(a) In considering the appropriateness of any changes, including signs and tree removal, the Community Development Department shall consider the following standards created by the U.S. Department of the Interior, including:
(1) A property shall be used for its historic purpose or be placed in a new use that requires minimal change to the defining characteristics of the building and its site and environment;
(2) The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided;
(3) Each property shall be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features or architectural elements from other buildings, shall not be undertaken;
(4) Most properties change over time; those changes that have acquired historic significance in their own right shall be retained and preserved;
(5) Distinctive features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property shall be preserved;
(6) Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature shall match the old in design, color, texture, and other visual qualities and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features shall be substantiated by documentary, physical, or pictorial evidence;
(7) Chemical or physical treatments, such as sandblasting, that cause damage to historic materials shall not be used. The surface cleaning of structures, if appropriate, shall be undertaken using the gentlest means possible;
(8) Significant archaeological resources affected by a project shall be protected and preserved. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken;
(9) New additions, exterior, alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment; and
(10) New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.
(b) In considering a demolition request the Community Development Department shall not be charged with the review of the appropriateness of demolition in lieu of renovation but shall review the site characteristics and impacts on adjacent buildings as the result of the demolition.
Attention shall be paid to the facades of the adjacent structures which may not have been designed to be exterior elements. It shall be the responsibility of the property owner doing the demolition to make arrangements with adjacent property owners to repair, renovate, or replace the facade treatment affected by the demolition in conformance with the requirements of subsection (a) hereof.
The Community Development Department shall also review each demolition for the impacts said act would have on the site and the proposed use of the site after demolition. The Community Development Department may require landscaping in conformance with Section 1359.10 or other such elements to ensure the property relates appropriately to the immediate vicinity. (Ord. 23-196. Passed 10-9-23.)