(a) Establishment. In order to execute the purposes declared in this chapter, there is hereby established a commission to be called the Franklin Historic District Commission.
(b) Membership; Terms; Appointments; Vacancies; Removals.
(1) The Historic District Commission shall consist of seven members whose residence is located in the Village of Franklin. They shall be appointed by the Village Council for terms of office of three years. The Commission members currently in office on the date of the adoption of this chapter shall remain and continue as Commission members with their terms of office unchanged. Members of the Commission may be reappointed after their terms expire.
(2) At least one member of the Commission shall be appointed from a list of citizens submitted by a duly organized and existing preservation society or societies, and at least one member of the Commission shall be a graduate of an accredited school of architecture who has two years of architectural experience or who is an architect duly registered in this State, if such person resides in the Village and is available for appointment. A majority of the members of the Commission shall have a clearly demonstrated interest in or knowledge of historic preservation.
(3) A vacancy occurring in the membership of the Commission for any cause shall be filled within 60 calendar days by a person appointed by the Village Council for the unexpired term.
(4) The members of the Commission shall serve without compensation.
(5) Any member or members of the Commission may be removed by vote of the Village Council for inefficiency, neglect of duty, conflict of interest, misfeasance or malfeasance in office.
(6) Absence from three consecutive regular meetings of the Commission shall automatically operate to vacate the seat of a member of the Commission, unless the absence is excused by the Commission by resolution setting forth such excuse.
(c) Duties and Powers.
(1) It shall be the duty of the Commission to review all plans for the construction, addition, alteration, repair, moving, excavation or demolition of resources in the Historic District, and the Commission shall have the power to pass upon such plans before a permit for such activity can be granted. In reviewing the plans, the Commission shall follow the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's standards for rehabilitation and guidelines for rehabilitating historic buildings, as set forth in 36 CFR Part 67, or their equivalent as approved or established by the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries, and shall also give consideration and significance to:
A. The historical or architectural value and significance of the historic resource and its relationship to the historic value of the surrounding area;
B. The relationship of the exterior architectural features of such historic resource to the rest of the resource and to the surrounding area;
C. The general compatibility of the exterior design, arrangement, texture and materials proposed to be used; and
D. Any other factor, including aesthetics, which it deems pertinent.
(2) The Commission shall review plans for proposed major changes to open spaces in a Historic District, such as the removal of large trees (over 12 inches in diameter as measured four feet above ground) or the making of major contour changes in terrain features. The Commission may use its discretion to decide if proposed changes are major in nature or not.
(3) The Commission shall review and act upon only exterior features of a resource, and shall not review and act upon interior arrangements, unless specifically authorized to do so by the Village Council, or unless interior work will cause visible changes to the exterior of the historic resource. The Commission shall not disapprove applications except in regard to considerations as set forth in the previous division.
(4) The Commission may delegate the issuance of certificates of appropriateness for specified minor classes of work to its staff, to the Building Official or to another delegated authority. The Commission shall provide to said delegated authorities specific written standards for issuing the certificates of appropriateness under this division. Said delegated authorities shall come before the next regularly scheduled Commission meeting and the Commission shall review the certificates of appropriateness so issued. These reviews are to serve the purpose of keeping the Commission informed as to what certificates of appropriateness for minor work have been issued since the last Commission meeting.
(5) In case of an application for work affecting the appearance of a resource or for the alteration, moving or demolition of a resource which the Commission deems so valuable to the Village that the loss thereof will adversely affect the public purpose of the Village, the Commission shall endeavor to work out with the owner an economically feasible plan for preservation of the historic resource.
(6) If all efforts by the Commission to preserve a resource fail, or if it is determined by the Village Council that public ownership is most suitable, the Village Council, if considered to be in the public interest, may acquire the resource using public funds, public or private gifts, grants or proceeds from the issuance of revenue bonds. Such an acquisition shall be based upon the recommendation of the Commission or the committee. The Commission or the committee is responsible for maintaining publicly owned resources using its own funds, if not specifically designated for other purposes, or public funds committed for that use by the Village Council. Upon recommendation of the Commission or the committee, the Village may sell resources acquired under this division with protective easements included in the property transfer documents, if appropriate.
(7) The Commission shall have no other powers, express or implied, beyond those listed in this section, except as may be otherwise expressly authorized by ordinance or resolution of the Council.
(d) Officers; Quorum; Notice of Meetings; Records and Reports.
(1) The Historic District Commission shall elect from its membership a Chairperson and a Vice-Chairperson whose terms of office shall be fixed by the Commission. The Chairperson shall preside over the Commission and shall have the right to vote. The Vice-Chairperson shall, in the case of the absence or disability of the Chairperson, perform the duties of the Chairperson.
(2) One member of the Commission shall be Secretary. The Secretary shall keep a record of all resolutions, proceedings and actions of the Commission and report regularly to the Village Council.
(3) At least four members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of its business. The Commission shall adopt rules for the transaction of its business which shall provide for the time and place of holding regular meetings. The Commission shall provide for the calling of special meetings by the Chairperson or by at least two members of the Commission. All meetings of the Commission shall be open to the public, and any person or his or her duly constituted representative shall be entitled to appear and be heard on any matter before the Commission reaches its decision.
(4) Public notice of the time, date and place of meetings shall be given in the manner required by Act 267 of the Public Acts of 1976, as amended. Each notice shall contain the name, address and telephone number of the Commission. The notice must be posted at the principal office of the Commission, in addition to any other location deemed appropriate by the Village Council, and may also be given on cable television. A meeting agenda shall be a part of the notice and shall include a listing of each permit application to be reviewed or considered by the Commission. The requirements of the aforementioned Act include:
A. For regular meetings of a public body, there shall be posted within ten days of the first meeting of the Commission in each calendar or fiscal year a public notice stating the dates, times and places of its regular meetings;
B. For a rescheduled regular meeting or special meeting of the Commission, a public notice stating the date, time and place of the meeting shall be posted at least 18 hours before the meeting;
C. For a change in the schedule of regular meetings of the Commission, a notice shall be posted within three days after the meeting at which the change is made, stating the new dates, times and places of its regular meetings;
D. Nothing in this section shall bar the Commission from meeting in an emergency session should there occur a severe and imminent threat to the health, safety or welfare of the public when two-thirds of the Commission members decide that delay would be detrimental to efforts to lessen or respond to the threat.
(5) The Commission shall keep a record, which shall be open to public view, of its resolutions, proceedings and actions. A writing prepared, owned, used, in the possession of, or retained by the Commission in the performance of an official function shall be made available to the public in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act, being M.C.L.A. 15.231 et seq. The concurring affirmative vote of four members shall constitute approval of plans before it for review or for adoption of any resolution, motion or other action of the Commission.
(6) The Commission shall submit an annual report to the Council of the general activities of the Commission and shall submit such special reports as requested by the Village Council.
(Ord. 2000-65. Passed 7-10-00; Ord. 2003-01. Passed 4-14-03.)