The Commission may delegate the issuance of
certificates of appropriateness for specified minor classes of work
to its staff, or to another delegated authority. The Commission shall
provide to its delegated authority specific written standards for
issuing certificates of appropriateness under this subsection. The
Commission shall review the certificates of appropriateness issued
by the delegate on at least a quarterly basis to determine whether
or not the delegated responsibilities should be continued.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to
prevent ordinary maintenance or repair of a resource within a Historic
District or to prevent work on any resource under a permit issued
by the inspector of buildings or other duly delegated authority before
this chapter was enacted.
The Commission shall review and act upon only
exterior features of a resource and shall not review and act upon
interior arrangements unless specifically authorized to do so by the
Township Board or unless interior work will cause visible change to
the exterior of the resource. The Commission shall not disapprove
an application due to considerations not prescribed in § 399.205(3)
of Public Act 169 of 1970, as amended.
If a permit application is denied, the decision
shall be binding on the inspector or other authority. A denial shall
be accompanied by a written explanation by the Commission of the reasons
for denial and, if appropriate, a notice that an application may be
resubmitted for the Commission review when the suggested changes have
been made. The denial shall also include the notification of the applicant's
right to appeal to the State Historic Preservation Review Board and
to the circuit court.
Work within a Historic District shall be permitted
through the issuance of 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.
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 restore the resource to its former condition or
modify the work so that it qualifies for a certificate of appropriateness
in accordance with the court's order. The costs of the work done shall
be charged to the owner, and may be levied by Northville Township
as a special assessment against the property. When acting pursuant
to 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 a historic
resource within a 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 Northville
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.
Upon receipt of substantial evidence showing the presence of historic, architectural, archaeological, engineering, or cultural significance of a proposed Historic District, the Township Board may, at its discretion, adopt a resolution requiring that all applications for permits within the proposed Historic District be referred to the Historic District Commission as prescribed in §
91-24. The Historic District Commission shall review permit applications with the same powers that would apply if the proposed Historic District was an established Historic District. The review may continue in the proposed Historic District for not more than one year, or until such time as the Township Board approves or rejects the establishment of the Historic District by ordinance, whichever comes first.
If the Township Board determines that pending
work will cause irreparable harm to resources located within an established
or proposed Historic District, the Township Board may by resolution
declare an emergency moratorium on all such work for a period not
to exceed six months. The Township Board 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.