(A) Certificate of appropriateness (COA). A certificate of appropriateness shall be required prior to the construction, alteration, reconstruction, repair, moving or demolition of any property in the HDO that would involve exterior changes, which would affect the historic, archaeological or architectural significance of such property. The person or entity proposing to make such change shall file with the HPC an application for permission to undertake the requested work and receive approval for the requested work from the HPC. A certificate of appropriateness is valid for one year after is issued but may be extended by the HPC. All authorized work must commence and required building permits must be issued within that time. A certificate of appropriateness is required even when the proposed work does not require a building permit.
(B) Activities which require a certificate of appropriateness include, but are not limited to:
(1) Repair or replacement of roofs, gutters, siding, masonry, external doors and windows, trim, lights and other appurtenant fixtures, with different materials or different design;
(2) Removal or relocation of a building, structure or object, or a portion thereof, including outbuildings;
(3) New construction or any enlargement, modification, or alteration of the exterior of an existing building, structure or object, which requires a building permit;
(4) Removal, replacement, or enclosure of porches;
(5) Basic alteration of materials, including installation of siding, shingles, or masonry facing;
(6) Removal or topping of healthy trees which are significant because of their substantial age or size, relationship to a historic structure or event, recognition as an important species, or identification as having unusual or unique character or form, or which have been identified in a survey or inventory of historic structures;
(7) Installation or removal of fencing or fence walls;
(8) Installation or removal of shutters;
(9) New paving, modification of paving materials or removal of paving;
(10) Removal, installation, modification or alteration of exterior architectural features;
(11) Exterior sandblasting, water blasting, other abrasive cleaning or chemical cleaning; and
(12) First-time painting or permanent removal of paint.
(C) All applications for a certificate of appropriateness shall be referred to and considered by the HPC, which shall accept or reject the application within 45 days from the date that the completed application was filed with the HPC unless an extension of this 45-day period is agreed upon mutually by the applicant and the HPC or unless the application has been withdrawn. No permit for any such construction or change may be granted until the HPC has acted thereon. An application, which is identical to the rejected application, shall not be resubmitted within a period of one year after the rejection.
(D) Activities, which do not require a certificate of appropriateness are the following:
(1) "Routine maintenance" as defined;
(2) Tree trimming or ground vegetation control activities in the vicinity of electric and telephone wires when such work is necessary to the public safety and maintenance of service reliability and is performed by or for a utility according to American National Standards Institute A300 standards or other tree trimming and vegetation control standards set by agreement between the utility and a state or local governmental agency; or
(3) Performance of emergency work on overhead or underground public utility facilities, so long as the area in which such work is performed is returned to substantially the same conditions before performance of the work.
(E) If after having first attempted to obtain a certificate of appropriateness, the property owner can show that modification or denial of his proposal will cause undue hardship, the property owner may apply for a variance from the Board of Commissioners. The burden of proof is on the property owner to prove that the failure to approve a certificate of appropriateness will result in undue hardship or preclude any reasonable use of the property.
(F) Stop work order. In the event work is being performed without the required certificate of appropriateness or not in accordance with the certificate of appropriateness, the HPC shall direct the building official to issue a stop work order. All work shall cease on the property and no additional work shall be undertaken until authorized by the HPC.
(G) Emergency conditions. In any case where the building official determines that there are emergency conditions dangerous to life, health and property affecting a property in an HDO, he may order the remedying of these conditions without the approval of the HPC. Whenever possible the building official shall consult with the chair of the HPC about the action proposed.
(H) Criteria for review of a certificate of appropriateness. All applications for a certificate of appropriateness shall be reviewed by the HPC in accordance with the guidelines and criteria adopted pursuant to this chapter. Interior features of a structure shall not be considered by the HPC unless requested by the applicant. In addition, in reviewing applications filed under the provisions of this chapter, the HPC shall give consideration to:
(1) The historic, archaeological or architectural significance of the site or structure and its relationship to the historic, archaeological significance of the surrounding area;
(2) The relationship of the exterior architectural features of a structure to the remainder of the structure and to the surrounding area;
(3) The general compatibility of exterior design, scale, proportion, arrangement, texture and materials proposed to be used;
(4) Any other factors, including aesthetic and environmental factors which the HPC deems pertinent; and
(5) In cases of an application for work by a public utility company, the need for the work in order to meet public service commission requirements or to meet public needs.
(I) Conformity with the certificate of appropriateness. All work performed pursuant to a certificate of appropriateness shall conform to the provisions of such certificate. It shall be the responsibility of the Building Inspector and the HPC to inspect from time to time any work being performed to assure compliance. In the event work is being performed which is not in accordance with the COA, the HPC shall direct the Building inspector to issue a stop work order. All work shall cease on the designated property.
(Ord. 2018-005, passed 4-9-2018)