(a) There is hereby established in and for the City a Design Review Commission, which shall consist of nine members (eight voting) all of whom have demonstrated a special interest in historic preservation.
(b) Commission members shall be appointed by the Mayor and shall serve terms of three years, except that two of the initial appointments shall be for terms of one year.
(c) Vacancies shall be filled within sixty days for the remainder of any unexpired terms in the same manner as the original appointments. The Mayor shall appoint one individual who has been recommended by these respective organizations:
(1) Ravenna Area Chamber of Commerce - one.
(2) Mayor or Mayor's designee - one (non-voting). The Mayor or his or her designee shall be a non-voting member and serve as Chair. The Mayor or his or her designee shall be required to vote in the case of a tie.
(3) Specialist - two. The Mayor shall appoint two members who are 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);
(4) Ravenna resident - two. The Mayor shall appoint a member who can demonstrate an interest in historic preservation;
(5) The Mayor shall appoint a total of three members from the following groups: Residential owners who own or live in a Listed Property or a property in a Historic District or commercial owners/renters who live or work in a Listed Property or in a Historic District.
(d) The Design Review Commission shall meet at least four times per year at regular intervals. Meetings shall be publicly announced in advance, have a previously advertised agenda, be open to the public, and held in a public place. Public notice shall be provided of special meetings of the Commission. The Mayor shall preside over the first meeting, at which the Commission shall elect a Vice-Chairperson and Secretary. These officers shall be elected annually at the meeting of the Commission which shall be held each January.
(e) The rules of procedure adopted by the Commission shall be available for public
inspection at the office of the Mayor.
(f) Within two weeks of the certified receipt of a request from an individual requesting that the Commission shall consider a matter, the Chairperson shall hold a meeting of the Design Review Commission for the purpose of discussing the issue. Any person desiring the Commission to consider any matter as may fall within its duties shall, at least ten days prior to a regular hearing date, file with the Commission a written request which details the matter which the person desires the Commission to consider. In the absence of any regularly scheduled meeting of the Commission, a letter sent to the Chairperson of the Commission shall serve as notice.
(g) The duties of the Design Review Commission shall include the following:
(1) To study the problems of and determine the needs of the City in furthering the purpose of preserving and restoring historic landmarks, areas and neighborhoods.
(2) To work for the continuing education of the residents regarding the City's architectural and historical heritage.
(3) To review and act on all Historic District Applications as required and to establish rules, regulations and guidelines consistent with the stated purpose of this Commission and acting on certificates of approval.
(4) To consider whether the failure to issue a Certificate of Approval will involve a substantial hardship to the applicant and whether a certificate may be issued without substantial detriment to the public welfare and without substantial deviation from the stated objectives of this chapter.
(5) To keep a current register of all Listed Properties and structures in a Historic District, as established in Section 1434.05, and Listed Properties on the National Register of Historic Places, and to provide the City's Building Department with a current copy of these lists.
(6) To set up standards for new construction appropriate to the architectural character of the Historic District(s).
(7) Conduct or encourage Commission members to attend educational sessions at least once a year, or in-depth consultation with the Ohio Historic Preservation Office (hereafter OHPO), pertaining to work or functions of the Commission, or historic preservation issues.
(8) To conduct or cause to be conducted a continuing survey of historic or cultural resources in the City, according to guidelines and process established by the OHPO.
(9) To maintain a detailed inventory of the designated Listed Properties and Historic Districts. Allow the inventory material to be accessible to the public; however, access to archaeological site locations may be restricted. Maintain all inventory items on Ohio Historic and Archaeological inventory forms compatible with OHPO'S computerized inventory. The inventory material will be available through duplicates or digital images to the Ohio Historic Preservation Office. Inventory forms and/or forms shall be updated periodically to reflect changes, alterations, and demolitions.
(10) To establish and use written guidelines for the conservation of designated local landmarks and historic districts in decisions on requests for permits for alterations, demolition, or additions to Listed Property, buildings and sites within Historic Districts; using among other guidelines, the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, local design guidelines, and Archaeological Guidelines, Ohio Historic Preservation Office.
(11) Act as a liaison on behalf of the City of Ravenna to individuals and organizations concerned with historic preservation.
(12) Seek expertise before reaching a decision when considering a National Register nomination and other like actions which are normally evaluated by a professional in a specific discipline and that discipline is not represented on the Commission. The Commission may seek assistance of academic or consulting archaeologists. The Commission may explore the possibility of sharing this expertise among other communities.
(13) Undertake additional responsibilities upon mutual written agreement between the OHPO and the City. A written agreement will address what duties are to be performed, what staff assistance is needed to perform the work and what level of activity in each area of responsibility will be maintained. All delegated responsibilities must be complementary.
(h) The Design Review Commission shall be an advisor to the Planning and Zoning Commission and to other officials and departments of the City regarding the protection of local cultural resources. It shall submit recommendations for site review to the Planning and Zoning Commission for any Listed Property or property within a Historic District that the Planning and Zoning Commission has authority to review.
(i) The Chairperson shall appoint a Recording Secretary who shall not be a member of the Commission. The Recording Secretary shall be compensated in an amount per meeting as approved by Council.
(j) No member may vote on Commission business unless he or she is a resident of Portage County.
(k) The Commission shall keep minutes of all its proceedings. The records of the Commission's actions shall be filed in the office of the Mayor within ten days and shall be a public record and shall be available for public inspection.
(l) The Commission shall issue an annual report of its activities, cases, decisions, special projects, and qualifications of its members, which will be kept on file and available for public inspection.
(m) All meetings of the Commission shall be open to the public and are subject to the sunshine laws.
(n) No member of the Commission shall vote on any question before the Commission in which he or she has a personal or pecuniary interest.
(o) For all meetings of the Design Review Commission a quorum of four members (voting or non-voting) will be required to conduct any formal business. A majority of votes cast by voting members present at any meeting will be required to approve any action authorized by the Commission.
(p) The Commission shall adopt additional rules of procedure and form as he or she deems necessary to conduct its business.
(Ord. 2014-030. Passed 5-5-14; Ord. 2022-122. Passed 12-5-22.)