(a) A Certificate of Appropriateness is binding only when municipal monies are used in a project requiring a building, moving, or demolition permit issued by the City of Freeport for any designated historic landmark or any building, structure or site or part thereof in an Historic District.
(b) Certificate of Appropriateness issued by the Commission shall be required before a building permit, moving, or demolition permit is issued by the City of Freeport for any designated historic landmark or any building, structure or site or part thereof in an Historic District. A Certificate of Appropriateness shall also be required if the building, structure or site will be altered, painted, extended, reduced, or repaired in such a manner as to produce a major change in the exterior or interior appearance of such building or structure. Such major changes include, but are not limited to:
(1) Major changes by addition, alteration, maintenance, painting, reconstruction, rehabilitation, renovation, restoration, or repair;
(2) Any new construction and demolition in whole or in part requiring a permit from the City of Freeport;
(3) Moving a building;
(4) Any construction, alteration, demolition, or removal affecting a significant exterior or interior architectural feature as specified in the ordinance designating the landmark or Historic District.
(c) An exception to the Certificate of Appropriateness shall be made if the applicant shows to the Commission that a failure to grant the permit will cause an imminent threat to life, health, or safety.
(d) Every application for a building permit, moving, or demolition permit, including plans and specifications shall be forwarded by the City of Freeport to the Commission within fifteen (15) days following receipt of the application by the city.
(e) Applications for a Certificate of Appropriateness are available from the Secretary of the Commission. Such applications shall be completed and submitted to the Secretary who shall forward the applications to the Commission. The application for issuance of a Certificate of Appropriateness must include:
(1) Street address of the property involved.
(2) Legal description of the property involved.
(3) Brief description of the present improvements situated on the property.
(4) A detailed description of the construction, alteration, demolition, or use proposed together with any architect drawings or sketches if those services have been utilized by the applicant and, if not, a sufficient description of the construction, alteration, demolition, and use of the real estate will be.
(5) Owner's name.
(6) Developer's name, if different from the owner.
(7) Architect's name.
(8) A filing fee is required.
(f) Standards for Certificate of Appropriateness. In making a determination whether to approve or deny an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness, the Freeport Historic Preservation Commission shall be guided by the Secretary of the Interior's "Standards for Rehabilitation", as follows:
(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 environment.
(2) The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a 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, such as adding conjectural features of architectural elements from other buildings 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 historic property shall be preserved.
(6) Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of the deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature will 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 procedures 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 property and its environment.
(10) New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall be undertaken in a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.
(Ord. 2002-78. Passed 1-6-03.)