§ 94-82. Certificates of appropriateness.

(a)

Activities requiring a certificate issued by the board. A certificate of appropriateness issued by the board shall be required for any of the following activities on properties within locally designated historic districts and other designated local landmarks as specified in section 94-81:

(1)

Any material change in the exterior appearance of existing buildings or structures, including re-roofing and re-siding, but excluding paint.

(2)

Demolition or partial demolition of any building or structure.

(3)

The movement of any building or structure into, from or within historic districts and sites.

(4)

Any new construction.

(5)

Alteration of an archaeological site.

(b)

Certificate issued by staff; ordinary maintenance and repair. A staff certificate of appropriateness (SCA) shall be required for ordinary re-roofing and ordinary maintenance (except exempt maintenance) and repair of any exterior elements of any building or structure. SCAs shall be issued if the planning department determines that such re-roofing, maintenance or repair uses like materials of a similar visual character which will not diminish, eliminate, adversely affect or otherwise have a detrimental effect on the historic character of the resource. Sandblasting and other cleaning methods that will damage the historic building materials are not considered ordinary maintenance and shall not be undertaken without a CA (although as set forth in subsection (g) below, CAs are not available for most sandblasting). No certificate of appropriateness shall be required for exempt maintenance but the person proposing to perform same is encouraged to contact the planning department staff to confirm that the work qualifies as exempt maintenance.

(c)

Other permits and approvals. A certificate of appropriateness shall be a prerequisite to the issuance of any other permits or approvals required by law. The issuance of a certificate of appropriateness shall not relieve the applicant from obtaining other permits or approvals required by the city. A building permit or other municipal permit shall be invalid if it is obtained without a certificate of appropriateness required for the proposed work.

(d)

Preliminary conference. Prospective applicants for certificate of appropriateness shall confer with staff, on the nature and purpose of the proposed action. The prospective applicant shall at this time be advised of the plans, photographs, statements or other exhibits necessary for such application. The board may require additional information, if necessary, to make its rulings. Prospective applicants may also request a conference with the board directly, in order to clarify application requirements and the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings; such preliminary conference shall be discussed under new business at a regularly scheduled board meeting.

(e)

Application. Application for a certificate of appropriateness shall be made to the board through the planning department. Applications are due three weeks prior to the next regularly scheduled board meeting. Application fees are applicable as defined in section 122-154. Applications shall include all documents and exhibits necessary for consideration of the application as determined by staff, including without limitation:

(1)

Building plans for structural changes, drawn to scale;

(2)

Description of finish materials (samples may be requested of nonstandard materials);

(3)

Site plans drawn to scale, including landscape plans where applicable; or

(4)

Other documentation of architectural compatibility (including old photographs or drawings) as offered by the applicant.

(5)

The planning department shall notify the applicant of any additional information required. No application shall be deemed to be filed until all required documentation and other materials are received by the planning department.

(f)

Action by the board. On any application for a certificate of appropriateness for any activity listed in subsections (a)(1), (a)(3), (a)(4) and (a)(5) of this section, the board shall approve, modify or deny the application, in whole or part, or suspend action up to 30 days for further research or for revision of site plans as necessary. Applications for certificate of appropriateness for demolitions are considered under section 94-83.

(g)

Criteria for decisions. The board may issue a certificate of appropriateness for the reconstruction, alteration, new construction, non-permanent structures, demolition, partial demolition, or removal of any building or structure within a locally designated historic district or any designated local landmark, or any other activity for which a CA is required, if such action is not deemed contrary to the purposes of historic preservation and to the special character of districts, sites and resources as designated specifically. The board's decisions will be based on the Secretary of the Interior's Standards, the city's Historic Preservation Design Guidelines, this chapter, and the following criteria:

(1)

Exterior alterations shall not diminish the architectural quality or historical character of the building or the building site.

(2)

Sandblasting of any materials except for iron is prohibited.

(3)

Only through very controlled conditions can most historic building material be abrasively cleaned of soil or paint without measurable damage to the surface or profile of the substrate. Decisions regarding the proper cleaning process for historic structures can be made only after careful analysis of the building fabric, and testing. Generally, wet abrasive cleaning of a historic structure should be conducted within the range of 20 to 100 psi at a range of three to 12 inches.

(4)

Landscaping, signs, parking and site development should be sensitive to the individual building and should be visually compatible with the buildings and environment with which they are visually related.

(5)

New construction shall be visually compatible with the buildings and environment with which the new construction is visually related. When an application involves new construction, the applicant may present conceptual plans to the board for review and comment before the application for a certificate of appropriateness is submitted and before construction drawings of the project are prepared. Aspects to be considered include:

a.

The height, volume, proportion between width and height of the facades, the proportions and relationship between doors and windows, the rhythm of solids and voids created by openings in the facades, the materials used in the facades, the texture inherent in the facades, the colors, pattern and trim used in the facades, and the design of the roof.

b.

The existing rhythm created by existing building masses and spaces between them should be preserved.

c.

Landscape plans should be visually compatible with the buildings and environment with which the landscaping is visually related.

d.

Proportions of existing facades which are visually related shall be maintained when neighboring buildings have a dominant horizontal or vertical expression, that expression should be carried over in the new facade.

e.

Architectural details should be incorporated as necessary to relate the new with the old and to preserve and enhance the inherent architectural characteristics of the area.

f.

Accessory structures shall be compatible with the scale, shape, roof form, materials, and detailing of the main structure to protect the historic integrity of the neighborhood. The accessory structure shall not exceed the maximum height allowed by the applicable zoning or the height of the existing primary structure.

(h)

Restrictions on decisions. The board shall not consider interior arrangement or interior design in association with or relative to approving a certificate of appropriateness.

(i)

Issuance of the certificate of appropriateness. The board shall issue its determination in writing to the owner within 14 calendar days of the board hearing at which a decision on which the application was made.

(1)

Any modifications to the application shall be noted along with the responsibilities of the owner as outlined in the ordinance.

(2)

If a significant amount of changes are made to the submitted CA during the approval process by the board, the applicant may be required, at the board's discretion, to submit a new set of plans to the board or staff for final approval.

(3)

A original stamped copy of the approved plans shall be given to the owner/applicant. Such drawings shall be submitted to the building department along with any construction drawings for the issuance of any and all permits.

(j)

Work as approved must commence within six months from the issuance of a certificate of appropriateness (CA) or a staff certificate of appropriateness (SCA), and must be completed within one year of such issuance, unless the CA provides longer time periods to commence or complete the work. If work has not commenced within the six-month period, the CA or SCA shall become invalid unless an extension is granted by staff.

(k)

The owner/applicant must make continuous progress toward completion of work and the applicant shall not suspend or abandon the work for a period in excess of 180 days. Any suspension of work in excess of 180 days will invalidate the certificate of appropriateness in effect.

(l)

Any certificate of appropriateness can be revoked if it is found to have been issued on the basis of incorrect information, if it is in violation of regulations, or if it is in violation of development or building codes.

(m)

A CA or SCA can be amended via the same process as the original application. There is no filing fee for the amendment process. The addition of new design elements, structures, or landscape features will require the issuance of a new CA.

(n)

The board will consider a resubmission of the same CA request within 90 days of it being denied only if it has been significantly modified or new information is made available that was not presented when the CA was denied.

(o)

The building official shall assist the board by making necessary inspections in connection with enforcement of this article and the inspector shall be empowered to issue a stop work order if performance is not in accordance with the issued CA. The stop work order shall initially only stop work not in compliance with the CA. If the violation is not corrected within 60 days of the issuance of the initial stop work order, however, the inspector is empowered to issue a further stop work order for the stoppage of all work authorized by the CA. Any stop work order shall not stop work necessary to correct the violation. Copies of any stop work orders shall be furnished to both the applicant and the board through the CLG-HPO. The building official, with the assistance of the planning department, shall be responsible for ensuring that any work not in accordance with an issued CA shall be corrected to comply with the CA prior to withdrawing the stop work order.

(Code 1961, § 13C-5; Code 1985, § 7-325; Ord. No. 2006, § 6, 5-10-88; Ord. No. 5004, § 6, 11-27-01; Ord. No. 2011-39, § 9, 11-16-10)