[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Board of Trustees of the
Charter Township of Pittsfield as indicated in article histories.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building regulations — See Ch. 6.
[Adopted 2-25-2015 by Ord. No. 317 as Ch. 5, Art. I, of the 2015 Pittsfield
Charter Township Code]
This article shall be known as the "Historic District Ordinance
of Pittsfield Charter Township" (created under the Local Historic
Districts Act, Public Act 169 of 1970, MCL 399.201 et seq.).
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Work that changes the detail of a resource but does not change
its basic size or shape.
The written approval of a permit application for work that
is appropriate and does not adversely affect a resource.
The Historic District Commission of the Township.
The razing or destruction, whether entirely or in part, of
a resource and includes, but is not limited to, demolition by neglect.
Neglect in maintaining, repairing, or securing a resource
that results in deterioration of an exterior feature of the resource
or the loss of structural integrity of the resource.
The written rejection of a permit application for work that
is inappropriate and that adversely affects a resource.
A system designed to detect and annunciate the presence of
fire or by-products of fire. Fire alarm system includes smoke alarms.
An area, or group of areas, not necessarily having contiguous
boundaries, that contains one resource or a group of resources that
are related by history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, or
culture.
The identification, evaluation, establishment, and protection
of resources significant in history, architecture, archaeology, engineering,
or culture of this state or a community within this state, or of the
United States.
A publicly or privately owned building, structure, site,
object, feature or open space that is significant in the history,
architecture, archaeology, engineering, or culture of the Township,
the state, or the United States.
The written permission to issue a permit for work that is
inappropriate and that adversely affects a resource, pursuant to a
finding under Section 399.205(6) of Public Act 169 of 1970, as amended
[MCL 399.205(6)].
Undeveloped land, a naturally landscaped area, or a formal
or man-made landscaped area that provides a connective link or buffer
between other resources.
Keeping a resource unimpaired and in good condition through
ongoing minor intervention, undertaken from time to time, in its exterior
condition. Ordinary maintenance does not change the external appearance
of the resource except through the elimination of the usual and expected
effects of weathering. Ordinary maintenance does not constitute work
for the purposes of this chapter.
An area, or group of areas not necessarily having contiguous
boundaries, that has delineated boundaries and that is under review
by a committee or a standing committee for the purpose of making a
recommendation as to whether it should be established as a historic
district or added to an established historic district.
To restore a decayed or damaged resource to good or sound
condition by any process. A repair that changes the external appearance
of a resource constitutes work for the purposes of this chapter.
One or more publicly or privately owned historic or nonhistoric
buildings, structures, sites, objects, features, or open spaces located
within an historic district.
Construction, addition, alteration, repair, moving, excavation,
or demolition.
Historic preservation is declared to be a public purpose. The
purpose of this chapter is to do one or more of the following:
A.
Safeguard
the heritage of the Township by preserving historic districts that
reflect elements of its history, architecture, archaeology, engineering,
or culture.
B.
Stabilize
and improve property values in each district and surrounding areas.
C.
Foster
civic beauty.
D.
Strengthen
the local economy.
E.
Promote
the use of historic districts for the education, pleasure, and welfare
of the citizens of the Township and of the state.
F.
Promote
Township identity through public awareness of the history of the Township;
to effect a usable and maintainable archive of historic material;
and to advance the historical interests of the Township.
At any time, the Township Board of Trustees may by ordinance
establish additional historic districts, including proposed districts
previously considered and rejected, may modify boundaries of an existing
historic district, or may eliminate an existing historic district.
The procedure for such action will be governed by Section 399.203(1
through 3) and Section 399.214 of Public Act 169 of 1970, as amended
[MCL 399.203(1) through (3) and MCL 399.214, respectively].
[Amended 11-9-2022 by Ord. No. 338:I]
A.
The
Township Historic District Commission is hereby established. The Commission
shall consist of nine members appointed by the Township Board of Trustees.
Each member of the Commission shall reside within the Township. A
majority of the members shall have a clearly demonstrated interest
in or knowledge of historic preservation. Two members shall be appointed
from a list submitted by one or more duly organized local historic
preservation organizations. If such a person is available for appointment,
one member shall be a graduate of an accredited school of architecture
who has two years of architectural experience or who is duly registered
in the state.
B.
Terms
shall be three years, except the initial appointments of some members
shall be for less than three years so that the initial appointments
are staggered. Members shall be eligible for reappointment.
C.
A
Commission member may be removed by the Board of Trustees due to acts
or omissions of that member on findings by the Board of Trustees that
the acts or omissions are inconsistent with or harmful to the spirit
of this chapter or to the interests of the Township.
D.
Vacancies
on the Commission shall be filled by the Board of Trustees within
60 days to complete the unexpired term.
A.
The
Historic District Commission shall meet at least quarterly or more
frequently at the call of the Commission.
B.
All
meetings of the Commission will be open to the public. All meetings
and notices of the meetings will conform to the Open Meetings Act,
Public Act 267 of 1976, as amended. Public notice of the time, date,
and place of the meeting shall be given in the manner required by
the Open Meetings Act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 to 15.275. 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.
C.
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, 1976 PA 442 of 1976, MCL 15.231 to 15.246.
D.
The
Commission shall adopt its own rules of procedure in the form of written
bylaws, and shall adopt design review standards and guidelines to
carry out its duties under this chapter.
The Commission may delegate the issuance of certificates of
appropriateness 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 under this section.
On at least a quarterly basis, the Commission shall review the certificates
of appropriateness, if any, issued for work by its staff, the inspector,
or another authority to determine whether or not the delegated responsibilities
should be continued.
Ordinary maintenance or repair of a resource within an historic
district is allowed. Work on any resource under a permit issued by
the inspector of buildings or other delegated authority before the
ordinance, from which this chapter is derived, was enacted may continue.
The Commission shall review and act upon exterior features of
a resource only. Except for noting compliance with the requirement
to install a fire alarm system or a smoke alarm, the Commission shall
not review or act on interior work unless the Board of Trustees has
specifically authorized the Commission to do so or unless the interior
work will cause visible change to the exterior of the resource. The
Commission will only consider the conditions in Subsection 399.205(3)
of Public Act 169 of 1970 [MCL 399.205(3)], as amended.
A.
When reviewing plans, the Commission shall follow the United States
Secretary of Interior's standards for rehabilitation and guidelines
for rehabilitating historic buildings as set forth in 36 CFR Part
67. The Commission may use other standards and guidelines that address
special design characteristics of historic districts administered
by the Commission if they are equivalent in guidance to the Secretary
of Interior's standards and guidelines and are established or approved
by the State Historic Preservation Office of the State Housing Development
Authority.
B.
In reviewing plans, the Commission shall also consider all of the
following:
(1)
The historic or architectural value and significance of the resource
and its relationship to the historic value of the surrounding area.
(2)
The relationship of any architectural features of the resource to
the rest of the resource and to the surrounding area.
(3)
The general compatibility of the design, arrangement, texture, and
materials proposed to be used.
(4)
Other factors, such as aesthetic value, that the Commission finds
relevant.
(5)
Whether the applicant has certified in the application that the subject
property where work will be undertaken has, or will have before the
proposed project completion date, a fire alarm system or a smoke alarm
complying with the requirements of the Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single
State Construction Code Act, MCL 125.1501 to 125.1531.
A.
A permit shall be obtained before any work affecting the exterior
appearance of a resource is performed within an historic district.
The person, individual, partnership, firm, corporation, organization,
institution, or agency of government proposing to do that work shall
file an application for a permit with the inspector of buildings.
When the inspector receives a complete application, he/she shall immediately
refer the complete application, along with all required supporting
materials, to the Commission. A permit shall not be issued and proposed
work shall not proceed until the Commission has issued a certificate
of appropriateness or a notice to proceed as prescribed in this chapter.
B.
A certificate of appropriateness shall not be issued unless the applicant
has certified in the application that the subject property where work
will be undertaken has, or will have before the proposed project completion
date, a fire alarm system or a smoke alarm complying with the requirements
of the Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act, MCL
125.1501 to 125.1531.
C.
The Commission shall file certificates of appropriateness, notices
to proceed, and denials of applications for permits with the inspector
of buildings or other delegated authority.
D.
If the proposed work will adversely affect the exterior of a resource
the Commission considers valuable to the Township and the Commission
determines that the alteration or loss of that resource will adversely
affect the public purpose of the Township, state, or nation, the Commission
shall attempt to establish with the owner of the resource an economically
feasible plan for the preservation of the resource.
E.
The failure of the Commission to act within 60 calendar days after
the date a complete application is filed with the Commission, unless
an extension is agreed upon in writing by the applicant and the Commission,
shall be considered to constitute approval.
F.
The Commission may charge a reasonable fee to process a permit application.
If a permit application is denied, the decision shall be binding
on the inspector or other authority. A denial shall be accompanied
with a written explanation by the Commission stating the reasons for
denial and, if appropriate, a notice that an application may be resubmitted
for Commission review when suggested changes have been made. The denial
shall also include notification of the applicant's rights of appeal
to the State Historic Preservation Review Board and to the Circuit
Court.
Work within an historic district shall be permitted by issuing
a notice to proceed by the Commission if any of the following conditions
prevail and if the proposed work can be demonstrated by a finding
of the Commission to be necessary to substantially improve or correct
any of the following conditions:
A.
The resource constitutes a hazard to the safety of the public or
to the structure's occupants.
B.
The resource is a deterrent to a major improvement program that will
be of substantial benefit to the community, and the applicant proposing
the work has obtained all necessary planning and zoning approvals,
financing, and environmental clearances.
C.
Retaining the resource will cause undue financial hardship to the
owner when a governmental action, an act of God, or other events beyond
the owner's control created the hardship, and all feasible alternatives
to eliminate the financial hardship, which may include offering the
resource for sale at its fair market value or moving the resource
to a vacant site within the historic district, have been attempted
and exhausted by the owner.
D.
Retaining the resource is not in the interest of the majority of
the community.
A.
An applicant aggrieved by a decision of the Commission concerning
a permit application may file an appeal with the State Historic Preservation
Review Board. The appeal shall be filed within 60 days after the decision
is furnished to the applicant. The appellant may submit all or part
of the appellant's evidence and arguments in written form. A permit
applicant aggrieved by the decision of the State Historic Preservation
Review Board may appeal the decision to the county circuit court.
B.
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 Historic District Commission, may appeal
the decision to the circuit court, except that a permit applicant
aggrieved by a decision rendered under this chapter may not appeal
to the court without first exhausting the right to appeal to the State
Historic Preservation Review Board.
When work has been done upon a resource without a permit, and
the Commission finds that the work does not qualify for a certificate
of appropriateness, the Commission may require an owner to restore
the resource to the condition that the resource was in before the
inappropriate work or to modify the work so that it qualifies for
a certificate of appropriateness. If the owner does not comply with
the restoration or modification requirement within a reasonable time,
the Commission may seek an order from the circuit court to require
the owner to restore the resource to its former condition or to modify
the work so that it qualifies for a certificate of appropriateness.
If the owner does not comply or cannot comply with the order of the
court, the Commission or its agents may enter the property and conduct
work necessary to comply with the court's order. The costs of the
work shall be charged to the owner, and may be levied by the Township
as a special assessment against the property. When acting under an
order of the circuit court, the Commission or its agents may enter
a property for purposes of this section.
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:
A.
Require the owner of the resource to repair all conditions contributing
to demolition by neglect.
B.
If the owner does not make repairs within a reasonable time, the
Commission or its agents may enter the property and make such repairs
as necessary to prevent demolition by neglect. The costs of the work
shall be charged to the owner, and may be levied by the Township 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.
If the Board of Trustees receives substantial evidence showing the presence of historic, architectural, archaeological, engineering, or cultural significance of a proposed historic district, it may, at its discretion, adopt a resolution requiring that all applications for permits within the proposed historic district be referred to the Commission as prescribed in § 5-11. The Commission shall review permit applications with the same powers that would apply if the proposed historic district was an established district. The review may continue in the proposed historic district for not more than one year, or until such time as the Board of Trustees approves or rejects the establishment of the historic district by ordinance, whichever occurs first.
If the Board of Trustees determines that pending work will cause
irreparable harm to resources located within an established or proposed
historic district, the Board of Trustees may by resolution declare
an emergency moratorium on all such work for a period not to exceed
six months. The Board of Trustees may extend the emergency moratorium
for an additional period not to exceed six months, upon finding that
the threat of irreparable harm to resources is still present. Any
pending permit application concerning a resource subject to an emergency
moratorium may be summarily denied.
The Board of Trustees may accept state or federal grants for
historic preservation purposes, may participate in state and federal
programs that benefit historic preservation, and may accept public
or private gifts for historic preservation purposes. The Board of
Trustees may make the Historic District Commission, a standing committee,
or other agency its duly appointed agent to accept and administer
grants, gifts, and program responsibilities.
If all efforts by the Commission to preserve a resource fail,
or if it is determined by the Board of Trustees that public ownership
is most suitable, the Board of Trustees, if considered to be in the
public interest, may acquire the resource using public funds, public
or private gifts, grants, or proceeds from the issuance of revenue
bonds. The acquisition will be based on the recommendation of the
Historic District Commission. The Historic District Commission is
responsible for maintaining publicly owned resources using its own
funds, if not specifically designated for other purposes, or public
funds committed for that use by the Board of Trustees. Upon recommendation
of the Historic District Commission, the Township may sell resources
acquired under this section with protective easements included in
the property transfer documents, if appropriate.
The Commission shall have all the powers and duties vested in
or permitted to be vested in a Historical Commission by Public Act
No. 88 of 1976 (MCL 399.171 et seq.).
[Adopted 2-25-2015 by Ord. No. 317 as Ch. 5, Art. II, of the 2015 Pittsfield
Charter Township Code]
A.
The following
area within the Township is hereby designated an historic district
and shall be subject to the terms, conditions and requirements of
this chapter.
B.
The property
commonly known as the "Sutherland-Wilson [Farm]" and more precisely
described as:
(1)
Commencing
from the Northeast 1/4 corner of said Section 29, thence S 88 degrees
22’ 18” W 508.21 feet to the point of beginning; thence
S 01 degree 37’42” E 415.32 feet; thence N 88 degrees
22’18” E 125.00 feet, S 01 degree 37’42” E
151.33 feet; thence S 88 degrees 22’ 18” W 483.42 feet;
thence N 05 degrees 47’ 58” E 571.44 feet; thence N 88
degrees 22’18” E 284.55 feet to the point of beginning,
containing 4.616 acres more or less,
[Added 1-13-2016 by Ord.
No. 320]
A.
The following area within Pittsfield Charter Township is hereby designated an historic district and shall be subject to the terms, conditions and requirements of Article I, Historic District Commission; Regulations, of this chapter.
B.
The property
commonly known as the Harwood Heritage Farm, 6356 E. Michigan Ave.,
Saline, Michigan 48176, and more precisely described as:
(1)
Parcel
Number: L-12-27-200-023--COM AT INTERSECTION OF C/L CAMPBELL ROAD
AND MICHIGAN AVE, TH ELY 487 FT IN C/L MICHIGAN AVE FOR POB, TH NLY
PARALLEL TO CAMPBELL RD 890 FT, TH DEF 90 RT 495 FT, TH DEF 90 RT
890 FT, TH SWLY IN C/L MICHIGAN AVE TO POB, BEING PART OF NW ¼
SEC 27, T3S R6E, 10.10 AC and
[Added 1-11-2023 by Ord. No. 339]
A.
The following
area within Pittsfield Charter Township is hereby designated a historic
district and shall be subject to the terms, conditions and requirements
of the Historic District Ordinance.
B.
The property
commonly known as the Dr. David R. Byrd Center and Wilsey-Sperry-Nelson
Farm, 3261 Lohr Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108, and more precisely
described as property located in the Township of Pittsfield, Washtenaw
County, State of Michigan:
(1)
Parcel
Number: L-12-08-250-017--BNDRY ADJST PER SURVEY 08/22/11 OWNER REQUEST
PI 8-4A-2A-1 PCL "II" COM AT NW COR SEC 8, TH S 00-12-15 W 1253.02
FT TO A POB, TH S 89-47-45 E 323.04 FT, TH S 00-12-15 W 163.06 FT,
TH S 87-21-15 W 130.44 FT, TH N 00-12-15 E 10.00 FT, TH S 87-21-15
W 193.00 FT, TH N 00-12-15 E 169.14 FT TO THE POB. PT OF NW 1/4 SEC
8, T3S-R6E. 1.22 AC. SPLIT ON 06/21/2004 FROM L-12-08-250-016.
