CAPE MAY – At a Sept. 15 Cape May City Council meeting, the council adopted an ordinance creating the position of a historic preservation compliance officer. The move strengthens the city’s oversight of new construction and renovations, which required authorization from its Historic Preservation Committee (HPC).
As designed, the compliance officer will have no role in deciding the outcome of applications for a variance from historic preservation standards, but will be in a position to ensure that the HPC’s decisions are adhered to, as construction is undertaken.
Cape May’s large collection of historic buildings earned it a National Historic Landmark designation, in 1976, a designation the city has worked to maintain through building standards, especially in its historic district.
