Certificate of Appropriateness

An authorization from a local architectural review board or preservation commission to alter or demolish a historic property, or to construct a new building, in a historic district; required by most local historic preservation ordinances; typically part of a defined application and public hearing process, often in conjunction with criteria for determining whether the proposed action is appropriately consistent with the character of the historic district or site. Photo from Savannah, Georgia, 2024. (Bucher, 1996)