(A) Applications for nominations of a proposed Historic District shall be filed with the Department which will determine whether the information provided is complete. The application shall be made to the Commission on a form provided by the Commission. Nominations must be accompanied by a petition signed by 25% of the owners of record within a proposed district.
(B) The Commission shall, after reviewing the necessary information make a preliminary determination as to whether an area meets both of the following criteria. The preliminary determination shall be made within 60 days of the filing of the application for nomination of such area.
(1) A significant number of structures meeting any of the standards in § 160.04(B); and
(2) An area of sufficient integrity to convey a sense of style and place.
(C) Within ten days following a preliminary determination that a proposed historic district meets the criteria in division (B) herein, the Commission shall so notify by mail the owner(s) of record within the proposed area. For this purpose the Commission shall utilize the most recent property ownership records contained in the City's GIS. Any omissions resulting from this notification procedure shall not be cause for rejection of any official decision made under the provisions of this section. The notice shall be accompanied by an owner consent form requesting the property owner(s) to provide written approval or disapproval of the proposed designation. In the case of an historic district, the owner(s) of record of any property in the proposed district shall have one vote on the approval or disapproval of the designation for each property owned in the proposed district. For purposes of this section "property" shall be defined as a distinct parcel of real property which is assigned a separate tax parcel number by the Vermilion County Supervisor of Assessments. Joint or multiple owners of property shall not be entitled to separate votes, but shall jointly receive one vote for each property owned in the proposed district. Failure of an owner of record to return the form with his or her approval or disapproval by the date of the public hearing provided for herein shall be noted as such. Approval of at least 51% of those owners of record who have returned the form by the date of the public hearing shall be required for the historic district to be considered for final designation by the Commission.
(D) The Commission shall schedule a public hearing within 30 days following a preliminary determination that a proposed historic district meets the criteria of division (C) above.
(1) Notice of the date, time, place and purpose of the public hearing shall be sent by mail to the owner(s) of record and to the nominator(s), as well as to the owners of property adjoining the proposed district, not less than 15 days nor more than 20 days prior to the date of the hearing. A like notice shall also be published in a newspaper having general circulation in the city. The notice shall state the location of a proposed district and a brief statement summarizing how the proposed historic district meets the criteria set forth in division (B) herein. The inspection division of the Department shall also be notified.
(2) At the public hearing, the Commission shall take testimony presented by the nominator(s), the owner(s), and any other interested parties who wish to be heard on the application of the criteria for designation enumerated in division (B) herein to the proposed historic district. In addition, the Commission shall consider all written comments received by the Commission prior to the hearing. It shall be the responsibility of the nominator(s) to provide evidence of suitability for historic district status as well as documentation of the evidence.
(3) The Commission shall review and evaluate available information according to the applicable criteria set forth in division (B) herein.
(E) A decision shall be made within 60 days following the date of the final closing of the public hearing. In this regard the Commission may adjourn the initial hearing for no more than 60 days in an effort to gather more data or to clarify issues important to the designation process.
(1) If the Commission decides after the hearing that the proposed historic district should be designated, it shall do so by a resolution passed by a simple majority of the Commission.
(2) The Commission's decision shall be in writing and shall be accompanied by a report summarizing the evidence presented at the hearing and explaining the decision.
(3) The owner(s) of record shall be notified promptly by a letter containing a copy of the decision.
(4) The Department shall send a copy of the resolution and the accompanying report to the City Council.
(5) The Department shall send a copy of the resolution to the nominator(s).
(6) The Department shall send a copy of the resolution to the city inspection division.
(7) The Department shall record the designation with the Vermilion County Recorder of Deeds, unless an appeal is filed in accordance with the procedures contained herein.
(8) A decision by the Commission denying historic district designation shall be the final administrative decision. No application relating to the same specific district may be filed during the 12 months following such a denial by the Commission.
(F) Procedure for appeal of historic district designation. A decision rendered by the Commission concerning approval of historic district designation may be appealed to the City Council by not less than 25% of the property owners of record in the proposed historic district. Such an appeal must be filed in writing with the City Clerk within 60 days after the Commission's decision concerning historic district designation. If an appeal is not filed within such time, the designation of the Commission shall be the final administrative decision.
(1) An appeal shall be considered at the earliest possible City Council meeting. The Council shall act on the appeal by a simple majority vote of the entire Council.
(2) If the Commission's decision is reversed, the City Clerk shall provide written notification by mail to the nominator(s) and owner(s) of record of the designated historic district. If reversed by the City Council, a petition may not be resubmitted until the expiration of 12 months from the date of the decision. The inspection division shall also be notified of the City Council's action. If the designation is affirmed, said designation shall be recorded with the office of the Vermilion County Recorder of Deeds and the inspection division shall be notified.
(G) A Certificate of Appropriateness shall be required for the alteration, construction, removal or demolition of an improvement located within a proposed historic district from the date when the nomination forms are submitted to the Commission for the purpose of making a preliminary determination that a proposed historic district meets one or more of the criteria outlined in division (B) above until the final disposition of the petition.
(H) Designation of a historic district may be amended or completely reversed by following the same procedure and according to the same criteria set forth herein for designation. The exceptions described in § 160.04(D) shall be used as a general guide in considering an application of this nature.
(Ord. 7553, passed 12-3-91; Am. Ord. 8031, passed 7-6-99; Am. Ord. 8254, passed 6-4-02)