(a) Establishment. The Court House Area Design Review Board is established to review and decide applications in compliance with the provisions of this Article.
(b) Membership. The Court House Area Design Review Board shall consist of five (5) voting members including the chairman. All members must be residents of Fayette County. At least two (2) of the five (5) members shall be design or preservation-related professionals. These include the professions of architecture, history, archaeology, architectural history, historic preservation, urban design or related disciplines such as urban planning or landscape architecture; one (1) member shall be an employee of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government who is not the Design Review Officer; one (1) member shall be a representative of the banking or financial community; and one (1) member shall be a property or business owner within the Court House Area Overlay Zoning District. When the Court House Area Design Review Board reviews an issue, and that field is not represented on the Court House Area Design Review Board, the Court House Area Design Review Board shall seek expert advice before rendering its decision.
(c) Ethics. The Court House Area Design Review Board shall prepare and keep on file, available for public inspection, the members' qualifications. Article 16, the Code of Ethics of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Charter, shall apply to members of the Court House Area Design Review Board.
(d) Officers. The Court House Area Design Review Board shall annually elect one (1) of its members to be Chairman and one (1) of its members to be Vice-Chairman. The Secretary of the Court House Area Design Review Board shall be the Design Review Officer, who shall also serve as a non-voting member of the Court House Area Design Review Board.
(e) Length of Term. The terms of Court House Area Design Review Board members shall be as follows:
(1) Members shall serve a term of four (4) years except that the membership of those representing particular organizations or offices shall be deemed to have terminated upon their leaving their respective memberships or positions.
(2) Terms shall be staggered in such manner to allow the appointment or re-appointment of at least one-half (½) of the membership every two (2) years.
(3) Term of membership shall extend from July 1 of one (1) year through and until June 30 of the designated year.
(4) Vacancies, when they occur during a term of office, shall be filled for the unexpired term in the manner prescribed for original appointment.
(5) Members may serve consecutive terms but must go through the reappointment process to do so the maximum length of membership shall be two (2) terms or eight (8) years, whichever is longer.
(6) Any member may be removed from office by a majority of the Council of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government.
(f) Compensation. The members shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties, subject to sufficient funds being appropriated by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council for this purpose.
(g) By-Laws. The Court House Area Design Review Board shall adopt by-laws for the transaction of its business and the transactions of the business of all of its subcommittees. Regular meetings shall be held and special meetings may be held as specified in the by-laws. Minutes of all meetings and records of all proceedings, including the number of votes for and against each question and the record of the vote of each member, shall be kept and made available for public inspection. The Court House Area Design Review Board shall prepare a written annual report which shall be kept and made available for public inspection. A simple majority of the total membership of the Court House Area Design Review Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The Chairman votes only in the case of a tie. Each member shall be required to attend meetings regularly as defined in the by-laws. Failure to do so may result in removal from the Court House Area Design Review Board. The Court House Area Design Review Board shall have the power to establish subcommittees as it deems necessary, from both within and without its membership, and to receive assistance in its work from outside individuals, groups and organizations. The Court House Area Design Review Board may give special recognition to outside individuals, groups and organizations.
(h) Jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of the Court House Area Design Review Board shall include all necessary and implied powers as shall be described herein with respect to the regulation of the Court House Area Overlay Zone.
(i) Powers and Duties. In addition to such other powers, duties and authorities as are set forth in this Article, the Court House Area Design Review Board shall in order to accomplish the purpose of this Article perform duties that include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Present to the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council and the Planning Commission annually a report containing:
(i) A statement of goals and objectives for the county for the next ensuing five-year period;
(ii) Any financial records pertaining to the Court House Area Design Review Board's operation.
(2) Cooperate with and advise the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council and other government agencies, departments, commissions and offices with regard to such matters as may be appropriate with respect to the Court House Area.
(3) Form subcommittees as necessary.
(4) Establish criteria for which applications may be acted upon by the Design review Officer, and which cases require both a preliminary and final review by the Board
(5) Review and decide applications for Authorization Permits as provided hereinbelow.
(6) Periodically review the adopted design guidelines and make recommendations to the Urban County Council for changes to design guidelines.
(Code 1983, § 27-4; Ord. No. 326-2000 , § 1, 11-9-2000)
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