(A) Application. In order to be eligible to receive the Special Assessment, a Historic Property proposing a Historic Rehabilitation must receive Preliminary Certification by the City Council using the application and review process provided for in this section. Any owner of a Historic Property may apply to the city for Preliminary Certification of a proposed Historic Rehabilitation by submitting an Application for Preliminary Certification (an "Application") to the Planning Department of the city. In order to receive consideration, all Applications must be complete and must include the following fees and other information:
(1) A completed Application;
(2) An application fee (such amount to be determined in the city's annual budget process);
(3) A plan detailing the proposed Historic Rehabilitation detailing the scope of work that is to be performed and demonstrating compliance with the Rehabilitation Standards;
(4) Sufficient evidence of the current fair market value of the Historic Property; and
(5) The total amount that the owner anticipates will be expended on the Historic Rehabilitation.
(B) Commission review. The Commission shall review all Applications at its next regular meeting, provided they have been filed, completed in form and content, at least seven calendar days before the regularly scheduled meeting of the Commission; otherwise consideration shall be deferred until the following meeting. Any applicant may be present at any such meeting to offer further explanation regarding the proposed Historic Rehabilitation and answer any questions of the Commission. The Commission shall affirm that the Minimum Expenditure is expected to be met and that the property meets the standard for a Historic Property. The Commission shall review each Application and proposed Historic Rehabilitation to ensure that the proposed scope of work complies with the Rehabilitation Standards. In the event that all criteria are met, the Commission may recommend to the City Council that the Historic Rehabilitation be approved. In the event that the Commission declines to recommend approval to the City Council, the Commission shall provide the applicant with specific reasons for its denial and the applicant may re-apply under the terms of this section.
(C) Certificate of appropriateness. In no instance shall a recommendation to City Council for the approval of a Historic Rehabilitation be construed as a grant of a certificate of appropriateness by the Commission as required by §§ 158.095
et seq. of the City's Code of Ordinances; however, applicants are encouraged to submit applications for Preliminary Certification and applications for a Certificate of Appropriateness for any Historic Rehabilitation at the same time and the Commission is hereby authorized to defer the consideration of either application for no more than one regularly scheduled meeting in order to permit both applications to be considered in conjunction.
(D) City Council preliminary certification. Upon an application receiving a recommendation of approval by the Commission, the Application shall be considered at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the City Council, provided that sufficient time remains to include such an Application on the upcoming meeting agenda. City Council may, by ordinance, approve the Application and proposed Historic Rehabilitation and, in such event, shall make specific findings of the following facts regarding the following:
(1) The property is a Historic Property as designated herein;
(2) The Minimum Expenditures are expected to be met; and
(3) The fair market value of the Historic Property that is to be used to calculate the Special Assessment.
(E) Substantive changes. If at any time during the application process or after Preliminary Certification is granted, the scope of work considered or approved thereunder is substantively changed in any way, the applicant must promptly notify the city's Planning Department who shall make a determination as to whether such a change required the prior approval of the City Council. In the event that such approval is necessary, such a change may be brought directly before the City Council at its next available regularly scheduled meeting for consideration. Unapproved substantive changes are conducted at the risk of the property owner and may disqualify the property from eligibility for the Special Assessment.
(F) Assessment for two years during work. Once a proposed Historic Rehabilitation has received Preliminary Certification, the Historic Property shall receive the Special Assessment for an initial period of two years during which the proposed Historic Rehabilitation is undertaken. Any such period shall apply towards the total Assessment Term in § 123.04(B) herein. In the event that, after the expiration of two years, the Historic Rehabilitation is not complete but the Minimum Expenditure has been met, the Special Assessment shall continue for such time as it is necessary to complete the Historic Rehabilitation. In the event that after the expiration of two years, the Minimum Expenditures have not been met, the City Council may, at its discretion, disqualify the property from eligibility for the Special Assessment and any monies not collected by the city due to the Special Assessment must be returned to the city and other affected taxing districts.
(Ord. 2015-017, passed 8-25-15)