Ridgewood, NJ Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

Chapter 190, Article X's historic preservation rules apply only to property inside a village-designated historic district or on a designated historic site, such as the Village Center Historic District; they do not reach unrelated Bergen County towns like Glen Rock, Ho-Ho-Kus or Midland Park. Under § 190-125D, a historic preservation permit issued by the Construction Official is required before demolition, relocation, any exterior change visible from a public street, or new construction on a designated property, and for demolition or relocation the Historic Preservation Commission must first file a report addressing the § 190-125C factors.

Those factors run from the building's historic, architectural, cultural and aesthetic significance, to its current and potential use, its importance to the municipality, the difficulty of reproducing its craftsmanship, the tourism, business and educational value of retaining it, the impact of removal on the historic district's ambiance, its structural soundness and the feasibility of rehabilitating it under the state Uniform Construction Code, and, for relocations, the accessibility and compatibility of the proposed new site. Routine work is exempted from Commission review, including interior changes, identical window and door replacement, in-kind roof repairs and same-color repainting, so an owner does not need a report for basic maintenance.

Once a historic site or district building is designated, § 190-125D requires it be kept in compliance with the Village's Property Maintenance Ordinance, Chapter 223, and the BOCA Existing Structure Code, so deterioration used to justify demolition can itself become a violation.