This chapter is intended to provide procedures to protect and preserve structures, sites and objects that represent a historical or cultural resource to the community and to provide appropriate means for their protection and preservation. Any use, renovation, maintenance or other alteration proposal shall be reviewed as required depending upon the required program for preservation. The regulations are intended to:

A.

Preserve, enhance and perpetuate landmarks and districts, which represent or reflect elements of the city's cultural, social, economic, political and architectural history.

B.

Safeguard the city's historic, aesthetic and cultural heritage as embodied and reflected in said landmarks and districts.

C.

Complement any National Register properties or historic districts.

D.

Stabilize and improve property values in such districts.

E.

Foster civic pride in the beauty and accomplishments of the past.

F.

Protect and enhance the city's attraction to tourists and visitors and the support and stimulus to business and industry thereby provided.

G.

Strengthen the economy of the city.

H.

Promote the preservation of cultural and historic resources and landmarks for the education, pleasure, energy conservation, housing and public welfare of the city's current and future citizens.

A Cultural or Historic Resource (CHR) designation may be applied to any site, structure or place in any zone. The application of the CHR designation shall be considered on a case-by-case basis based upon the criteria set forth in this chapter. Any use, renovation, maintenance, or other alteration proposal shall be reviewed as required depending upon the requested program for preservation.

The property owner may offer evidence on the effect of a CHR designation on the use of the property including the economic impact, loss of revenue or valuation, costs of renovation and maintenance, ease of marketing, and so on. The Planning Commission and City Council must weigh any individual inconvenience against the importance to the community of maintaining the resource in whole or in part.

A.

The property owner or the City may request designation as a CHR for any specific site, structure or object. That person shall be considered the applicant and shall be required to pay all the fees, including costs of any studies or special reports associated with the application. Applications shall be considered a zone change and shall be reviewed as a Type IV procedure. In addition to any other notice required, the property owner shall be notified by certified mail of any pending action when the property owner is not the applicant.

B.

No building, alteration, demolition or removal permits for any structure or site shall be issued while an application or any appeal is pending.

The Planning Commission and City Council shall use the following criteria and standards to evaluate whether a particular object, site, structure or place merits a CHR designation. In order to designate a CHR, the Planning Commission and City Council must find, through an Economic, Social, Environmental and Energy (ESEE) analysis, that the benefits of designating the proposed landmark outweigh the benefits of continuing the conflicting use or uses without the designation.

A.

Association with historic or famous events; or

B.

Unique architectural design or mode of construction because of:

1.

Representative character of a period or a particular architectural style, building type or method of construction;

2.

Extraordinary or unusual architectural merit by reason of design, detail, use of materials or craftsmanship; or

3.

Identification as the work of an architect, designer or master builder whose individual work has influenced development in the nation, state or community; or

4.

Significance as the only remaining, or one of the few remaining, resources of a particular style, building type, design, material or method of construction; or

5.

Age of resource.

C.

Inclusion in an official Register of Historic Places; or

D.

Relationship to the broad cultural history of the nation, state or community; or

E.

Identification with a person or persons who have significantly contributed to the history of the city; or

F.

Identification as a unique object representing an aesthetic or educational feature of the community.

G.

Archaeological site designation.

H.

Environmental Significance.

1.

Significance as a visual landmark.

2.

Integrity of surrounding land-use of the historic period represented.

3.

Significance because the resource contributes to the continuity of historical character of the street, neighborhood and/or community.

The Planning Commission and City Council shall determine the most appropriate means to preserve and protect the feature or features of the resource determined to be significant. The program may include any of the following or any other program determined to be appropriate:

A.

Site or Structure Preservation. The City Council, upon a recommendation from Planning Commission, may determine that site or structure is so important as a community resource that it should be preserved as nearly as possible in its original condition.

1.

Permitted Uses.

a.

In any site or structure designated CHR, all uses permitted outright in the underlying district shall be permitted.

b.

In addition, Planning Commission may authorize any use as a conditional use which can be shown to contribute to the preservation or reuse of the site or structure, subject to the criteria of Chapter 17.68 Conditional use.

c.

Any proposal for construction, alteration or renovation for any site or structure designated CHR shall be referred to the Planning Commission and reviewed using the standards of the Secretary of the Interior of Rehabilitation of Historic Structures as a guideline. The State Historic Preservation Office shall also be consulted.

B.

Facade Easements. The City may accept facade easements for all or part of a structure as a method for retaining the original appearance of the structure, which has been determined to the architecturally significant or other methods, deemed appropriate by the Planning Commission.

C.

Identification. Require that a sign be placed by the property owner or with the property owner's permission to identify the site or structure as a CHR. The sign shall state the name of the resource and briefly describe its significance. The sign shall be subject to the requirements of SMC 15.32.

D.

Archival Record. The City Council may order the preparation of a file to include, where appropriate, photographs, measured drawings, site or structure plans, maps, narrative and any other pertinent documentation. The file shall be kept in the archives of the City as a permanent record.

In order to designate a geographic area as a historic district, the Planning Commission and City Council shall find that:

A.

The area includes a significant concentration or linkage of sites, building, structures or objects, which are unified visually by style, plan or physical development and distinguished by association with historic periods, events, people or cultural trends.

B.

The area is of sufficient size and scope, and the component parts are cohesive enough to adequately represent, demonstrate or commemorate the significant historic period, event, people or trend.

The Director may approve any application for building permit for interior remodeling or ordinary maintenance and repair of any exterior architectural feature that does not involve a change in design, material or appearance. If the proposed work involves a change in design, material or appearance or is beyond the normal scope of maintenance and repair, the Director may refer the application to the Planning Commission for additional review.

Alterations, maintenance and repair, which may be approved without a Type III or Type IV hearing include, but are not limited to:

A.

Replacement of gutters and downspouts, or the addition of gutters and downspouts, using materials that match those that were typically used on similar style buildings.

B.

Repairing or providing a new foundation that does not result in raising or lowering the building elevation unless the foundation materials and/or craftsmanship contribute to the historical and architectural significance of the landmark.

C.

Replacement of siding, when required due to deterioration of material, with material that is in character with the original siding.

D.

Repair and/or replacement of roof materials with the same kind of roof material existing, or with materials which are in character with those of the original roof.

E.

Application of storm windows made with wood, bronze or flat finished anodized aluminum, or baked enamel frames, which complement or match the color detail and proportion of the building.

F.

Replacement of existing sashes with new sashes, when using material, which is consistent with the original historic material and appearance.

G.

Painting and related preparation.

H.

Site maintenance such as pruning landscaping maintenance, brush clearing and removal of debris.

The Director may authorize emergency repairs or any construction, reconstruction, demolition or removal of any architectural features identified by the Building Official as necessary to protect the public from unsafe or dangerous conditions.

A.

If an application for a permit to demolish a designated landmark or any building within a designated historic district is received the Building Official shall transmit a copy of the application within seven days to the Director.

B.

Prior to the issuance of permit for demolition the Director shall first determine that the applicant has met the following conditions:

1.

Applicant has advertised said building for sale and/or removal from the site with an advertisement running twice over two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation.

2.

Applicant has not refused the highest bona fide offer.

3.

Applicant has posted a sign indicating that the property is for sale pending demolition through a continuous period of 90 days from the date of application. The sign must be posted in a prominent and conspicuous place within ten feet of a public street abutting the premises.

C.

If after 90 days no party is interested in purchasing or moving the property, the Director shall refer any request for demolition of a site or structure designated CHR to the Planning Commission as a Type IV quasi-judicial procedure.

D.

The Planning Commission shall make a recommendation based upon the criteria in this chapter.

E.

The decision of the Planning Commission shall be forwarded to the City Council for action. The City Council shall hold a public hearing to consider the record from the Planning Commission meeting and any additional evidence not available at the Planning Commission hearing at a public hearing.

F.

The City Council shall make written findings to support any decision. If City Council determines that the public need is best served by granting a demolition permit, it may require that:

1.

A sign must be placed by the property owner or with the property owner's permission to identify the site or structure as a CHR. The sign shall state the name of the resource and briefly describe its significance. The sign shall be subject to the requirements of SMC 15.32.

2.

The City Council may order the preparation of a file to include, where appropriate, photographs, measured drawings, site or structure plans, maps, narrative and any other pertinent documentation. The file shall be kept in the archives of the City as a permanent record.

3.

Preservation of certain features for reuse.

G.

When a request for demolition is approved, an ordinance removing the CHR designation shall be passed, and the CHR designation removed and so noted in the Comprehensive Plan and inventory.

The importance to the public of retaining the object, site or structure shall be weighed against the hardship to the owner and any potential hazard to the public if the site or structure is to be retained.

The demolition of a historic building is an irrecoverable loss to the community, therefore special criteria are established and shall be considered before issuing a permit for demolition.

The Planning Commission and City Council shall make findings based on, but not limited to, the following:

A.

The historic or architectural significance of the landmark.

B.

The physical condition of the building.

C.

The economic use of the building and economic reuse of the property.

D.

The proposed new use.

E.

The economic, social, environmental and energy consequences of allowing the demolition as opposed to preserving the historic building.

F.

If within a historic district, its contribution to the district and the subsequent integrity of the district once the structure is demolished.