Members are appointed by the mayor, subject to confirmation by the City Council, for staggered terms of two (2) years respectfully, with terms starting on July 1 of the year of appointment. Each member may be reappointed to serve no more than three (3) successive terms of office for a total of six (6) years, subject to approval by the City Council. Members shall be identified by place numbers one (1) through seven (7). Even-numbered places shall expire in even-numbered years; odd-numbered places shall expire in odd-numbered years. Newly appointed members shall be installed at the first regular Commission meeting after being appointed.

In case of death, resignation, disqualification, removal, or otherwise, vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term by appointment of the mayor subject to confirmation by the City Council. All expired terms shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.

The City Council may appoint four (4) alternate members of the Commission to serve in the absence of one or more regular members when requested to do so by the Director of Development Services. Alternate member terms and vacancies shall be filled and alternate member removals shall be made in the same manner as regular members.

Members of the Commission may be removed by the mayor, subject to consent of the City Council. Prior to such action, good cause, demonstrated in writing, shall be provided to the member in question.

Members of the Commission shall serve without compensation.

The Commission shall elect a chairman and a vice-chairman from its membership. The chairman shall call and preside over all meetings of the Commission, and the vice-chairman shall perform all duties of the chairman in his or her absence.

Election, term of office, duties and removal of officers of the Commission;

Method of calling and conducting regular and special meetings all of which shall be open to the public;

Keeping records of its proceedings, all of which shall be open to the public; and

Reporting to the City Council and the public of its recommendations and activities.

Members are appointed or reappointed by the City Council for staggered terms of two (2) years respectfully, with terms starting on July 1 on the year of appointment. Members shall be identified by place numbers one (1) through seven (7). Even-numbered places shall expire in even-numbered years; odd-numbered places shall expire in odd-numbered years. Newly appointed members shall be installed at the first regular Board meeting after being appointed.

In case of death, resignation, disqualification, removal, or otherwise, vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term by appointment of the City Council. All expired terms shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.

The City Council may appoint four (4) alternate members of the Board to serve in the absence of one or more regular members when requested to do so by the Director of Development services. Alternate members of the Board shall be identified by place numbers one (1) through four (4) and terms shall expire and any vacancies shall be filled and alternate members removed in the same manner as regular members.

Members of the Board may be removed by the City Council. Prior to such action, good cause, demonstrated in writing, shall be provided to the member in question, and a public hearing of the City Council shall be held.

Members of the Board shall serve without compensation.

The Board shall elect a chairman and a vice-chairman from its membership. The chairman shall call and preside over all meetings of the Board, and the vice-chairman shall perform all duties of the chairman in his or her absence.

Any person aggrieved, or any officer, department, board, or bureau of the City, may appeal to the Board of Adjustment. Such appeal shall be submitted in writing and shall specify the grounds for the appeal thereof. The office or department from which the appeal is taken shall promptly transmit all minutes constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken to the Board of Adjustment.

An appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from unless the Building Inspector shall certify to the Board of Adjustment that by reason of facts in the certificate a stay would, in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property, in which case proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order which may be granted by the Board of Adjustment or by a court of equity, after notice to the office from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.

The Board shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of the appeal or other matter referred to it, and shall mail notices of such hearing to the petitioner and to the owners of property lying within two hundred (200) feet of any point of the lot or portion thereof on which a variation is desired, and to all other persons deemed by the Board to be affected thereby. Such owners and persons shall be determined according to the current tax rolls of the City. Depositing of such written notice in the mail shall be deemed sufficient compliance therewith.

The Board shall decide the appeal within a reasonable time. Upon the hearing, any party may appear in person or by agent or attorney. The Board may reverse or affirm wholly or partly or may modify the order, requirements, decisions or determination as in its opinion ought to be made in the premises and to that end shall have all powers of the officer or department from whom the appeal is taken.

The concurring vote of four (4) members of the board shall be necessary to revise any order, requirement, decision or determination of any such administrative official or to decide in favor of the application on any matter upon which it is required to pass under this ordinance or to affect any variance in said ordinance.

The Board shall have the power to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths and punish for contempt, and may require the production of documents, under such regulations as it may establish.

The Board shall have the power to hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is error of law in any order, requirements, decision or determination made by the Building Inspector in the enforcement of this ordinance. Except as otherwise provided herein, the Board shall have, in addition, the following specific powers:

An application or request for a variance shall not be heard or granted with regard to any parcel of property or portion thereof upon which a concept plan, detail site plan or development plan, preliminary plat or final plat required by this ordinance has not been finally acted upon by the Planning and Zoning Commission. If the site plan or plat application is dependent on the granting of a variance by the Board, the application may only be approved on condition that the variance is granted. All administrative procedures and requirements of this ordinance, regarding Planning and Zoning Commission consideration and action, applicable to concept plans, detail site plans, preliminary plats and final plats must be exhausted prior to requesting a variance from the terms of this ordinance.

The Board shall have no authority to change any provisions of this ordinance and its jurisdiction is limited to time. The Board may not change the district designation of any land either to a more restrictive or less restrictive zone.

Members are appointed by the City Council for staggered terms of two (2) years respectfully, with terms starting on July 1 of the year of appointment. Each member may be reappointed to successive terms of office, subject to approval by the City Council. Members shall be identified by place numbers one (1) through seven (7). Initial members shall draw for four (4) one-year terms and three (3) two-year terms. Even-numbered places shall expire in even-numbered years; odd-numbered places shall expire in odd-numbered years. Newly appointed members shall be installed at the first regular Commission meeting after being appointed.

To the extent possible, the City Council shall appoint members to the Commission who have background in architecture, urban design, history, or other related professions. At least one (1) member shall be the owner of a property eligible for historic landmark designation or within a historic district.

In case of death, resignation, disqualification, removal, or otherwise, vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term by appointment of the City Council. All expired terms shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.

Members of the Commission may be removed by the City Council for continued absence from regular meetings of the Commission.

The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Commission shall be elected by a majority of the members of the Commission for a term of one (1) year after new appointments to the Commission are made each July. The chairman shall call and preside over all meetings of the Commission, and the vice-chairman shall perform all duties of the chairman in his or her absence.

In designating historic landmarks, the City Council shall follow these procedures with recommendation by the Historic Preservation Commission and Planning and Zoning Commission. All designations must meet all requirements under Section 211.0165 of the Texas Local Government Code, as amended from time to time, or subsequent Texas statute replacing Section 211.0165 of the Texas Local Government Code. In making the designations, the City Council shall consider but shall not be limited to one (1) or more of the following criteria:

Application for designation of a historic landmark shall require the signatures of all owners of the property, or their authorized agents.

The Historic Preservation Commission or Planning and Zoning Commission may recommend to the City Council an application be submitted to designate any property, structure, site, or district within the incorporated limits of the City of Sanger as a historic landmark designation. The City Council may, on its own motion, direct City staff to initiate designation proceedings. Upon approval of such motion, the Building Officer shall prepare a historic landmark designation petition on behalf of the City of Sanger.

At least fifteen (15) calendar days prior to the public hearing of the Historic Preservation Commission for designation of a historic landmark, City staff shall provide the property owner(s) with a Historic Landmark Designation Impact Statement that includes:

Upon staff's acceptance or completion of an application, the Building Officer shall schedule a public hearing at the next practicable Historic Preservation Commission meeting. At least ten (10) calendar days prior to the Historic Preservation Commission meeting, a written courtesy notice of the public hearing shall be sent to all owners of real property within five hundred (500) feet of the property or properties on which the designation is proposed. The Historic Preservation Commission shall make a recommendation to the Planning and Zoning Commission as to whether or not the property, district, or site is eligible for historic landmark designation according to the criteria in subsection D.1 [F.1] of this section and the merits of the application.

Upon receiving a recommendation by the Historic Preservation Commission, the matter shall be scheduled by City staff for a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission. The matter shall proceed in the same manner as that required to amend, repeal, or alter the zoning on a tract or parcel of land under Article III, Section 18 as it relates to specific uses. The Planning and Zoning Commission will consider the criteria for designation specified in the Zoning Ordinance.

The matter shall proceed in the same manner and in the same instances as that required to amend, repeal, or alter the zoning on a tract or parcel of land as specified in this article, except for the procedural requirements in subsection F.3 of this section. After all notice requirements of state zoning statutes have been complied with and all required public hearings conducted pursuant to said state statutes and upon receipt of the Historic Preservation and Planning and Zoning Commission recommendations, the City Council may designate the building, land, area or district with the "H" suffix. Such designation shall be in addition to any other zoning district designation established in the Zoning Ordinance. If the City Council does not approve the designation, the procedure for successive applications for petitions for the amendment of the Zoning Ordinance for a particular tract of property shall apply.

Upon passage by the City Council of an ordinance designating property as "H," the City Secretary shall file a copy of the ordinance with the appropriate county clerk, in accordance with state law, and the appropriate county tax assessor, and, together with a written notice briefly stating the fact of the designation, shall send a copy of such notice by certified mail to the owner of the affected property.

The same application and procedure that is followed for the designation of a historic landmark shall apply for amendment or removal of the designation, except:

The Building Official shall not take action upon a permit for any construction, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, or relocation of a building or signs in the historic district or historic landmark until he has received a recommendation from the Commission or certificate from the Commission showing failure to take action as provided in Subsection D. of this Section. Upon receipt of an application for a permit in the historic district or historic landmark, the Building Official shall act in accordance with the procedures presently being followed in that office except as those procedures are necessarily modified by the following requirements:

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, any property owner who desires to effect complete demolition of any entire structure on his property theretofore classified pursuant to the terms of this Section as, or part of, a historic district or historic landmark, shall give written notice to the Building Official of his intention to effect such demolition. One hundred twenty (120) days after the giving of such notice, the property owner shall be entitled to receive a permit for such demolition, provided the application complies otherwise with this and the Building Code.

The same criteria considered by the Commission as set forth in this Section shall be applied by the Building Official in arriving at his determination as to issuance or denial of the permit.

In determining the recommendation to be presented to the Building Official concerning the issuing of a permit for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, relocation, demolition, or razing of all or part of any building within the historic district, the Commission shall consider the following matters:

In determining the recommendation to be presented to the Building Official administration concerning the issuing of a permit for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, relocation, demolition, or razing of all or part of any designated historic landmark, the Commission shall consider those considerations which gave rise to the original request for the designation of the place as a historic landmark as well as the following matters:

The recommendation of the Commission shall be binding upon the Building Official, and upon receipt of the report of the Commission, the Building Official shall within ten (10) days notify the applicant in writing of the approval, conditional approval, or disapproval of the application, and shall provide a copy to the Commission.

An applicant for permit dissatisfied with the action of the Commission relating to issuance or denial of a permit for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, relocation, demolition, or razing of a building in the historic district shall have the right of appeal to the City Council within fifteen (15) days after receipt of notification of such action. The applicant shall be advised by the City Secretary of the time and place of the hearing at which his appeal will be considered and shall have the right to attend and be heard as to his reasons for filing the same. In determining whether or not to certify to the appropriateness of the proposed construction, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, relocation, demolition, or razing of all or a part of any building within the historic district, the City council shall consider the same factors as the Commission set forth in Article II, Section 3.L of this section and the report of the Commission and any other matters presented at the hearing on the appeal. If the City Council disapproves the application by a majority of the members voting, it shall direct the Building Official not to issue such permit. Such disapproval may indicate what changes in the plans and specifications would meet the conditions for protecting the distinctive historical character of the district.

Upon receipt of the action of the City Council, the Building Official shall forthwith so advise the applicant and the Commission.

In the case of an application's disapproval by the City Council, the application shall not be resubmitted for consideration until one (1) year has elapsed from the date of disapproval unless the indicated changes in the plans and specifications required to meet the conditions for protecting the district or landmark have been incorporated into the reapplication.

As used in this subsection, "Historic Site" means a property designated as a historic landmark or within a historic district in need of tax relief to encourage its preservation.

The City Council shall, by ordinance, concurrent with the levy of taxes for each year, approve for partial exemption from ad valorem taxes certain historically significant sites in need of tax relief to encourage their preservation.

Historic Sites approved for exemption by ordinance pursuant to the provisions of this subsection shall have an exemption of seventy-five percent (75%) of the assessed value of the structure and the land. These exemptions may be applied to both residential and commercial property for a maximum of five (5) years per property.

For each assessment year for which the owner of property designated a Historic Site desires such property to be partially tax exempt pursuant to provisions of this subsection, the owner shall file with the Historic Preservation Commission a sworn application, not later than April 1, setting forth the fact that the requirements of paragraph (5) [subsection 5.] of this subsection concerning the preservation and maintenance of the subject structure were being fully satisfied as of January 1 of the year for which application for exemption is being sought. Application forms are to be available at the office of the City Tax Assessor-Collector. The application shall affirmatively set forth the owner's authorization for members of the Historic Preservation Commission to visit and inspect the historic property as well as examine the books and records as necessary to certify whether or not the property was being preserved and maintained as required by paragraph (5) [subsection 5.] of this subsection and to determine what new construction or modifications have been completed.

Upon receipt of the sworn application, the Historic Preservation Commission shall cause an inspection of the historic property to be made and review the books and records as to whether or not the historic property is being preserved and maintained in accordance with this paragraph (5) [subsection 5.] as of January 1 of that year and shall certify the facts to the City Tax Assessor-Collector not later than April 30, along with the Commission's recommendation for approval or disapproval of the application for exemption. The Historic Preservation Commission shall note on the application form any new construction or modification which has been accomplished in accordance with the restrictions placed on the structure by this Section. The following items shall be used in determining whether a Historic Site has been maintained in accordance with minimum property, structural, and health standards:

The City Tax Assessor-Collector shall determine that portion of land which is reasonably necessary for access to and use of those historic structures for which applications for approval of exemptions are pending, and shall assess for taxation all such excess land in the same equal and uniform manner as all other taxable properties in the City.

The determination of the City Tax Assessor-Collector shall be final with respect to the amount of land reasonably necessary for access to and use of the historic structure for which tax exemption is sought.

The City Tax Assessor-Collector shall, not later than June 1 of each year or as soon thereafter as is practicable and prior to the levy of taxes for the current year, forward the application for tax exemption to the City Council after having indicated thereon the assessed values of the historic structure and land necessary for access to and use thereof and the assessed value of the land determined to be in excess of that necessary for access to and use thereof.

The provisions of this subsection pertaining to partial exemption of historic properties do not change the provision of any other section of the City Code pertaining to taxation, and the applicant's properties shall be rendered and assessed in the same manner as any other property in the event the City Council elects to disapprove the application for exemption.

For each year the historic site is granted a tax exemption pursuant to the provisions of this subsection, the Tax Assessor-Collector shall note on his or her records the assessments that would have been made had the property not qualified for tax exempt status. If the property no longer qualifies for its historic site designation due to noncompliance with the regulations of this subsection, the property shall be subject to an additional tax. This additional tax shall be calculated as the difference between the taxes paid or payable under the provisions of this subsection during the exemption period and the amount of tax that would have been payable for the preceding three (3) years, or, if the exemption period was less than three years, for that shorter timeframe, had the property not been approved for tax exemption. The additional tax imposed by this subsection shall be due and payable at once. If the additional tax imposed by this subsection is not paid within ninety (90) days, it shall be deemed delinquent and shall be subject to the same penalty and interest as other taxes for each such year.