(A) Landmarks and historic districts shall be established to protect and preserve the historic characteristics of the city.
(B) The origination of a landmark or historic district will be through an application submitted by the property owners to the Commission. If more than one property owner is affected, the application must have at least 75% of the property owners affected before the application will be reviewed by the Commission. A property owner owning two or more separate parcels of property shall be considered as one property owner for the purpose of submitting the application. Multiple owners of a parcel of property shall also be considered as one property owner for the purposes of submitting the application.
(C) The Commission may appoint a committee representing a potential historic district to work with the property owners in the area during the formative stages of application development. The Committee will be responsible for determining the feasibility and support of a historic district in the area and to draw up the boundaries of the area. The Committee is responsible for holding public (area) meetings and distributing information concerning historic designation. The Committee will also be responsible to draft and present to the property owners of the area affected a set of regulations or standards to be applied to the historic district. The regulations or standards shall meet the intent of § 160.21. The Committee will be responsible to obtain the required amount of signatures for the application once the district boundaries and standards are agreed upon. The committee shall include at least one member of the Commission.
(D) The Commission shall recommend all landmarks and historic districts to the City Council and the City Council shall implement the designations by the enactment of an ordinance.
(E) It shall be the responsibility of the applicant or applicants to supply the names of all property owners affected.
(F) The Commission shall assemble the facts pertinent to the designations. The landmark or historic district shall meet one or more of the following criteria listed below:
(1) Its value as a visible reminder of the cultural heritage of the city, state or nation;
(2) Its location as a site of a significant local, state or national event;
(3) Its identification with a person or persons who significantly contributed to the development of the city, state or nation;
(4) Its identification as the work of a master builder, designer or architect whose individual work has influenced the development of the city, state or nation;
(5) Its value as a building that is recognized for the quality of its architecture and that retains sufficient elements showing its architectural significance;
(6) Its distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style valuable for the study of a period, method of construction or use of indigenous materials;
(7) Its character as a geographically definable area possessing a significant concentration, or continuity of sites, buildings, objects or structures united by past events or aesthetically by plan or physical development; or
(8) Its character as an established and geographically definable neighborhood, united by culture, architectural style or physical plan and development.
(G) The application shall be submitted to the Hopkinsville-Christian County Planning Commission for its review. The application shall be reviewed to see if the designation complies with all of the city’s regulations and development ordinances.
(H) The Commission shall schedule a public hearing to collect information about the proposed designation. The public hearing will be advertised in the local newspaper not more than 21 days, nor less than 14 days, prior to the hearing.
(I) Written notification through a certified return receipt letter will be sent to all affected property owners not more than 21 days, nor less than 14 days, prior to the public hearing notifying the property owners of the designation requested and the public hearing.
(J) The Commission shall take action on the request for the proposed designation after the public hearing. The action will be in a form of a recommendation sent to the City Council. In a report recommending either approval or denial of the designation, the Commission shall make findings of fact showing compliance with one or more of the criteria contained in § 160.20(F).
(K) The City Council shall approve, modify or disapprove the proposed designation 30 days after receiving the recommendation of the Commission. Action taken by City Council will be through an ordinance which outlines the designation on a map.
(L) The approval of a proposed landmark or historic district will cause the Commission to update and amend the city’s official historic preservation map.
(M) The Commission shall notify each of the affected property owners of the decision made by the City Council.
(N) The amendment of rescission of any zone designation shall be accomplished through the same steps as were followed in the original designation.
(O) Once a landmark or historic district is established in an area, the standards established by the landmark or historic district will become a part of the deed restrictions or master restrictions for that piece of property.
(Ord. 22-88, passed 9-20-1988)