§ 17.40.100 ECONOMIC HARDSHIP—HISTORIC LANDMARKS AND HISTORIC DISTRICTS.
   The Commission shall comply with the certificate of appropriateness procedure and required findings as outlined in this section.
   (A)   The owner of an Historic Landmark or contributor in an Historic District applying for a certificate of appropriateness may request that an alteration be conducted even though it does not meet the findings for such certificate if that owner can substantiate the suffering of an economic hardship.
   (B)   The Commission, in considering such a request may solicit expert testimony, at the owners' expense, and/or require that the owner submit any or all of the following information prior to making a determination on the application:
      (1)   Cost estimates of the proposed alteration and an estimate of the additional cost(s) that would be incurred to comply with the recommendations of the Commission.
      (2)   A report from a licensed engineer or architect with experience in rehabilitation as to the structural soundness of any structures on the property and their suitability for rehabilitation.
      (3)   Fair market value of the property in its current condition as determined by a qualified appraiser; estimated market value after completion of the proposed construction, alteration, demolition, or removal; after any changes recommended by the Commission; and, in the case of a proposed demolition, the estimated market value after renovation of the existing property for continued use.
      (4)   In the case of a proposed demolition, an estimate from an architect, appraiser, or other professional experienced in rehabilitation as to the economic feasibility of rehabilitation or reuse of the existing structure on the property.
      (5)   For income-producing properties, information on annual gross income, operating and maintenance expenses, depreciation deductions and annual cash flow after debt service, and current estate taxes.
      (6)   Remaining balance on any mortgage or other financing secured by the property and annual debt service, if any, for the previous two years and any appraisals of the property obtained within the previous two years by the owner or applicant.
      (7)   Amount paid for the property, the date of purchase, and the party from whom purchased, including a description of the relationship between the owner of record or applicant and the person from whom the property is purchased; any listing of the property for sale or rent, price asked, and offers received, if any, within the previous two years.
      (8)   Assessed value of the property according to the two most recent assessments and property taxes for the two previous years.
      (9)   Form of ownership or operation of the property, whether sole proprietorship, limited partnership, joint venture, or other.
      (10)   Any other information, including documentation establishing the income tax bracket of the owner, applicant, or principal investors in the property, considered necessary by the Commission to make determination as to whether the property does yield or may yield a reasonable return to the owners.
   (C)   Staff shall prepare a report analyzing the evidence provided in support of the request and shall include a hardship relief plan to relieve, where possible, economic hardship. This plan may include recommendation such as property tax relief, loans or grants, acquisition of property, use of the State Historic Building Code, changes in applicable zoning regulations, and redevelopment funds.
   (D)   The Commission shall review all the evidence and information required of an applicant and the staff hardship relief plan and make a determination within 90 days of receipt of the application as to whether the denial of the certificate of appropriateness has deprived, or will deprive, the owner of the property of all reasonable use of, or economic return on, the property.
   (E)   If the applicant presents facts and clear evidence demonstrating to the Commission that failure to approve the application for a certificate of appropriateness will cause an immediate hardship because of conditions peculiar to the particular structure or other feature involved, and that no plan implementable by the city can relieve the hardship to a sufficient extent, and the damage to the owner of the property is unreasonable in comparison to the benefit conferred to the community, the Commission may recommend to the City Council to approve or conditionally approve such certificate. The final decision shall be made by the City Council.
   (F)   (1)   Issuance of such a certificate of appropriateness shall be accompanied by a written determination, based on the following findings:
         (a)   Denial of the application would diminish the value of the subject property so as to leave substantially no value;
         (b)   Sale or rental of the property is impractical, when compared to the cost of holding such property for uses permitted in this zone;
         (c)   An adaptive reuse study and hardship relief plan have been conducted and found that utilization of the property and any economic return therefrom is not reasonable or feasible;
         (d)   Rental at a reasonable rate of return is not feasible;
         (e)   Denial of the certificate of appropriateness would damage the owner of the property unreasonably in comparison to the benefit conferred on the community;
         (f)   All means involving city sponsored incentives, have been explored to relieve possible economic disincentives;
         (g)   The economic hardship under review is strictly related to any such hardship created or related directly to the property itself and that in considering the certificate of appropriateness with the request under economic hardship, personal, family, or business difficulties, loss of prospective profits, poor quality maintenance and neighboring violations were not considered justifiable hardships; or
         (h)   In the case of a proposed demolition, the designated landmark cannot be remodeled or rehabilitated in a manner which would allow a reasonable use of or return from the property to the property owner.
      (2)   If the Commission finds otherwise it shall issue a recommendation to the City Council for denial of the request. If the City Council concurs it shall deny the application for a certificate of appropriateness and economic hardship dispensation and notify the applicant by mail of the final denial.
   (G)   If approval of a certificate of appropriateness and economic hardship dispensation will result in the demolition of a nominated or designated cultural resource, the applicant shall be required to provide documentation of the resource proposed for demolition to the standards of the Historic American Building Survey. Such documentation may include photographs, floor plans, measured drawings, archeological survey, or other documentation stipulated by the Commission.
(`83 Code, § 17.40.100) (Ord. 94-03 § 6, 1994; Ord. 95-01 § 2, 1995)