At the March 11, 2014 Blanco City Council meeting the following three sections of the Blanco Historic Preservation Ordinance updates were approved. The Ordinance is located on blancoguide.com with a link to Unified Development Code and go to 4.4.The Ordinance begins at the bottom of page 4-6. Updated sections are Section 4, located on page 4-10, Section 10 item 3, located on page 4-15, and Section 12 item 6, located on page 4-16. The changes are:
Section 4: Appointment of Historic Preservation Officer
1. “The City Council shall appoint a person to serve as a Historic Preservation Officer. In making this appointment the Council shall be sure the appointee is aware of the liability issues involved in serving in this capacity. This officer shall advise the Commission on matters submitted to it.”
Information for this change is :
The responsibilities assigned to the City Historic Preservation Officer include, but are not limited to:
- Develop policies and procedures to implement the city’s adopted historic preservation ordinance and related ordinances.
- Review Certificate of Appropriateness applications for completeness, perform administrative reviews where applicable, and submit recommendations to the Historic Preservation Commission.
- Create community outreach programs to support city historic preservation program.
- Review and help coordinate the city’s preservation and urban design activities with those of local, state, and federal agencies and with local, state, and national preservation organizations in the private sector.
The Blanco City Council appointed Rebecca Greathouse as Blanco Historic Preservation Officer (HPO).
Section 10: Certificate of Appropriateness Application Procedure
3. “The Commission shall review the application at a regularly scheduled meeting or a called meeting on the second Monday of the month, whichever comes first, at which time an opportunity will be provided for the applicant to be heard. The Commision shall approve, deny, or approve with modifications the permit at the next regular meeting or the second Monday of the month, whichever comes first after the review meeting. In the event the Commission does not act within (30) working days of receipt of the application, a permit may be granted.”
Section 12: Economic Hardship Application Procedure
4. The Commission shall hold a public hearing on the application at a regularly scheduled meeting or a called meeting on the second Monday of the month, whichever comes first. Following the hearing, the Commission has until the next regularly scheduled meeting or a called meeting on the second Monday of the month, whichever comes first, in which to prepare a written recommendation to the Building Inspector. In the event that the Commission does not act within (30) working days of the receipt of the application, a permit or permits may be granted.
Information for these changes is:
If you own or are responsible for a structure in the Blanco Historic District it is very important that you have a copy of the Blanco Historic Preservation Ordinance and understand the above changes. You will now need to apply for your building and signage permits for the Historic District and complete your Certificate of Appropriateness form at Blanco City Hall five working days prior to the regular meeting on the last Monday of the month or a called Special Meeting on the second Monday of the month.
Section 8, page 4-13 through Section 16 page 4-18 of the Preservation Ordinance are:
Section 8: Certificate of Appropriateness for Alteration or New Construction Affecting Landmarks or Historic Districts (See Appendix D for copy of Certificate of Appropriateness)
1. An approved Certificate of Appropriateness is required before beginning any work, other than ordinary maintenance, on historical landmarks or property in a historical district. No person shall carry out any new construction, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, rehabilitation, or relocation of any historic landmark or ANY property within the historic district, nor shall any person make any material change in the light fixtures, signs, sidewalks, fences, steps, paving, or other exterior elements visible from a public right-of-way which affect the appearance and cohesiveness of any historic landmark or any property within a historic district or the historical landmarks specified in the Ordinance without an approved Certificate of Appropriateness.
2. Nothing in this ordinance prevents the maintenance, repair, alteration or modification of the interior of any landmark or property in the historic district.
Please also read the following sections.
Section 9: Criteria for Approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness
Section 10: Certificate of Appropriateness Application Procedure
Section 11: Certificate of Appropriateness Required for Demolition
Section 12: Economic Hardship Application Procedure
Section:13: Enforcement
Section 14:Ordinary maintenance
Section 15: Demolition by Neglect
Section 16: Penalties
The Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitations are on page 4-25 of the Ordinance and the Blanco Design Guidelines/Standards for Rehabilitation are located at Blanco City Hall and at the Blanco Historic Preservation Commission office for your review.
Please feel free to contact Blanco Historic Preservation commissioners Retta Martin, Charles Willgren, Jim Harris or HPO Becky Greathouse if you have any questions about the ordinance update.
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