The Historic Preservation Commission may designate historic properties to the historic sites list as a means of providing recognition to and encouraging the preservation of historic properties in the community.
A. Criteria For Designating Properties To City Historic Sites List: Any district, building, structure, object or site may be designated for the historic sites list if it meets all the criteria outlined below:
1. It is located within the official boundaries of the city.
2. It is at least fifty (50) years old.
3. It retains its historic integrity, in that there are no major alterations or additions that have obscured or destroyed the significant historic features. Major alterations that would destroy the historic integrity include, but are not limited to, changes in pitch of the main roof, enlargement or enclosure of windows on the principle facades, addition of upper stories or the removal of original upper stories, covering the exterior walls with non-historic materials, moving the resource from its original location to one that is dissimilar to the original, or additions which significantly detract from or obscure the original form or appearance of the structure when viewed from the public way.
4. It has been documented according to the state historic preservation office standards for intensive local surveys (January 1990 version or subsequent revisions) and copies of this documentation have been placed in the local and state historic preservation files.
B. Designation Procedure: Any person, group or government agency may nominate a property for its listing in the city historic sites list. The nomination and listing procedures are as follows:
1. Completed intensive level survey documentation for each nominated property must be submitted in duplicate to the Historic Preservation Commission.
2. The Commission will review and consider properly submitted nominations at its next scheduled meeting. The Commission will notify the nominating party, either orally or in writing, one week prior to the meeting that the nomination will be considered and will place that item on the agenda posted for the meeting. The one week notification may be waived at the nominating party’s option in order to accommodate “last minute” submittals, though no nomination will be reviewed if it is submitted to the Commission less than forty eight (48) hours prior to the meeting.
3. The Historic Preservation Commission will review the documentation for completeness, accuracy and compliance with the criteria for designating historic properties to the city historic sites list and will make its decision accordingly.
C. Results Of Designation To Historic Sites List:
1. Owners of officially designated historic sites may obtain a historic sites certificate from the Historic Preservation Commission. The certificate contains the historic name of the property, the date of designation, and signatures of the mayor and the Historic Preservation Commission chairperson.
2. If a historic site is to be demolished or extensively altered, efforts will be made to document its physical appearance before action takes place.
a. The city will delay issuing a demolition permit for a maximum of one week and will notify a member of the Historic Preservation Commission which will take responsibility for the documentation.
b. Documentation will include, at a minimum, exterior photographs of all elevations of the historic structure. When possible, both exterior and interior measurements of the structure will be made in order to provide an accurate floor plan or other plan drawing of the structure.
c. The demolition permit will be issued one week after the initial application, whether or not the Commission has documented the building. The permit may be issued earlier if the Commission completes its documentation before the one week deadline. The time limit may also be waived in the event of extreme damage by an earthquake or act of God.
d. A structure, object or place of national, state or local significant integrity, or vital historic value, shall not be issued a demolition permit for a period of time, not to exceed thirty (30) days, for negotiations for maintenance or preservation of said item; by an agreement to preserve said item by the current owners, or of its purchase by historically sympathetic persons and/or organizations.
e. Documentation will be kept in the Commission’s historical site files, which are open to the public.
D. Removal Of Properties From Historic Sites List: Properties which, in the opinion of the Historic Preservation Commission, no longer meet criteria for eligibility may be removed from the historic sites list after review and consideration by the Commission. (Ord. 2023-33, 12-6-2023)