Besides being listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Heritage Hills also lies within an Oklahoma City Historic Preservation District. An HP District is protected by unique zoning ordinances specifing what, when and how structures in the District may be modified, built or destroyed by owners. Permission for these changes must be obtained from the Mayor-appointed Oklahoma City Historic Preservation Commission
The ordinances were updated in 2003 and included the addition of Neighborhood Design Review committees. Residents of each HP District with extensive knowledge and experience of HP rules and processes volunteer their time and non-binding advice to homeowners. Their goal is simply to make the process as successful as possible by being an informational conduit between residents and the HP Commission. While they do make monthly reports and recommendations, only the HP Commission decides which actions to take for or against property owners.
In general, owners must request and receive a Certificate of Appropriateness, or "CA", from the HP Commission before any modifications or additions are made to any exterior feature of a home. The intention is to protect the integrity of the entire neighborhood's historic signifigance and character. All interior modifications and any regular exterior maintenance, such as painting or replacement of exterior features with like materials, do not require a CA.
HPI has submitted the following residents of our neighborhood to serve on the Preservation Review Committee:
Marva Ellard - Chair
Jane Holcombe
Nancy Kerr
Chad Reynolds
Shannon Rundell
Jennifer Gibbons
The purpose of the Preservation Review Committee is to help citizens of Heritage Hills to go before the Historic Preservation Committee to receive a Certificate of Appropriateness for work to be done on their property. Contact any member of the committee or Marva Ellard at 521-1420 or designreview@heritagehills.org if you have any questions. The Committee invites any resident of Heritage Hills to serve on the Committee; simply contact Marva Ellard if you are interested.
You may also find extensive information online at OKC Planning Department's website - http://okc.gov/planning/hp/index.html.