(A) Historic Overlay Districts shall be designated in the following manner. Any person may request the designation of an area as a historic district by submitting a written application for the designation to the Commission. The application must contain the following information:
(1) A petition must contain the signatures of at least 80% of the property owners within the proposed district;
(2) A map showing the boundaries of the proposed district and the lots that lie within it and a list of names and addresses of property owners within the district;
(3) Description of the proposed district, including a statement of significance which describes how the district, or individual property, meets the significance criteria in this subchapter; and
(4) Sketches, photographs or drawings showing the property or properties and streetscapes and fully completed state site inventory forms for the properties to be included.
(B) Upon receipt of the application for designating a historic district, the Commission shall submit the petition and the application to the state for review and comment. The state’s comments on the proposed designation will be made available to the public.
(C) The Commission shall hold a public hearing concerning the proposed designation. Notice of public hearing shall be published and all affected property owners must be notified by ordinary mail prior to the hearing. At the public hearing, comments will be accepted concerning the establishment of the historic district. After hearing all comments and other relevant information, the Commission shall determine if the area is an area of historic significance that meets one or more of the following:
(1) Has integrity of location, design, setting, materials, skill, feeling and association;
(2) Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, method of construction, represents the work of a master, possesses high artistic value, represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction;
(3) Is associated with events that have been a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our local, state or national history;
(4) Is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; and/or
(5) Has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.
(D) The Commission shall prepare an ordinance designating the district and submit the ordinance to the state for review and comment.
(E) The Commission shall submit the application, statement of significance and context, proposed ordinance and state’s comments to the City Council. Upon receipt, the City Council shall:
(1) Hold a public hearing;
(2) At the public hearing, consider whether the application for the Historic Overlay District or historic landmark demonstrates that the significance criterion or criteria are met;
(3) Will either approve if the application meets the significance criteria or deny the designation if the criteria fails to meet the designation; and
(4) Written notification on the public hearing shall be mailed to all property owners within the proposed historic district and the following:
(a) Building Official;
(b) City Clerk; and
(c) Planner Director.
(F) If approved, the petition shall be submitted to the City Plan Commission, for review, to amend the zoning map designating the area as a Historic Overlay District. The Historic Overly District may be combined with any zoning district established in the city’s zoning regulations and shall be shown on the official zoning map. The City Planner shall notify the Building Official and the City Engineer of the designation. When so designated, any improvement requiring a building permit or demolition permit shall be subject to the provisions set forth in this subchapter.
(Ord. 2276, passed 5-25-2004; Ord. 2394, passed 11-25-2008)