What determines if a Certificate of Appropriateness is approved or not?

Most applications the Historic District Commission is asked to consider may be reduced to a single question: Is a given action likely to enhance - or at least preserve - the qualities that identify Old Lyme and that set it apart from other Connecticut towns? If, in the opinion of the majority of the Commission, the answer appears to be "No" then the Commission has no choice but to reject the application as "inappropriate" but if the answer appears to be "Yes" then the application is considered to be "appropriate". In considering an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness, the Commission has no requirements as to specific architectural form or style and it has no mandate to favor the past over the present. Indeed, minute by minute the present is becoming the past. The Commission recognizes that change is inevitable and in many cases desirable, and it asks only that new structures or artifacts introduced into the Historic District and all changes to structures already existing, be appropriate, be competently designed and show respect both for their immediate neighbors and for the District as a whole.

Show All Answers

1. What is a Certificate of Appropriateness?
2. When do I need a Certificate of Appropriateness?
3. When do I not need a Certificate of Appropriateness?
4. How can I get an application form for a Certificate of Appropriateness?
5. How long does it take to get a decision regarding a Certificate of Appropriateness application?
6. What does it cost to get a Certificate of Appropriateness?
7. What determines if a Certificate of Appropriateness is approved or not?
8. How can I appeal a Certificate of Appropriateness decision?