§ 54-83. Action by historic district commission.

(a)

Approval. If the historic district commission approves a plan, it shall direct the building inspector to make a notation on the building permit and process the application. The commission must act within 60 calendar days after the date a complete application is filed with the commission. Failure to act shall constitute approval unless an extension is agreed upon in writing by the applicant and the commission.

(b)

Adverse impact on resource. If an application is for work which will adversely affect the exterior of a resource the historic district commission considers valuable to the local unit, state or nation, and the commission determines that the alteration or loss of that resource will adversely affect the public purpose of the local unit, state, or nation, the commission shall attempt to establish with the owner of the resource an economically feasible plan for preservation of the resource.

(c)

Notice to proceed. Work on a resource shall be permitted through issuance of notice to proceed if any of the following conditions prevail and if the proposed work can be demonstrated by a finding of the historic district commission to be necessary to substantially improve or correct any of the following conditions:

(1)

The resource constitutes a hazard to the safety of the public or the occupants.

(2)

The resource is a deterrent to a major improvement program that will be of substantial benefit to the community and the applicant proposing the work has obtained all necessary planning and zoning approvals, financing and environmental clearances.

(3)

Retaining the resource will cause undue financial hardship to the owner when a governmental action, an act of God or other events beyond the owner's control created the hardship, and all feasible alternatives to eliminate the financial hardship, which may include offering the resource for sale at its fair market value, or moving the resource to a vacant site within a historic district, have been attempted and exhausted by the owner. The applicant shall provide proof of financial hardship as required and defined by the historic district commission.

(4)

Retaining the resource is not in the interest of the majority of the community.

(d)

Regulation of demolition and moving.

(1)

The demolition or moving of resources within a historic district shall be discouraged. The commission may, however, after careful consideration of the effect of the move on the resource in question and on the entire historic district, issue a certificate of appropriateness for moving or demolition of a resource. The commission shall issue a certificate for approval of moving or demolition only if any of the conditions in subsection (c) of this section prevail and if, in the opinion of the commission, the proposed changes will materially improve or correct these conditions.

(2)

Approval to demolish may be issued either with or without reservation. Approval issued without reservation shall become effective immediately. Approval issued with reservation due to the historical/architectural/environmental significance of the involved resource shall not become effective until at least 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 or to cause the property to be transferred to another owner who will retain it.

(3)

Demolition by arson proven to be caused by the owner or the owner's agent shall require the restoration of the structure and authorize the commission to proceed under the powers delineated in section 54-85.

(e)

Approval of minor classes of work. The commission may delegate the issuance of a certificate of appropriateness for specified minor classes of work to the inspector of buildings. The commission shall provide specific written standards to the delegated authority for issuing a certificate of appropriateness through its policies. On at least a quarterly basis the building inspector shall submit the certificates of appropriateness, if any, to the commission for review.

(f)

Denial of permit application. In the event the historic district commission denies the permit application, it shall provide a written explanation for the reasons of denial. The denial shall also include notification of the applicant's right of appeal to the state historic preservation review board and the circuit court. A denial shall be binding on the building inspector and other departments in the city.

(Code 1983, § 5.334; Ord. No. 1001, 3-1-2005; Ord. No. 1003, 5-3-2005)