A Historic Preservation Board (hereinafter the “Board”) is hereby created to implement the purposes of this chapter by exercising the powers expressly granted and necessarily implied herein. The Board shall consist of five members who are qualified electors of the city and shall not be employees of the city or members of Council; one member to be appointed by the Mayor, one member to be appointed by the Judge of the city’s Municipal Court (the “Judge”) and three members to be appointed by a majority of Council. All appointees of the Mayor and the Judge shall be approved and confirmed by a majority vote of the members of Council.
(a) Members. The Board shall consist of five members as follows:
(1) One member to be appointed by the Mayor;
(2) One member to be appointed by the Judge of the city’s Municipal Court;
(3) Three members to be appointed by a majority of Council;
(4) At least one of the five members should be an architect, to the extent he or she is available in the community;
(5) At least two of the five members should be a preservation-related professional member, to the extent he or she is available in the community (this shall include history, planning, archeology or related disciplines);
(6) All members shall have demonstrated special interest, experience or knowledge in history, history of architecture or related disciplines as well as a philosophical commitment to historic preservation through local legislation; and
(7) Council may deviate from the above requirements in the event that suitable volunteers with the prescribed credentials are not available.
(b) Terms of office. Members shall be appointed to serve for four-year terms, except that the initial appointments shall be one for one year, two for two years, one for three years, and one for four years. At least two of the terms of office shall be staggered.
(c) Officers.
(1) Each January, the Board will elect a chairperson, a vice-chairperson and a recording secretary from its members.
(2) The recording secretary shall be responsible for:
A. Taking and maintaining complete files of written minutes of all meetings; and
B. Ensuring the preparation of an annual written report of the Board’s activities, cases, decisions, special projects and the like.
(d) Meetings. The members of the Board shall determine the time, place and frequency of meetings with the objective of providing efficient service to the public and responsible advice and other assistance to Council. Notwithstanding, members of the Board shall meet a minimum of four times per year. The Board chairperson and secretary shall see that all meetings comply with the requirements of the state’s Open Meeting Laws, Ohio R.C. 121.22 et seq. The Board shall ensure adequate public participation in the historic preservation program, including the process of recommending properties to the National Register.
(1) All meetings of the Board shall be publicly announced, be open to the public and have a previously advertised agenda. Public notice must be provided prior to any special meetings.
(2) Careful minutes of all decisions and actions of the Board, including the reasons for making these decisions, must be kept on file and available for public inspection.
(3) All decisions by the Board shall be made in a public forum and applicants shall be given written notification of decisions of the Board.
(4) The rules of procedure adopted by the Board shall be available for public inspection.
(e) Vacancies.
(1) Vacancies shall be filled within 60 days, unless extenuating circumstances require a longer period. An extension may be given in writing upon petition of the Board to Council.
(2) The Chairperson will notify the Clerk of Court when a vacancy exists.
(f) Procedure.
(1) A majority of the membership of the Board shall constitute a quorum.
(2) A majority of the quorum shall be required to approve any action.
(3) Robert’s Rules of Order will guide the conduct of the meetings.
(4) The agenda for the meeting will be prepared by the chairperson of the Board, or by the assigned staff liaison, if one is assigned.
(5) Agenda items will be determined by contacting the Board and the Clerk of Council.
(6) Agenda items may include, but shall not be limited to:
A. Hearing of cases;
B. Deliberation of cases;
C. Findings of fact;
D. Approval/denials of certificate of appropriateness;
E. Old business;
F. New business;
G. Committee reports (if appropriate);
H. Approval of minutes from previous meeting; and
I. Announcements.
(7) At least five days before the meeting, the chairperson should check with the Clerk of Council to ensure that:
A. Notices have been sent to applicants, attorneys, city staff members and the media as appropriate;
B. All applications have been properly advertised and mailed on time; and
C. Copies of completed applications have been mailed to Board members, with maps and/or photographs.
(8) Board members should make every attempt to visit each property and review each application before the meeting.
(9) Additional procedures may be adopted by the Board as necessary for its governance. All procedures so adopted shall be in writing, executed by the chairperson and secretary, and available for public inspection upon request.
(g) Conflict of interest.
(1) Any Board member who has a financial interest, direct or indirect, in any agenda item shall notify the Board of that interest.
(2) The Board member shall refrain from voting on or participating in any of the Board’s discussion or debate on the issue of concern.
(3) Any member of the Board who knowingly conceals such financial interest or violates the requirements of this section may be removed from the Board by Council.
(h) Compensation and removal.
(1) Board members shall serve without compensation.
(2) Notwithstanding division (h)(1) above, the Director of Finance is hereby authorized and directed to pay from the General Fund the sums necessary for supplies, paper, long distance telephone calls and travel mileage, incurred at the rate per mile as provided by the United States Internal Revenue Service for use of personal automobiles on Historical Preservation Board business.
(3) Members may be removed by Council at any time for just cause.
(i) Duties and authority.
(1) The Board shall have such duties and authority as may be provided by this chapter and otherwise by ordinance, or as are necessarily implied therefrom.
(2) The Board’s duties and authority shall include, but not be limited to the following:
A. Permitting or denying the application of the owner for a certificate of appropriateness permitting a change affecting a protected property. Such approval shall be required in addition to all other permits applicable to the property;
B. Developing and recommending to Council for adoption appropriate historic design standards which promote the preservation and adaptive reuse of protected properties. Such standards should reflect a Historic Preservation District’s or Landmark’s historic and architectural significance, should not limit new construction within a district to any one historical period or architectural style, but rather seek to preserve the integrity and context of existing historical structures; and should promote compatible new development within the district. The guidelines shall:
1. Promote the conservation, development and use of structures, sites and districts within the city;
2. Promote the historic, architectural, community or aesthetic interest or value of the structures, sites and districts;
3. Promote the redevelopment of historic structures and compatible new development within Historic Preservation Districts;
4. Not limit new construction within a Historic Preservation District or to a landmark, but shall seek to preserve the integrity of existing historic structures; and
5. Take into account the impact of the designation of a structure, site or district on the residents of an affected area, the effect of the designation on the economic and social characteristics of the affected area, and the projected impact of the designation on the budget of the city and other taxing entities.
C. Applying the Historic Design Standards to evaluate applications for certificates of appropriateness;
D. Making recommendations to Council regarding amendments to this chapter and with respect to other legislation affecting Historic Preservation Districts or landmarks;
E. Establishing, within the spirit and purposes of this chapter, procedures for evaluating applications for certificates of appropriateness;
F. Considering at least the following elements in the development of Historic Design Standards: architectural style and authenticity; structural proportion; foundation materials; exterior surfaces and their component materials; building height; building width; roof type; exterior architectural features; paving or walkways; significant landscaping features; coloring of the exterior in relation to the age and style of the structure and the coloring of the surrounding buildings;
G. Conducting or causing to be conducted a continuing survey of cultural resources in the community, according to guidelines established by the state’s Historic Preservation Office;
H. Acting in an advisory role to other officials and departments of local government regarding the protection of local cultural resources;
I. Acting as a liaison on behalf of the local government to individual and organizations concerned with historic preservation;
J. Working toward the continuing education of citizens within the city regarding historic preservation issues and concerns;
K. Reviewing all proposed National Register nominations for properties within its jurisdiction;
L. Seeking expertise in an area when the Board considers a National Register nomination and other actions which are normally evaluated by a professional in a specific discipline, and that discipline is not represented on the Board (i.e., archaeology, archaeological site);
M. Conducting or encouraging members to attend educational sessions at least once a year, or an in-depth consultation with the state’s Historic Preservation Office pertaining to the work and functions of the Board or on specific historic preservation issues. Barring extenuating circumstances, all Board members should attend such a session at least once yearly;
N. Maintaining a system for the survey and inventory of historic properties, including the following.
1. The Board shall initiate or maintain a process approved by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office (OHPO) for the survey and inventory of resources within its jurisdiction. The OHPO will consult with the city in undertaking survey activities which will meet the needs of the city and OHPO.
2. The Board shall maintain a detailed inventory of the designated districts, sites and structures under its specific jurisdiction.
3. The Board shall maintain securely all inventory material, and have that inventory accessible to the public, except that access to archaeological site locations may be restricted.
4. The Board shall maintain the inventories on state historic inventory/state archaeological inventory forms, or forms compatible to the state’s Historic Preservation office’s computerized inventory.
5. The Board shall make appropriate inventory forms available to the state’s Historic Preservation office through duplicates (with contact prints).
6. The Board shall periodically update the inventory forms to reflect changes.
O. Additional responsibilities may be undertaken by the Board upon mutual written agreement between the OHPO and the city. A written agreement will address what duties are to be performed, what staff assistance is needed to perform the work and what level of activity in each area of responsibility will be maintained.
(Ord. 26-08, passed 6-3-2008)