§ 2.12.1023. Certificate of Appropriateness Review for Wichita Register Historic Properties and Wichita Register Historic Districts.

The following procedures/requirements apply to Certificate of Appropriateness review:

(a)

[Permit.] A permit for any project affecting a Wichita Register Historic Property, or a building, site, land, area, object, or structure within a Wichita Register Historic District shall not be issued to any applicant by the Office of Central Inspection unless an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness has first been reviewed and approved by either the preservation staff, the Historic Preservation Board and/or the City Council. Projects not requiring a permit, but which propose to alter features which have been defined in a district's preservation guidelines as requiring protection, shall require a Certificate of Appropriateness application. Projects which will or have the potential to damage or destroy historic features of a Wichita Register Historic Property, or any building, site, land, area, object, or structure which is located within a Wichita Register Historic District shall be subject to Certificate of Appropriateness review.

(b)

[Requirements.] When applying for a Certificate of Appropriateness, the applicant shall provide plans, specifications or other documentation pertaining to the work as required on board-adopted application forms. A completed Certificate of Appropriateness application and accompanying materials must be submitted to the Metropolitan Area Planning Department. Preservation staff or design review committee will review the application and determine if the proposed work is a major or minor project. Such application must be submitted no less than fifteen (15) days prior to the scheduled meeting of the Historic Preservation Board.

(c)

Notice of Hearing: For major projects, the applicant shall place a sign(s) on the property(ies) informing the general public that a public hearing will be held on a specific date concerning the proposed alterations of the property. The sign(s) shall be provided by the City, and placed in a location(s) designated by the City. Such sign(s) must be placed on the property (ies) for a period of no less than ten (10) days prior to the Historic Preservation Board meeting.

(d)

[Major Projects] A Certificate of Appropriateness for a major project shall receive preliminary review by the design review committee or preservation staff. Preservation staff or the committee shall then report and make a recommendation to the board. The board shall review the application and recommend approval, approval with conditions, or denial within thirty days of the receipt of the application. Preservation staff shall notify the applicant of the board's decision and provide a copy to the Office of Central Inspection and the applicant. If an appeal of the board's decision is filed, by the applicant or any interested party, with the preservation staff within seven (7) business days of the board's decision, the Certificate of Appropriateness shall not be issued until the City Council holds a public hearing regarding the application. This public hearing shall be at the next possible City Council meeting.

(e)

[Minor Projects.] A Certificate of Appropriateness for a minor project shall be reviewed and approved or denied by the preservation staff. Preservation staff shall notify, in writing, the applicant and the Office of Central Inspection of their decision regarding the project.

(f)

If no action has been taken by the preservation staff and/or the board within forty-five (45) days for major projects and within fifteen (15) days for minor projects after the date of receipt by the Metropolitan Area Planning Department of the completed application, the building permit may be applied for with the Office of Central Inspection.

(g)

[Appeal.] Any applicant or other interested party wishing to appeal a denial or approval with conditions of any Certificate of Appropriateness may appeal to the next higher authority. The order of the appeal procedure shall be: (1) the preservation staff, or the design review committee, (2) the Historic Preservation Board, and (3) the City Council. Such appeal must be filed no later than seven business days from the date of the decision.

(h)

[Changes.] No change shall be made in the work defined in the Certificate of Appropriateness without resubmittal and approval thereof in the same manner as provided above. All such work defined in the certificate shall be completed within one year or within such time period specified in the Certificate of Appropriateness. Such period may be extended by the applicant re-submitting the application to the board.

(i)

[Decision.] After a decision is reached denying with prejudice an application for Certificate of Appropriateness, resubmittal of application will not be accepted for an additional hearing within a twelve-month period from the date of final decision, except upon written request by the applicant indicating any changes in plans and specifications made to the original application. Denial of a Certificate of Appropriateness without prejudice permits reapplication immediately.

(j)

[Written Recommendation.] In the event the staff assigned to the board certifies to the City Manager that the board and/or its president are unable to process a Certificate of Appropriateness for a major project in a timely fashion (through lack of quorum or otherwise) then the City Council is empowered to act upon written recommendation of the preservation staff without the review procedure set forth above.

(Ord. No. 42-146 § 2; Ord. No. 48-301, § 10, 3-24-09)