(A) The project applicant makes preliminary contact with the county planning and development services department and the South Carolina Department of Archives and History to obtain application, guidelines, and regulations and to indicate desire to have property determined eligible for special tax assessment.
(B) The County Council determines property to be eligible for historic preservation special tax assessment.
(C) The county planning and development services department submits a request to the applicable school district and/or municipality, within which the applicant's property is located, to pass a resolution agreeing to participate and to accept the special tax assessment for historic properties, as specified in this subchapter, for the applicant's property. The applicable school districts and municipalities include; Rock Hill School District No. 3, Clover School District No. 2, York School District No. 1, Fort Mill School District No. 4, the City of Rock Hill, the Town of Fort Mill, the City of York, the City of Tega Cay, the Town of Clover, the Town of McConnells, the Town of Hickory Grove, the Town of Sharon and the Town of Smyrna.
(D) Certification letter of property eligibility produced by the county planning and development services department and submitted to South Carolina Department of Archives and History staff.
(E) Owner of property seeking approval of rehabilitation work completes a Rehabilitated Historic Property Application, Part A-Preliminary Review Form, with supporting documentation prior to beginning work. Rehabilitation work conducted prior to approval of the application is done so at the risk of the owner. Project proponent completes and submits the Part A- Preliminary Review Form, a $100 fee for review of rehabilitation work conducted pursuant to this subchapter, and associated project documentation to South Carolina Department of Archives and History staff.
(F) Upon receipt of the completed application, the South Carolina Department of Archives and History shall determine if the project is consistent with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and shall notify the owner in writing. Upon receipt of this determination the owner may:
(1) If the application is approved, begin rehabilitation;
(2) If the application is not approved, he or she may revise such application in accordance with comments provided by the Department; or
(3) If the application is not approved, he or she may appeal the decision.
(G) An appeal of a denial decision by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, or its designee, may be made by the owner, according to the procedure described in this section. The owner shall request the consideration of the Appeals Committee. In the case where the owner desires additional consideration, the final administrative appeal shall be to the Board.
(1) The owner shall submit an appeal request in writing to the Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer, South Carolina Department of Archives and History, P.O. Box 11669, Columbia, SC 29211, within 30 days of receipt of the decision which is the subject of the appeal.
(2) The Appeals Committee shall consider the appeal, based on the application information in the files of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, and additional information (if any) provided. In considering the appeal the Appeals Committee shall take into account alleged errors in professional judgment or alleged prejudicial procedural errors by South Carolina Department of Archives and History officials. The decision of the Appeals Committee may:
(a) Reverse the appealed decision;
(b) Affirm the appealed decision; or
(c) Resubmit the matter to the South Carolina Department of Archives and History for further consideration.
(3) Only after the Appeals Committee has provided the owner a decision in writing, may the appellant request the consideration of the decision by the State Board of Review. The process of the appeal to the State Board of Review shall follow the steps described above.
(4) The decision of the State Board of Review shall be the final administrative decision on the appeal.
(H) The county planning and development services department submits letter to the county tax assessor to begin special tax assessment and to freeze the assessment value of the applicant's property at the value of the property, prior to rehabilitation, for two years.
(I) Work commences and the project proponent has two years to rehabilitate the structure. At completion of the project, the proponent submits the completed Part B - Final Review Form and associated project documentation to the South Carolina Department of Archives and History staff.
(J) The project proponent receives determination of approval of Part B-Final Review Form from South Carolina Department of Archives and History and submits copy to the county planning and development services department. Completed projects may be inspected by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History or its designee to determine if the work is consistent with the Standards for Rehabilitation. The South Carolina Department of Archives and History shall issue final approval only when the completed work meets the Standards for Rehabilitation.
(K) The project proponent submits to the county planning and development services department information documenting that the required investment threshold has been met. Information includes:
(1) Appraisal of property, prior to rehabilitation, with breakdown of land and improvements values; and
(2) Documents detailing project expenditures.
(L) The county planning and development services department submits a letter to the county tax assessor to:
(1) For owner-occupied property, assess property value equal to the greater of 40% of 4% of the appraised value after rehabilitation or the original assessment before rehabilitation, for eight years starting from the expiration of the two-year period time for the initial special assessment; and
(2) For income-producing property, assess property value equal to the greater of 40% of 6% of the appraised value after rehabilitation or the original assessment before rehabilitation, for eight years starting from the expiration of the two-year period time for the initial special assessment.
(M) Decertification. The date of any of the following shall be considered the date of the end of the special tax assessment:
(1) Removal of historic designation by the County Council;
(2) Sale or transfer of ownership during the ten-year period, except in the course of probate proceedings;
(3) Removal of the historic property from the National Register of Historic Places;
(4) Recession of the approval of rehabilitation by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History;
(5) Expiration of the two-year initial special tax assessment period, should initially approved rehabilitations not be completed.
(N) Owners of properties certified as historic under this subchapter shall annually make written request to the county planning and development services department to extend special tax assessment for each year the assessment shall be in effect. The county planning and development services department shall forward the annual request to the county tax assessor.
(O) To be eligible for the special tax assessment, a property must be certified as historic before the first day of April of the year it intends to receive this treatment.
(Ord. 5202, passed 12-9-02; Am. Ord. 1122, passed 2-21-22)