(A) Standards for Rehabilitation. To be eligible for the special tax assessment, project work must meet the following standards.
(1) A property shall be used for its historic purpose or be placed in a new use that requires minimal change to the defining characteristics of the building and its site and environment.
(2) The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or alterations or features and spaces that characterize each property shall be avoided.
(3) Each property shall be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development shall not be undertaken.
(4) Most properties change over time; those changes that have acquired historic significance in their own right shall be retained and preserved.
(5) Distinctive features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property should be preserved.
(6) Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new should match the old in design, color, texture, and other visual qualities and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features shall be substantiated by documentary, physical, or pictorial evidence.
(7) Chemical or physical treatments, such as sandblasting, that cause damage to historic materials shall not be used. The surface cleaning of structures, if appropriate, shall be undertaken using the gentlest means possible.
(8) Significant archeological resources affected by a project shall be protected and preserved. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken.
(9) New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the historic property and its environment.
(10) New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in the future, (tie essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.
(B) Work to be Reviewed. The BAR shall review the following work according to the standards set forth above.
(1) Repairs to the exterior of the designated building.
(2) Alterations to the exterior of the designated building.
(3) New construction on the property on which the building is located.
(4) Alterations to interior primary public spaces.
(5) Any remaining work where the expenditures for such work are being used to satisfy the minimum expenditures for rehabilitation.
(C) (1) Minimum expenditures for rehabilitation means the owner or his estate rehabilitates the building, with expenditures for rehabilitation:
(a) Exceeding twenty-five percent (25%) of the fair market value of the building for residential owner occupied property; or
(b) Exceeding fifty percent (50%) of the fair market value of the building for commercial income producing property.
(2) Fair market value means the appraised value as certified to the Dillon City Council by a real estate appraiser licensed by the state of South Carolina, appraisal(s) to be paid for by owner, the sales price as delineated in a bona fide contract of sale within six (6) months of the time it is submitted, or the most recent appraised value published by the Dillon County Tax Assessor.
(D) Expenditures for rehabilitation means the actual costs of rehabilitation relating to one or more of the following:
(1) Improvements located on or within the historic building as designated;
(2) Improvements outside of but directly attached to the historic building which are necessary to make the building fully useable (such as vertical circulation) but shall not include rentable/habitable floor space attributable to new construction;
(3) Architectural and engineering services attributable to the design of the improvements; or
(4) Costs necessary to maintain the historic character or integrity of the building.
(E) Scope. The special tax assessment may apply to the following:
(1) Structure(s) that are rehabilitated;
(2) Real property on which the building is located; and
(3) Buildings and/or structures that are historically and/or architecturally significant to the rehabilitated property, as determined by the BAR, including but not limited to historic outbuildings such as garages, carriage houses, and agricultural or other buildings related to the historic use of the property.
(F) Time limits to be eligible for the special tax assessment, rehabilitation work must be completed within two (2) years of the Preliminary Certification date. If the project is not complete after two (2) years, but the minimum expenditures for rehabilitation have been incurred, the property continues to receive the special assessment until the project is completed, but no longer than the period set forth in § 1-5-60.
(Ord. 09-17, passed 10-12-2009; Am. Ord. 17-03, passed 4-10-2017)