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Raleigh is developing a Historic Preservation Plan to guide its priorities for the next 15 to 20 years, and the work extends beyond already-recognized landmarks. A neighborhood of mid-century ranch houses, a longtime gathering place or a landscape tied to local history could all be part of it.
In its October 27 announcement, updated November 3, the city invites residents to public meetings on November 17 and 19, 2026, to identify buildings, places and community stories they value and suggest how they should be preserved.
It won't, by itself, designate new historic properties or change the rules for renovating older homes. Those decisions involve separate processes.
Raleigh's November 17 and 19 Historic Preservation Meetings
The city is holding two public meetings, with the same information presented at each.
The first meeting takes place Tuesday, November 17, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Laurel Hills Community Center, 3808 Edwards Mill Road. A brief presentation begins at 7:15 p.m.
The second meeting is Thursday, November 19, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at Barwell Road Community Center, 5857 Barwell Park Drive. Its presentation begins at 9:45 a.m.
No RSVP is required, and participants can come and go during either event.
Someone might bring up a neighborhood building that has served the community for decades. Another resident may know the history of a place that has changed hands, been altered or lost its original purpose.
Those details aren't always visible from the street. They often come from people who remember how a place was used and why it mattered.
Residents needing childcare should email [email protected] by November 11, including the number and ages of children attending. The city cannot guarantee childcare without an advance request.
Language and accessibility accommodations can also be requested through that address by November 11. Residents should describe the assistance needed so the city can work to accommodate the request.
How Raleigh Plans to Set Its Historic Preservation Priorities
Raleigh began work on the Historic Preservation Plan in August 2026, with MIG, Inc. serving as consultant.
The city wants a coordinated strategy for its preservation programs, priorities and future actions.
The plan will supplement Raleigh's proposed 2050 Comprehensive Plan, which is being developed through the separate Reflecting Raleigh process. For now, Raleigh's 2030 Comprehensive Plan still guides the city's growth.
The preservation effort will focus on historic buildings, sites, landmarks, landscapes, cultural resources and the stories associated with them.
Some places may be important for their architecture. Others may help explain how Raleigh's communities formed, who lived there and how neighborhoods changed over time.
Raleigh is also organizing two groups to help develop the strategy.
Applications for the Technical Advisory Group and Community Working Group have closed. According to the current project page, member selection is nearing completion, with meetings expected to begin in November.
Both groups will review draft materials and continue meeting before the project ends in 2027. The Community Working Group will also gather input from residents.
One of Raleigh's existing preservation projects offers a concrete example of the neighborhood history such work can bring forward.
Biltmore Hills: A Raleigh Neighborhood With a History Beyond Its Houses
In southeast Raleigh, Biltmore Hills sits between Garner and Cross Link roads, with Biltmore Hills Park to the south and Interstate 440 to the north.
Most of its houses are one-story brick-veneer ranches built between 1959 and 1970. Some later homes are split-levels.
According to Raleigh's Biltmore Hills National Register nomination project, the neighborhood was developed for Black residents.
Its street names reflect that history. Fitzgerald Drive, for example, honors singer Ella Fitzgerald, one of several notable Black Americans whose names appear throughout the neighborhood.
The construction of the beltline changed Biltmore Hills in another way.
Interstate 440 severed its connection to neighboring Rochester Heights, another community developed for Black residents.
The neighborhood's history is tied not only to its houses but also to the people who lived there, the opportunities available to them and the transportation changes that reshaped their community.
Raleigh began pursuing a National Register nomination for Biltmore Hills in 2024.
At its October 8, 2026, meeting, the North Carolina National Register Advisory Committee recommended forwarding the nomination to the National Park Service.
Raleigh reported that recommendation in an October 15 update. The National Park Service is responsible for the final decision on whether the neighborhood is added to the National Register.
The Biltmore Hills nomination is a separate project, not a designation resulting from the new citywide preservation plan.
It also raises a distinction that matters to homeowners: documenting a neighborhood's historical significance doesn't necessarily mean imposing local restrictions on its houses.
When Raleigh's Historic-Property Rules Apply to Renovations
Raleigh already has historic-preservation rules that apply to certain locally designated properties.
Under the city's Certificate of Appropriateness process, regulated exterior work on a Raleigh Historic Landmark or a property within a General Historic Overlay District requires historic-design approval before work begins.
Requirements also apply to regulated portions of properties within Streetside Historic Overlay Districts.
A Certificate of Appropriateness, or COA, is separate from any other building or development permit a project may need.
For someone planning an exterior addition or renovation, the difference between owning an older house and owning a locally designated historic property can affect what approvals are required.
Not every older house falls under these rules.
A property listed only on the National Register of Historic Places doesn't require a Raleigh COA solely because of that national recognition.
Raleigh also maintains a Places Worthy of Preservation inventory.
The inventory helps identify properties for research and planning. Inclusion doesn't automatically protect a property from demolition or zoning action, and it doesn't initiate or guarantee historic designation.
Individual Raleigh Historic Landmarks follow a separate designation process. The Raleigh Historic Development Commission reviews and recommends applications, while City Council makes the final designation decision through a local ordinance.
For someone buying an older Raleigh home, the property's current designation is what matters when determining whether local historic-design review applies.
The city's COA guidance explains how to check those designations using iMAPS.
HomesRaleigh's Buying an Older or Historic Home in Raleigh: What to Check Before You Commit guide covers that investigation in more detail, including renovation requirements, inspections and property-specific due diligence.
Raleigh Is Separately Updating Its Historic Design Standards
Raleigh is also working with The Lakota Group on a Historic Design Standards Update.
This project concerns the standards used to review work affecting properties already subject to local historic-design requirements.
It covers rehabilitation, additions, new construction, accessory structures and dwelling units, demolition or relocation, energy efficiency and resilience.
The update includes district-specific documents and separate standards for Raleigh Historic Landmarks.
According to the project's October 15 update, the consultant is drafting the standards, with a draft expected to reach the Raleigh Historic Development Commission in January 2027.
The published schedule anticipates final standards being presented to and adopted by the commission in April or May 2027, followed by sharing them with City Council and holding community meetings.
For a homeowner considering an exterior addition to a locally designated historic property, those standards could be more directly relevant to a planned renovation than the broader citywide strategy.
The Historic Preservation Plan addresses which places and preservation efforts Raleigh should prioritize. The Design Standards Update addresses how proposed changes to locally designated historic properties are reviewed.
How Residents Can Follow Raleigh's Preservation Plan
The city's Historic Preservation Plan project page provides project information and future updates.
Raleigh's preservation team can also be reached at 919-996-4478 or [email protected].
For anyone who wants a particular place or neighborhood history considered, the November 17 and 19 meetings offer a direct opportunity to share what they know while Raleigh is developing its preservation strategy.
