(A) (1) Upon the filing of an application for a building permit for a landmark and landmark site or for a property in a historic district, the Planning and Zoning Administrator shall promptly notify the Historical Review Board of such application.
(2) When a person wishes to undertake an exterior alteration affecting a landmark and landmark site or a property in a historic district that does not require a building permit, that person shall apply directly to the Historical Review Board. The applicant shall file with the application any of the plans, plot plans, landscaping plans, plans for off-street parking, proposed signs, elevations of all portions of proposed structures facing streets and elevation photographs or perspective drawings showing proposed structures and all such existing structures as are within 100 feet of the landmark and landmark site of the property in the historic district and are substantially related to it visually or by reason of its function, traffic generation or other characteristics. The applicant may submit for Board review the required items or material in a preliminary form which shall be labeled “preliminary design” in large letters.
(3) The Board may review the same and recommend modification and/or change, but shall not be required to take any final action until submission of the required items, material and information in final form. The Board shall meet within 15 days after notification by the Planning and Zoning Administrator of the filing of such application. In its review of material submitted, the Historical Review Board shall examine the: architectural design and the exterior surface; treatment of the structures on the site in question and their relationship to other structures within the area; and other pertinent factors including signs affecting the appearance and efficient functioning of the historic district or the landmark. The Board shall not consider any interior arrangements, nor shall it make requirements relating to the interior, except for the purpose of preventing developments obviously incongruous to the district or the landmark. The Board shall vote to approve or disapprove the application within 30 days after the application is filed for a building permit with the Planning and Zoning Administrator. All applicants and property owners shall be notified of meetings and subsequent decisions relating to their applications or property.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the Historical Review Board shall not be required to approve or disapprove an application until the applicant has received the approvals he or she needs from other government offices.
(B) If the Historical Review Board recommends approval of the application for a building permit for a landmark and landmark site or for a property in a historic district, it shall forward immediately its recommendation in writing stating the reasons for such approval to the Planning and Zoning Administrator. The Planning and Zoning Administrator shall then issue the building permit if it meets all other requirements of law. The Planning and Zoning Administrator shall inspect the construction or alteration approved from time to time and report to the Historical Review Board and the City Council any work not in accordance with such building permit. In the event work is being performed not in accordance with the building permit, a stop-work order shall be issued by the Planning and Zoning Administrator and all work shall cease.
(C) (1) If the Historical Review Board recommends disapproval of the application for a building permit for a landmark and landmark site or for a property in a historic district, it shall promptly transmit a written report stating the reasons for such disapproval to the Planning and Zoning Administrator. In said written report, the Historical Review Board shall make recommendations in regard to an appropriate architectural design, exterior surface treatment or other appropriate matters to make the application conform to the intent of the historic district and landmark regulations.
(2) In the event the Historical Review Board recommends disapproval of an application for a building permit for a landmark and landmark site or for a property in a historic district, the applicant for said permit may appeal to the City Council, which shall hold a public hearing thereon and shall vote on said appeal within 45 days after the notice of appeal is filed with the City Council. The City Council shall notice of the time, place and reason for holding a public hearing thereon by one publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county not earlier than 21 days or later than seven days before the public hearing. If the City Council votes to approve the application for a building permit, it shall promptly issue a certificate of appropriateness to the applicant and transmit a copy to the Planning and Zoning Administrator. If the City Council votes to disapprove the application for a building permit, it shall transmit its decision in writing to the applicant and the Planning and Zoning Administrator. The applicant may appeal the disapproval by the City Council to the Circuit Court.
(Ord. passed 3-8-2004)