17.65.060 Exterior Alteration or Remodeling.
The property owner shall submit an application for a Certificate of Approval for any exterior alteration to a historic landmark, or any resource that is listed on the National Register for Historic Places. Applications shall be submitted to the planning department for initial review for completeness as stated in MMC 17.72.040. The planning director shall determine whether the proposed activities constitute an alteration as defined in MMC 17.65.020(A). 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. Within five working days after a decision has been rendered, the planning department shall provide written notice of the decision to all parties who participated.
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 following standards and guidelines:
a. A property will be used as it was historically, or be given a new use that maximizes the retention of distinctive materials, features, spaces, and spatial relationships. Where a treatment and use have not been identified, a property will be protected and, if necessary, stabilized until additional work may be undertaken.
b. The historic character of a property will be retained and preserved. The replacement of intact or repairable historic materials or alteration of features, spaces, and spatial relationships that characterize a property will be avoided.
c. Each property will be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Work needed to stabilize, consolidate, and conserve existing historic materials and features will be physically and visually compatible, identifiable upon close inspection, and properly documented for future research.
d. Changes to a property that have acquired historic significance in their own right will be retained and preserved.
e. Distinctive materials, features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property will be preserved.
f. The existing condition of historic features will be evaluated to determine the appropriate level of intervention needed. Where the severity of deterioration requires repair or limited replacement of a distinctive feature, the new material will match the old in composition, design, color, and texture.
g. Chemical or physical treatments, if appropriate, will be undertaken using the gentlest means possible. Treatments that cause damage to historic materials will not be used.
h. Archeological resources will be protected and preserved in place. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures will be undertaken.
i. The Guidelines for Historic Preservation as published by the United States Secretary of the Interior.
3. The economic use of the historic resource and the reasonableness of the proposed alteration and their relationship to the public interest in the historic resource’s preservation or renovation;
4. The value and significance of the historic resource; and
5. The physical condition of the historical resource.
C. Any approval may be conditioned by 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.
D. If the historic landmark is located in the downtown core as defined by MMC 17.59.020(A) of the McMinnville zoning ordinance, the exterior alteration shall also comply with the requirements of Chapter 17.59 MMC (Downtown Design Standards and Guidelines).