Do you have a project that needs to be reviewed by the HPC?

Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the Planning Division to discuss their project before preparing their application.

Regularly-scheduled HPC meetings are on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 7:00 PM in the Council Chambers (3rd floor) at City Hall, 73 Harlow Street.

Complete applications are due to the Development Coordinator the Monday two weeks preceding the meeting (17 days in advance). Applicants are encouraged to submit their application packets as early as possible.  Applications can be downloaded here.

Three weeks before the meeting before meeting:           

• City Staff will determine completeness of applications and provide feedback to applicants. You may be asked to provide more detail before your submittal is deemed complete.

Two weeks before the meeting before meeting:

• The meeting agenda is set and forwarded to applicants.
• City Staff will forward applications to the Consultant to the Commission for review. The Consultant reviews all applications and prepares a memo for the Commission, making a recommendation based upon the City’s ordinances and standards of review.

One week before the meeting:

• City Staff will forward the Consultant's memo to the applicant.   The Consultant may ask for further detail.
• City Staff submits applications and Consultant's memo to Commissioners for review prior to the meeting.
  
  

At the meeting:

• Applicants are invited to summarize their proposed project for the Commission and present any samples or additional information they may have.
• The Commission will ask questions, discuss the project, and make a decision. In some cases, an application may be amended by the applicant at this stage, to make a project more amenable to the Commission.

After the meeting:

• City staff will send official notification of approval or denial to applicants.
• Applicants receiving approval should verify that they have obtained all necessary permits from the Code Enforcement Office prior to beginning their project.
• Unless specifically amended by the Commission, projects must be started within six months and finished within a year.
• Any projects not started or completed within the designated timeframe, or which change in scope from what was reviewed by the Commission, may need to return to the Commission for approval. Please contact the Planning Division for additional guidance with this.