(A) A certificate of appropriateness or notice to proceed from the Commission shall be required before undertaking construction, addition, alteration, repair, moving, excavation or demolition affecting the exterior appearance of a resource in a historic district.
(B) No work shall be started unless the Commission has issued a certificate of appropriateness or a notice to proceed.
(C) The Commission shall not issue a certificate of appropriateness unless the applicant certifies in the application that the property where work will be undertaken has, or will have before the proposed project completion date, a fire alarm system or a smoke alarm complying with the requirements of the Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act, Public Act 230 of 1972, being M.C.L.A. §§ 125.1501 through 125.1531.
(D) The Commission shall review and act upon only exterior features of a resource and shall not review and act upon interior arrangements unless specifically authorized to do so by the Village Council.
(E) In the event work is being performed without the required certificate of appropriateness, the Commission shall ask that a stop work order be issued. In the event work is being performed which is not in accordance with its certificate of appropriateness, the Commission shall also ask that a stop work order be issued. In addition to other penalties and remedies, the village shall issue a stop work order, and all work shall cease on the designated property. No additional work shall be undertaken as long as such stop work order shall continue in effect. The village may apply for an injunction to enforce its stop work order.
(F) When work has been done upon a resource without a certificate, and the Commission finds that the work does not qualify for a certificate of appropriateness, the Commission may require an owner to restore the resource to the condition the resource was in before the inappropriate work, or to modify the work so that it qualifies for a certificate of appropriateness. If the owner does not comply with the restoration or modification requirement within a reasonable time, the Commission may seek an order from the Circuit Court to require the owner to restore the resource to its former condition or to modify the work so that it qualifies for a certificate of appropriateness. If the owner does not comply or cannot comply with the order of the court, the Commission or its agents may enter the property and conduct work necessary to restore the resource to its former condition or modify the work so that it qualifies for a certificate of appropriateness in accordance with the court’s order. The costs of the work shall be charged to the owner, and may be levied by the village as a special assessment against the property. When acting pursuant to an order of the Circuit Court, a Commission or its agents may enter a property for purposes of this section.
(G) The regulations under a historic district designation shall be in addition to the provision of existing land use regulations, and the regulations of a historic district shall prevail over conflicting regulations to the extent of any conflict. Any land use permitted by right shall be permitted.
(Ord. 140, passed 1-15-2002; Ord. 140, passed 6-27-2013)