How it works Features Pricing Questions Request a demo
Built for historic preservation commissions

Prepared before.
Organized during.
Done when you leave.

DistrictDesk connects every part of your commission's work — application review before the meeting, motion recording during it, and a minutes draft the moment it ends. Nothing re-entered twice. Nothing written from memory.

Live with a New Jersey pilot commission since 2025
Works in any web browser — nothing to install or update
Your commission is set up and ready in one 30-minute call
districtdesk.org
Greenfield HPC COA Portal
Review
Property
Meeting
Minutes
⚠ AI-Generated Review — Advisory Only. All determinations rest with the commission.
COA 1 · AI Review
247 Elm Street
Whitfield House · Block 12, Lot 5 · Contributing
Incomplete — Minor Work
Completeness Score72%
72%
Missing from application
No photos of existing conditions
Window sash material unspecified
Owner signature absent
Meeting · April 15, 2026
Roll Call
R. ThompsonChair
M. ChenVice Chair
J. KowalskiMember
L. OkaforMember
S. NavarroMember
4 present (4 voting) · Quorum: ✓ Yes
Minutes Draft — AI Generated · April 15, 2026
GREENFIELD HPC · COA REVIEW MEETING · April 15, 2026
Members Present: R. Thompson, M. Chen, J. Kowalski, S. Navarro

Application 1: 247 Elm St — T. Bennett · Window replacement
Motion by R. Thompson to approve. Seconded by M. Chen. Carried 4-0.
Conditions: Work shall match existing profiles in kind…
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2,300+
Historic districts in the US — none with a tool purpose-built for this workflow
<30min
From first login to ready for your next meeting on the Assisted plan
<$500
Per year — less than one hour of municipal attorney time
0
Audio files stored — transcription only, keeping your costs and liability predictable
How it works

Designed around how your meetings actually run.

DistrictDesk follows the natural rhythm of a commission meeting — before, during, and after. Every step connects to the next. Nothing gets re-entered twice.

01

Review applications before the meeting

Upload the applicant's PDFs. The AI reads the documents, scores the packet from 0–100% on completeness, flags missing items, and suggests questions. You know what's wrong before anyone shows up.

The week before
02

Pull up the property at the hearing

One click shows aerial view, Street View, block and lot number, contributing status, and every past decision for that address. Project it on the wall while you're discussing the application.

During the hearing
03

Record motions as they happen

Attendance, quorum, motions, vote counts, conditions, mover and seconder — tap to record in real time. The meeting recorder transcribes what's said so nothing is lost when memory fades.

During the meeting
04

Walk out with minutes ready

One click generates a properly formatted draft from everything recorded. Edit what needs editing, copy, and distribute. What used to take two hours at home now takes ten minutes before you leave.

After the meeting
Features

Every tab. Every task. Connected.

From the first PDF upload to the SHPO annual report — your commission's entire administrative workflow lives in one place.

AI-Assisted COA Review

Upload the applicant's PDFs. The AI reads them natively — fillable forms, handwriting, stamps, everything — and produces a structured review: summary, classification, missing items, and recommended commission questions.

The completeness score uses a fixed 12-item weighted checklist so every application is evaluated consistently. The AI answers yes or no per item. The math is deterministic.

Advisory only — all determinations rest with your commission
Live output
247 Elm St · Completeness72/100
72%
Missing items
· No photos of existing conditions
· Window sash material not specified
· Property owner signature absent
Draft follow-up email to applicant →

Property Intelligence

Aerial view and Street View from Google Maps, block and lot number, contributing or non-contributing status, and every past COA decision for the address — all in one panel you can project on screen at the hearing.

Roll Call & Quorum Tracking

Check members in as they arrive. Quorum updates automatically. Mover and seconder dropdowns show only the members currently present — and the mover is excluded from seconding their own motion.

Three-Motion Workflow

The motion recorder follows your commission's Robert's Rules process exactly: completeness check, major/minor/sign classification, then the final outcome with vote count, conditions, mover and seconder all recorded.

Violations Tracker

Log unauthorized changes, track status from open through monitoring to resolved. Open violations surface automatically in Meeting tab old business so nothing falls through the cracks between monthly meetings.

Live Meeting Transcript

The meeting recorder captures speech to text in real time — Chrome or Edge required. No audio files are stored anywhere. Only the text transcript is saved, keeping storage costs and data liability predictable.

AI Minutes Generation

After the meeting, one click generates formatted minutes from every motion, condition, attendance record, and violation noted during the session. Edit the draft, copy, and send. No writing from memory.

KPI Dashboard & SHPO Report

Approval rates, completeness averages, attendance by member, training hours against state requirements — your annual data, organized. One click generates a professional Word document for your SHPO annual report.

Commission Assistant

A searchable AI assistant trained on your commission's own data — sessions, decisions, members, and violations. Ask it "what conditions did we put on 48 N. Main in 2023?" and get an answer in seconds.

Built for volunteers, not IT departments

If you can use email,
you can use DistrictDesk.

Every decision — font size, button labels, screen layout — was made with a 7pm municipal meeting in mind. Not a software demo for a conference room full of IT managers.

30

Minutes to be fully set up

On the Assisted plan, we do setup on a call with you. We load your property inventory, configure your ordinance, and add your commission members. You arrive at the next meeting ready to go.

Nothing to install. Ever.

DistrictDesk runs in any web browser — Chrome, Safari, Edge. Open a link, log in, and you're in. No downloads, no version updates, no IT request to file.

  • Works on any Windows or Mac laptop
  • Works on a tablet in landscape mode
  • No app store, no installation, no IT support needed

Named accounts for each member

The secretary, the chair, and the township liaison each get their own login with the right level of access. No more sharing a password over email.

  • Admin, Editor, and Viewer roles
  • Named accounts with individual passwords
  • Every action logged — nothing gets lost or disputed
  • Commission seats and term dates tracked
?

A real person answers your questions

On Assisted and Full-Service plans, you email a person who knows your commission's setup — not a support ticket system. Questions about how to record a particular motion, how to find a past decision, how to run the SHPO report — answered directly.

"

We used to spend the evening after every meeting writing up minutes and chasing applicants for missing documents. Now we walk out with a draft ready and every motion on the record. It changed how we operate completely.

Commission Secretary DistrictDesk pilot commission · New Jersey
Using DistrictDesk since 2025
2,300+
Historic districts in the US — most still running on Word documents and shared email chains
$499
Per year — less than a single hour of municipal attorney time, with a 30-day money-back guarantee
1
Call to get fully set up — we do the configuration for you on the Assisted plan
Pricing

One price. Every feature included.

No per-seat charges. No add-on modules. No renewal price increases. The only difference between plans is how much help you want getting started — and whether you want a real person to call.

For commissions ready to set up themselves
Self-Serve
$299
per year, billed annually
  • Every feature — COA review, meeting tools, minutes, KPI, SHPO report
  • Step-by-step setup wizard guides you through configuration
  • Upload your own ordinance and property inventory
  • Named accounts for all commission members
  • Email support
Get started
For commissions that want everything done for them
Full-Service
$799
per year + $300 one-time setup
  • Everything in Assisted
  • We source your ordinance if you don't have a digital copy
  • Full property inventory researched and built from scratch
  • Live walkthrough session with your full commission
  • Phone support during business hours
  • Unlimited AI reviews per month
Get started

30-day money-back guarantee · No long-term contracts · CLG grant funds may be eligible — check with your State Historic Preservation Office

Common questions

Things commissions ask before signing up.

"We're not very tech-savvy. Will we actually be able to use this?"

Yes. Most of our commissioners had never used anything like this before. The Assisted plan includes a call where we walk through setup together and make sure every member knows what to do before the first live meeting. Large buttons, plain labels, no manual required.

"Is the AI going to make our decisions for us?"

No. Every AI output — reviews, completeness scores, minutes drafts — is labeled "Advisory Only" and a disclaimer is required at the start of every session. The AI helps you prepare. Your commission deliberates and votes. All decisions rest with the commission, as they must.

"Our ordinance is different from every other town. Does that matter?"

That's exactly why it works this way. You upload your local ordinance once. Every COA review from that point forward is checked against your specific rules, not generic preservation guidelines. Each commission's portal is completely isolated from every other.

"Does the meeting recorder store our audio recordings?"

No audio files are created or stored anywhere. The recorder uses your browser's speech-to-text capability to produce a live text transcript — only the transcript is saved. This keeps storage costs and data liability predictable, and means there's no audio file for public records requests to complicate.

"Can CLG grant money pay for this?"

Potentially. CLG grants through the Historic Preservation Fund can fund a range of program activities including tools and technology. We've seen commissions use grant funds for software subscriptions. Check with your State Historic Preservation Office — they can confirm what's eligible in your state.

"We only meet a few times a year. Is it worth it?"

Even a commission meeting four times a year spends significant time on prep and paperwork. DistrictDesk pays for itself at the first meeting. The minutes feature alone saves two or more hours every session. That's real time your secretary gets back — and the reason most commissions renew without thinking twice.

Ready to run better meetings?

Schedule a free 30-minute demo. We'll show you the live portal, answer every question, and give you an honest assessment of whether it's the right fit for your commission.

No commitment, no sales pressure. Questions? hello@districtdesk.org — a real person responds.

Contact

Get in touch

Schedule a demo, ask a question, or tell us about your commission. We respond to every message.

No sales pressure. We're a small team — you'll hear from a real person.