(A) Recommendations and designations. The Commission shall recommend to the City Council the designation of historic districts and individual landmarks, and the City Council may make these designations by the enactment of ordinances. In addition, a property owner, any resident of Madisonville or any organization may ask the Commission to study a property or an area and then to vote on whether or not to start the process for designating it as historic.
(B) Public hearing and notice. The Commission shall schedule a public hearing on the proposed designation. Advertised notice of the hearing shall be given in accordance with Chapter 424 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes, including conspicuous posting in the proposed district or on the lot of the proposed landmark or property. Written notice shall be given by first class mail to the owners of property under consideration and the owners of all adjoining property. Written notice shall be considered sufficient when it is mailed to the person listed on the tax rolls of the city.
(C) Standards. Before its first public hearing on a designation, the Commission shall adopt general standards that will apply to historic districts and landmarks or property and will assist owners in the preservation and rehabilitation of their property. The standards shall be submitted to the City Council for their approval. The standards shall include the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings and may include other guidelines that will apply to all designated property to the city.
(D) Criteria for designation. A historic district or a landmark or property shall qualify for designation when it meets one or more of the following criteria:
(1) Its character as an established and geographically definable residential neighborhood, united by culture, architectural styles or physical plan and development;
(2) Its character as a geographically definable area possessing a significant concentration of buildings or structures united by past events or by its plan or physical development;
(3) Its value as a reminder of the cultural or archaeological heritage of the city, state or nation;
(4) Its location as a site of a significant local, state or national event;
(5) Its identification with a person or persons who significantly contributed to the development of the city, state or nation;
(6) 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;
(7) Its value as a building that is recognized for the quality of its architecture and that retains sufficient elements showing its architectural significance; or
(8) Its distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style valuable for the study of a period, method of construction, or use of indigenous materials.
(E) Report to the City Council. After evaluating the testimony at its public hearing, survey information and other material it has assembled, the Commission shall make its recommendation to the City Council with a written report on the area or property under consideration. The report shall also contain information about the buildings which have been identified for inclusion in the proposed designation.
(F) Action by the City Council. The City Council shall approve, modify or disapprove the proposed designation and the map amendment within sixty (60) days after receiving the recommendation.
(G) Relationship to zoning. The property in a historic district shall be subject to the Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations and other rules of its underlying zoning district. A landmark shall be subject to the Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations and other rules of its zoning district. When there is a conflict between this chapter and the Zoning Ordinance or Subdivision Regulations, the higher standard shall govern.
(H) Notification of designation. The Commission shall notify each owner of the decision relating to his property and shall arrange that the designation of a property as a landmark or as a part of a historic district be filed by the County Clerk in the land records by owner's name and tax district lot and block number.
(I) Amendment or rescission of a designation. The amendment or rescission of any designation shall be accomplished through the same steps as were followed in the original designation.
(Ord. 2001-03, passed 5-11-01; Am. Ord. O-2018-12, passed 11-19-18)