(a) The Board shall consist of seven members, all of whom have demonstrated a special interest, experience, or knowledge of history, architecture, or related disciplines.
(1) At least two preservation related professional members, to the extent such professionals are available in the community (this shall include the professions of architecture, architectural history, history, archaeology, planning, or related disciplines).
(2) A term of appointment to the Board shall be for three years. Initially, three members shall be appointed for a full term; two members shall be appointed for two years, and two members shall be appointed for one year. Thereafter, appointments will be for a full term, and vacancies will be filled for the remainder of an unexpired term.
(3) Members of the Board shall be appointed in the following manner:
A. The Board of Trustees of Downtown Lima, Inc. shall appoint one member who belongs to Downtown Lima, Inc.; one member who belongs to Downtown Lima, Inc. and is engaged in retail trade; and one member who is an architect or design professional.
B. The Mayor shall appoint one member who shall be a representative of the arts, cultural, or religious institutions within the City corporate limits, and three members who shall be either property owners within the City corporate limits, or individuals who own or operate a business within the City corporate limits.
C. The appointing person or entity may remove any member at any time. Council may remove any member at any time during a regularly-scheduled meeting upon motion and affirmative vote of a majority of elected Council members.
D. All members must be approved by Council, and all members must be either City residents or individuals who own or operate a business within the City corporate limits. At least one member shall be a City resident.
(b) Members shall serve without any compensation, either monetary or otherwise.
(c) Whenever a Board member has a conflict of interest regarding an application or nomination under consideration by the Board, that member shall abstain from discussion and voting on the application or nomination.
(d) Meetings of the Board shall be held once each month unless the Director of Community Development or her designee informs the Board that there are no pending applications or nominations for that month. At least four meetings a year shall be held at regular intervals. All meetings of the Board shall be held in a public place and advertised in advance of the meeting date and shall be open to the public. Meeting agendas shall be made available to the public prior to such meeting upon request to the Department of Community Development. Applicants shall be notified of the meeting date and time when their application is to be considered. Applicants shall be notified in writing of the Board's decision regarding their application.
(e) Written minutes of the actions taken by the Board shall be available for public inspection.
(f) The Board shall write an annual report of the Board's activities, cases, decisions, special projects and qualifications of the members. Each annual report shall be kept on file by the Director of Community Development and shall be made available for public inspection.
(g) Vacancies on the Board shall be filled within sixty days, unless extenuating circumstances require a longer period.
(h) A majority of all the members appointed to the Board shall constitute a quorum. No decision or determination shall be made at any meeting where there is no quorum present.
(i) The Rules of Procedure adopted by the Board shall be made available for public inspection.
(Ord. 041-20. Passed 2-24-20; Ord. 264-23. Passed 12-18-23.)