(A) Application submitted to appropriate administrative official. An application for a certificate of appropriateness shall be obtained from and, when completed, filed with the Director of Planning and Development Services or designee in the Community Development Department.
(B) Contents of application.
(1) The application shall, in accordance with the Historic Preservation Commission’s rules of procedure, contain data that is reasonably necessary to determine the nature of the application. An application for a certificate of appropriateness shall not be considered complete until all required data has been submitted.
(2) Nothing shall prevent the applicant from filing with the application additional relevant information bearing on the application.
(C) Notification of affected property owners. Prior to any action taken on a certificate of appropriateness, the owners of any landmark likely to be materially affected by the application shall be notified in writing, and the applicant and such owners shall be given an opportunity to be heard.
(D) Evidentiary hearing. When an application is presented to the Historic Preservation Commission an evidentiary hearing may be held when deemed necessary.
(E) Action on an application.
(1) The action on an application shall be approval, approval with modifications, or denial.
(2) Prior to any action on an application, the review criteria in section 9-7-15 and the Commission’s design standards shall be used to make findings of fact indicating the extent to which the application is or is not congruous with the historic aspects of the designated landmark or district.
(3) All applications for certificates of appropriateness shall be reviewed and acted upon within a reasonable time as defined by the rules of procedure. As part of this review procedure, the Commission may view the premises and seek advice from the Department of Cultural Resources or other such expert advice as it may deem necessary under the circumstances.
(F) Appeal.
(1) An appeal may be taken to the Board of Adjustment from the Commission’s action in granting or denying any certificate and shall be in the nature of certiorari as provided by G.S. 160D-1402.
(2) Any appeal from the Board of Adjustment’s decision in any such case shall be heard by the Superior Court of Pitt County as provided by applicable laws G.S. 160D-1402.
(G) Submission of new application. If a certificate of appropriateness is not issued, a new application affecting the same landmark may be submitted only if substantial change is made in plans for the proposed construction, reconstruction, alteration, restoration or moving.
(1971 Code, § 9-10-18) (Ord. No. 1925, § 1, passed 12-8-1988; Ord. No. 2186, § 10, passed 5-10-1990; Ord. 19-045, § 1, passed 9-12-2019; Ord. No. 21-032, § 1, passed 6-21-2021)