3-17-104 West Valley City Historic Landmark Register

3-17-104. WEST VALLEY CITY HISTORIC LANDMARK REGISTER.

Significant historic properties may be designated to the Historic Landmark Register for the purposes of recognizing their significance and providing incentives and guidelines for their preservation.

(1) Criteria for Designating Properties to the West Valley City Historic Landmark Register. Any district, building, structure, object or site may be designated to the Historic Landmark Register if it meets the criteria outlined below:

a. It is located within the official boundaries of the City.

b. It is currently listed in the National Register of Historic Places and a copy of the approved National Register form has been placed in the local historic preservation files.

c. A property not yet listed in the National Register must:

i. Retain its historic integrity as defined in Section 4.A.3.a., and

ii. Meet at least one of the following National Register criteria:

iii. associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or

iv. associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or

v. embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or

vi. have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history (archeological sites, for example).

d. It has been documented according to the Utah State Historic Preservation Office standards for Intensive Level Surveys (June 1993 version or subsequent revisions) or National Register standards and a copy of that documentation has been placed in the local historic preservation files.

e. Owner Approval

i. Individual properties. The owner of the property must approve the action to designate his/her property to the Historic Landmark Register by submitting to the Commission a written statement to that effect.

ii. Historic districts. A majority (over 50 percent) of the property owners in a proposed historic district must be in favor of the designation or at least not opposed to it. Written objections from over 50 percent of the property owners will constitute lack of approval and will halt the designation process.

a. Submittal to the Commission of complete Intensive Level Survey or National Register of Historic Places documentation shall initiate the review process.

b. The Commission shall place properly submitted nominations on the agenda for its next scheduled meeting and shall notify the nominating party and the property owner, either orally or in writing, fourteen (14) days prior to the meeting that the nomination will be considered. The fourteen-day notification period may be waived at the property owner’s option. In the case of historic districts, notification of proposed nominations may be made by public notice placed in the local newspaper or posted in a public building.

c. The Commission shall review the documentation for completeness, accuracy, and compliance with the "Criteria for Designating Properties to the West Valley City Historic Landmark Register" and may, by passage of an appropriate resolution, recommend that the City Council designate properties to the Historic Landmark Register.

(3) Notification and Recording of Designation. Following designation, a notice of such shall be mailed to the owners of record together with a copy of this ordinance. In the case of historic district designation, notice of such may be placed in the local newspaper or in a public building rather than mailed to each owner of property in the district. The Commission shall record the Historic Landmark Register status designation with the County Recorder's Office.

a. Properties designated to the Historic Landmark Register may receive special consideration in the granting of zoning variances or conditional use permits in order to encourage their preservation.

b. In the event of rehabilitation of the property, local building officials will consider waiving certain code requirements in accordance with Chapter 34 of the Uniform Building Code (1994 Edition), which deals with historic buildings, and the Uniform Code for Building Conservation, a special code for existing buildings.

c. Owners of Historic Landmarks may seek assistance from the Historic Preservation Commission in applying for grants or tax credits for rehabilitating their properties.

d. Proposed exterior work on Historic Landmarks is subject to the review and approval of the Historic Preservation Commission. The purpose of this review is to ensure the preservation of historic properties to the greatest degree possible. This review applies to individually designated Landmark properties or any property, contributing or non-contributing, located in a Landmark-designated historic district. This review applies only to exterior work which requires a building permit, sign permit, or demolition permit.

i. Applications for building, demolition, or sign permits pertaining to, shall be forwarded by the Building Inspection Department to the Historic Preservation Commission prior to their issuance.

ii. A permit applicant, in order to obtain a permit from the Building Inspections Division, shall file a request for a Certificate of Appropriateness with the Commission on a form furnished by the Commission.

iii. At its next scheduled meeting, the Commission shall review the application and proposed work for compliance with the "Standards for Rehabilitation," hereafter referred to as the "Standards," and any design guidelines adopted by the Commission and City Council.

1. Applicants whose proposed projects comply with the provisions of this Title shall be issued a "Certificate of Historic Appropriateness" within ten (10) days, which authorizes the issuance of the appropriate permit.

2. Applicants whose proposed projects are found to be in non-compliance with this Title shall be offered a negotiating period of sixty (60) days, during which time the Commission and applicant shall explore all options for an acceptable solution. These may include the feasibility of modifying the plans, using the historic landmark for alternative purposes, and reselling the property to another party. The Commission may extend the negotiating period an additional sixty (60) days for the purposes described above if deemed necessary to accommodate a potential solution.

3. If no solution has been agreed upon at the conclusion of either the initial sixty-day (60) period or the full one hundred twenty-day (120) period the Certificate of Historic Appropriateness will be denied; consequently, the Building Official shall not issue any permits.

iv. Claims of Economic Hardship. The Commission may approve a Certificate of Appropriateness for Rehabilitation or Demolition of a landmark property if the owner has presented substantial evidence demonstrating that unreasonable economic hardship will result from denial of the certificate of appropriateness.

1. Economic Hardship Criteria. In order to sustain a claim of unreasonable economic hardship, the Commission may require the owner to provide information to whether the property is capable of producing a reasonable return for the owner.

2. Demonstration of economic hardship by the owner shall not be based on conditions resulting from willful or negligent acts by the owner, purchasing the property for substantially more than market value at the time of purchase, failure to perform normal maintenance and repairs, failure to diligently solicit and retain tenants, or failure to provide normal tenant improvements.

v. An applicant who has been denied any permit by the Building Official, based on the Commission’s refusal to issue a Certificate of Historic Appropriateness, may appeal that decision to the City Council. The appeal must be made on or before thirty (30) days after the Commission’s decision.

(5) Removal of Properties from the Historic Landmark Register. Properties which, in the opinion of the Historic Preservation Commission, no longer meet the criteria for eligibility may be removed from the Historic Landmark Register after review and consideration by the Commission.

(6) Enforcement. The provisions of this section are subject to the enforcement provisions established in the Uniform Building Code, Uniform Code for Building Conservation, or in the Uniform Housing Code as adopted by West Valley City.