[Amended 7-12-2023 by Ord. No. 541]
A.
This article and its provisions shall regulate the construction,
alteration, reconstruction, moving and demolition of structures, their
appurtenances, and environmental settings within the Historic Overlay
District.
B.
The Historic Overlay District of St. Michaels consists of an area,
as shown on the Official St. Michaels Zoning Map.
C.
Prior to the commencement of any construction, alteration, or reconstruction
activities or the issuance of a building permit or a certificate of
zoning compliance for any property located in the Historic Overlay
District, if any exterior changes are proposed that would affect the
historic, archaeological, or architectural significance of the site
or structure, any portion of which is visible or intended to be visible
from a public way, regardless of whether a building permit is required,
a certificate of approval shall be obtained from the Historic District
Commission. This requirement applies to any building, structure, premises,
sign, or site being erected, constructed, built, created, reconstructed,
moved, altered, added to, converted, or demolished and to an associated
natural land formation and appurtenance and environmental setting
within the Historic Overlay District. The Building Official may not
grant a permit for any change to a site or structure in the Historic
District, until the Commission has acted on the application in accordance
with this article.
In addition to the definitions outlined in Article II of this chapter, the following additional terms or words shall be interpreted as follows when applied to the Historic Overlay District:
The process of reusing a historic site or building for a
purpose other than which it was built or designed.
Any change in design, material, finish, or appearance including,
but not limited to, affixing lights, signs, or other features to the
exterior of a structure or site or erecting a tent or other temporary
structure on a site.
[Added 7-12-2023 by Ord. No. 541]
Includes paved or unpaved walkways and driveways, trees,
landscaping, pastures, croplands, waterways, and rocks.
To tear down or to raze. It also includes any willful neglect
in the maintenance and repair of a structure, other than the structure's
appurtenances and environmental settings, is not due to a financial
inability to maintain and repair the structure and threatens to result
in a substantial deterioration of the exterior features of the structure.
Any willful neglect in the maintenance and repair of an individually
designated landmark, or site or structure within the Historic Overlay
District, including any appurtenances and environmental settings,
that does not result from an owner's financial inability to maintain
and repair such landmark, site, or structure, and which results in
any of the following conditions:
The deterioration of the foundations, exterior walls, chimneys,
roofs, doors, or windows, to create or permit a hazardous or unsafe
condition to exist; or
The deterioration of the foundations, exterior walls, chimneys,
roofs, doors, or windows, the lack of adequate waterproofing, or the
deterioration of interior features which will or could result in permanent
damage, injury, or loss of or loss to foundations, exterior walls,
chimneys, roofs, doors, or windows.
A significant concentration, linkage, or continuity of sites,
structures, or objects united historically or aesthetically by plan
or development.
Guidelines for rehabilitation and new construction design
for sites and structures in the Historic Overlay District that are
consistent with those generally recognized by the Maryland Historical
Trust and adopted by the Town upon the recommendation of the Historic
District Commission.
For the Historic District Commission review, this term is
defined as public streets as so labeled on the official street map
of the Town as adopted by the Town Commissioners.
Work that does not alter the exterior fabric or features
of a site or structure and has no material effect on the historical,
archaeological, or architectural significance of the site or structure.
The location of an event of historic significance or standing
or a structure or ruin that possesses historic, archaeological, or
cultural significance.
A combination of material to form a stable construction,
including, but not limited to, buildings, stadiums, reviewing stands,
platforms, stagings, observation towers, radio towers, water tanks
and towers, trestles, piers, bulkheads, wharves, sheds, coal bins,
shelters, fences, bridges, paving, and display signs visible or intended
to be visible from a public way, a natural land formation and an appurtenance
and environmental setting. The structure includes a part of a structure.
[Amended 2-10-2021 by Ord. No. 519; 7-12-2023 by Ord. No. 541]
B.
The Historic
District Commission shall develop and recommend for approval by the
Town Commissioners guidelines for the preservation, restoration, rehabilitation
of existing structures and for the design of new structures on designated
historic sites and in historic districts that are consistent with
those of the Maryland Historical Trust.
(1)
The
guidelines adopted under this subsection may include:
(a)
Design characteristics intended to meet the needs of particular types
of sites, structures, and districts; and
(2)
The
guidelines adopted under this subsection may provide that changes
that are so minimal in nature that, in the judgment of the Historic
District Commission, they do not affect historic, archaeological,
or architectural significance do not require a certificate of approval.
C.
The Historic District Commission shall review and act upon any request
for a certificate of approval required by this article.
D.
The Historic District Commission shall adopt rules and procedures
necessary to the conduct of its affairs in keeping with the provisions
of the Annotated Code of Maryland, General Provisions Article, Title
3, including rules and procedures for the conduct of public meetings
and hearings.
E.
Members of the Historic District Commission shall disqualify themselves
from voting on any matter in which a conflict of interest is evident
or implied.
[Added 7-12-2023 by Ord. No. 541]
A.
Upon receipt of any application for a development approval that requires a certificate of approval by the Historic District Commission pursuant to § 340-31C, the Building Official or Zoning Inspector, as the case may be, shall provide the property owner or the property owner's designated agent with an application for a certificate of approval.
B.
The Historic District Commission may require plans, elevations, architectural
drawings, and other relevant information to aid in rendering a decision.
The property owner or the property owner's agent shall submit
the required application, accompanied by any such required information
and any application fee imposed by the Town Commissioners, to the
Building Official or Zoning Official, depending on the type of development
approval sought, who shall forward the application for certificate
of approval and accompanying materials to the Historic District Commission
for review and action.
C.
In reviewing an application for a certificate of approval, the Historic
District Commission shall consider such factors as:
(1)
The historic or architectural value and significance of the
structure and its relationship to the historic value of the surrounding
area;
(2)
The relationship of the exterior architectural features of the
structure to the remainder of the structure and the surrounding area;
and
(3)
The general compatibility of exterior design, scale, proportion,
arrangement, texture, and materials proposed to be used.
(4)
Any other factors, including aesthetics, that the Historic District
Commission considers pertinent.
D.
The Historic District Commission shall consider only the exterior
features of a structure.
E.
Failure to supply the Historic District Commission with a complete
and specific description of the intended action, including architectural
renderings, elevations, site plans, material lists, and other reasonable
requirements of the Historic District Commission, may be grounds for
denial of the application.
F.
A certificate of approval shall not be required for the planting
or removal of trees, shrubs, flowers, and/or grass in a natural environmental
setting on an existing improved lot. This exception does not include
formal gardens or landscaped areas that change the natural lot formation.
G.
In acting upon an application for a certificate of approval, the
Historic District Commission shall strictly judge plans for sites
or structures it determines through research to be of historic, archaeological,
or architectural significance.
(1)
The Historic District Commission shall not strictly judge plans
for sites or structures of little historic, archaeological, or architectural
significance or plans involving new construction, unless such plans
would seriously impair the historic, archaeological, or architectural
significance of the surrounding site or structures. The Historic District
Commission shall document, in writing, the reasons for determining
that the plans would impair the significance of the surrounding sites
or structures.
(2)
If a site or structure is considered to be valuable for its
historic, archaeological, or architectural significance the Historic
District Commission may approve proposed construction, reconstruction,
alteration, moving, or demolition, despite the fact that the changes
come within the provisions of this section, if:
H.
The Historic District Commission shall attempt, in cooperation with
the owner of a site or structure, to formulate an economically feasible
plan to preserve the site or structure if:
(1)
An application is submitted for construction, reconstruction,
or alteration affecting a site or the exterior of a structure or for
the moving or demolition of a structure; and
(2)
The Historic District Commission considers the preservation
of the site or structure to be of unusual importance to the Town,
State of Maryland, or the nation.
(3)
If the Historic District Commission concludes that an economically
feasible plan cannot be formulated under this section, it shall have
90 days after the date on which it determines that such a plan cannot
be formulated to negotiate with the owner and other parties to find
a means of preserving the site or structure.
I.
Unless the Historic District Commission is satisfied that the proposed
construction, reconstruction, or alteration will not materially impair
the historic, archaeological, or architectural significance of the
site or structure, the Historic District Commission shall:
J.
If a site or structure is considered to be valuable for its historic,
archaeological, or architectural significance, the Historic District
Commission may approve proposed construction, reconstruction, alteration,
moving, or demolition, despite the fact that the changes come within
the provisions of this section, if:
(1)
The site or structure is a deterrent to a major improvement
program that will be of substantial benefit to the Town; or
K.
An application for substantially the same reconstruction, alteration,
or demolition, if denied, shall not be resubmitted in substantially
similar form within one year after the rejection.
L.
This section may not be interpreted to prevent routine maintenance
or landscaping, which does not have a material effect on the historic,
archaeological, or architectural significance of a designated site,
structure, or district.
A.
In the event of demolition by neglect, the Historic District Commission
may request the Zoning Inspector to notify, in writing, the property
owner of record, any person having a right, title or interest therein,
and the occupant or another person responsible for the maintenance
of the property, of the deterioration. The notice shall specify the
minimum items of repair or maintenance necessary to correct the problem.
B.
Before the issuance of a written notice, the Historic District Commission
may request the Zoning Inspector to establish a record of demolition
by neglect. Such a record may include dated materials such as photographs
and written reports of the condition of the property to measure the
deterioration.
C.
The notice shall state that corrective action shall commence within
30 days of the receipt of said notice and be completed within a reasonable
amount of time. The notice shall state that the owner of record of
the property or any person of record with any right, title, or interest
therein, may, within 10 days after receipt of the notice, request
a hearing on the necessity of the items and conditions contained in
the notice. If a public hearing is requested, it shall be held by
the Historic District Commission upon 30 days' written notice being
mailed to all persons of record with any right, title, or interest
in the property and to all citizens and organizations which the Historic
District Commission determines may have an interest in the proceedings.
Notice of public hearings on items of repair or maintenance necessary
to correct the problem shall be as provided in as per the rules and
procedures of the Historic District Commission.
D.
If, after the public hearing, the Historic District Commission determines
that the corrective actions remain necessary, the Historic District
Commission may request the Zoning Inspector to ensure that the owner
takes corrective action to comply with the final notice within 30
days of receipt of the final notice.
E.
Upon failure, neglect, or refusal of the property owner or another responsible person, duly notified, to take corrective action specified in the final notice with the time required, such property owner or other responsible person shall be deemed to be in violation of this chapter, and the Historic District Commission may request that the Zoning Inspector institute any of the remedies and penalties provided in § 340-212.
Upon approval of an application, the Historic District Commission
shall transmit a report to the Zoning Inspector stating the conditions
upon which approval was granted and shall cause a historic review
certificate to be issued. Final action shall be taken within 45 days
after filing of the request; if not, the application shall be deemed
approved, except when an agreement between the Historic District Commission
and the applicant has been made for an extension of the time limit.
A.
The Historic District Commission shall file with the Zoning Inspector
a certificate of the Historic District Commission's approval, approval
with conditions, or modification, or written notice of rejection of
an application or plan submitted to the commission for review.
B.
An applicant may not begin work on a project submitted to the Historic
District Commission for review until the Historic District Commission
has filed the certificate of approval, approval with conditions, or
modification with the Building Inspector.
C.
The Zoning Inspector may not issue a building permit for a change
or construction submitted to the Historic District Commission for
review until the Zoning Inspector has received the certificate of
approval, approval with conditions, or modification from the Historic
District Commission.
Any person with standing to do so may appeal a decision or determination by the Historic District Commission to the Board of Zoning Appeals according to Article XII of this chapter.
Enforcement and penalties under this article shall be as specified in § 340-212 of this chapter.
[Added 7-12-2023 by Ord. No. 541]
The Town may purchase architectural easements in connection
with structures located in or adjacent to the Historic Overlay District
upon the recommendation of the Historic District Commission. Any such
easement shall grant to the Town, the residents of the Historic Overlay
District, and the general public the perpetual right to have the exterior
appearance of any structure upon which it is applied retained in substantially
the same character as when the easement took effect.
