Ordinances

Historic District Ordinance Part 2

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By Julie

Tuesday, November 29, -0001

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Pursuant to authorization granted in Act 169 of the Public Acts of 1970, being MSA 15.1921 through 15.1925, as amended, there is hereby created a Historic District Commission, hereinafter referred to as "the Commission." The Commission shall be an autonomous body with specific powers and duties. The Commission shall consist of seven members appointed by the Mayor with no more than two individuals from any one ward. Members shall be appointed for three-year terms except the initial appointments shall be made as follows: Three members shall be appointed to three-year terms, two members shall be appointed to two-year terms and two members shall be appointed to one-year terms. Thereafter all members shall be appointed for three-year terms. All members shall be eligible for reappointment. In the event of a vacancy on the Commission, interim appointments shall be made by the Mayor within two weeks of the vacancy to complete the unexpired term of such position. The Mayor shall appoint at least two members from a list of citizens submitted by a duly organized and existing preservation society or societies and one architect, duly registered in this state, if such person is available for appointment.

(Ord. 2707, passed 4-23-79)

§ 2-145 SAME " ORGANIZATION; MEETINGS; QUORUM; VOTING.

(a) Organization.

(1) The Commission shall adopt bylaws governing its organization and such rules and regulations as it deems appropriate for the conduct of its business.

(2) The Commission shall elect from its membership a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson whose terms of office shall be fixed by the bylaws adopted by the Commission. The Chairperson shall preside over the Commission and shall have the right to vote. The Vice-Chairperson shall, in case of the absence or disability of the Chairperson, perform the duties of the Chairperson.

(b) Meetings.

(1) The Commission shall in the bylaws provide for the frequency of the its meetings and the manner in which the meeting shall be called. The Commission shall, however, meet at least once each calendar quarter.

(2) The Commission shall also establish in the bylaws minimum attendance requirements for its members. Whenever the Commission determines that any of its members have failed to meet the minimum attendance requirements, which it has established in its bylaws, it may request the Mayor to declare the member - office vacant.

(c) Quorum. Five members shall constitute a quorum for conducting a meeting of the Commission.

(d) Voting. The concurring vote of four members shall be necessary for approval of plans and for the adoption or modification of preservation guidelines by the Commission. Motions or other actions by the Commission shall also require a simple majority of the members.

(Ord. 2707, passed 4-23-79)

§ 2-146 SAME " DUTIES AND POWERS.

(a) It shall be the duty of the Commission to review all plans for new construction, addition, alteration, demolition, moving of district resources in an historic district, and it shall have the power to pass upon such plans before a permit for such activity can be granted. The Commission may authorize the building official to review certain types of plans involving alteration, addition or repair of district resources in a historic district and to grant permits before review by the Commission.

(b) The review of plans shall be based on established and nationally accepted preservation standards known as "the Secretary of the Interior - Standards for Rehabilitation" and the guidelines established in the bylaws of the Commission. The guidelines developed by the Commission shall apply to all historic districts and shall describe criteria related to the general compatibility of exterior design, structural height, mass arrangement, texture and proposed building materials.

(c) The preservation guidelines shall be developed by the Commission as the first order of business upon its creation, and shall be the subject of at least one public hearing, and shall be approved by the City Council. In addition to the preservation guidelines, the Commission shall give consideration to historical, architectural and archaeological values and significance of the district resource and its relationship to the historical, architectural and archaeological value of the surrounding area, and to other factors, including aesthetic, which it deems pertinent.

(d) Until such time as the Commission adopts the aforementioned preservation guidelines, its review of plans shall be based on the established and nationally accepted preservation standards known as the "Secretary of the Interior - Standards of Rehabilitation," presented in the final report of the historic district study committee to the City Council on March 26, 1979.

(e) The Commission shall review only exterior features of a district resource; interior arrangements shall not be considered unless they negatively impact exterior features. Nor shall the Commission disapprove applications except as provided in the previous paragraphs. The district resources to be considered are limited to those within the historic districts described in § 2-143(b). It is the intent of this section that the Commission shall act as a facilitator in order to work out feasible design and preservation solutions and shall provide guidance to the property owners. The Commission shall be lenient in its judgments of plans for new construction, addition, alteration, demolition, reconstruction, rehabilitation, repair, restoration or moving of district resources of little historical, architectural or archaeological value except when the aforementioned activities would seriously impair the historical, architectural or archaeological value and character of the surrounding district resources of the surrounding area. The administration may provide whatever professional assistance the Commission may deem necessary to aid in its deliberations.

(f) The Commission shall have the power to issue a certificate of appropriateness if it approves of the plans submitted for its review. The City Building Official shall not issue a building permit except as otherwise noted in this section until such certificate of appropriateness has been issued by the Commission.

(g) The Historic District Commission may

(1) Carry out, assist and collaborate in studies and programs designed to identify and evaluate additional district resources and historic districts worthy of preservation under this article as recommended by a duly appointed historic district study committee;

(2) Consult with and consider the ideas and recommendations of civic groups, public agencies and citizens interested in historic preservation;

(3) Inspect and investigate district resources which it has reason to believe worthy of preservation;

(4) Disseminate information to the public concerning those district resources deemed worthy of preservation, and may encourage and advise property owners in the protection, enhancement, perpetuation and use of other recognized property of historic, architectural, and archaeological interest;

(5) Consider methods other than those provided for in this article for encouraging and achieving historic preservation and make appropriate recommendations to the City Council and other bodies and agencies, both public and private.

(6) Establish such policies, rules and regulations as it deems necessary to administer its duties as herein provided;

(7) Maintain and use its own funds to acquire property or gifts for preservation purposes, grants from State or Federal governments, and to administer such resources and acquisitions in accordance with purposes herein provided.

(Ord. 2707, passed 4-23-79)

§ 2-147 PROCEDURE FOR REVIEW OF PLANS.

(a) Application for a building permit for new construction, addition, alteration, demolition, reconstruction, rehabilitation, repair, restoration or moving of any district resource in a historic district, shall be made to the Building Official of the City Building and Safety Inspection Division. It will be the responsibility of the Building Official in reviewing all applications for building permits to scrutinize for district resources in historic districts and so advise the applicant of the requirements.

(b) Fees charged by the City Building and Safety Inspections Division for building permit applications within a historic district shall be comparable to fees charged for building permit applications for nonhistoric areas. A heightened fee will be authorized, however, if, after processing a representative number of building permits from within historic districts, the Building Official can document a heightened processing cost.

(c) When an application is determined to be for a district resource, then the Building Official shall require that plans and elevation as deemed necessary, be submitted showing the extent of the proposed change in the district resource in question and also showing its relation to the adjacent district resources and properties outside the district boundaries. The Building Official shall transmit the application and accompanying plans, elevations and other information to the city planning staff for review. The staff will review the plans and elevations for compliance with the general guidelines and the applicable preservation standards. Where plans or elevations are not in conformance with the general guidelines and preservation standards, the City planning staff will consult with the district resource owner in order that proper modifications to the plans or elevations may be made. The City planning staff will make a recommendation to the Historic District Commission.

(d) The Commission shall meet within 30 days of the application to approve or disapprove such plans and elevations and, if approved, shall issue a certificate of appropriateness, which is to be signed by the chairperson, attached to the application for a building permit, and immediately referred back to the building official for issuance of the building permit.

(e) If the Commission disapproves of such plans and elevations, it shall state its reasons for doing so and shall transmit a record of such action and reasons therefor in writing to the building officials and to the applicant by mail. The Commission may advise what it thinks proper if it disapproves of the plans or elevations submitted. The applicant, if desired, may make modifications to the plans and elevations and shall have the right to resubmit the application at any time after doing so. The failure of the Historic District Commission to approve or disapprove of such plans and elevations within 60 days from the date of application for the building permit, unless otherwise mutually greed upon by the applicant and Commission, shall be deemed to constitute approval and the Building Official shall proceed to process the application without regard to a certificate of appropriateness.

(Ord. 2707, passed 4-23-79)

§ 2-148 DEMOLITION OR MOVING OF DISTRICT RESOURCES.

(a) The demolition or moving of district resources of historical, architectural or archaeological significance shall be discouraged. The Commission may, at its own discretion, issue a certificate of appropriateness for demolition or moving of a district resource, but shall be guided by the following conditions in exercising its judgment in granting such a certificate

(1) The Building Official deems such district resource to be a hazard to public safety or health and that repairs are impossible or infeasible, base upon the conclusions of the Building Code Board of Appeals.

(2) Such district resource is a deterrent to a major improvement program which will be of substantial benefit to the community and in no way can be adapted or incorporated as part of the improvement.

(3) Retention of the district resource would cause undue financial hardship to the owner, which would be defined as a situation where funds required to retain the district resource would exceed market value.

(b) In cases where approval for demolition is granted, for reasons other than public health or safety, such certificates shall not become effective until six months after the date of such issuance in order to provide a period of time within which it may be possible to relieve a hardship, to cause the district resource to be transferred to another owner who would retain the district resource, or to develop alternative development plans.

(c) Deliberate or irresponsible neglect of a district resource resulting in serious physical deterioration or health and safety hazard shall constitute demolition by neglect and shall be a violation of this article.

(Ord. 2707, passed 4-23-79)

§ 2-149 YARD VARIANCES.

Due to peculiar conditions of design and construction in historic districts where district resources were often built close to lot lines, it is in the public interest to retain a district - historic appearance by making variances to normal yard requirements. Where it is deemed that such variances will not adversely affect neighboring district resources, the Commission may recommend to the Zoning Board of Appeals that such variance to standard yard requirements be made.

(Ord. 2707, passed 4-23-79)

§ 2-150 EXCEPTIONS.

(a) Nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent ordinary maintenance or repair of any district resource within a historic district; nor shall anything in this article be construed to prevent the new construction, addition, alteration, demolition, reconstruction, rehabilitation, repair, restoration or moving of a district resource under a permit issued by the Building Official prior to the passage of this article.

(b) Historic districts, designated by this article, may be exempted from enforcement procedures only by the specific action of the City Council upon the recommendation of the Historic District Commission. This exception applies only in the case where recognition is an honorary designation as defined in § 2-142.

(Ord. 2707, passed 4-23-79)

§ 2-151 ENFORCEMENT.

The enforcement of this article shall be the responsibility of the Division of Building and Safety Inspection of the City of Flint.

§ 2-152 APPEALS.

Any person jointly or severally aggrieved by a decision of the Historic District Commission shall have the right to appeal the decision to the Building Code Board of Appeals.

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