§ 17-56. Certificate of appropriateness for construction or alteration affecting landmarks or districts.

(a)

The following shall be deemed maintenance to a structure and shall come within the terms of this article and may be done by any person without constraint:

(1)

Replacement of existing windows and doors.

(2)

Addition of storm windows and doors.

(3)

Addition or replacement of a wooden, stone or brick porch.

(4)

Addition or replacement of a brick, stone, or concrete sidewalk or patio.

(5)

Addition or replacement of a brick, stone, wood or iron fence.

(6)

Replacement of wooden siding.

(7)

Addition of steel, aluminum or vinyl siding to a frame residence, so long as the siding is substantially similar to the wooden frame construction which it would cover.

(8)

Replacement of roofing with asphalt, fiberglass, cedar-shake or metal material.

(9)

Addition of a chimney.

(10)

Tuckpointing of present brick or stone.

(11)

Painting.

(12)

Replacement or addition of guttering.

(13)

Addition or replacement of air-conditioning (central or window) or heating units.

(14)

Addition or replacement of canvas awnings.

(15)

Addition of a garage or storage building to a residence, constructed of wood, stone or brick in a manner and style to complement the existing residence.

(16)

Exterior or interior decoration.

(17)

Addition of outside lighting.

(18)

Addition or replacement of shutters.

(19)

Addition to residences when designed and constructed in a manner and style to complement the existing architecture.

(20)

Other items of maintenance as the board may from time to time so designate.

(b)

No person shall erect, construct, move, reconstruct, remove, excavate for, or demolish all or substantially all of the exterior of any building or structure designated by ordinance as an historic landmark or located in an historic district, or pending designation, except in accordance with the terms and provisions of the certificate of appropriateness as approved by the planning, zoning and historic preservation commission. However, work thereon which will neither change the exterior structure nor the exterior architectural features of improvements thereon, or which is normal maintenance and repair, may be performed without a certificate of appropriateness.

(c)

Except as otherwise provided herein, no land surface within any real property designated by ordinance, or pending designation, as an historic landmark or in an historic district shall be changed, and no improvements or objects thereon shall be erected, removed, restored, demolished or altered, nor shall any addition be made thereto, in such a manner or of such a character as to change the exterior appearance or exterior architectural features thereof, which change shall be visible from any public street, park, or other public place, without prior approval of the planning, zoning and historic preservation commission, evidenced by a certificate of appropriateness reciting in detail precisely what changes are approved. Such changes in exterior appearance shall extend to the erection of business, profession and other signs of the historic landmark or historic district, and no certificate of appropriateness shall permit the erection of any such sign, unless the size, texture, style and materials thereof are compatible with the general characteristics of the neighborhood.

(d)

Except as otherwise herein provided, any person desiring to remove, reconstruct, demolish or in any way change the exterior appearance or the exterior architectural features of the improvements or objects on real property designated by ordinance, or pending designation, as an historic landmark or historic district, shall submit to the planning, zoning and historic preservation commission a specific statement of the work proposed, together with such details as the commission may require. Upon receipt of any application for a building or a demolition permit relating to a landmark or property within an historic district the city engineer shall immediately forward the application to the commission. The commission shall schedule a public hearing on said request at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the commission, and notify the applicant of such hearing. Public and individual notice shall be as required in subsection 17-55(c) and shall also include a mailing address and legal description of the real property in question and the legal name of the person requesting the hearing.

(e)

It is not the intent to limit new construction to any one (1) period or architectural style, but to preserve the integrity of historic buildings and to ensure the compatibility of any new work constructed in the vicinity of the historic district.

(f)

The planning, zoning and historic preservation commission shall consider, in passing upon the appropriateness of architectural features, the extent to which the building or structure would be harmonious with or incongruous to the old and historic aspects of the surroundings. It is not the intent of this consideration to discourage contemporary architectural expression or to encourage the emulation of existing buildings or structures of historic or architectural interest in specific detail. Harmony or incompatibility should be evaluated in terms of the appropriateness of materials, scale, size, height, placement, and use of a new building or structure in relationship to existing buildings and structure and to the setting.

(Code 1978, § 430.060; Ord. No. 6007, § 1, 12-10-85; Ord. No. 6461, § 1, 11-10-92; Ord. No. 06-62, § I, 8-8-2006)