(A) Recommendations and designations. The Commission shall recommend to the City Council the designation of Historic Preservation Districts and individual landmarks, and the City Council may make these designations by the enactment of ordinances.
(B) Public hearing and notice. To start the designation process, the Commission shall assemble information about the district or property being considered for designation and shall schedule a public hearing on the proposed designation. Advertised notice of the hearing shall be given, including conspicuous posting in the proposed district or on the lot of the proposed landmark for 15 consecutive days immediately prior to the hearing. Notice shall also be given in a zoned publication serving the city. At least 15 days’ prior to the public hearing, written notice shall be given by certified mail to the owners of property under consideration and the owners of all adjoining property. Secretary of the Commission or other officer of the Commission shall certify that the notices were mailed. Written notice shall be considered sufficient when it is mailed to the person listed on the tax rolls of the city.
(C) Guidelines. Before its first public hearing on a designation, the Commission shall adopt general guidelines that will apply to Historic Preservation Districts and landmarks and will assist owners in the preservation and rehabilitation of their property. The guidelines shall include the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings and may include other guidelines that will apply to all designated property in the city. In its guidelines and in its decisions, the Commission shall not limit new construction to any one architectural style, but shall seek to preserve the character and integrity of the Historic Districts and landmarks. The Commission may expand or amend the guidelines it has adopted; provided, it holds a public hearing on the changes and submits the proposed changes to the City Council for its comments.
(D) Criteria for designation. A Historic Preservation District or landmark shall qualify for designation when it meets one or more of the following criteria, which shall be discussed in a Commission report making its recommendations to the City Council:
(1) Its character as an established and geographically definable residential neighborhood, united by culture, architectural styles or physical plan and development;
(2) Its character as a geographically definable area possessing a significant concentration of buildings or structures united by past events or by its plan or physical development;
(3) Its value as a reminder of the culture or archeological heritage of the city, state or nation;
(4) Its location as a site of a significant local, state or national event;
(5) Its identification with a person or persons who significantly contributed to the development of the city, state or nation;
(6) Its identification as the work of a master builder, designer or architect whose work has influenced the development of the city, state or nation;
(7) Its value as a building that is recognized for the quality of its architecture and that retains sufficient elements showing its architectural significance; or
(8) Its distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style valuable for the study of a period, method or construction or use of indigenous materials.
(E) Report to the City Council. After evaluating the testimony at its public hearing, survey information and other material it has assembled, the Commission shall make its recommendation to the City Council with a written report on the area or property under consideration. The report shall contain information about the buildings which have been identified for inclusion in the proposed designation. The recommendation and the report shall also be sent to the County Joint Planning and Zoning Commission.
(F) Review by the Planning Commission. The Commission shall, at the same time it submits its recommendation and report to the City Council, send them to the County Joint Planning and Zoning Commission and request a review and comments from that Planning Commission within 60 days based on the relationship between the proposed designation and existing and future plans for the development of the city.
(G) Action by City Council. The City Council shall approve, modify or disapprove the proposed designation within 60 days after the recommendation and report of the Commission. This time period may be extended to 90 days if a review has not been received from the County Planning Commission within the initial 60 days to allow consideration of that review.
(H) Notification of designation. The Commission shall notify each owner of the decision relating to its property and shall arrange that the designation of a property as a landmark or as a part of a Historic Preservation District be filed by the County Clerk in the land records by owner’s name and tax district lot and block number. The Commission shall also give notice of the designation to the government offices in the city and county which shall retain them for future reference. The Commission shall also send a map of the approved Historic Preservation District to the County Planning Commission and request the Planning Commission to make a note on the zoning map or zoning map overlay of the existence of the Historic Preservation District and make the map of it available to the public. The Commission shall also request the Planning Commission to include the approved Historic Preservation District and approved landmarks on the graphics of the Comprehensive Plan and any amendments thereto and such new Comprehensive Plan as may thereafter be adopted.
(I) Amendment or rescission of a designation. The amendment or rescission of any designation shall be accomplished through the same steps as were followed in the original designation.
(Prior Code, § 156.06) (Ord. passed 8-19-1996; Ord. passed 8-9-1999)