If your house is on the peninsula and the work shows from the street, the City of Charleston's Board of Architectural Review decides what you may do to the outside of it before the building department will look at your permit. Most homeowners meet the BAR once, under time pressure, with a design already drawn. This guide is the city's own rules, quoted, so that the first meeting is the last one.
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What the BAR reviews, and what it does not
The city describes the board's job in one sentence: it “reviews all new construction, alterations and renovations visible from the public right-of-way.” The ordinance is specific about what “visible” means. Section 54-231 defines it as “only such portion of a structure that can be viewed by the naked eye from street level,” and adds that “in determining visibility, presence of vegetation shall be ignored.” A hedge does not hide an addition.
Two things are outside the board's reach. Section 54-237 states that the BAR “shall not consider interior arrangement or interior design,” so a kitchen or bath that touches no exterior wall opening is not a BAR matter at all. And section 54-242 says nothing in the article “shall be construed to prevent the ordinary maintenance or repair of any exterior elements.” Rot repair, repainting a painted surface, and like-for-like replacement of a sill or a baluster fall there.
Which district you are in decides the trigger
There are two overlapping districts on the peninsula and they do not work the same way. In the Old and Historic District, section 54-232(a) applies to every structure: none “shall be erected, demolished or removed in whole or in part, nor shall the exterior architectural appearance of any structure which is visible from a public right-of-way be altered” without BAR approval. In the Old City District, the alteration rule in 54-232(c) is narrower. It reaches a structure “either more than one hundred years old or listed in Categories 1, 2, 3 and 4 on the Inventory Map” that is visible from the right-of-way. A 1960s house in the Old City District that is not on the inventory can change its facade without the board; the same house in the Old and Historic District cannot.
Demolition uses a different clock. The city's page says the BAR reviews “all demolitions of buildings 50 years of age or older on any structures south of Mount Pleasant Street, and any demolitions (regardless of age) within the Old and Historic District.” And “demolition” is broader than taking a house down: section 54-231(d) includes removing “a substantial portion of features of a structure” that define its character, listing “roofs, columns, balustrades, chimneys, siding, windows, doors, shutters, site walls, fences.” Stripping a porch counts.
The BAR's own Jurisdiction Review Chart answers the question for a given address, and staff, not the applicant, “shall determine visibility from a public right-of-way.” We check the chart and the inventory rating before we draw anything for a downtown Charleston client.
Staff can sign off more than you expect
The city's page says that “most minor alterations, such as painting, sitework, signage, repairs, etc., are typically reviewed by Staff and do not require full Board review.” The Staff Reviews Policy, adopted by both boards in January 2024, lists eleven categories staff may process on their own. The ones that matter for a renovation:
- Repairs and in-kind replacements that “do not involve changing the appearance of the structure.”
- Painting: “Staff may process applications for color changes,” though “painting of previously-unpainted masonry requires Board review.”
- Mechanical units: “location of service meters and HVAC and any necessary screening.”
- Rear additions “that are minimally visible (as determined by staff) from the public rights-of-way.”
- Accessory buildings that are minimally visible, and material upgrades where the new material “is an upgrade over the existing material.”
The exception is printed in capitals on the policy: all alterations to Category 1 and 2 structures go to the board except repairs, signage and paint. Since March 2025 the city has also offered over-the-counter Quick Review Permits for like-for-like work, and it defines the term tightly: a replacement “that exactly matches the material, profile, dimensions, texture, and color of the original.” Shingle-to-shingle roofs, recoating a metal roof, and minor rot repair to columns, trim and sashes are on that list.
The calendar: two boards, one deadline a month
The ordinance splits the work by size, not by height. Section 54-233 assigns the BAR-Small to “projects that are up to 10,000 square feet in size” and the BAR-Large to those that exceed it, so a house is a BAR-S matter. Per the city's 2026 schedule, BAR-S “meetings are held on the 2nd & 4th Thursday of each month” at 4:30 p.m., with application deadlines at noon roughly sixteen to eighteen days before each meeting. BAR-L meets the second Wednesday only. The meeting room is the Gaillard Center's public meeting room at 2 George Street, and BAR-S agendas are “capped at 15 items.”
Everything is submitted “digitally as one combined PDF through the Customer Self Service (CSS) portal,” and applications “are due by NOON on the deadline date.” Miss noon and the next hearing is two weeks out; miss the agenda cap and it is longer. The ordinance also puts a clock on the board: if it “shall fail to take final action upon any case within forty-five (45) days after the receipt of application for permit, the application shall be deemed to be disapproved,” unless both sides agree to an extension.
What it costs
The city's fee schedule, last updated February 1, 2024, prices BAR-S review by the cost of the improvement: $200 up to $10,000; $300 from $10,001 to $50,000; $500 from $50,001 to $500,000; $700 from $500,001 to $2,000,000; $900 above that. The schedule notes that “fees are charged for Conceptual Approval, Preliminary Approval, Final Approval, and Final Permit Review by Staff,” and that “a review fee is charged each time an application is submitted for review,” so a design that needs three hearings pays three times. Staff-level items are cheaper: $25 for repairs and minor alterations, $30 for a paint colour change. Two lines are worth knowing before you start: “fees shall be doubled for after-the-fact requests,” and applications “for the purpose of elevating or floodproofing existing residential structures to meet federal, state, or municipal flood protection requirements shall not require fees” unless an addition is included. That last one pairs with the 50% rule more often than people expect.
Materials the board will and will not accept
Section 54-236 directs the board to be guided by the Secretary of the Interior's Standards, and the city's own restatement is that “deteriorated historic features should be repaired rather than replaced,” with any replacement matching “in design, color, texture, and, where possible, materials.” The General Guidelines are blunt where homeowners most want a shortcut. On siding: “Synthetic materials such as vinyl, aluminum, and cementitious siding are not appropriate for historic buildings and are not allowed.” On windows: “Simulated divided-lite windows and windows constructed of materials such as aluminum and vinyl are not acceptable in the historic districts on historic residences.” The Replacement Windows policy adopted in December 2025 adds “No vinyl or vinyl components” and requires board approval for any “change in material, profile, or grid pattern.” On roofs, the Historic Roofing policy says standing-seam metal “shall be of traditional hand-crimped detailing,” and that “modern snap-lock or commercial-grade metal roofs are inappropriate for historic structures and will not be approved.”
Solar, HVAC and the back of the house
Three current policy statements answer the questions we hear most. The Alternative Energy policy adopted in January 2026 says solar collectors on Category 1 or 2 properties “shall not be visible from the public right-of-way, unless appropriately concealed,” while Category 3, 4 and unrated properties “may be allowed some visibility.” Panels should sit on rear slopes, no more than 8 inches above the roof, and be reversible. The M.E.P. policy says “all mechanical equipment visible from the public right-of-way must be screened from view” and “meters and conduit shall not be placed on the front façade of a building.” The board itself notes these statements do “not constitute an automatic approval”; the last word is staff's, case by case.
How approval connects to the building permit
The ordinance defines a Certificate of Appropriateness as “the approval of a project by the Board that entitles the applicant to apply for a building permit.” That is the order of operations: BAR first, then the permit application, and the certificate is copied to the building inspector, who “shall from time to time inspect the alteration or construction approved by such certificate.” Approvals stay valid for two years unless extended, and an extension costs the same fee as the original approval. On our downtown jobs the BAR package is our work: we pull the inventory rating and the jurisdiction chart, draw to the guidelines above rather than against them, file in CSS before the noon deadline, and attend the hearing. Our Charleston permit guide covers what happens after the certificate issues. SC License CLG.127339.
Sources
- City of Charleston, Board of Architectural Review page: charleston-sc.gov/293/Board-of-Arch…
- City of Charleston Zoning Ordinance, Art. 2 Part 6 (BAR), city PDF: charleston-sc.gov/DocumentCenter/Vi…
- BAR Jurisdiction Review Chart: charleston-sc.gov/DocumentCenter/Vi…
- BAR Staff Reviews Policy (adopted January 2024): charleston-sc.gov/DocumentCenter/Vi…
- Quick Review Permits (March 31, 2025): charleston-sc.gov/DocumentCenter/Vi…
- 2026 BAR schedule of deadlines and meeting dates: charleston-sc.gov/DocumentCenter/Vi…
- Fee schedule (effective 1/1/19, updated 2/1/24): charleston-sc.gov/DocumentCenter/Vi…
- BAR General Guidelines (March 2024) and Charleston Standards: charleston-sc.gov/DocumentCenter/Vi…
- Replacement Windows policy (December 2025): charleston-sc.gov/DocumentCenter/Vi…
- Historic Roofing policy (December 2014): charleston-sc.gov/DocumentCenter/Vi…
- Alternative Energy policy (January 2026) and M.E.P. policy (December 2025): charleston-sc.gov/DocumentCenter/Vi…
Verified against the pages above on September 3, 2026. Rules and fees change; the pages linked are the authority.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need BAR approval for a kitchen remodel in downtown Charleston?
Not for the interior. The ordinance says the board shall not consider interior arrangement or interior design. You need approval only if the work changes the exterior appearance of a part of the house visible from a public right-of-way, such as a new window opening or a rear addition that shows from the street.
How long does Charleston BAR approval take?
The BAR-Small meets on the second and fourth Thursday of each month, with application deadlines at noon roughly sixteen to eighteen days before. A clean staff-level item can be processed without a hearing; a design that needs conceptual, preliminary and final approval spends at least three hearings in the queue. The ordinance treats an application as disapproved if the board takes no final action within 45 days unless both sides agree to extend.
Can I use Hardie siding or vinyl windows on a historic Charleston house?
No. The city's General Guidelines say vinyl, aluminum and cementitious siding are not allowed on historic buildings, and vinyl or aluminum windows are not acceptable on historic residences. The December 2025 window policy restates it as no vinyl or vinyl components.
How much does a Charleston BAR application cost?
For a BAR-Small project the fee follows the cost of the improvement, from $200 up to $10,000 of work to $900 above $2,000,000, charged each time the application is reviewed. Staff-level repairs are $25 and a paint colour change is $30. After-the-fact requests pay double, and flood-elevation work with no addition pays nothing.