CITY OF MUSKOGEE CODE OF ORDINANCES Section 23-701 General descriptions. Section 23-702 Definitions. Section 23-703 Historic preservation commission, membership. Section 23-704 Meeting and rules. Section 23-705 Duties and powers of the commission. Section 23-706 Historic designation. Section 23-707 Criteria for evaluation. Section 23-708 Procedure for designation. Section 23-709 Certificate of appropriateness. Section 23-710 Criteria for review. Section 23-711 Procedure. Section 23-712 Appeal. Section 23-713 Penalty. SECTION 23-701 GENERAL DESCRIPTIONS. This historic preservation and landmark article is intended to promote the education, cultural, economic and general welfare of the public, through the protection, enhancement, perpetuation, and use of structures and areas of historic, architectural or cultural significance. In order to maintain the character and beauty of such structures and areas, restrictive requirements are provided governing both the use of land and the erection, moving, demolition, rehabilitation, reconstruction, restoration or alteration of structures thereon. In addition, provisions are made for the appointment by the city council of a historic preservation commission to advise this body in matters pertaining to this article. (Ord. No. 1871-A, 10/25/82; Ord. No. 3206-A, 12/10/90; Prior Code, App. A, Sec. 12 1/2-1) Cross Reference: Building and building regulations generally, 6-201 et seq. SECTION 23-702 DEFINITIONS. As used in this article: 1. "Certificate of appropriateness" means the official document issued by the historic preservation commission approving or concurring in any application
made by the owner for the erection, demolition, moving, rehabilitation, reconstruction, restoration or alteration of any structure designated historic property and coming within the purview of the historic preservation commission of Muskogee; 2. "Good repair" means a condition which not only meets minimum standards of health and safety, but which also guarantees continued attractiveness, continued structural soundness and continued usefulness; 3. "Historic, cultural or architectural significance" means that which has a special historical, cultural or aesthetic interest or value as part of the development, heritage, cultural or aesthetic characteristics of the city, region or nation; 4. "Historic district" means an area of historic, architectural or cultural value, with clearly defined boundaries all of which are determined by the historic preservation commission; 5. "Historic property" means any land, building, structure, site or object having notable character or qualities of historical, architectural or cultural significance as determined by the historic preservation commission or listed on the National Register of Historic Places; 6. "Reconstruction" means the process of recreating or reproducing by new construction all or part of the form and detail of a vanished resource as it appeared at a specified period in time; 7. "Rehabilitation" means the process of returning a property to a state of utility, through repair or alteration, which makes possible an efficient contemporary use while preserving those portions and features of the property which are significant to its historic, architectural and cultural values; and 8. "Restoration" means the process of accurately recovering all or part of the form and detail of a historic resource and its setting at a particular period of time by means of the removal of later work and the replacement of missing earlier work. (Ord. No. 1871-A, 10/25/82; Ord. No. 3025, 10/13/86; Ord. No. 3206-A, 12/10/90; Prior Code, App. A, Sec. 12 1/2-2) SECTION 23-703 HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MEMBERSHIP. A. The commission shall consist of a maximum of nine (9) members and no less than five (5) members to be appointed by the mayor and approved by the city council. All members shall have a demonstrated interest in historic preservation 2
and knowledge of the history of the city. The director of the planning department shall serve as an ex officio nonvoting member. Whenever possible, at least two (2) members should be professionals in the fields of law, history, architecture and archaeology. B. All commission members shall serve without compensation. C. The terms of members shall be for three (3) years. The terms shall be staggered so that no more than three (3) members shall be appointed in any one year. D. Vacancies occurring on the commission shall be filled within sixty (60) days by persons appointed by the mayor and approved by the city council. E. Members may be removed from the commission in the same manner they were appointed. (Ord. No. 1871-A, 10/25/82; Ord. No. 3206-A, 12/10/90; Prior Code, App. A, Sec. 12 1/2-3) SECTION 23-704 MEETING AND RULES. A. The commission shall meet at least four (4) times per year, in public and open meetings, with written minutes kept. B. The commission shall adopt rules in accordance with the provisions of this article. C. The commission shall elect a chairperson from its membership and such person shall serve for one year and shall be eligible for re-election. D. Three (3) commission members shall constitute a quorum, and action taken at any meeting shall require a majority vote of those members present. E. Failure to attend three (3) consecutive meetings of the board without valid reasons as determined solely by the other members of the board shall constitute neglect of duty and the board may request the city council declare the position vacant and appoint a replacement to fill the unexpired term. (Ord. No. 1871-A, 10/25/82; Ord. No. 3206-A, 12/10/90; Prior Code, App. A, Sec. 12 1/2-3) SECTION 23-705 DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. The historic preservation commission shall have the following duties and powers: 1. To designate a structure, site, object, area or district as a historic property or historic district; 3
2. To issue or deny a certificate of appropriateness for a request for a building permit, demolition permit or moving permit for a historic property or for any structure within a historic preservation district; 3. To conduct surveys of structures and areas for the purpose of determining those of historical, architectural and/or cultural significance; 4. To maintain and periodically revise a comprehensive inventory and descriptio of structures, sites, markers, objects, areas and/or districts having historical, architectural, archaeological and/or cultural significance, as to period or field of interest; 5. To advise owners or residents of significant structures, area or sites of any problems and techniques of and resources for historic preservation; 6. To make recommendations concerning the preparation and publication of maps, brochure and descriptive materials about structures, sites, markers, objects, areas or districts of historical, cultural, architectural and/or archaeological significance and to make recommendations concerning the establishment of an appropriate system of markers for each place; 7. To assist and encourage any organization or persons who desire to protect, enhance or perpetuate the use of structures, sites, markers, objects, areas or districts of historical, architectural, archaeological and/or cultural significance; 8. To encourage and assist in the establishment of educational and cultural programs, tours and events to advance the foregoing purposes; 9. To promote a public interest in the foregoing purposes by carrying on a public relations program from time to time. (Ord. No. 1871-A, 10-25-82; Ord. No. 1904-A, 4-11-83; Ord. No. 2032-A, 10-22-84; Ord. No. 3206-A, 12/10/90; Prior Code, Sec. 12 1/2-3) SECTION 23-706 HISTORIC DESIGNATION. The historic preservation commission may designate any site, structure, object or area as a historic property or historic district. (Ord. No. 1871-A, 10/25/82; Ord. No. 3206-A, 12/10/90; Prior Code, Sec. 12 1/2-4) SECTION 23-707 CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION. To be designated a historic property or historic district the commission shall find that the property or area satisfies at least one of the following criteria: 4
1. Exemplifies or reflects the board, cultural, political, economic or social history of the nation, state or community; 2. Is identified with historic persons or with important events in national, state or local history; 3. Embodies the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type inherently valuable for the study of a period, style or method of construction or of indigenous materials or craftsmanship; 4. Is representative of the notable work of a master builder, designer or architect whose work influenced his age or development in the nation, state, region or local area; or 5. Has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in history or prehistory. (Ord. No. 1871-A, 10/25/82; Ord. No. 3206-A, 12/10/90; Prior Code, 12 1/2-4) SECTION 23-708 PROCEDURE FOR DESIGNATION. The historic preservation commission shall notify in writing all property owners within the area of the proposed historic district or property owners of the proposed historic property, in order to inform them of the subject area, time, date and place of the public hearing at which historic designation will be considered; the notice shall be mailed not less than fifteen (15) days prior to the meeting. At least fifteen (15) days prior to the public hearing, the notice shall be published in the legal notice section of a newspaper of general circulation in the area. (Ord. No. 1871-A, 10-25-82; Ord. No. 3206-A, 12/10/90; Prior Code, Sec. 12 1/2-4) SECTION 23-709 CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS. A certificate of appropriateness shall be granted by the historic preservation commission prior to the issuance of a building permit for construction that affects the exterior architectural appearance, a demolition permit or a moving permit for any property designated as a historic property, or located within a historic district, or listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It shall be a violation for any person to commence construction, alteration or modification of any property which has bene either designated as historic property or included in a district without first obtaining a certificate of appropriateness. (Ord. No. 1871-A, 10/25/82; Ord. No. 3206-A, 12/10/90; Prior Code, Sec. 12 1/2-5) SECTION 23-710 CRITERIA FOR REVIEW. 5
The historic preservation commission shall utilize the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation as the review guidelines for a Certificate of Appropriateness. (Ord. No. 1871-A, 10/25/82; Ord. No. 3206-A, 12/10/90; Prior Code, Sec. 12 1/2-5) SECTION 23-711 PROCEDURE. A. The applicant shall submit to the planning department for review any sketches, plans, drawings, photos or other information which will clearly show the historic preservation commission what changes will be made. B. The commission shall meet within five (5) days after a request is received. C. The commission shall approve, approve with conditions or deny the request at their meeting. (Ord. No. 1871-A, 10-25-82; Ord. No. 3206-A, 12/10/90; Prior Code, Sec. 12 1/2-5) SECTION 23-712 APPEAL. Any person aggrieved by a decision of the historic preservation commission or this chapter, shall have the right of appeal to the city council. An appeal shall be in writing stating the grounds for the appeal and submitted to the planning department within five (5) days of the commission's decision. The appeal shall be heard by the city council at their next available meeting. (Ord. No. 1871-A, 10-25-82; Ord. No. 3206-A, 12/10/90; Prior Code, Sec. 12 1/2-6) SECTION 23-713 PENALTY. A. Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this article shall be subject to revocation of their certificate of appropriateness by the historic preservation commission with approval of the city council. B. Violation of any provision of this article is an offense and shall be punished as provided in Section 1-115 of this code. Each day a violation continues shall be a separate offense. (Ord. No. 1871-A, 10/25/82; Ord. No. 3206-A, 12/10/90; Prior Code, App. A). 6