When used in this Chapter, certain words, or terms shall be interpreted as follows:
(a) “Administrator” means the employee of the City charged with enforcement of the zoning ordinance.
(b) “Alter” or “Alteration” means any material or visual change other than normal maintenance and repair to the exterior of any structure of historic or architectural significance.
(c) “Architectural Character” means the architectural style, general design, and general arrangement of the exterior features of a building or other structure including the type and texture of light fixtures, signs and other appurtenant fixtures.
(d) “Applicant” means any person, persons, association, organization, partnership, unit of government, public body or corporation who applies for a Certificate of Appropriateness in order to undertake an alteration or environmental change within the Historic Preservation District.
(e) “Certificate of Appropriateness” means a certificate issued by the City, authorizing any new construction, demolition or exterior alteration of a designated landmark or property within the Historic Preservation District, requiring Design Review by this Chapter of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Kent, Ohio.
(f) “Committee” means the Committee on Design and Preservation of Kent, Ohio.
(g) “Construction” means the act of constructing an addition to an existing structure or the erection of a new principal or accessory structure on a lot or property.
(h) “Contributing property” means any structure or site which has been identified by the Committee on Design and Preservation as having significant value in enhancing, identifying or defining a Historic Preservation District or Local Historic Property. All other structures or sites within a Historic Preservation District or Local Historic Property are noncontributing.
(i) “Council” means the City Council of Kent, Ohio.
(j) “Demolition” means the razing or removal in whole or in part of any building or structure.
(k) “Design Guidelines” means the set of standards set forth in the City of Kent, Ohio Design Guidelines, as adopted by Council.
(l) “District” means the Kent Overlay Design District / Historic Preservation District as adopted by City Council.
(m) “Emergency Repair” means any change, including the construction, re-construction, alteration or demolition of any feature which in the view of the Administrator is required for the public safety because of an unsafe, insecure or dangerous condition.
(n) Exclusions: Nothing in these rules, procedures or guidelines shall be construed to prevent the ordinary maintenance and repair of any building or structure within the Kent Design Overlay District / Historic Preservation District provided that the work involves no alteration to exterior architectural features.
(o) “Historic Preservation District” means any area designated by Council which contains one or more Local Historic Properties. It is also called the Kent Design Overlay District. The Historic Preservation District may also include such other properties designated by Council as necessary to maintain the historic and integrity of the District. The District shall be contained within definable geographic boundaries and may be designated on the Zoning Map of the City.
(p) “Local Historic Property” means any building, structure, site, or object which has special character or special archaeological, historic or aesthetic value as part of the development, heritage, archaeological or cultural characteristics of Kent, the State of Ohio, or the United States and which has been designated as a such pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter. A Local Historic Property shall also be considered a Contributing Property.
(q) “Non-contributing Property” means any structure or site within a Historic Preservation District or Local Historic Property that, in the determination of the Committee on Design and Preservation is not considered a Contributing Property as defined herein.
(r) “Owner” means the owner of record, and the term shall include the plural as well as the singular.
(s) “Preserve or Preservation” means the act or process of applying measures necessary to sustain the existing form, integrity and materials of an historic property.
(t) “Reconstruction” means the act or process of depicting, by means of new construction the form, features, and detailing of a non-surviving site, landscape, building, structure, or object for the purpose of replicating its appearance at a specific period of time and in its historic location.
(u) “Rehabilitation” means the act or process of making possible a compatible use for a property through repair, alterations, and additions while preserving those portions or features, which convey its historical, cultural, or architectural values.
(v) “Restoration” means the act or process of accurately depicting the form, features, and character of a property as it appeared at a particular period of time by means of the removal of features from other periods in its history and reconstruction of missing features from the restoration period. The limited and sensitive upgrading of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems and other code-required work to make properties functional is appropriate within a restoration project.
(Ord. 2012-21. Passed 2-15-12.)