17.65.050 Demolition, Moving, or New Construction.
The property owner shall submit an application for a Certificate of Approval for the demolition or moving of a historic resource, or any resource that is listed on the National Register for Historic Places, or for new construction on historical sites on which no structure exists. Applications shall be submitted to the planning department for initial review for completeness as stated in MMC 17.72.040. The Historic Landmarks Committee shall meet within 30 days of the date the application was deemed complete by the planning department to review the request. A failure to review within 30 days shall be considered as an approval of the application.
A. The Historic Landmarks Committee may approve, approve with conditions, or deny the application.
B. The Historic Landmarks Committee shall base its decision on the following criteria:
1. The city’s historic policies set forth in the comprehensive plan and the purpose of this ordinance;
2. The economic use of the historic resource and the reasonableness of the proposed action and their relationship to the historic resource preservation or renovation;
3. The value and significance of the historic resource;
4. The physical condition of the historic resource;
5. Whether the historic resource constitutes a hazard to the safety of the public or its occupants;
6. Whether the historic resource is a deterrent to an improvement program of substantial benefit to the city which overrides the public interest in its preservation;
7. Whether retention of the historic resource would cause financial hardship to the owner not outweighed by the public interest in the resource’s preservation; and
8. Whether retention of the historic resource would be in the best interests of a majority of the citizens of the city, as determined by the Historic Landmarks Committee, and, if not, whether the historic resource may be preserved by an alternative means such as through photography, item removal, written description, measured drawings, sound retention or other means of limited or special preservation.
C. If the structure for which a demolition permit request has been filed has been damaged in excess of 70 percent of its assessed value due to fire, flood, wind, or other natural disaster, the planning director may approve the application without processing the request through the Historic Landmarks Committee.
D. The Historic Landmarks Committee shall hold a public hearing to consider applications for the demolition or moving of any resource listed on National Register consistent with the procedures in MMC 17.72.120.
E. Any approval may be conditioned by the planning director or the Historic Landmarks Committee to secure interior and/or exterior documentation of the resource prior to the proposed action. Required documentation shall consist of no less than 20 black and white photographs with negatives or 20 color slide photographs. The Historic Landmarks Committee may require documentation in another format or medium that is more suitable for the historic resource in question and the technology available at the time. Any approval may also be conditioned to preserve site landscaping such as individual plants or trees or to preserve selected architectural features such as doors, windows, brackets, mouldings or other details.
F. If any proposed new construction is located in the downtown core as defined by MMC 17.59.020(A) of the McMinnville Zoning Ordinance, the new construction shall also comply with the requirements of Chapter 17.59 MMC (Downtown Design Standards and Guidelines).