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Any resident of the City of Milwaukee or the building's owner can petition the Historic Preservation Commission for the designation of a site.
To apply for designation of a site or structure, fill out a Historic Property Designation Application (Word - PDF). To apply for designation of district or other defined area, fill out a Historic District Designation Application (Word - PDF) (and refer to instructions for this application if needed). Please see our research guide for help filling out the form.
Submit your application with supporting documents in an email to [email protected] or via the post office to the address listed on the right side of this web page. You must also provide a $25 application fee by cash or check. The alderperson for the district in which the building or district is located may have the fee waived.
Once submitted, applications are reviewed by the staff for completeness and accuracy before being scheduled for evaluation by the Commission.
Staff completes a Historic Designation Study Report in advance of the Commission meeting. Staff also is instructed to notify the owner or owners of the affected property, as well as the owners of all properties that lie within two hundred feet of the boundaries of the proposed site or district, and inform them of the justification for and probable effects of the proposed designation. Your attendance at the Commission meeting for this step is optional, but may be helpful if questions arise that your submission form cannot answer.
A minimum of twenty-five days after the notification letters are mailed, a public hearing is scheduled. You should plan to attend this meeting with your supporting materials should any questions arise.
Following the public hearing the Commission decides whether or not to recommend the site for designation to the Common Council and informs the affected property owners of their recommendation by letter.
If the site is recommended for historic designation, the Common Council then votes to either approve, deny, or hold the designation at their next meeting. If the measure is approved, congratulations! Your request for historic designation has been approved.
If the designation is approved, the City Clerk notifies the owners of the affected property, the appropriate alderpeople, the Commissioners of City Development, Public Works and Neighborhood Services, and files a notice of the designation with the Milwaukee County Register of Deeds to be recorded with the deeds of the affected properties.
Once notified of the designation by the City Clerk, the Commissioner of Neighborhood Services/Development Center will not issue a building permit for a designated historic site or structure within a historic district without first obtaining a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) from the Commission.
A temporary designation is used to prevent demolition or irreversible changes to a property before a permanent application can be processed. A temporary designation has immediate effect upon receipt and no building permit may be issued without a Certificate of Appropriateness and no demolition permit may be issued at all. The process is similar to the permanent designation, but on a much more compressed timeline. Temporary designation can last for as much as 180 days. A permanent designation application must be filed simultaneously or already be on file. Please download the temporary designation application form here (Word - PDF).
FAQ (PDF)
Comparison of local and national designation (PDF)
Wisconsin Historical Society's State and National Register Program