Design Guidelines for the Beaufort Historic District and Landmarks, 1994, Revised 2008

TRC Environmental, Inc.

From introduction: "As one of the older towns in North Carolina, Beaufort holds a special place in both state and national history. Its historic core has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places, the nation’s listing of buildings, structures, and districts considered historically and architecturally significant. The National Register nomination written in 1974 for the Beaufort Historic District states: “The small town (Beaufort) extending back from the water in a traditional compact grid is remarkable for its undisturbed atmosphere, plan, and scale, and for its consistent and distinctive architectural fabric . . . The town is a unique and important part of the history and architectural character of America’s eastern seaboard.” Beaufort, and particularly the residents and business owners within its historic district, derive numerous benefits from historic district designation. These include the maintenance of an attractive and aesthetically pleasing built environment, an economically vibrant and attractive commercial district, retention of residential property values, protection against harmful and inappropriate land uses, and preservation of an established sense of community, basic to the health of any society. Residents also enjoy exceptional vistas of townscapes, seascapes, and the Beaufort waterfront that in many places have changed little over several centuries. To protect the irreplaceable architectural character of the Beaufort Historic District, the Town of Beaufort, with the support of its citizens, has enacted a historic preservation ordinance, created a Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) to oversee changes and alterations within the historic district, and funded the writing and publication of historic design guidelines. These guidelines, revised in 2008, are used by the HPC, Town officials/staff, property owners, design professionals, contractors, builders, developers, business owners, and real estate agents in Beaufort. These design guidelines for the Beaufort Historic District and Landmarks were developed to provide general recommendations and to outline procedures to guide the property owner, as well as the HPC, in the ongoing goal of historic preservation in Beaufort. The intent is to guide design decisions within the historic district. In addition, it is the intention of these guidelines, with the full support of the HPC, to promote excellence of design in both new construction and in the preservation and rehabilitation of existing historic buildings." Funding was provided in part by a 2006 Historic Preservation Fund grant to the Town of Beaufort (project number NC-06-008) administered by the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office (grant number 37-06-21537) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Beaufort, North Carolina is a Certified Local Government.

Design Guidelines for the Beaufort Historic District and Landmarks, 1994, Revised 2008

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