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O-79-630 - 10/25/1979ORDINANCE NO. 1p3/2 AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE PRESERVATION OF HISTORIC DISTRICTS AND LANDMARKS; DEFINING CER- TAIN TERMS; CREATING HISTORIC DISTRICTS; DESIG- NATING HISTORIC LANDMARKS; ESTABLISHING A HISTOR- IC PRESERVATION COMMISSION; DEFINING THE ROLE OF THE BUILDING OFFICIAL; AND PROVIDING FOR VIOLA- TION AND PENALTIES. WHEREAS, the City of Round Rock was founded during the mid- 1800s, and WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes that the City has great natural beauty, as well as a number of existing houses, buildings and districts which reflect the historical, archi- tectural and cultural inheritance of this City, and WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes that rapid change in population, economic functions and land use activities could lead to the demolition of historical districts and landmarks, and WHEREAS, the Council wishes to preserve these irre- placeable areas and places of historical significance for the benefit and enjoyment of the public; to promote and protect the health, safety, comfort, and general welfare of the community; to promote the public convenience and prosperity; to conserve the value of the buildings and to encourage the most appropriate use of such real property within the city. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROUND ROCK, TEXAS That Chapter 11 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Round Rock, Texas, is hereby amended by adding a Section, to be numbered Section 3, which said Section shall read as follows: Section 3. Historic Preservation A. Definitions. (1) Alteration. The introduction of compatible forms, colors, textures, materials, and shapes which harmonize with existing historical districts and landmarks characteristics yet relate well through the sensitive use of proportion, scale and landscaping. (2) Historic district. A "historic district" is defined as an area which has outstanding historical and cultural significance in the state, region or community, within which the buildings, structures, accessory buildings, fences, or other appurtenances are of basic and vital importance for the development of culture and tourism because of their associ- ation with history, including: (a) Historic structures, sites or areas within which the buildings, structures, appurt- enances, and places exemplify the cultural, political, economic or social history of the state, region or community. (b) Historic structures, sites or areas that are identified with the lives of historic person- ages or with important events in state, re- gional or local history. (c) Structures or areas that embody the distin- guishing characteristics of an architectural type specimen as to color, proportion, form and architectural details. (3) Historic landmark. A "historic landmark" is defined as a place which has outstanding historical and cultural significance in the state, region or community. The desig- nation, "historic landmark ", recognizes that the historic place, or the building(s), structure(s), accessory build - ing(s), fences or other appurtenances at the place, are of basic and vital importance for the preservation of culture and the development of tourism. (4) Reconstruction. The reconstruction process involves the recreation of a replica of a building or facility that no longer exists on its original site based on archaelogical, historical, documentary and physical evidence. Both modern construction techniques and traditional methods may be used in a reconstruction project. (5) Rehabilitation. This process involves modifications or changes to an existing building. Rehabilitation extends the useful life or utility of the building through repairs or 2 alterations, sometimes major, while the features of the build- ing that contributed to its architectural, cultural or histor- ical character are preserved. (6) Relocation. Relocation as a result from changes in land use and redevelopment programs involves the disassembly, relocation on a different site, and reassembly of a building. (7) Restoration. The restoration process involves the careful and meticulous return of a building, usually on its original site, to its appearance at a particular period of time by removal of later work or replacement of missing earlier work. B. Creating historic districts. The city council may from time to time, designate cer- tain areas in the City of Round Rock as historic districts, and define, amend or eliminate the boundaries of same. Such districts shall bear the word "historic" in their zoning designation and property therein shall continue to bear its use designation as provided in the general zoning provisions of this Chapter. Before taking any such action, the council shall submit the same to the city planning and zoning commission for their recommendations and reports. The planning and zoning commis- sion shall give notices, conduct its hearing and make recom- mendations to the city council, in the same manner and according to the same procedures as specifically provided in the general zoning provisions of this Chapter. In like man- ner, the city council shall give notices, follow the publica- tion procedure, hold hearings, and make its determination in the manner as provided in the general zoning provisions of this Chapter. All procedures and provisions relative to zon- ing set forth in the general zoning provisions of this Chapter not in conflict with the terms of this Section are hereby adopted and made a part hereof. 3 C. Designating historic landmarks. The city council may from time to time, designate cer- tain places in the City of Round Rock as historic landmarks. Such places shall bear the word "historic" in their zoning designation and shall continue to bear their use designations as provided in the general zoning provisions of this Chapter. In designating historic landmarks, the city planning and zoning commission and the council shall follow the procedures set forth for creating historic districts. D. Uses. Nothing contained in this article or in the designation of property as being in an historic district or historic landmark shall affect the present legal use of property. Use classifi- cations as to all property which may be included in an historic district or historic landmark shall continue to be governed by the general zoning provisions of this Chapter and the procedures therein established. In no case, however, shall any use be permitted which requires the demolition razing, remodeling or alteration of any buildings or struc- tures in such a historic district or historic landmark so as to adversely affect the character of the district of historic landmark, except upon compliance with the terms or this article. For purposes of clarity in the zoning designation of property, all zoning maps shall reflect property in historic districts or historic landmarks by the inclusion of the work "historic" as a prefix to its use designation as specified in accordance with the general zoning provisions of this Chapter. No provision herein shall be construed as prohibiting a property owner from continuing to use property for a noncon- forming use. E. Historic Preservation Commission - Created. (1) Creation of commission. There is hereby created a 4 Historic Preservation Commission for historic districts and landmarks, hereinafter called the Commission,' consisting of seven (7) members. The members thereof shall be appointed by the city council. (2) Terms of appointment. The term of the first four (4) members appointed shall expire simultaneously with the expira- tion of the terms of the members of the City Council whose terms end in April, 1980. The term of the next three (3) members appointed shall expire simultaneously with the expira- tion of the terms of the members of the City Council whose terms expire in April of 1981. Beginning with those members appointed in April of 1980, all members shall be appointed for terms of two (2) years. Vacancies shall be filled for an unexpired term in the manner in which original appointments are required to be made. Continued absence of any member from regular meetings of the Commission shall, at the discretion of the City Council, render any such member liable to imme- diate removal from office. (3) Qualifications. To the extent possible, the City Council shall appoint members to the Commission which have background in Architecture, Urban Design, History or other related professions. (4) Chairman of commission. The Chairman of the Commis- sion shall be elected by a majority of the members of the Commission. The first Chairman shall be elected at the begin- ning of the first meeting held after the members are appoint- ed and each successive Chairman shall be elected at the first meeting held after new appointments to the Commission are made each April. (5) Functions of commission. The commission shall act in an advisory capacity only, and shall have no power to bind the city by contract or otherwise. It shall be the function of the commission to advise the Building Official concerning all applications for permits in the historic districts and historic landmarks. 5 F. Same - Secretary of Commission. The Building Official or his representative shall act as secretary of the commission and shall attend and keep the minutes of all meetings. He shall act only in an advisory capacity and shall participate in its discussions but shall have no right to vote. G. Same - Meetings. The commission shall meet at regular intervals with advance notice posted according to the Texas Open Meetings Law. Additionally, meetings may be called upon request of the chairman, or upon written request of four (4) members, or upon notice from the Building Official that a matter requires the consideration of the commission. Upon the filing of an application for a building permit in a historic district, or historic landmark, the commission shall take action thereon within thirty -five (35) days after the date of filing of such application. If action thereon is not taken within thirty - five (35) days after the date of filing of such application, it shall be deemed to have been recommended for approval and a certificate showing the filing date and the failure to take action on the application within thirty -five (35) days shall be issued by the commission on demand. The applicant may withdraw the application before the thirty -five (35) day period expires and may resubmit it at a later time if additional time is required for the preparation of informa- tion or for research required by the commission. A majority of the members, shall constitute a quorum and action taken at a meeting shall require the affirmative vote of a majority of the appointive members in attendance. H. Role of Building Official. (1) Construction, reconstruction, alteration, restora- 6 tion, or relocation procedure. The Building Official shall not take action upon a permit for any construction, recon- struction, alteration, restoration, or relocation of a build- ing 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 ac- tion as provided in subsection G. 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 neces- sarily modified by the following requirements: (a) He shall forward to the commission a copy of the application for a building permit, to- gether with a copy of the plot plan and the building plans and specifications filed by the applicant. (b) He shall maintain in his office a record of all such applications and of his handling and final disposition of the same, which shall be in addition to and appropriately cross - referenced to his other records. (c ) He shall require applicants to submit a suf- ficient number of additional copies of mate- rial required to be attached to an applica- tion for a building permit in compliance with the foregoing. (2) Demolition procedure. Notwithstanding any other pro- vision of this article any property owner who desires to effect complete demolition of any entire structure on his property theretofore classified pursuant to the terms of this article as, or part of, an historic district or historic landmark, shall give written notice to the Building Official of his intention to effect such demolition (copies to the commission and the director of planning and community develop- ment); 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 chapter and the Building code. 7 (3) Standards to be applied. The same criteria consid- ered by the commission as set forth in subsection J. of this article shall be applied by the Building Official in arriving at his determination as to issuance or denial of the permit. I. Meetings of the commission. Upon receipt from the Building Official by the commis- sion of the application for a building permit for the con- struction, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, reloca- tion, demolition or razing of a building or buildings in this historic district or historic landmark, the commission shall schedule a meeting to consider the recommendation which the commission will give to the Building Official. The person applying for the permit shall be advised of the time and place of said meeting and invited to appear to explain his reasons therefor. The commission may invite such other per- sons or groups as it desires to attend its meetings. The commission may hold any additional meetings it considers necessary to carry out its responsibilities as enumerated in this article. J. Criteria to be used by the commission in determining its recommendation. (1) Historic districts. In determining the recommenda- tion 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: (a) The effect of the proposed change upon the general historic, cultural and architectural nature of the district. (b) The appropriateness of exterior architec- tural features which can be seen from a public street, alley, or walkway. 8 (c) The general design, arrangement, texture, ma- terial and color of the building or struc- ture and the relation of such factors to similar features of buildings or structures in the district. The criterion shall not be the aesthetic appeal to the commission of the structure or the proposed remodeling but rather its conformity to the general charac- ter of the particular historic area involved. (d) Signs which are out of keeping with the character of the historic district in ques- tion shall not be permitted. (e) The value of the historic district as an area of unique interest and character shall not be impaired. (2) Historic landmarks. In determining the recommenda- tion to be presented to the Building Official administration concerning the issuing of a permit for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, relocation, demoli- tion 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: (a) The effect of the proposed change upon the historic, architectural, or cultural nature of the landmark. (b) The appropriateness of exterior architectur- al features which can be seen from a public street, alley, trail or walkway. (c) The general design, arrangement, texture, ma- terial and color of the building or struc- ture site and the similarity, contrast, or other relation of such factors to other land- marks built at or during the same period, as well as the uniqueness of such features, considering the remaining examples of archi- tectural, historical, and cultural values. (d) Signs which are out of keeping with the character of the historic landmark shall not be permitted. (e) The value of the historic landmark as a place of unique interest or character shall not be impaired. K. Findings of the commission concerning applications for permit. (1) If the commission decides to recommend against the 9 granting of a permit, it shall indicate to the applicant the changes in plans and specifications, if any, which in the opinion of the commission, would protect the distinctive historical character of the historic district or historic landmark. The commission shall withhold its report to the Building Official for a period of five (5) days following its discussion to allow the applicant to decide whether or not to make the suggested changes in his plans and specifications. If the applicant determines that he will make the suggested changes, he shall so advise the commission within that time. (2) The commission, after the meeting provided for in subsection I. of this article and after the making of any changes in the plans and specifications as provided in para- graph (1) of subsection K of this section, shall submit to the Building Official, in writing, its recommendation concern- ing the issuance of a permit for the construction, reconstruc- tion, alteration, restoration, relocation, demolition or razing of all or a part of any building within the historic district or historic landmark. The written report shall in- clude the opinion and recommendation of the commission as stated in subparagraphs (G) and (H) of this paragraph and may include all or any part of the matters stated in subpara- graphs (a) through (f) of this paragraph. (a) The exact location of the area or place in which the work is to be done. (b) The exterior changes to be made or the exte- rior character of the structure to be erected. (c) A list of the surrounding structures with their general exterior characteristics. (d) The effect of the proposed change upon the general historic and architectural nature of the district or landmark. (e) The appropriateness of exterior architec- tural features which can be seen from a public street, alley, trail or walkway. 10 (f) The general design, arrangement, texture, ma- terial and color of the building or struc- ture and the relation of such factors to similar features of buildings or structures in a district, or to the general period of construction in a district or landmark. (g) The opinion of the commission, including any dissent, as to the appropriateness of the work proposed as it will preserve or destroy the historic aspect and nature of the dis- trict or landmark. (h) The specific recommendation of the commis- sion. L. Action by the Building Official 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, condi- tional approval, or disapproval of the application, and a copy shall be provided to the commission. M. Appeal from the action of the commission concerning appli- cations for permits. 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, re- location, 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, re- storation, relocation, demolition or razing of all or a part of any building within the historic district, the city coun- cil shall consider the same factors as the commission set forth in subsection J. of this section and the report of the 11 commission and any other matters presented at the hearing on the appeal. If the city council approves the application by a three - fourths (3/4) 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 speci- fications would meet the conditions for protecting the dis- tinctive historical character of the district. N. Duties of the Building Official. Upon receipt of the written disapproval of the city council, the Building Official shall forthwith so advise the applicant and the commission. 0. Reapplication for building permit. In the case of an application's disapproval by the city council, the application shall not be resubmitted for consid- eration until one year has elapsed from the date of disapprov- al unless the indicated changes in the plans and specifica- tions required to meet the conditions for protecting the district or landmark have been incorporated into the reappli- cation. P. Additional duties of commission. (1) The commission shall make an annual report to the city council on the state of historic preservation in the city and shall include in the report a summary of its activities for the past year and a proposed program for the next year. (2) The commission shall have the further responsibility of recommending to the city council, planning and zoning commission, city manager and city departments the adoption of policies, the sources of funds, and designation of districts and landmarks that may further the city's preservation effort. 12 (3) The commission shall provide recommendations to the planning and zoning commission and city council concerning the establishment of city policies, approvals of projects, designations of additional historic districts, changes in historic district boundaries, designations of historic land- marks and any other project or efforts which might affect a designated historic landmark or historic district. (4) The commission shall, with staff advice and support, determine a suitable emblem for marking buildings, struc- tures, and sites within historic districts and for designated landmarks, both public and private. This emblem shall be submitted for approval to the Texas Historical Commission and then recommended for approval to the city council, along with a list of locations and sites and estimates as to cost, for approval by the city council. Q. Notification of designation. Upon passage of any historic district or historic land- mark designation ordinance, the city secretary shall send a notice of the fact of the designation to the owner or owners of affected property by mail. R. Violations; penalties. It shall be unlawful to construct, reconstruct, struc- turally alter, remodel, renovate, relocate, restore, demol- ish, raze, or maintain any building, structure, accessory building, fence or other appurtenance in a historic district or historic landmark in violation of the provisions of this article; and proper city officials, or their duly authorized representatives, in addition to other remedies, may institute any appropriate action or proceedings to prevent such unlaw- ful construction, reconstruction, structural alteration, re- modeling, renovation, restoration, relocation, demolition, razing or maintenance, to restrain, correct, or abate such 13 ATTEST: violation, to prevent any illegal act, conduct, business or maintenance in and about such premises. Each day such viola- tion continues shall constitute a separate violation. II. A. Chapter 7, Section 5, Code of Ordinances, City of Round Rock, is hereby repealed. B. Chapter 11, Section 2, Subsection M., Code of Ordinances, City of Round Rock, is hereby repealed. III. A. The invalidity of any section or provision of this ordi- nance shall not invalidate other sections or provisions there- of. B. All ordinances, parts of ordinances, or resolutions in conflict herewith are expressly repealed. READ and APPROVED on first reading this the day of , 1979. READ, APPROVED and ADOPTED on second reading this the A5 of at , 1979. NE LAND, ity ecretary RY L. T or City of Round Rock, Texas 14