Buildings may be designated as Significant or Contributory or their designation may be changed through amendment of Appendices A, B, C and D of this Article. Such designation or change of designation shall be governed by the following provisions in lieu of the provisions of Section 302:
(a) Initiation. The designation or change of designation of a Significant or Contributory building may be initiated by motion of the Board of Supervisors, by resolution of the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC), by the verified application of the owner or authorized agent of the affected property, by the application of any organization or group that has historic preservation stated as one of its goals in its bylaws or articles of incorporation, or by the application of at least 50 registered voters of the City. Except in the case of initiation by governmental bodies, any such application shall contain historic, architectural, and/or cultural documentation to support the initiation or change of designation as well as any additional information that may be required by the application procedures and policies established by the HPC. If initiated by motion of the Board of Supervisors, the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors shall refer the matter to the HPC for its review and recommendation prior to passage by the Board of Supervisors, without referral to the Planning Commission.
(b) Notice; Referral to the HPC; Review by the Planning Department. Upon determination by the Department that a verified application is complete and contains all necessary information or upon receipt of the motion or resolution of one of the governmental bodies set forth in Subsection (a) above, the Department shall:
(1) promptly schedule a hearing before the HPC on the proposed designation or change of designation; and
(2) send notice of the hearing by mail no less than 20 days prior to the date of the hearing to the owner(s) of the affected property; the applicant(s), if any, for the designation or change in designation; to the owners of all properties within 150 feet of the affected property; and to any interested parties who so request in writing to the Department.
(c) Action by the Historic Preservation Commission. The proposed designation or change of designation shall be placed on the agenda of the HPC for public hearing. The HPC shall determine the appropriate designation or change in designation of the building. If the HPC approves or modifies the proposed designation or change of designation in whole or in part, it shall transmit its recommendation, together with a copy of the resolution, to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors without referral to the Planning Commission.
(d) Designation by Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors, or a committee thereof, shall hold a public hearing on any proposal so transmitted to it. The Board of Supervisors may approve, modify and approve, or disapprove the designation or change of designation by a majority vote of all its members.
(e) Appeal to Board of Supervisors. If the HPC disapproves the proposed designation or change of designation, such action shall be final except upon the filing of a notice of appeal to the Board of Supervisors within 30 days by the applicant or any of the persons, organizations or groups listed in Section 1106(a); provided, however, that if the proposal was initiated by the Board of Supervisors, the Clerk of the Board shall be notified immediately of the disapproval without the necessity for an appeal.
(f) Hearing and Decision by the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors, or a committee thereof, shall hold a public hearing on any such proposal appealed to it or initiated by it. The Board of Supervisors may uphold the HPC, overrule the HPC and approve, or modify and approve, the designation or change of designation by a majority vote of all its members.
(g) Notice of Board of Supervisors Proceedings. Notice of the hearing scheduled before the Board of Supervisors, and of the availability of applicable reports, shall be given by mail no less than 20 days prior to the date of the hearing to the initiators of the designation or change of designation, to the owner(s) of any affected building, to any appellants, and to any other interested person or organization who so requests in writing to the Department.
(h) Grounds for Designation or Change of Designation. The designation of a building may be changed if
(1) changes in the area in the vicinity of a building located outside a Conservation District warrant a change in the rating of the building with respect to its relationship to the environment and therefore place it in a different category, pursuant to Section 1102; or
(2) changes in Conservation District boundaries make a building of Contextual Importance fall outside a Conservation District and therefore no longer eligible for designation as a Contributory building, or, conversely, make a building of Contextual Importance fall within a Conservation District and therefore eligible for designation as a Contributory Building; or
(3) changes in the physical features of the building due to circumstances beyond the control of the owner, or otherwise permitted by this Article, warrant placing the building in a different category pursuant to the standards set forth in Section 1102; or
(4) restoration of the building to its original quality and character warrants placing the building in a different category pursuant to the standards set forth in Section 1102; or
(5) by the passage of time, the building has become at least 40 years old, making it eligible to be considered for designation as a Significant or Contributory building, pursuant to Section 1102; or
(6) the discovery of new factual information (for example, information about the history of the building) makes the building eligible for rating as a Building of Individual or Contextual Importance and, therefore, eligible to be designated as a Significant or Contributory Building.
(Added by Ord. 414-85, App. 9/17/85; amended by Ord. 95-12, File No. 120301, App. 5/21/2012, Eff. 6/20/2012)
AMENDMENT HISTORY
Section header, undesignated introductory paragraph, and divisions (a), (b), (c), (e), (f), and (g) amended; Ord. 95-12, Eff. 6/20/2012.