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HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION

RULES OF PROCEDURE

ARTICLE I. GENERAL RULES

The Historic Preservation Commission of the City of Salisbury, North Carolina, shall be governed by the terms of Chapter 160A, Article 19, Part 3C of the General Statutes of North Carolina, and by the terms of the City of Salisbury Historic District Ordinance enacted by the City Council on the l0th day of August 1975, and any amendments thereto. All Commission members thoroughly familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Statutes and Ordinances.

ARTICLE II. OFFICERS AND DUTIES

ARTICLE III.  MEETINGS

1. Roll Call

2. Recognition of Visitors

3. New Business

4. Unfinished Business

5. Reports of Committees

6. Reading of Minutes of the previous meeting

7. Adjournment

ARTICLE IV. REMOVAL OF MEMBERS

The Chairman shall notify the Mayor of the City of Salisbury of any Commission member who is absent from three (3) consecutive meetings unless such absence is excused by the Commission for good and sufficient cause.

ARTICLE V. RECORDS

ARTICLE VI. CLERK

The Clerk shall be a regular employee of the staff of the City of Salisbury appointed by the City Manager to keep the minutes of the Commission, notify members of the regular and called meetings, record attendance, carry on routine correspondence, maintain the files of the Commission, and handle the finances of the Commission.

The Clerk shall provide the minutes of the previous meeting to members by mail four to seven days prior to the next scheduled meeting.

ARTICLE VII. APPLICATIONS

D.  All applications for certificates of appropriateness shall be made on forms provided by the Historic Preservation Commission. No applications shall be considered by the Commission unless they are submitted on such forms and are complete, including all necessary exhibits. Provided, however, that the Commission may consider applications not complying with this paragraph only upon a finding by the Commission, entered in the record, of extraordinary or unusual circumstances which would make compliance with this provision impractical.

ARTICLE VIII.  DESIGN REVIEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE

It shall be the policy of the Commission in regard to applications for new structures or extensive alterations and/or additions to existing structures that the Commission shall refer applications to its Design Review Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee shall also be available to meet with representatives of the persons or organization involved in the new construction or alteration projects at some early stage in the design process, prior to the submittal of a formal application. At this point, the Design Review Advisory Committee could advise them informally concerning the Commission’s guidelines, the nature of the area where the proposed construction is to take place and other relevant factors. In the event of such preliminary discussions with the Committee, the Commission may waive the referral of an application to the Advisory Committee and proceed with its deliberations.

The Advisory Committee shall be appointed by the Chair, and may include staff members and other recognized experts in the field. No advice or opinion given, or reported as having been given at such an informal meeting shall be in any way official or binding upon the Historic Preservation Commission at any time. Notice of the need for such review should be given to applicants and future applicants at the earliest appropriate time.

ARTICLE IX.  MINOR WORKS

A certificate of appropriateness application, when determined to involve a minor work, may be reviewed and approved, according to review criteria in subsections (1) through (19), by the minor works committee. The minor works committee consists of the Historic Preservation Commission chairman and vice-chairman and the zoning administrator.

Minor works are defined as those exterior changes that do not involve substantial alterations, additions or removals that could impair the integrity of the landmark or property in the historic district ‘A’.

An application may receive a certificate of appropriateness from the committee if it falls under one of the following categories of minor works:

(1) Storm windows which have a painted or baked enamel finish (providing color matches

window trim or is appropriate to the building).

(2) Normal size television and radio antennas (citizen band and ham operators shall require a

certificate of appropriateness as provided for in Section 17.09, Appendix B, Zoning, in the

City of Salisbury Code of Ordinances).

(3) Roof and basement ventilators (only if the roof vents are on back slopes);

(4) Window air conditioning units (not central units).

(5) Picket fences when:

      (a) Constructed of wood;

      (b) Generally similar to a design set forth in the design guidelines as appropriate to the

      district, and to the style of the house;

      (c) Substantially open in character;

      (d) Height is as follows:

      (1)  On the side, rear or interior location of the lot, at or behind the building

        line, not exceeding forty-two (42) inches in height, and in a location

        conforming to the zoning regulations; or

        (2)  In the front yard not to exceed 36 inches; and

    (e) Painted white or in a color to match the house trim or body.

 

However, the following fences require approval by the full Historic Preservation Commission:

      (a) Fences constructed of any non-wood materials;

      (b) Fences erected along the periphery of any parking area designed to accommodate

      more than three (3) cars; or

      (d) Picket fences which are unpainted, or which are painted in a color other than white or the color of the house trim or body.

(6) Patios constructed of common stone or red brick, and bricked-in areas on the

side or rear of the structure at ground level and not abutting a right-of-way, when the height

does not exceed six (6) inches above the adjacent ground level.

(7) Sidewalks constructed with old-style brick.

(8) Installing gutters and downspouts painted to match the house or trim, as long as no significant

architectural features are removed.

(9) Repainting of a structure in colors identical to those existing on the structure.

(10) Installation of central air conditioning units on a side or rear of a structure not facing a

public street, which cannot easily be seen from the street or are screened from view with

shrubbery or appropriate fencing.

(11) Replacement of missing or deteriorating siding and trim, porch floors, ceilings, columns and

balustrades, or architectural details, with new materials that are identical to the original.

(12) Renewal for an additional six-month period of an expired certificate of appropriateness

where no change to approved plans is being proposed, and there has been no change to

circumstances under which the certificate was approved initially.

(13) Storm or screen doors which are wooden and which are stained in natural woodcolor or

painted in a color to match the house or trim.

(14) Storm doors with full-view glass with a baked enamel finish to match the trim of the house

on entrances not facing a public right-of-way.

(15) Erection, alteration or removal of temporary features that are necessary to ease difficulties

associated with a medical condition but which do not permanently alter exterior features.

(16) A house identification sign which:

(a) Contains the name of the house and/or the year built as listed in the Design

      Guidelines;

      (b) Is compatible in color, material and location to the house;

      (c) Does not exceed three (3) square feet in area; and

      (e) Is in compliance with the city sign ordinance.

(17) Re-roofing a house with similar materials in a color preapproved by the Commission.

(18) When the City of Salisbury Director of Land Management and Development or his designee

rules that a tree larger than 18 inches in diameter at 4½ feet above the ground is diseased or

severely damaged, it can be removed and shall be replaced with a similar type plant material

contained on the plant list of the Design Guidelines.

(19) Removing non-original materials (less than 50 years old) including substitute siding.

If the committee does not issue a certificate of appropriateness, the applicant will be advised to make a formal application to the Historic Preservation Commission. No application may be denied without formal action by the Historic Preservation Commission.

ARTICLE X. APPLICATIONS INVOLVING MEMBER

No Commission Member shall take part in the hearing, consideration or determination of any case in which he/she is a party or has a financial interest.

ARTICLE XI. NOTICE REOUIRED FOR APPLICATION

The Historic Preservation Commission will consider all applications submitted to the Zoning Administrator at its next regularly scheduled meeting, provided ten (10) business days notice has been allowed prior to the meeting.

ARTICLE XII.  NOTICE TO APPLICANTS AND ADJOINING PROPERTY OWNERS

Prior to issuance or denial of a certificate of appropriateness, the Historic Preservation Commission shall take such action as may reasonably be required to inform the owners of any property likely to be materially affected by the application and shall give the applicant and such owners an opportunity to be heard.

ARTICLE XIII.  CONDUCT OF HEARING

B.  All applications for certificates of appropriateness shall require testimony by the applicant, either in person or through an agent, for such applications to be considered. In the event an application is placed on the agenda, proper notice is given to all parties, and the applicant fails to appear as required thereunder, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn by the applicant.

 

ARTICLE XIV.  REHEARING

Application for a rehearing may be made in the same manner as provided for an original hearing. Evidence in support of the application shall initially be limited to that which is necessary to enable the Historic Preservation Commission to determine whether there has been a substantial change in the facts, evidence or conditions in the case. A rehearing shall be denied by the Historic Preservation Commission, if in its judgment there has been no substantial change in the facts, evidence or conditions in the case.

ARTICLE XV.  NOTIFICATION

Written notice of the decision in a case shall be given to the applicant by the Clerk as soon as practical after the cases haven been decided. The final decision of the Commission shall be shown in record of the case as entered in the minutes of the Historic Preservation Commission and signed by the Chairman and the Clerk upon approval of the minutes by the Historic Preservation Commission. The record shall show the reasons for the decision.

ARTICLE XVI.  ENFORCEMENT

ARTICLE XVII. AMENDMENTS

These rules may, within the limits allowed by law, be amended at any time by an affirmative vote of at least five (5) members of the Commission. This proposed amendment must have been presented to the Commission members in writing at a regular or special meeting preceding the meeting at which the vote is taken.

Amended 01/27/81

Amended 02/17/81

Amended 03/26/81

Amended 03/13/86

Amended 08/17/87

Amended 12/12/92

Amended 06/08/95

Amended 03/14/96

Amended 07/16/98

Amended 01/14/99

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