§ 34-125. Demolition.

No permit to demolish all or part of a historic structure, or improvement in a historic district, shall be granted by the building inspector except as follows:

(1)

Approval of commission required. No person in charge of a historic district shall be granted a permit to demolish such property under any circumstances without first receiving the written approval of the commission.

(2)

Refusal to grant permit prior to attempt to save property. At such time as such person applies for a permit to demolish such property, such application shall be filed with the commission. Upon such application, the commission may refuse to grant such written approval for a period of up to ten months from the time of such application, during which time the commission and the applicant shall undertake serious and continuing discussions for the purpose of finding a method to save such property. During such period, the applicant and the commission shall cooperate in attempting to avoid demolition of the property. At the end of this ten-month period, if no mutually agreeable method of saving the subject property bearing a reasonable prospect of eventual success is underway, or if no formal application for funds from any governmental unit or nonprofit organization to preserve the subject property is pending, the building inspector may issue the permit to demolish the subject property without the approval of the commission. If such mutually agreeable method for saving the subject property is not successful or no such funds to preserve the subject property have been obtained and available for disbursement within a period of two months following the end of such ten-month period, the building inspector may issue the permit to demolish the subject property without the approval of the commission.

(3)

Standards. In determining whether to issue a certificate of appropriateness for any demolition, the commission shall consider and may give decisive weight to any or all of the following:

a.

Whether the building or structure is of such architectural or historic significance that its demolition would be detrimental to the public interest and contrary to the general welfare of the people of the city and the state;

b.

Whether the building or structure, although not itself a designated historic structure, contributes to the distinctive architectural or historic character of the historic district as a whole and therefore should be preserved for the benefit of the people of the city and the state;

c.

Whether demolition of the subject property would be contrary to the purpose and intent of this chapter as set forth in section 34-1 and to the objectives of the historic preservation plan for the applicable district as duly adopted by the common council;

d.

Whether the building or structure is of such old and unusual or uncommon design, texture and/or material that it could not be reproduced or be reproduced only with great difficulty and/or expense;

e.

Whether retention of the building or structure would promote the general welfare of the people of the city and the state by encouraging study of American history, architecture and design or by developing an understanding of American culture and heritage;

f.

Whether the building or structure is in such a deteriorated condition that it is not structurally or economically feasible to preserve or restore it, provided that any hardship or difficulty claimed by the owner which is self-created or which is the result of any failure to maintain the property in good repair cannot qualify as a basis for the issuance of a certificate of appropriateness;

g.

Whether any new structure proposed to be constructed or change in use proposed to be made is compatible with the buildings and environment of the district in which the subject property is located.

(4)

Appeal. An appeal from the decision of the commission to grant or deny a certificate of appropriateness, whether this determination is made upon receipt of the application for a demolition permit or at the end of the one-year period in a case where action on the application has been suspended, or to suspend action on a demolition application may be taken to the common council by the applicant for the demolition permit or by an alderperson. Such appeal shall be initiated by filing a petition to appeal, specifying the grounds therefor, with the city clerk within ten days of the date the final decision of the commission is made. The city clerk shall file the petition to appeal with the common council. After a public hearing, the common council may by favorable vote of two-thirds of its members, reverse or modify the decision of the commission if, after balancing the interest of the public in preserving the subject property and the interest of the owner in using it for his own purposes, the common council finds that, owing to special conditions pertaining to the specific piece of property, denial of the permit for demolition will preclude any and all reasonable use of the property and/or will cause serious hardship for the owner, provided that any self-created hardship shall not be a basis for reversal or modification of the commission's decision.

(Code 1968, § 20.05(3))