning Code's general penalty, Section 1123.99. A first offense is a misdemeanor of the first degree, and each day the noncompliance continues counts as a separate offense; violators also pay all costs and expenses the City incurs in the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides if my Parma property becomes a historic landmark?
Do I need a permit to repaint or replace a sign on a landmark building?
What happens if the Review Board rejects my renovation plan?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Parma
Compare Parma to another location·View the Ohio historic preservation overview
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Historic-Cultural Monuments in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Cuyahoga County handle historic-cultural monuments.