Downtown Facade Improvement Programs

<p>The national Main Street Program touts “coordinated, small-scale facade improvements” in rural downtown commercial districts as having the “power to not only preserve valuable historic resources in rural communities, but also to spur economic growth in the surrounding area.” What local government tools are available and appropriate for encouraging private owners to make facade improvements?</p> <p>This post provides an overview of four tools available to North Carolina local governments:</p> Code enforcement Property tax exemptions Acquisition of buildings or facades, and improvement of such government-owned property Loan programs <p>The post concludes with a discussion of questionable practices that have been observed in the field and other considerations such as limitations for nonprofit development corporations.</p> Code enforcement <p>An often-overlooked tool for encouraging owners to improve their facades is basic code enforcement. Municipalities possess statutory authority to require downtown commercial property owners to comply with aesthetic maintenance regulations pursuant to three statutory regimes:</p> General ordinance making power (G.S. 160A-174 (municipalities) and G.S. 153A-121 (counties)). North Carolina local governments may design and enforce their own regulations of anything that is “detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare” of residents and the “peace and dignity” of the jurisdiction. The Supreme Court of North Carolina, in State v. Jones, even upheld police power regulations for aesthetic considerations alone, provided the “gain to the public” outweighs the burden on the property owner.[1] Some North Carolina towns have adopted ordinances requiring owners to eliminate any “evidence of vacancy” in commercial buildings, such as empty or papered window fronts, visibly vacant spaces, inattention to exterior building appearance, and [...]