There is hereby created the Township Historic District Commission. Each member of the Commission shall reside within the Township, with a majority of the members having a clearly demonstrated interest in or knowledge of historic preservation. The membership of the Commission shall be comprised of seven members, with at least one member from a list of citizens submitted by the Township historical society. The Commission shall also include as a member, if available, a graduate of an accredited school of architecture who has two years of architectural experience or who is an architect registered in this state. The Commission shall also include, if available, at least two individuals chosen from among the owners of property regulated by this chapter and listed in § 228-7.
The Township Board of Trustees shall appoint all members of
the Commission. Members of the Commission shall be appointed for three-year
terms with the initial appointments of some members to be for less
than three years so that the initial appointments are staggered and
that subsequent appointments do not recur at the same time. Members
of the Commission shall be eligible for reappointment. All members
of the Commission shall hold office until their successors are appointed.
The members of the Commission shall be paid on a per meeting
basis at a rate set by resolution of the Township Board of Trustees.
A vacancy occurring in the membership of the Commission shall
be filled by a person appointed by the Township Board of Trustees
and shall be made within 60 calendar days of the vacancy. Members
of the Commission may be removed by the Township Board of Trustees
for cause upon written charges and after a public hearing.
The business that the Commission may perform shall be conducted
at a public meeting of the Commission held in compliance with the
Open Meetings Act, Public Act No. 267 of 1976 (MCLA § 15.261 et seq.). Public notice of
the time, date, and place of the meeting shall be given in the manner
required by such Act. A meeting agenda shall be part of the notice
and shall include a listing of each permit application to be reviewed
or considered by the Commission.
The Commission shall keep a record of its resolutions, proceedings,
and actions. A writing prepared, owned, used, in the possession of,
or retained by the Commission in the performance of an official function
shall be made available to the public in compliance with the Freedom
of Information Act, Public Act No. 442 of 1976 (MCLA § 15.231 et seq.).
The Commission shall adopt its own rules of procedure and shall
adopt design review standards and guidelines for resource treatment
to carry out its duties in accordance with Public Act No. 169 of 1970
(MCLA § 399.201 et
seq.).
The Commission may delegate the issuance of certificates of
appropriateness and/or notices to proceed for specified minor classes
of work to its staff, to the inspector of buildings, or to another
delegated authority. The Commission shall provide to the delegated
authority specific written standards for issuing certificates of appropriateness
and/or notices to proceed under this subsection. On at least a quarterly
basis, the Commission shall review the certificates of appropriateness
and/or notices to proceed, if any, issued for work by its staff, the
inspector, or another authority to determine whether or not the delegated
responsibilities should be continued.
A.
Recordkeeping. The Commission shall keep and maintain a copy of the Historic District Study Committee report for each historic district listed in § 228-7.
B.
Regulatory. The Commission shall regulate the construction, alteration, repair, moving and demolition of all resources contained in the historic districts, and of all historic resources as listed in § 228-7.
C.
Annual reporting. The Commission shall submit an annual report of
its activities to the Township Board of Trustees.
D.
Maintenance. The Commission shall maintain all publicly owned historic
resources and landmarks in the Township, from its own funds or funds
otherwise made available for the purpose of maintaining historic resources.
[Amended 10-9-2012 by Ord. No. 37-A(2)-2012]
A.
The Commission may recommend to the Township Board of Trustees the adoption of incentive programs to encourage the preservation of historic resources, or to encourage the inclusion of such resources in § 228-7.
B.
The Commission may recommend to the Township Board of Trustees or
other appropriate Township boards or commissions the granting of variances
or other relief from building, use or other limitations established
by ordinance or other regulations to encourage or ensure preservation
of historic resources. It is the intent of this chapter to encourage
other boards and commissions to favorably consider such variances
and other relief.
C.
The Commission may recommend to the Township Board of Trustees to
accept any grant, loan or aid of any nature from any federal, state
or private source for the purpose of historic preservation, including
the survey of historic resources, and for the acquisition, restoration
or maintenance of historic resources.
D.
Upon a finding by the Commission that an historic resource within
an historic district or a proposed historic district subject to its
review and approval is threatened with demolition by neglect, the
Commission may do either of the following:
(1)
Require the owner of the resource to repair all conditions contributing
to demolition by neglect.
(2)
If the owner does not make repairs within a reasonable time, the
Commission may, upon 14 days' notice, seek an order to enter
the property and make such repairs as are necessary to prevent demolition
by neglect. The costs of the work shall be charged to the owner, and
may be levied by the local unit as a special assessment against the
property. The Commission or its agents may enter the property for
purposes of this section upon obtaining an order from the Circuit
Court.
E.
When work has been done upon a resource without an historic district permit, and the Commission finds that the work does not qualify for a certificate of appropriateness, the Commission may recommend issuance of a municipal civil infraction citation and may require restoration or modification of the work as set forth in § 228-20 of this chapter.
F.
The Commission may, within the limitations of its budget, call in
experts to assist in the carrying out of its duties.
G.
The Commission may, within the limits of its budget, organize, manage,
advertise, and hold events and activities in the Township for the
purpose of promoting and educating the public regarding the existence
and preservation of historic resources located in the Township, provided
that the Commission obtains advance permission from the person or
entity having jurisdiction over or ownership of the property at which
the event or activity is to take place and complies with all applicable
laws, regulations, and Township ordinances, policies and cash handling
and audit requirements in connection with such events and activities.
Such events and activities shall not involve fund-raising. For purposes
of this subsection, the term "fund-raising" does not mean, include,
or preclude charges or fees to participants that are assessed and
applied for purposes of offsetting the costs of holding such events
and activities.
H.
The Township Board of Trustees may prescribe powers and duties of
the Commission, in addition to those prescribed in this chapter, that
foster historic preservation activities, projects and programs in
the Township.
Any citizen or duly organized historic preservation organization in the Township, as well as resource property owners, jointly or severally aggrieved by a decision of the Commission, may appeal the decision to the Circuit Court, except that a permit applicant aggrieved by a decision rendered under Article III of this chapter may not appeal to the Court without first exhausting the right to appeal to the State Historic Preservation Review Board under § 228-28.
There shall be appropriated in the annual budget of the Township
a sum of money that may be expended by the Commission in furtherance
of its powers and duties under this chapter.
