Filing a Historic Area Work Permit (HAWP) Application - Instructions
Before
you can make exterior alterations to a property you own
that's listed on the Master Plan for Historic Preservation
located in a historic district or designated as an individual
resource, you need an approved Historic Area Work Permit
(HAWP).
Even though it's the Historic Preservation Commission
(HPC), which reviews HAWPs, you must file all applications
for HAWPs and for County building permits with the Department
of Permitting Services (DPS) in Rockville. There is no
filing fee for HAWPs.
For questions and information on filling out a HAWP application,
the HAWP review process, and technical information on
sound preservation techniques and maintenance of historic
structures, please contact HPC staff at 301-563-3400 or
via e-mail at mcp-historic@mncppc-mc.org
1. Fill out the HAWP application form and all attachments.
You must provide the names and mailing
addresses of whoever owns property next to, behind
and across from yours. Failure to provide the necessary
required components of the application will result in
the application being returned. You must also provide
graphic information about your proposal, including:
Two sets of scaled plans and elevations on paper no larger
than 11" x 17" showing what currently exists
and what you propose. Mark the scale and dimensions on each
page, because the drawings will be reduced, photocopied,
and circulated on 8-1/2" x 11" paper.
Photographs showing the building or site from the street
and the areas where the work is proposed. Digital photos
(printed) are encouraged; if you Please affix the photos
to 8-1/2" x 11" paper and label them.
A site plan (a zoning plat or survey can be used) showing
the existing footprint of the building with the area of
proposed changes or additions denoted. Indicate location
of proposed fences with a dotted line.
Additional information such as a tree survey, a grading
plan, and material specifications may be required depending
on your project. If you plan to remove a healthy tree greater
than 6" in caliper, you must provide a tree survey
with proposed replacement plantings.
2.
Return your completed HAWP application to DPS in Rockville.
Do not send it to the HPC office in Silver Spring. You will
be notified by mail when your case is scheduled before the
HPC. This usually takes place within one-month of filing
and, by law, must take place within 45 days.
3.
The HPC usually meets the second and fourth Wednesdays of
each month. To be on a particular meeting agenda, you must
file your HAWP application 3 weeks before that meeting.
Notice of the public meeting is published in the Montgomery
Journal and sent to your neighboring property owners.
If you live in a historic district, the Local Advisory Panel
(LAP) receives a copy of your application.
4.
At the HPC meeting, you will be given time to discuss your
project and answer questions about it. Other interested
parties will also be offered an opportunity to testify.
Staff will show slides of your property and make recommendations
to the Commission. Comments, if any, from the LAP are also
presented.
5.
Following testimony and discussion, the HPC votes in public
on your application, basing its decision on criteria in
me County's Historic Preservation Ordinance, the Secretary
of the Interior's Standards, and any applicable approved
and adopted historic district guidelines. The HPC has three
options:
If
your HAWP is denied, the HPC will provide you with a written
decision. You or any aggrieved party may appeal any HPC
decision within 30 days to the Board of Appeals (240)-777-6600.
Its decisions may be appealed to the Circuit Court.
In
practice, the majority of HAWP applications are approved
as submitted or with conditions.
6.
Following the HPC meeting, the signed, approved HAWP application
is returned to DPS, which then issues you a Historic Area
Work Permit through the mail. At the same time, HPC staff
mails you a copy of your signed HAWP application with each
page of your plans stamped as approved. If the HPC's conditions
of approval require changes to the plans, the approved HAWP
is not returned to DPS until you submit a revised set of
plans to HPC staff. When you go to DPS to get your building
permit, you must take your HPC stamped plans and HAWP. Your
building permit plans must match the stamped HPC set.
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