(A) (1) Any person, group of persons, or association, including but not limited to the HPC, may present to the HPC a petition requesting that a defined geographical area be designated as a historic district. The Building Department shall supply, on request, the application forms. Completed forms shall be submitted to the Building Department which shall forward them to the HPC for their consideration.
(2) The petition shall contain the names of no less than 51% of the property owners within the defined geographical area. Or, if lease holders, with a five year or longer leasehold interest, are signatories to the petition then the petition shall contain no less than 51% of the property owners and/or leaseholders.
(3) Notice of date, time, place and purpose of the public hearing shall be sent by mail to owner(s) of record and to the nominator(s) as well as to the adjoining property owners, not less than 15 nor more than 30 days prior to the date of the hearing. A public hearing notice also shall be published in a newspaper having general circulation in the city. The notice shall state the location of the property and a statement summarizing how the proposed landmark meets the criteria set forth in § 151.40(B).
(4) Upon receipt of the application, the Secretary of the HPC shall schedule a public hearing to be held within 45 days after preliminary approval of the application.
(5) During the public hearing, the HPC shall review and evaluate the application according to the criteria established by ordinance.
(6) If the HPC finds at the time that the application merits further consideration, then the HPC may table the request until its next regularly scheduled meeting.
(B) A decision shall be made within 30 days following the date of the closing or the public hearing.
(1) Following the public hearing, the Secretary of the HPC shall prepare the HPC's evaluation, recommendation and all available information for submission to the City Council within 30 days.
(2) If the HPC decides that the proposed historic district should be designated, it shall do so by a resolution passed by a majority of the HPC.
(3) The owner(s) of record shall be notified promptly by a letter containing information of the HPC's decision.
(4) A simple majority vote by the City Council is necessary for approval of a historic district designation. If the City Council approves the application for a designation (by a simple majority vote), a notice will be sent to the property owner, the Building Department, the City Clerk's office and recorded with the County Recorder of Deeds that the area has been designated as such and that buildings located within the boundaries of the historic district shall be subject to issuance of certificate of appropriateness. If the City Council denies the petition, no petitioner can file for 90 days to the Secretary of the HPC.
(C) If a new historic district(s) is approved in accordance with the criteria and procedure set forth in this subchapter, the Historic Preservation Ordinance shall be amended accordingly to recognize there are multiple historic districts.
(Ord. O-06-23, passed 8-14-06; Am. Ord. O.23.07, passed 4-24-23)