9.36.130 Historic District designation procedure.

Historic Districts shall be designated by the City Council in accordance with the following procedure:

(a) Any person may request the designation of an area as a Historic District by properly filing with the Director of Planning an application for such designation on a form furnished by the Planning Department. Additionally, the Landmarks Commission may file an application for the designation of a Historic District on its own motion.

(b) The Director of Planning shall conduct a preliminary evaluation of the proposed designation and shall make a recommendation to the Commission as to the appropriateness and qualification of the application for consideration by the Commission within ninety days after the proper filing of the application.

(c) A hearing to determine whether the application for such designation merits formal consideration shall be scheduled within ninety days after the preliminary evaluation is transmitted to the Commission. Notice of the hearing on the preliminary evaluation shall be mailed to the property owners and tenants of all properties located within the boundaries of the proposed district not more than twenty and not less than ten days prior to the date scheduled for such hearing. If the Commission fails to take action on the preliminary evaluation within the ninety day time period, the application for such designation shall be deemed disapproved and it shall be the duty of the Director of Planning to certify such disapproval.

(d) If the Commission determines that the application merits formal consideration by the Commission, but only if it so determines, it shall schedule a public hearing to be held within forty-five days of such determination. Any determination of the Commission to schedule or not to schedule a public hearing shall be in writing and shall be filed with the Director of Planning.

(e) Upon a determination by the Commission that the application merits formal consideration by the Commission and the scheduling of a public hearing thereto, any alteration, restoration, construction, removal, relocation or demolition, in whole or in part, of or to a building or structure within a proposed Historic District is prohibited, and no permit issued by any City Department, board or commission including a conditional use permit, a tentative tract map or parcel map permit, a final tract map or parcel map permit, a development review permit, any Zoning Administrator permit, architectural review permit, rent control permit, or building permit authorizing any such alteration, restoration, construction, removal, relocation or demolition shall be granted while a public hearing or any appeal related thereto is pending.

(f) Any person subject to Section 9.36.130(e) may apply to the Director of Planning, and to the Landmarks Commission, on appeal, for an exception. Exceptions may be granted for repairs or alterations which do not involve any detrimental change or modification to the exterior of the structure in question or for actions which are necessary to remedy emergency conditions determined to be dangerous to life, health or property.

(g) Not more than twenty days and not less than ten days prior to the date scheduled for such public hearing, notice of the date, time, place and purpose thereof shall be given by at least one publication in a daily newspaper of general circulation, and shall be mailed to the applicant, owners of all real property within the proposed Historic District and to the owners and residents of all real property within three hundred feet of the exterior boundary of the Historic District, using for this purpose the names and addresses of such owners as are shown on the records of the City Clerk. The failure to send notice by mail to any such real property owner where the address of such owner is not a matter of public record shall not invalidate any proceedings in connection with the proposed designation. The Commission may also give such other notice as it may deem desirable and practicable.

(h) At the conclusion of a public hearing, or any continuation thereof, but in no case more than forty-five days from the date set for the initial public hearing, the Commission shall recommend to the City Council the approval, in whole or in part, or disapproval of the application for the designation of a Historic District, and shall forward such recommendation to the City Council stating in writing the findings of fact and reasons relied upon in reaching such a recommendation. If the Commission fails to take action on the application for the designation of a Historic District within the forty-five day time period, the application for such designation shall be deemed disapproved, and it shall be the duty of the Director of Planning to certify such disapproval.

(i) Within forty-five days from the date the Landmarks Commission renders a recommendation on the Historic District application, a public hearing shall be scheduled before the City Council. The same notice requirements set forth in subsection (g) of this Section shall apply to the hearing before the City Council. At the conclusion of the public hearing, or any continuation thereof, but in no case more than forty-five days from the date set for the initial public hearing, the City Council shall by ordinance approve, in whole or in part, the application for the designation of the Historic District, or shall by motion disapprove the application in its entirety. If the City Council fails to take action on the application for the designation of a Historic District within the forty-five day time period, the application for such designation shall be deemed disapproved, and it shall be the duty of the City Clerk to certify such disapproval.

(j) The decision of the City Council to approve the application for the designation of a Historic District, in whole or in part, by ordinance, or to disapprove the application in its entirety by motion, shall be in writing and shall state the findings of fact and reasons relied upon to reach the decision, and such decision shall be filed with the City Clerk.

(k) The City Council shall by ordinance have the power, after a public hearing, whether at the time it renders a decision to designate a Historic District or at any time thereafter, to specify the nature of any alteration, restoration, construction, removal, relocation or demolition of or to a building or structure within a Historic District which may be performed without the prior issuance of a certificate of appropriateness pursuant to this Chapter. The City Council shall by ordinance also have the power after a public hearing to amend, modify or rescind any specification made pursuant to the provisions of this subsection.

(l) Upon the rendering of such decision to designate a Historic District, the owners of all real property within the designated Historic District shall be given written notification of such designation by the City Council, using for this purpose the names and addresses of such owners as are shown in the records of the City Clerk.

(m) Subject to other provisions of this Section 9.36.130, a decision of the City Council to designate a Historic District shall be in full force and effect from and after the effective date of the ordinance approving, in whole or in part, the application for the designation of a Historic District.

(n) The City Council shall by ordinance have the power, after a public hearing, to amend, modify or rescind any decision to designate a Historic District and to make any preliminary or supplemental designations, determinations or decisions, as additions thereto. The Commission shall have the power to forward the recommendations of the Commission to the City Council on its own motion or at the direction of the City Council.

(o) The City Council shall determine the instances in which cases scheduled for public hearing may be continued or taken under advisement. In such instances, no new notice need be given of the further hearing date, provided such date is announced at the scheduled public hearing.

(p) Whenever an application for the designation of a Historic District has been disapproved or deemed disapproved by the Commission or the City Council, no application which contains the same or substantially the same information as the one which has been disapproved shall be resubmitted to or reconsidered by the Commission or City Council within a period of five years from the effective date of the final action upon such prior application. However, if significant new information is available, the City Council, upon recommendation from the Landmarks Commission, may waive the time limit by resolution and permit a new application to be filed. In addition, an application of all owners of the majority of parcels within the subject area proposed for Historic District designation, may be resubmitted or reconsidered notwithstanding said five year time period. (Prior code § 9609; added by Ord. No. 1028CCS, adopted 3/24/76; amended by Ord. No. 1590CCS § 1, adopted 7/23/91)