Historic buildings in Herndon as seen in the proposed Town of Herndon Historic District Overlay Guidelines 2020. Screenshot
Community members and business owners in the Herndon Preservation Overlay District may soon be presented with new guidance on maintaining and updating their property and Town regulation processes for exterior change. The Herndon Town Council will hold work sessions on Nov. 10 and Nov. 12 and a public hearing on Nov. 17 to consider a resolution to adopt the Revised Heritage Preservation District Guidelines and a Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment, ZOTA # 20-01, to change the name of the Heritage Preservation Overlay district to the Historic Overlay District and to allow for administrative review of certain types of certificates of appropriateness. The public hearing comment period runs through Nov. 17. Email community.development@herndon-va.gov.
Initial action leading toward the development of the 138-page Draft Historic District Guidelines - Dated October 29, 2020 began in 2016 with a reconnaissance level architectural survey of all structures within the Heritage District by EHT Traceries. In 2018, the Town contracted Norfolk-based consultants, Work Program Architects and Commonwealth Preservation Group LLC to draft new guidelines for exterior changes to District properties, a resource guide and the architectural surveys. In December 2019, the consultants and Town staff presented them at a Town Council and Heritage Preservation Review Board special work session.
The COVID pandemic paused a planned public hearing on the topic, until Oct. 29, 2020. The Town held a meeting and presented the new proposed guidelines. "It's certainly later than we preferred," said Bryce Perry, Deputy Director of Community Development for the Town. Consultants Mel Price, Principal at Work Program Architects, and Paige Pollard and Katie Paulson with Commonwealth Preservation Group presented. While nearly all the material presented remained the same, Price reminded attendees one of the differences between the old guidelines and the new was that the 1989 version was text heavy. Their goal had been to make the guide user-friendly, to clarify where to go for information on contributing, non-contributing, additions, alternative materials (and) new construction. She said, "They're color-coded; it's filled with hyperlinks."
Pollard said they heard “loud and clear” that in Herndon there was a great desire for flexibility in building material selections and they needed to clarify expectations for all parties. "We put a lot of time into the thought process of how we manage flexibility in alternative materials without stymying the review process and also making sure the property owners understand the value…The guidelines are also designed to help the HDRB make consistent decisions," she said.
Paulson shared information about the much-requested Resource Guide, a separate document. "We…pulled some suppliers, if you're looking for new windows…often used for historic replacements as well as places you can find metal shingles...and we've included links to trade directories," she said.