CY Landmarks Committee Q&A
Q: How did the CY Landmarks Committee get started? What is the CYCA’s role?
A: The CYCA’s Five-Year Plan revealed that many neighbors wanted to explore options to protect the integrity and "funkiness" of the homes through historic designations. Based on this interest, the CYCA organized a call-out meeting for all interested parties early in August of 2016. The plan for the meeting was to discuss what it means to be a landmarks district and to determine if there were enough interested residents to start a committee. This initial meeting was well attended and, on August 22nd, 2016, the volunteer-led CY Landmarks Committee formed and met with Nancy Jane Baker of the Memphis Landmarks Commission to hear more details about the process of seeking Landmark Status in Cooper-Young. From there, the committee has worked to develop proposed guidelines and to keep the rest of the neighborhood involved.
The CYCA helped bring the committee together and is currently acting as a facilitator for the process. What this means is that the CYCA works to share information with residents and to support the needs of the committee including those financial needs associated with communication. The CYCA does not have an official position on whether or not landmarks status should be adopted by the neighborhood. The board of directors feel strongly that each property owner should decide for themselves whether or not to support becoming a landmarks district.
Q: What is Landmarks Designation? Isn’t Cooper-Young already a “historic” neighborhood?
A: Landmarks designation is a city-level ordinance that regulates building in some historic neighborhoods throughout the city. It is based on historic preservation approaches set out at the federal and state levels but specifically applies only to areas within the city of Memphis. Each of these districts must demonstrate that they contain historic structures in need of preservation. They must also develop specific guidelines that govern demolitions, new construction, and changes to existing structures. These guidelines are created by each neighborhood but are upheld by the Memphis Landmarks Commission; applicable building projects will need approval from this body in the form of a Certificate of Appropriateness to move forward.
Although Cooper-Young is already recognized as “historic” neighborhood at the federal level, it is not yet recognized at the local level. The federal designation carries no regulation for construction and primarily applies to specific tax breaks for which residents in historic homes may be eligible. It’s also great recognition for the neighborhood.
Q: Why would a neighborhood seek Landmarks designation status?
A: Typically a neighborhood with homes that exemplify a specific historic character is a candidate for Landmarks status. A home is considered historic if it is more than 50 years old.
Homeowners in a historic neighborhood may seek Landmark district status to help protect their investment from potentially negative development in their neighborhood. Because Landmarks Status creates an additional legal requirement for developers, residents have a mechanism for directly impacting what is built on their street or in their neighborhood. Without this designation, there is no avenue for Cooper Young residents to have a say in infill and new business structures.
Many historic neighborhoods seek Landmarks status to help maintain neighborhood character, maintain or improve property values, to minimize large-scale development in a residential area or to protect homeowners from development that might lower property value.
Q: What is regulated by Landmarks?
A: What you can see is what you regulate. This means that regulations do NOT apply to anything internal but MIGHT apply to side or back elevations of a home, depending upon what is visible (generally from the street). There are types of historic designations that include oversight of interior renovations, however that is not the type of distinction sought by the CYCA Landmarks Committee.
Q: How are these guidelines created?
A: Once a neighborhood group chooses to apply for Landmark Status, a committee is formed to begin the process. That committee works with the neighborhood at large through a series of public meetings and discussions to create a set of guidelines. While every neighborhood creates and approves its own specific set of guidelines, they must be based off national standards from the Secretary of Interior and coincide with the general architectural elements of the time period the Landmark guidelines are designed to protect.
Q: Is there a vote on becoming a landmarks district? How can property owners show their feelings on adopting landmarks status?
Previously: Once a final set of guidelines was created, each homeowner within the proposed Landmarks area was sent a ballot to vote on adopting the guidelines. Roughly 80 percent of respondents needed to be in favor for the guidelines to be adopted. Non-votes were considered consent for adoption of the guidelines.
Currently: With changes to staffing for the Landmarks Commission have come questions about this process. The city attorney has found no legal requirement for a community vote and has determined that the voting process was most likely created as an internal procedure by staff at the behest of the Landmarks Commission. Currently, Office of Planning and Development staff have drafted a proposed amendment to the commission’s by-laws that would instead codify a petition process with a 25% affirmative threshold for the proposed district. This change is not yet confirmed which means that the CY process is up in the air at this point.
Q. How are these guidelines implemented?
A: Implementation of each neighborhood’s guidelines can be overseen by individual neighborhood committees, but is managed by the Memphis Landmarks Commission (MLC), part of the city’s Office of Planning and Development.
The Memphis Landmarks Commission (MLC) is responsible for preserving and protecting the historic, architectural and cultural landmarks in theMemphis and MLC oversees the development and implementation of Landmarks guidelines. MLC reviews zoning requests and work that is visible from the street, including new construction, demolition, relocation of structures, and different types of exterior alterations in the historic districts.
Q: Are the guidelines one-size-fits-all?
A. Guidelines are not hard and fast rule and are applied to each individual case depending on the details of that case. For example, a home could enclose a portion of the porch because a family member in a wheelchair needs a specially created area.
Q: What kinds of elements can be dictated by Landmarks guidelines?
A: While every neighborhood develops their own specific guidelines, the intended purpose is to protect period-specific architectural details and character within an area of historical significance. In Cooper Young, that could include elements such as setbacks (distance from the street to the front of the home), roof lines (how tall a structure from street view compared to neighboring structures) and retention of original millwork on the home’s front-facing exterior.
Q: Can these regulations impact things like the color I can paint my home exterior?
A: Exterior paint color is not part of Landmarks jurisdiction and CANNOT be regulated by the Memphis Landmarks Commission or the CYCA Landmarks Committee. The reason is that regulations are based on the period of historic significance for a specific area and includes norms in paint color that differ wildly. In Cooper Young, homes were built across a number of decades and there are far too many variations of paint color to determine what would be considered appropriate for the time period. Even if the exact paint colors that were used during each of the eras within the specified period were known, colors would vary so greatly as to be impossible to regulate.
Q: Will these guidelines regulate how original/historic building materials are treated, cleaned, or refinished?
A: To some degree. For example, sandblasting is regulated, as is any procedure that destroys the integrity of building materials. However, guidelines are focused primarily on the visual characteristics of materials so replacing elements such as windows and doors with more efficient, but less expensive alternative materials is widely accepted as long as the overall appearance resembles the original character of the home.
Today, thirteen Memphis area neighborhoods have Landmark status including neighborhoods South Main, Annesdale Park, Evergreen, Glenview, Central Gardens and others. A full list of Memphis area Landmark neighborhoods can be found at If adopted, Cooper Young would be the largest neighborhood in the city to obtain Landmark Status.
Q. Will Landmarks designation change a homeowner’s ability to obtain insurance?
A: We have spoken with Steve Womack of State Farm Insurance. He does not believe this will impact either the ability to obtain insurance or the cost of that insurance.
Q. What are the costs associated with doing work in a Landmarks District? How do I know what my project will need?
A: When OPD gets first notice from the owner about the proposed activity, they decide whether the proposed activity is exempt, minor, or major:
- Exempt - Activities that are not included in the guidelines, such as CY proposal for reroofing an existing structure and anything not visible from the street.
- Minor activities include minor alterations, garages/outbuildings and fences (see Explanation of Fees chart from MLC).
- Major activities include other activities on the Explanation of Fees chart from MLC.
If OPD decides the proposed activity is Exempt, there is NO application and NO fee. OPD may be able to decide during the phone call, from email, or meeting. Otherwise, OPD will usually notify the owner/etc. in less than a week. If the proposed activity is Minor, the application and fee schedule on the Explanation of Fees chart from MLC apply. These applications are only reviewed by OPD staff and review takes about a week. If OPD decides the proposed activity is Major, the application and fee schedule on the Explanation of Fees chart from MLC apply. These applications are reviewed by MLC and review takes about a month. A schedule of fees can be found online from the Memphis Landmarks Commission and will vary depending on the type of work. These fees are minimal and range from $25 to $250.
Q: Is there an expedited process for repairing damage from natural or other disasters?
A: Yes. You will need to contact Brian Bacchus (the current staff person assisting with certificates of appropriateness) and confirm what you will need but there is generally an expedited process for small projects and those wishing to repair damage and restore to their home’s original structure.
Q: Is vinyl siding allowed? Is there a fee for general home maintenance like replacing siding and roofing?
A: This may depend on the guidelines for each district. The proposed guidelines for Cooper-Young currently do not regulate these activities and do allow for vinyl siding. As always, the best course will be to call the Office of Planning and Development to confirm whether or not a certificate of appropriateness will be needed for any work.
Q. How long does it take to get approval for proposed work?
A: This will depend on the nature of the work. Minor changes and repairs can often be approved by staff and can take as little as a week to process. Large changes including new habitable additions and entirely new construction will need approval from the commission itself. The commission meets once a month on the second to last Thursday.