Historic Preservation Officer

City of Denton, TX; Denton (TX); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Denton seeks an experienced Historic Preservation Officer to develop and administer policies protecting cultural and historic resources, ensure compliance with preservation regulations, and provide guidance to City staff, boards, and agencies.

Key duties include reviewing plans and ordinances, coordinating COA processes, preparing staff reports, and guiding preservation planning across departments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Historic Preservation and Planning and at least 5 years of experience in historic Preservation and Planning.
• Certification by American Institute of Certified Planners or ability to obtain within 12 months.

Responsibilities

• Develops and administers policies for protecting cultural and historic resources.
• Reviews plans, ordinances, and preservation guidelines; prepares staff reports and recommendations.
• Coordinates COA processes and advises Historic Landmark Commission and City Council on preservation issues.
• Interacts with state, regional, and national preservation entities to promote local preservation.

Skills

Effective communication

Planning

Historic preservation knowledge

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Historic Preservation and Planning

Job description

Responsible for developing and administering City policies and procedures for the protection of cultural and historical resources; ensuring that City activities comply with historic preservation regulations; and providing technical, architectural, design, historical, and policy guidance to City staff, City Council, governmental officials, boards and committees, and regional, state, and national preservation agencies. maintains the City in good standing as a Certified Local Government (CLG); and carries out the duties of Historic Preservation Officer as mandated by the State of Texas Historic Preservation Office. Works with state, regional and national historic preservation entities to further historic preservation in the City of Denton.

Essential Functions:

• Performs and manages technically complex, high-impact and politically sensitive professional planning projects, research, and analysis.
• Performs professional planning work involving historic preservation such as developing and reviewing ordinances, design guidelines, tax incentive programs, grants, maintaining and updating historic surveys, and developing preservation plans.
• Defines and reviews the issues of historic preservation as they relate to the City, develops alternative solutions to problems, evaluates special programs and City-sponsored projects.
• Reviews site plans, rendered and non-rendered elevations, and historic profiles of structures for compliance with preservation ordinances and preservation guidelines. Prepares staff reports and makes recommendations for all historic preservation cases, and presents staff reports and recommendations to the Historic Landmark Commission (HLC).
• Provides direct support to Historic Landmark Commission (HLC) and provides advisement related to pending cases as appropriate; may serve as liaison to various committees, when required.
• Coordinates the Certificate of Occupancy (COA) process to develop or redevelop property located in the historic districts or designated for protection as required to develop or redevelop property.
• Recommends buildings, structures, sites, districts, and areas in the city that should be preserved and designated as historic landmarks.
• Develops marketing materials to promote historic preservation efforts, provides historic preservation information to the public, and coordinates historic preservation efforts among city departments/divisions.
• Provides technical support associated with planning activities, which includes: coordinating public inquiry on development processes, codes, ordinances, submittal and permit requirements; processing utility releases; maintaining logs for plan review turnaround times; scheduling and entering activities; generating and processing a variety of daily, weekly, and monthly reports; preparing narrative staff reports and recommendations of great complexity; preparing public notices; performing other related activities.
• Conducts review of various development applications including plats, permits, site plans, variance rezoning requests.
• Presents reports and other findings to staff, Historic Landmarks Commission, Planning & Zoning Commission, and City Council regarding historic preservation overlay zoning districts including areas adjacent to those districts.
• Interprets and applies applicable local, state, federal laws, and rules.
• Initiates actions necessary to correct deficiencies or violations of development regulations.
• Assists with updates and maintenance of Comprehensive Plan and land development regulations.
• Writes and presents formal and technical reports, working papers, and correspondence.
• Identifies community problems, issues, and opportunities in particular neighborhoods that could be mitigated through better community planning.
• Adheres to established work product deadlines.
• Maintains regular and punctual on-site attendance

Additional Duties:

• Performs other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications / Acceptable Equivalency:

• Bachelors Degree in Historic Preservation and Planningand at least 5 years of experience in historic Preservation and Planning
• Certification by American Institute of Certified Planners or ability to obtain within 12 months

OR

• Any combination of related education, experience, certifications and licenses that will result in a candidate successfully performing the essential functions of the job

Core Competencies:

• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing
• Ability to form and maintain effective relationships with coworkers and customers
• Knowledge of accounting principles for grants application and management
• Knowledge of architecture and historic preservation

Preferences:

• Bachelors Degree in Architecture or Planning
• Masters Degree in Historic Preservation and Planning
• Bilingual in Spanish and English
• Meets the Professional Qualifications Standards of the Secretary of the Interior
• Bilingual in Spanish and English
• Meets the Professional Qualifications Standards of the Secretary of the Interior

Conditions of Employment:

• Must have a valid Class “C” Driver’s License and valid state required minimum automobile liability insurance prior to employment (must obtain Texas Class “C” driver’s license and state required minimum automobile liability insurance within 90 days of hire per state law)
• Must pass a drug test, driver’s license check, criminal history background check, and social security number verification check
• Must be able to work outside of regular business hours as required (exempt)

Physical Requirements:

Overall Strength Demands: The italicized word describes the overall strength demand of the functions performed by the incumbent during a typical workday.

• Sedentary – lifting no more than 10 pounds
• Light – lifting no more than 20 pounds; carry up to 10 pounds
• Medium – lifting no more than 50 pounds, carry up to 25 pounds
• Heavy – lifting no more than 100 pounds, carry up to 50 pounds
• Very Heavy – lifting more than 100 pounds, carry more than 50 pounds

Physical Demand Codes: The following describes if the incumbent is expected to exert the following physical demands during a typical workday and the overall frequency.

Codes for “how often”: Y = Yes N = No E = extensive (100-70%) M = moderate (60-30%) I = infrequent (20-10%) A = almost never (<10%)

Task: Code:

1. Standing: I
2. Sitting: M
3. Walking: M
4. Lifting: I
5. Carrying: A
6. Pushing/Pulling: A
7. Overhead Work: A
8. Fine Dexterity: I
9. Kneeling: M
10. Crouching: M
11. Crawling: M
12. Bending: M
13. Twisting:
14. Climbing: I
15. Balancing: Y
16. Vision: E
17. Hearing: E
18. Talking: M
19. Video Display: E
20. Other:

Machines, Tools, Equipment and Work Aids: The essential functions of this position require the use of basic office equipment such as calculators, copy machines, fax machines, printers, operates computers both notebooks and desktop, operates mobile phones.

Environmental Factors: The essential functions of this position are performed in an office environment.

EEO STATEMENT

The City of Denton is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of the City of Denton to prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type and to afford equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to any protected class, status, characteristic, or activity. All employment decisions, including decisions regarding recruitment, selection, hiring, compensation, benefits, training, advancement, discipline, discharge, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment are made without regard to any lawfully protected class, status, characteristic, or activity.

ADA/EOE/ADEA

This job description is not an employment agreement, contract agreement, or contract. Management has the exclusive right to alter this job description at any time without notice.