HOUSE BILL No. 4216 January 30, 1997, Introduced by Reps. LeTarte, Jellema, Horton, Voorhees, Lowe, Sikkema, Brackenridge, Green, Jelinek, Fitzgerald, Rocca, Nye, Middleton, McManus, Cropsey, Jaye, Rhead, Llewellyn, Hammerstrom, DeVuyst, McBryde, Walberg, Geiger, Bobier, Goschka, Baade, Dobb, Gernaat, Profit, London, Dalman, Emerson, Oxender, Cassis, Raczkowski, Richner, Kaza, Wetters, Whyman, Perricone, Gilmer and Godchaux and referred to the Committee on Local Government. A bill to amend 1970 PA 169, entitled "Local historic districts act," by amending section 5 (MCL 399.205), as amended by 1992 PA 96. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: 1 Sec. 5. (1) A permit shall be obtained before any work 2 affecting the exterior appearance of a resource is performed 3 within a historic district or, if required under subsection (4), 4 work affecting the interior arrangements of a resource is per- 5 formed within a historic district. The person, individual, part- 6 nership, firm, corporation, organization, institution, or agency 7 of government proposing to do that work shall file an application 8 for a permit with the inspector of buildings, the commission, or 9 other duly delegated authority. If the inspector of buildings or 10 other authority receives the application, the application shall 11 be immediatelyreferredFORWARDED TO THE COMMISSION, together 00232'97 TLG 2 1 with all required supporting materials that make the application 2 complete.to the commission.A permit shall not be issued and 3 proposed work shall not proceed until the commission has acted on 4 the application by issuing a certificate of appropriateness or a 5 notice to proceed as prescribed in this act. A local unit may 6 charge a reasonable fee to process a permit application. 7 (2) An applicant aggrieved by a decision of a commission 8 concerning a permit application may file an appeal with the state 9 historic preservation review board of the Michigan historical 10 commission within the department of state. The appeal shall be 11 filed within 60 days after the decision is furnished to the 12 applicant. The appellant may submit all or part of the 13 appellant's evidence and arguments in written form. The review 14 board shall consider an appeal at its first regularly scheduled 15 meeting after receiving the appeal, but may not charge a fee for 16 considering an appeal. The review board may affirm, modify, or 17 set aside a commission's decision and may order a commission to 18 issue a certificate of appropriateness or a notice to proceed. A 19 permit applicant aggrieved by the decision of the state historic 20 preservation review board may appeal the decision to the circuit 21 court having jurisdiction over the historic district commission 22 whose decision was appealed to the state historic preservation 23 review board. 24 (3) In reviewing plans, the commission shall follow the 25 U.S. secretary of the interior's standards for rehabilitation 26 and guidelines for rehabilitating historic buildings, as set 27 forth in OR ISSUED UNDER 36 C.F.R. part 67. Design review 00232'97 3 1 standards and guidelines that address special design 2 characteristics of historic districts administered by the commis- 3 sion may be followed if they are equivalent in guidance to the 4 secretary of interior's standards and guidelines and are estab- 5 lished or approved by the bureau. The commission shall also con- 6 sider all of the following: 7 (a) The RESOURCE'S historic or architectural value and sig- 8 nificance of the resource anditsTHE RESOURCE'S relationship 9 to the historic value of the surrounding area. 10 (b) The relationship of any architectural features of the 11 resource to the rest of the resource and to the surrounding 12 area. 13 (c) The general compatibility of the design, arrangement, 14 texture, and materials proposed to be used. 15 (d) Other factors, such as aesthetic value, that the commis- 16 sion finds relevant. 17 (4) The commission shall review and act upon only exterior 18 features of a resource and shall not review and act upon interior 19 arrangements unless specifically authorized to do so by the local 20 legislative body or unless interior work will cause visible 21 change to the exterior of the resource. The commission shall not 22 disapprove an application due to considerations not prescribed in 23 subsection (3). 24 (5) If an application is for work that will adversely affect 25 the exterior of a resource the commission considers valuable to 26 the local unit, state, or nation, and the commission determines 27 that the alteration or loss of that resource will adversely 00232'97 4 1 affect the public purpose of the local unit, state, or nation, 2 the commission shall attempt to establish with the owner of the 3 resource an economically feasible plan for preservation of the 4 EXTERIOR OF THE resource. 5 (6) Work within a historic district shall be permitted 6 through the issuance of a notice to proceed by the commission if 7 any of the following conditions prevail and if the COMMISSION 8 FINDS THE proposed workcan be demonstrated by a finding of the9commissionto be necessary to substantially improve or correct 10 any of the following conditions: 11 (a) The resource constitutes a hazard to the safety of the 12 public or to the structure's occupants. 13 (b) The resource is a deterrent to a major improvement pro- 14 gram that will be of substantial benefit to the community and the 15 applicant proposing the work has obtained all necessary planning 16 and zoning approvals, financing, and environmental clearances. 17 (c) Retaining the resource will cause undue financial hard- 18 ship to the owner when a governmental action, an act of God, or 19 other events beyond the owner's control created the hardship, and 20 all feasible alternatives to eliminate the financial hardship, 21 which may include offering the resource for sale at its fair 22 market value or moving the resource to a vacant site within the 23 historic district, have been attempted and exhausted by the 24 owner. 25 (d) Retaining the resource is not in the interest of the 26 majority of the community. 00232'97 5 1 (7) The business that the commission may perform shall be 2 conducted at a public meeting of the commission held in 3 compliance with the open meetings act,Act No. 267 of the Public4Acts of 1976, as amended, being sections 15.261 to 15.275 of the5Michigan Compiled Laws1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 TO 15.275. 6 Public notice of the time, date, and place of the meeting shall 7 be given in the manner required byAct No. 267 of the Public8Acts of 1976THE OPEN MEETING ACT, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 TO 9 15.275., as amended.A meeting agenda shall be part of the 10 notice and shall include a listing of each permit application to 11 be reviewed or considered by the commission. 12 (8) The commission shall keep a record of its resolutions, 13 proceedings, and actions. A writing prepared, owned, used, in 14 the possession of, or retained by the commission in the per- 15 formance of an official function shall be made available to the 16 public in compliance with the freedom of information act,Act17No. 442 of the Public Acts of 1976 being sections 15.231 to1815.246 of the Michigan Compiled Laws1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 TO 19 15.246. 20 (9) The commission shall adopt its own rules of procedure 21 and shall adopt design review standards and guidelines for 22 resource treatment to carry out its duties under this act. 23 (10) The commission may delegate the issuance of certifi- 24 cates of appropriateness for specified minor classes of work to 25 its staff, to the inspector of buildings, or to another delegated 26 authority. The commission shall provide to the delegated 27 authority specific written standards for issuing certificates of 00232'97 6 1 appropriateness under this subsection. On at least a quarterly 2 basis, the commission shall review the certificates of appropri- 3 ateness, if any, issued for work by its staff, the inspector, or 4 another authority to determine whether or not the delegated 5 responsibilities should be continued. 6 (11) Upon a finding by a commission that a historic resource 7 within a historic district or a proposed historic district 8 subject to its review and approval is threatened with demolition 9 by neglect, the commission may do either of the following: 10 (a) Require the owner of the resource to repair all condi- 11 tions contributing to demolition by neglect. FOR REPAIRS MADE 12 UNDER THIS SUBDIVISION AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE AMENDATORY 13 ACT THAT ADDED SUBSECTION (13), THE OWNER MAY CHARGE THE COMMIS- 14 SION AND THE COMMISSION SHALL REIMBURSE THE OWNER FOR COSTS REA- 15 SONABLY INCURRED UNDER THIS SUBDIVISION EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT THAT 16 THE COSTS ARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO REPAIRS OTHERWISE REQUIRED FOR COM- 17 PLIANCE WITH AN APPLICABLE BUILDING CODE OR HOUSING CODE. 18 (b) If the owner does not make repairs within a reasonable 19 time, the commission or its agents may enter the property and 20 make such repairs as are necessary to prevent demolition by 21 neglect.The costs of the workFOR REPAIRS MADE UNDER THIS 22 SUBDIVISION AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE AMENDATORY ACT THAT 23 ADDED SUBSECTION (13), THE COMMISSION SHALL ASSUME THE COSTS OF 24 THE REPAIRS EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT THAT THE COSTS ARE ATTRIBUTABLE 25 TO REPAIRS OTHERWISE REQUIRED FOR COMPLIANCE WITH AN APPLICABLE 26 BUILDING CODE OR HOUSING CODE. COSTS ATTRIBUTABLE TO REPAIRS 27 REQUIRED FOR COMPLIANCE WITH AN APPLICABLE BUILDING CODE OR 00232'97 7 1 HOUSING CODE shall be charged to the owner, and may be levied by 2 the local unit as a special assessment against the property. 3The commission or its agents may enter the property for purposes4of this section upon obtaining an order from the circuit court.5 (12)WhenIF work has been done upon a resource without a 6 permit, and the commission finds that the work does not qualify 7 for a certificate of appropriateness, the commission may require 8 an owner to restore the resource to the condition the resource 9 was in before the inappropriate work WAS DONE or to modify the 10 work so that it qualifies for a certificate of appropriateness. 11 If the owner does not comply with the restoration or modification 12 requirement within a reasonable time, the commission may seek an 13 order from the circuit court to require the owner to restore the 14 resource to its former condition or to modify the work so that it 15 qualifies for a certificate of appropriateness. If the owner 16 does not comply or cannot comply with the order of the court, the 17 commission or its agents may enter the property and conduct work 18 necessary to restore the resource to its former condition or 19 modify the work so that it qualifies for a certificate of appro- 20 priateness in accordance with the court's order. The REASONABLE 21 costs of the work shall be charged to the owner, and may be 22 levied by the local unit as a special assessment against the 23 property.When acting pursuant24 (13) PURSUANT to an order of the circuit court, a commission 25 or its agents may enter a property for purposes ofthis section26 SUBSECTION (11) OR (12), INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE 27 PURPOSE OF MAKING AN APPRAISAL. 00232'97