As used in this Chapter, the following words shall be defined as follows:
(a) "Alteration" means any action to change, modify, reconstruct, remove or demolish any exterior feature of an existing building, structure, site or object within any District or Listed Property. For the purpose of this item, ordinary maintenance to correct any deterioration, decay or damage to a structure or premises and to restore the structure as nearly as practicable, is excluded from the definition of "alteration", provided such work does not involve a change in material, design, texture or exterior appearance, per section 1327.16.
(b) "Architectural Change" means the exterior construction, alteration, demolition or removal of any building, structure, site or object subject to the provisions of this Chapter, but shall not include the installation, maintenance or removal of plant material.
(c) "Architectural Character" means the style, design, and general arrangement of the exterior of a building, structure site or object, including the type of lighting fixtures, signs and other appurtenant fixtures. In the case of an outdoor advertising sign, "exterior features" means the style, material, size and location of the sign.
(d) "Applicant" means any person, persons, association, organization, partnership, unit of government, public body, corporation or other entity, or a representative of one of the above, who applies for a Certificate of Appropriateness in order to undertake an architectural change within the District or Listed Property.
(e) "Commission" means the "Historic Lancaster Commission." This body shall serve as the Design Review Board for the City of Lancaster as established by this chapter.
(f) "Building" means a resource created principally to shelter any form of human activity, such as a house. The term "building" shall be construed as if followed by the words "or part thereof."
(g) "Certificate of Appropriateness" means a certificate authorizing any architectural change within any designated District or Listed Property.
(h) "City" means the City of Lancaster. Ohio
(i) "Contributing property" means a building, structure, site or object that, as determined by the Commission, adds to the historic or architectural value of a designated District or Listed Property because it was present during the period of historic significance and/or it preserves such historic integrity that it yields important information about such District or Listed Property.
(j) "Demolition" means the razing or removing of all or a substantial portion of a building, structure, or appurtenance from a Listed Property or District.
(jj) "Designated Landmark" means any improvement to real property that has historic significance and has been designated according to the provisions of this Chapter.
(k) "District" means a designated Design Review District.
(l) "Guidelines" means the document that is adopted by the Historic Lancaster Commission and City Council that details the architectural characteristics for any Design Review District or Listed Property therein, and that provides design guidance for appropriate maintenance, repair, construction or alteration pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter. Also commonly known as "design guidelines."
(ll) "Historic significance" means the attributes of a designated landmark or historic district that possess integrity of design, location, setting, materials, workmanship and association and that are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of the City's history, or that are associated with the lives of persons significant in the City's past, or that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction, or that have yielded or are likely to yield information important in prehistory or history. Cemeteries, birthplaces or graves of historic figures, properties owned by religious institutions or used for religious purposes, structures that have been moved from their original locations, reconstructed historic buildings, properties primarily commemorative in nature, and properties that have achieved significance within the past fifty years, shall not be considered to be of historic significance, unless they are integral parts of the districts that meet the above criteria or if they fall within the following categories:
(1) A religious property which is primarily significant for its architecture or secular history;
(2) A relocated building which has a high degree of architectural significance or which is the primary structure associated with an individual or an event;
(3) The birthplace or gravesite of an historical figure, if no other built feature survives which is directly associated with his or her productive life;
(4) A cemetery primarily important because of its age, distinctive design features or association with the graves or persons of transcendent importance, or which is associated with historic events;
(5) A reconstructed building when accurately represented in suitable environment as part of a restoration master plan and when no other building with the same associated has survived;
(6) The property primarily commemorative in intent if design, age, tradition or symbolic value have given it significance; or
(7) A property achieving significance within the past fifty years if it is of exceptional importance or is unique to the City.
(m) "Listed Property" means a building, structure, site or object designated according to the provisions of this Chapter.
(n) "Noncontributing property" means a building structure, site or object within a designated District or Listed Property that, in the determination of the Commission, does not meet the criteria cited in 1327.02 (i) above.
(o) "Object" means a construction primarily artistic in nature or relatively small in scale, such as a monument, work of art, or milepost.
(p) "Ordinary maintenance or repair" means any maintenance or repair to any existing building, site, structure or object that is for the limited purpose of correcting decay, deterioration or damage to an architectural feature and that does not involve a change in material, design, texture or exterior appearance, per Section 1327.16.
(q) "Preserve" or "preservation" means the process (including maintenance) of treating an existing building, structure, site or object to arrest or slow future deterioration, stabilize it and provide structural safety, without changing or adversely affecting its character or appearance, as determined by the Commission.
(r) "Site" means any significant historical, archaeological, or architectural property without a principal structure such as the location of a prehistoric or historic activity, or a significant event. A site may also include a property of significant landscape design. This definition of "site" shall not be construed to limit the term "site plan" or "site improvement."
(s) "Structure" means a functional construction made for purposes other than creating shelter. It may include a work of engineering affixed to the land, the hardscape portion of landscaping, or any combination of materials to form a construction that is safe and stable, including, but not limited to stadia, tents, reviewing stands, platforms, staging, observation towers, radio towers and graphics. The term "structure" shall be construed as if followed by the words "or part thereof." The term "structure" does not include plants, trees, shrubs or others plantings that may be a part of landscaping.
(t) "Owner" shall mean the owner of record, and the term shall include the plural as well as the singular. (Ord. 19-17. Passed 5-8-17.)