About

The City of Graham Appearance Commission is an advisory board to the City Council. The Commission is charged with promoting, planning, advising and encouraging the citizens of Graham to help beautify the community. The Appearance Commission works to add a new project each year that will result in an improvement to the city, raise awareness within the Graham community and encourage hands-on participation of local service organizations, church groups, schools, business owners and residents.

The Appearance Commission recognizes residents and business owners alike for improving the community through the Residential and Business Beautification Awards. The Appearance Commission is also responsible for Business Beautification Grants, which provides matching funding for business owners city-wide, to make exterior renovations to their property. Appearance Commission members coordinate a bi-annual litter sweep. The newest program is the Graham AC Rocks! scavenger hunt in which rocks painted by the community are hidden around Graham for citizens to find, enjoy, and share on social media.

Appearance Commission | Tree Board Members (Term Expiration):

Zipporah Clark Baldwin- Chair (2027)
Cheryl Ray (2026)
Bernadette Konzelmann (2027)
Clell Britt (2027)
Vacant

Enabling Legislation

The North Carolina General Assembly authorizes City Council to create and appoint a Community Appearance Commission. The specific language of the state statute can be found below. The Graham Development Ordinance includes additional details regarding this comission.

STATE STATUTE 160A-451 

STATE STATUTE 160A-452

GRAHAM DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE

Business Beautification Grant

The Business Beautification Grant is a matching grant program funded by the City of Graham to encourage private investment in the renovation and rehabilitation of existing properties along the City’s corridors. The program will provide financial assistance in the form of a grant to non-residential property owners for the purpose of improving the street-side appearance of their existing buildings and site features. The goal is to enhance the City’s corridor appearance and achieve compliance with current regulations where necessary.

Examples of site work enhancements:

• installation of public or handicap accessible sidewalks
• signage
• landscaping
• removal of non-conforming or illegal site elements such as signage

For more details about eligibility, project scoring, and guidelines please refer to the following documents.

Business Beautification Grant App 24/25

Business Appearance Award Scoring Matrix

Recognition Awards

For Business:

Business Appearance Award Program Guidelines

For Residents:

Residential Beautification Awards Program Guidelines

• nomination form (click here)
• scoring matrix (click here)

Tree Board

The City of Graham Tree Board serves as an advisory board to the City Council as it relates to the planting, growth and protection of trees and native plants within the City. Graham has also been recognized as a Tree City USA community for over three decades. 

Tree City USA

Did you know Graham is recognized as a Tree City USA community? The Tree City USA designation is earned by meeting four standards established by the Arbor Day Foundation and the National Association of Foresters. 

The City of Graham is happy to announce it has received a grant from Urban Offsets to plant over 200 trees city-wide. The Graham Tree Board has been hard at work to select and identify locations for new plantings. A variety of species are chosen to help increase the diversity of trees in Graham. Special thanks to the Public Works Department for coordinating the project and helping with the planting. The City is looking forward to seeing these trees mature into a lush canopy and improve the aesthetic character of our community.

Resources

There are many online resources that provide information about the care, maintenance, and identification of trees. Below are a few that the Tree Board recommends if you are interested in learning more.

Arbor Day Foundation – Tree City USA, Tree Selection, Nursery, Planting, Care and Maintenance  

NC Urban Forest Council – Tree Care Information

Alamance County Cooperative Extension

The City of Graham is happy to announce it has received a grant from Urban Offsets to plant over 200 trees city-wide. This project is part of a sustainability initiative of Elon University to go carbon neutral by 2037. In fact, you may already see some of these new additions around town, for example on Melville Street across from Graham Middle School.

Donating a tree is a great gift for the hard-to-buy-for person, or for someone who “has everything”. It is a great way to remember and honor someone who has passed away since it is a “living memorial”. Tree donation is a wonderful way to mark the birth of a child, celebrate an anniversary, to simply say “I love you”. It makes a great class project, a unique way for your club or group to make a contribution to the community or something to do for yourself. Whatever the reason, trees are vital to the well-being of our environment. They clean the air and keep the atmosphere in check. They give us shade, attract wildlife, and mark the seasons in a beautiful way.

Interested in donating a Tree to the City of Graham (as space allows)?

Tree Donation Form

Arbor Day in Graham

Learn more about Arbor Day in Graham

Submit an Application

If you are interested in one of the City of Graham appointed positions click here to apply.