- Purpose
To establish procedures for:
(a) organizing the business of the Washington Historic Preservation
Commission, hereafter termed "Commission," and
(b) processing applications for Certificates of Appropriateness for:
(1) any changes in the external appearance
of existing structures,
(2) design of new structures, and
(3) demolition of existing structures.
- General Rules
The Commission shall be governed by the terms of the Historic
District Ordinance as contained in the Code of Ordinances and by
the terms of the North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 160A, Sections
400.1 through 400.14. For procedures not covered by these rules, the
Commission shall follow the rules contained in the current edition of
Roberts' Rules of Order.
- Jurisdiction
The Commission's jurisdiction for its activities shall be the officially-designated
historic district(s) and any officially-designated satellite historic
property.
- Members, Officers and Duties
The Commission shall be composed of nine (9) members whose terms of
office are set by the local governing board, the City Council of Washington.
(a) Chairperson. A Chairperson shall be elected by the members
of the Historic District Commission. The Chairperson shall decide all
points of order and procedure, subject to these rules, unless directed
otherwise by a majority of the Commission in session at the time. The
Chairperson shall appoint any committees found necessary to investigate
any matters before the Commission.
(b) Vice-chairperson. A Vice-chairperson shall be elected by
the Commission from among its members in the same manner as the Chairperson.
The Vice-Chairperson shall serve as Chairperson in the absence of the
Chairperson, and at such times shall have the same powers and duties
as the Chairperson.
(c) Staff Person. A member of the staff, designated by the City
Manager, shall serve the Commission. This staff person, subject to direction
of the Chairperson of the Commission, shall keep all records, conduct
all correspondence of the Commission, and generally supervise the clerical
work of the Commission. The staff person shall handle the finances of
the Commission.
- Elections
Election of officers shall be held at the first regular meeting in August.
Members shall be notified by the secretary in writing of the election
of officers at least thirty (30) days prior to the regular August meeting.
- Attendance at Meetings
Faithful and prompt attendance at all meetings of the Commission and
conscientious performance of the duties required of members shall be
a prerequisite to continuing membership on the Commission. Should a
member fail to attend three (3) consecutive regular meetings of the
Commission, and should there be no adequate excuse for such absence,
the Chairperson, with the concurrence of a majority of the entire Commission,
shall recommend to the local governing board, the City Council, that
a vacancy be declared and that the vacated position be filled.
- Matters Involving a Commission Member
No Commission member shall take part in the hearing, consideration,
or determination of any matter in which he or she is a party or has
a financial interest.
- Qualification to Vote
No Commission member shall vote on any matter deciding an application
or a request to reconsider unless that member shall have attended the
Commission's previous deliberations on such application or shall otherwise
have the approval of the Chairperson to vote on such matter. The Chairperson's
approval shall be contingent on the assurance by the member that the
member has read the application and the minutes of any meetings at which
the application was discussed.
- Impartiality Required
No Commission member shall, in any manner, discuss any application with
any parties prior to the Commission's deliberations on such application,
except as authorized in advance by the Chairperson; provided, however,
that members may seek and/or receive information pertaining to the application
from any other member of the Commission or its staff prior to the hearing.
Members of the Commission shall not express individual opinions on the
proposed judgement of any application with any person prior to the determination
of that application, except in accordance with these rules. Violation
of this rule shall be cause for dismissal from the Commission.
Each member of the Commission shall be thoroughly familiar with all
statutes, laws, ordinances, and rules of procedure relating to the Commission
as time and circumstance permit.
- Meetings
(a) Regular Meetings. Regular meetings of the Commission shall
be held on the first Tuesday of each month in the City Council Chambers.
The meeting may be held at some other convenient place if directed by
the Chairperson in advance of the meeting.
(b) Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Commission may
be called at any time by the Chairperson. At least forty-eight (48)
hours notice of the time and place of the special meeting shall be given,
by the secretary of by the Chairperson; provided that this requirement
may be waived by action of the majority of all its members.
(c) Cancellation of Meetings. Whenever there is no business for
the Commission, the Chairperson may dispense with a regular meeting
by giving notice to all the members not less than forty-eight (48) hours
prior to the time set for the meeting.
(d) Quorum. A quorum shall consist of six (6) members of the
Commission.
(e) Conduct of Meetings. All meetings shall be open to the public.
The order of business at regular meetings shall be as follows:
(1) call to order,
(2) invocation,
(3) roll call,
(4) new business,
(5) unfinished business
(6) reports of committees,
(7) reading of the minutes of the previous
meeting,
(8) other business, and
(9) adjournment.
- Application Procedures
(a) Filing of Application. An Application
for a Certificate of Appropriateness must be filed with the staff
person at least fifteen (15) days prior to the next City Council meeting,
accompanied by the required information.
(b) Notice to Neighboring Property Owners. Using stamped, pre-addressed
envelopes supplied by the applicant, the staff person shall notify by
mail, not less than one (1) week prior to the meeting at which the matter
is to be heard, the affected property
owners within one hundred (100) feet on all sides of the subject property.
(c) Reviewing Sub-committee. It shall be the policy of the Commission
in regard to applications involving new structures or extensive alterations
and/or additions to existing structures that a sub-committee of the
Commission shall be available to meet with the representatives of the
persons or organization involved in the coming application at an early
stage in the design process in order to advise them informally concerning
the Commission's guidelines, the nature of the area where the proposed
construction is to take place, and other relevant factores. This sub-committee,
collectively and individually, shall refrain from any indication of
approval or disapproval, but shall not, for that reason, be barred from
a reasonable discussion of the applicant's proposals. No advice or opinion
given, or reported as having been given, by any member of the sub-committee
at such an informal meeting shall be in any way official or binding
upon the Commission at any time.
(d) Public Hearing. In cases where the Commission deems it necessary,
it may hold a public hearing concerning an application or other matter
properly before it.
(e) Time for Decisions. The Commission must issue or deny a Certificate
of Appropriateness within sixty (60) days after the filing of the
application, except when the time limit has been extended by the mutual
agreement between the applicant and the Commission. If the Commission
fails to take action within sixty (60) days after the completed application
has been submitted to the staff person, the application shall be deemed
to be approved.
(f) Approved Application. If an application is approved, the
staff person for the Commission shall transmit a Certificate
of Appropriateness in letter form, clearly describing the nature
of the work which has been approved. The staff person shall attach a
copy of the minutes of the meeting at which approval was granted. A
copy of this information shall be forwarded to the Inspections
Department which is responsible for its enforcement.
(g) Denied Application. If an application is denied, a copy of
the minutes of the meeting and written reasons for denial shall be made
available to the applicant.
- Consideration of Applications
Any party may appear in person or by agent or attorney at the meeting.
All persons addressing the Commission shall be sworn. The order of business
for consideration of applications for Certificates
of Appropriateness shall be as follows:
(1) The Chairperson, or such persons as he or she shall direct, shall
give a preliminary statement describing the application.
(2) The applicant shall present the arguments in support of the application.
(3) Persons opposed to granting the application shall present the arguments
against the application.
(4) Statements or arguments submitted by any official, commission, or
department of the City of Washington, any state agency, or any local
historical, preservation, or neighborhood association shall be presented
as directed by the Chairperson.
(5) The Chairperson, or such person as he or she shall direct, shall
summarize the evidence which has been presented, giving all parties
an opportunity to make objections or corrections.
(6) The Commission shall thereafter proceed to deliberate whether to
grant the application or deny it.
The Commission may, in its discretion, view the premises and obtain
additional facts concerning any application before arriving at a decision.
All decisions of the Commission shall be supported by appropriate findings
of fact and, where necessary, shall be accompanied by such conditions
and/or recommendations as it may determine to be reasonable under the
circumstances.
In considering applicatoins, witnesses may be called and factual evidence
may be submitted, but the Commission shall not be limited to consideration
of such evidence as would be admissible in a court of law.
- Minor Works
Upon receipt of a completed application, the staff person, acting on
behalf of the Commission, may issue a Certificate
of Appropriateness for minor
works that are in conformance with the District's Design
Guidelines.
The staff person shall have the authority to give administrative approval,
but not denial of certain minor Certificates
of Appropriateness. These Certificates
of Appropriateness for minor works shall include, but not be limited
to, these examples:
- storm doors and storm windows
- continuous mortared brick foundations
or certain walls with similar brick stones.
- appliance vents
- heating and air conditioning units
- electrical and gas meters
For a complete list of minor works included in this prior authorization
process, please refer to the document on Minor
Works and Prior Authorization.
Such storm doors and storm windows shall be painted or varnished wood,
baked or enamel on metal, bronze anondized or aluminum. If aluminum,
the storm doors and storm windows shall be painted within one hundred
eighty (180) days for the issuance of a Certificate
of Appropriateness.
The following general policy shall be followed in reference to minor
works: when uncertainty exists as to whether or not a Certificate of
Appropriateness for minor works should be issued by the staff person,
such minor works activity shall be referred to the Commission for consideration.
Certificates of Appropriateness
for minor works issued by the staff person shall be reported to
the Commission at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
- Reconsideration of Applications Which Have Been Denied.
The order of business for reconsideration of applications for Certificates
of Appropriateness which have been previously denied shall be as
follows:
(1) The Chairperson shall entertain a motion from the members of the
Commission that the applicant be allowed to present evidence in support
of the request for reconsideration. Such evidence shall be limited to
that which is necessary to enable the Commission to determine whether
or not there has been a substantial change in the facts, evidence, or
conditions relating to the application; provided, however, that the
applicant shall be given the opportunity to present any other additional
supporting evidence, if the Commission decides to reconsider the application.
(2) After receiving the evidence, the Commission shall proceed to deliberate
whether or not there has been a substantial change in the facts, evidence,
or conditions relating to the application which would warrant reconsideration.
If the Commission finds that there has been such a change, it shall
thereupon treat the request as a new application received at that time.
- Modification of Applications
An approved or pending application for a Certificate
of Appropriateness may be modified by a written request from the
applicant to the Commission. Such a request shall include a description
of the proposed change and shall be accompanied by the required information.
If the Commission finds that the modification constitutes a substantial
change which might affect surrounding property owners, it shall request
that the applicant notify affected property owners following the procedures
set out in Section 11 (b), before taking action on the modification.
The Commission shall thereupon treat the request in the same manner
as any other application as outlined in Section 12.
- Vote
The vote of a majority of those members present shall be sufficient
to decide matters before the Commission, provided a quorum is present.
- Appeals
Appeals for decisions of the Commission shall be made to the Board
of Adjustment within thirty (30) days of the approval by the Commission
of the minutes of the meeting containing the decision being appealed.
- Amendments
These rules may, within the limits allowed by law, be amended at any
time by an affirmative vote of not less than a quorum of the Commission,
provided that such amendment shall have first been presented to the
membership in writing at a regular or special meeting preceding the
meeting at which the vote is taken.
All adopted procedures in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
Approved by the Washington Historic Preservation Commission the 7th
day of January, 1992.
The original document was signed by Thomas M. Sloan, Chairperson of
the Historic Preservation Commission on January 7, 1992.
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