(a) Establishment. There is hereby established a Design Review Board which shall have the powers and duties as are hereinafter set forth in this Ordinance.
(b) Members. The Design Review Board shall consist of no less than seven (7) and no more than nine (9) members, who shall be appointed by the Mayor, subject to confirmation from City Council.
(1) Selection criteria. The members of the Board shall be selected with due regard for the need for balance among the diverse interests in order to encourage historic conservation and preservation of resources, while also protecting the interests of existing residents and businesses.
A. Applications for membership on the Board shall be available at the City administrative offices. When evaluating candidates for membership on the Board, Council shall give priority to those who reside or own commercial buildings in the Downtown Business District.
B. The members shall include: two (2) business owners in the Downtown Business District; one (1) historian; one (1) realtor; one (1) engineer or architect; one (1) City Council member; one (1) financial/broker, and two (2) at large. Additional at large members may be used to fill the professional positions if such professions are not available.
C. All members shall be residents of the City of Delphos or the surrounding area and shall have, to the highest extent possible, a recognized knowledge of, and a known interest in architectural preservation and design.
(2) Term of office. Members shall be appointed to serve three year terms, except in the initial year when two members shall have one year terms, two members shall have two year terms, and three members shall have three year terms.
A. Members shall serve until their successors have been named and qualified.
B. No person shall serve more than two consecutive three-year terms.
C. Vacancies shall be filled for an unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment.
(3) Officers. The Board shall elect a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and Secretary at its first meeting and at its first meeting after January 31st of each year. The Board may also create and elect a member to a position of Second Vice-Chairman.
A. Chairman. The Chairman shall conduct the meetings of such Board according to established rules of procedure, determine the order of meeting agendas, administer oaths to each person offering testimony for consideration of such Board, and be responsible for the recording of each public meeting.
B. Vice-Chairman. The Vice-Chairman (and Second Vice- Chairman, if applicable) shall perform the duties of the Chairman in the event of the Chairman’s absence.
C. Secretary. The Secretary shall keep all minutes of the meetings, keep the calendar of meetings and events pertaining to such Board, keep each member apprised of meeting times, dates and agendas, distribute a copy of documents, drawings, and other papers for each item of business which comes before such Board, maintain records of and communicate all correspondence to and on behalf of such Board and sign any certificates or documents as ordered by a vote of such Board. The Secretary shall perform the duties of the Chairman in the event of the absence of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman (and Second Vice-Chairman, if applicable).
(4) Compensation. All members of the Board shall serve without compensation.
(5) Resources and continuing education. In the interest of enhancing public confidence in the Certificate of Appropriateness application process, the Board may recommend the inclusion of funds in the annual Municipal budget for the maintenance of a library of preservation reference materials, for continuing education courses for Board members, and for other preservation related activities.
A. All members of the Board shall be provided with a copy of, and be completely familiar with, the “United States Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.” These copies shall remain the property of the City of Delphos and shall be returned to the City when a term has been fulfilled or a resignation is tendered.
B. The Board shall attend educational sessions when available, conduct self-guided study of available multimedia resources with particular attention to the “United States Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Rehabilitation of Historic Properties,” and share information with other Board members in order to increase knowledge of preservation issues.
(c) Meetings. The proceedings of all meetings of the Design Review Board shall be held at City offices and recorded by the secretary of the Design Review Board. Written meeting minutes and the results of review decisions shall be made available for public inspection. The Board will meet at least once each month when there are applications to be considered and not less than once every three (3) months.
(1) Quorum. A simple majority of the members appointed to the Design Review Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
(2) Voting. Any action or decision of the Board shall have the support of such a majority of its members.
A. Proxy votes will not be counted, but may be discussed prior to a vote on an issue.
B. Members who do not approve or concur with the outcome of a vote shall have the right to state their reasons as part of the minutes.
(Ord. 2006-11. Passed 4-25-06.)