(a) In general. Development rights of a historic property may be transferred in accordance with this section. For purposes of this section, “development rights” means the difference between the actual floor area on a building site and the maximum permissible floor area as determined by the floor area ratio of the building site. The maximum floor area permitted in the West End Historic District is eight times the lot area. The minimum amount of development rights which may be transferred under this section is 20,000 square feet.
(b) Eligibility. Development rights for a historic property may not be transferred unless:
(1) the historic property is within an urban historic district;
(2) the historic property is a contributing structure listed in the National Register of Historic Places, if it is located in the West End Historic District; and
(3) the historic property has been rehabilitated within the past five years, and the total value of the rehabilitation exceeds 50 percent of the pre-rehabilitation value. Only rehabilitation may be counted in determining whether the proposed work exceeds 50 percent of the pre-rehabilitation value.
(c) Location. Development rights may only be transferred to building sites in the CA-1(A) and CA- 2(A) districts.
(d) Maximum floor area. The maximum floor area ratio may be increased by no more than 4.0 through the transfer of development rights.
(e) Transfer process.
(1) An owner who wishes to transfer development rights must submit to the director the following information in a form approved by the director and suitable for filing in the deed records of the appropriate county:
(A) Names and addresses of the owners of the development rights.
(B) Street address, lot and block number, and legal description of the historic property.
(C) Street address, lot and block number, and legal description of the property to which the development rights are to be transferred.
(D) The floor area of the historic property and the lot area of the historic property.
(E) The amount of development rights to be transferred.
(2) The director shall check the information supplied on the form and sign the form if the applicant has complied with the requirements of this section.
(3) When the director has signed the form, the applicant shall file the form in the deed records of the appropriate county, and shall supply the director and the building official with a copy of the filed document.
(4) When a person applies for a building permit to use the transferred development rights, the building official shall forward the building permit application and the form transferring the development rights to the director. The director shall review the application and verify that the development rights have been properly transferred and may be used.
(5) The recipient of the transferred development rights may further transfer all of the development rights received by following the same process described in this section. (Ord. Nos. 23506; 24584; 25509; 27016)