The Commission shall be authorized within the planning and zoning jurisdiction of the city to:
(A) Undertake an inventory of landmarks of historical, prehistorical, architectural, and/or cultural significance;
(B) Recommend to the City Council areas to be designated by ordinance as a “historic district;” and individual structures, buildings, sites, areas, or objects to be designated by ordinance as a “historic landmark;”
(C) Recommend to the City Council that the city acquire, by any lawful means, the fee or any lesser included interest, including options to purchase, of landmarks within designated districts or of any such designated landmarks, to hold, manage, preserve, restore and improve the same, and to exchange or dispose of the landmark by public or private sale, lease or otherwise, subject to covenants or other legally binding restrictions which will secure appropriate rights of public access and promote the preservation of the landmark;
(D) Restore, preserve and operate historic landmarks;
(E) Recommend to the City Council that designation of any area as a historic district or part thereof, or designation of any building, structure, site, area or object as a historic landmark, be revoked or removed;
(F) Conduct an educational program with respect to historic landmarks and districts within its jurisdiction;
(G) Cooperate with the federal, state and local governments in pursuance of the purposes of historic preservation, and to offer or request assistance, guidance or advice concerning matters under its purview or of mutual interest;
(H) Enter, solely in performance of its official duties and only at reasonable times, upon private lands, following written notification, for examination or survey thereof. However, no member, employee or agent of the Commission may enter any private building or structure without the express consent of the owner or occupant thereof;
(I) Prepare and recommend the official adoption of a preservation element as part of the city’s Comprehensive Plan;
(J) Review and act upon proposals for alterations, demolitions or new construction within historic districts, or for the alteration or demolition of designated properties;
(K) Recommend to City Council the negotiations with the owner of a building, structure, site, area or object for its acquisition or its preservation, when such action is reasonably necessary or appropriate;
(L) Propose changes to this chapter or any related ordinance and to propose new ordinances or laws relating to historic landmark districts, or to the total programs for the development of the historical resources of the city and its environs;
(M) Give advice to property owners concerning the treatment of the historical and visual characteristics of their properties such as color schemes, garden and landscape features, and minor decorative elements;
(N) Take steps, during the period of postponement of demolition or alteration of any historic landmark, to ascertain what the City Council can or may do to preserve such property, including consultation with private civic groups, interested private citizens and other public boards or agencies and including investigation of potential acquisition by the City Council when the preservation of a given historic landmark is clearly in the interest of the general welfare of the community and the property is of certain historic and architectural significance;
(O) Establish procedures under which the Director of Planning and Development Services, or his or her designee, may approve minor works In conformance with adopted standards on behalf of the Commission. No application shall be denied without first being considered by the Commission;
(P) Conduct evidentiary hearings on applications for certificate of appropriateness where the Commission deems that such a hearing is necessary;
(Q) Assist the city staff in obtaining the services of private consultants to aid in carrying out programs of research or analysis;
(R) Publish information about, or otherwise inform the public of any matters pertinent to its purview, duties, organization, procedures, responsibilities, functions or requirements as its budget may allow; and
(S) Report violations of this chapter or related ordinances with respect to historic properties to the Chief Building Inspector.
(T) Post on the site that is the subject of an evidentiary hearing, as authorized under G.S. Chapter 160D, Article 9, Part 4 or this chapter, or on an adjacent street or highway right-of-way of the site that is the subject of a public hearing under G.S. Chapter 160D, Article 9, Part 4 or this chapter, a notice of evidentiary hearing or a notice of the issuance of a certificate of appropriateness in accordance with the Historic Preservation Commission, Greenville, North Carolina Rules of Procedure.
(1971 Code, § 9-10-15) (Ord. No. 1925, § 1, passed 12-8-1988; Ord. No. 2186, § 7, passed 5-10-1990; Ord. No. 06-75, § 2, passed 8-10-2006; Ord. No. 19-014, § 1, passed 2-14-2019; Ord. 19-045, § 1, passed 9-12-2019; Ord. No. 21-032, § 1, passed 6-21-2021)