(S-5) Developing & Applying Historic Design Guidelines in New Jersey
About this Session
How do design guidelines help achieve successful preservation outcomes in New Jersey? This panel examines how Historic Design Guidelines work in real-world settings by comparing two very different examples at opposite ends of the Jersey shore.
Cape May is a National Historic Landmark with a longstanding HPC, strict regulatory standards, and a unique concentration of Victorian-era wood-frame architecture. Cape May updated their Historic Design Standards in 2022 as part of an NJHPO-funded project.
Red Bank is a growing community with a recently re-established HPC, more flexible guidelines, and an advisory review process for a primarily masonry commercial district and small-scale residential district. Red Bank created Historic Design Guidelines in 2025 as part of an NJHT-funded project.
Following a brief overview by the consultant responsible for Cape May and Red Bank’s design guidelines, panelists will discuss the process of crafting guidelines, how guidelines help protect historic character, and how to balance preservation with new needs such as sustainability, accessibility, and new development. The session will give participants practical tools and ideas to adapt guidelines to fit their own community’s history, rules, and resources.
Presented by
Steven Smolyn
John Boecker, RA
