4.503 Procedures for Designation of Property

  1. Initiation of Nomination
    1. An application may be submitted by the owner of a property, their duly authorized agent, or by the City Manager.
    2.  In lieu of an application, the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission or the City Council may adopt a resolution calling for the Historic Preservation Officer to submit a nomination to the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission for consideration.  Where the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission adopts a resolution, the nomination may not be considered until the next regularly scheduled meeting.
    3. Nominations prepared and submitted by an authorized agent shall contain the signatures of the owner or owners unless created by resolution of the City Council or the Historical and Cultural Landmarks Commission.
  2. Nomination
    1. Application contents. All applications submitted for the designation of a property as Highly Significant Endangered, Historic and Cultural Landmark or Demolition Delay shall contain at a minimum, the following information:
      1. Site address, legal description and base zoning for the property or properties in question. For the designation of a structure or feature on a partial lot or parcel, a metes and bounds survey stamped by a surveyor licensed by the State of Texas shall be required;
      2. Property owner or owners name, mailing address, and telephone number;
      3. Survey or site plan depicting the location of all buildings and site features contained within the property to be designated;
      4. Photographs of each elevation of all buildings and site features contained within the property to be designated;
      5. Written description of all buildings and site features with materials, architectural features, height, fenestration and other significant details and a description of each building or feature's status as contributing or non-contributing to the significance of the site;
      6. Written nomination containing applicability of the criteria for designations; and
      7. Application form containing the signature of the owner or owners.
    2.  Where a nomination is for the designation of a Historic and Cultural Landmark district, the application shall contain the signatures of owners in support of the district as follows:
      1. 50 percent or more of the individual tracts, parcels or platted lots to be located within the boundaries of the proposed district; and
      2. 50 percent or more of the land to be located within the boundaries of the proposed district.
      3. Two or more platted lots developed together shall be counted as one lot.
      4. Each vacant platted lot of sufficient size to be developed under the current zoning designation for the property shall be counted as one lot.
    3. For purposes of this section, the Historic Preservation Officer is the administrative official with original jurisdiction to review an application for completeness. An application shall not be accepted by the Historic Preservation Officer until it contains all information prescribed herein. For nominations submitted by             resolution of the City Council or the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission, an application shall be deemed complete upon a majority affirmative vote of the appropriate body.                     
  3. Notice of Nomination
    Whenthe Historic Preservation Officer deems an applicant to be complete, a notice of the pending nomination shall be mailed to all property owners at least ten days before the scheduled Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission hearing.  The notice shall be served by depositing the same, properly addressed and postage paid, in the United States Mail.  In the case of nomination for a historic and cultural landmarks district, a notice of nomination shall be mailed to each individual owner of property within the district in accordance with this section.  The most recently approved municipal tax roll showing the name and address of the owner shall be used for this purpose.  The notice of nomination shall include the following information:
    1. A description of the property proposed for nomination, including the contributing or non-contributing status of properties included within a district nomination;
    2. The proposed category of protection and the criteria on which the nomination is based;
    3. A description of the benefits, restrictions and other terms of the proposed designation, including but not limited to tax incentives and restrictions on demolition and rehabilitation;
    4. The time, place and date of the public hearing by the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission to consider such designation;
    5. A statement of the stay of actions after nomination provided for in Paragraph C below; and
    6. A form on which the owner may explain the reasons why the nomination should be approved or denied.
  4. Stay of Actions After Nomination
    1. Interim Controls. The governing body finds that immediate, temporary controls prohibiting alteration, demolition or relocation of properties for which a notice of nomination as Highly Significant Endangered, Historic and Cultural Landmark or Historic and Cultural Landmarks District has been mailed, and prohibiting demolition or relocation of structures for which a notice of nomination as Demolition Delay has been mailed are required in order to further the purpose of this Article.
    2. Highly Significant Endangered, Historic and Cultural Landmark and Historic and Cultural Landmarks District.  After the Historic Preservation Officer has mailed a notice of nomination as Highly Significant Endangered, Historic and Cultural Landmark or Historic and Cultural Landmarks District to the owner or owners of such property by standard mail, all permits for construction, repairs, alterations, additions, stabilization, restoration, rehabilitation, demolition or relocation of any building, object or structure on the property shall be subject to the Certificate of Appropriateness requirements contained in Section 4.504 for a period of 135 days or until the proposed designation is denied.  In the event that the proposed designation is approved, the property shall be subject to all Certificate of Appropriateness requirements applicable to such designation.  Permits for which an application has been submitted to the appropriate City department before the notice of nomination is mailed shall not be subject to interim controls or the Certificate of Appropriateness requirements.
    3. Demolition Delay. After the Historic Preservation Officer has mailed a notice of nomination for designation as Demolition Delay to the owner or owners of such property by standard mail, all permits for demolition or relocation of any building, object or structure on the property shall be subject to the Certificate of Appropriateness requirements contained in Section 4.504 for a period of 135 days or until the proposed designation is denied.  In the event that the proposed designation is approved, the property shall be subject to all Certificate of Appropriateness requirements applicable to Demolition Delay properties.  Permits for which an application has been submitted to the appropriate City department before the notice of nomination is mailed shall not be subject to interim controls or the Certificate of Appropriateness requirements.
    4. Relief from interim Controls. An owner may seek relief from the interim controls by requesting a Certificate of Appropriateness in accordance with the procedures contained in Section 4.504.  In addition, an owner may seek expedited relief from the interim controls by presenting information to the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission to show unusual and compelling circumstances justifying such relief. Such request shall be filed with the Historic Preservation Officer within ten days after receipt of the notice of nomination and shall be accompanied by a copy of a bona fide written agreement requiring relocation or demolition of the structure, which shall have been entered into prior to receipt of the notice of nomination, or other evidence that the interim controls will cause substantial imminent harm to the owner which justifies expedited consideration of the owner’s request for relief.  The owner shall also present evidence concerning plans for development of the property.  The Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission shall conduct a hearing on such matter within 15 days after the request for relief is filed.  The Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission may consider factors such as the existence of a written, bona fide sales contract for the property; plans for relocation or demolition of the property; plans for development of the property; the effect of the interim controls on such plans; and other unusual and compelling circumstances justifying relief from the interim controls.  It is the governing body’s intent to keep historic structures whenever possible, in recognition of the fact that historic structures have been needlessly demolished, resulting in vacant lots.  In the event that the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission finds unusual and compelling circumstances justifying relief from the interim controls, the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission may expedite review of the nomination, shorten the term of the interim controls, release the owner from such controls or take such other action as the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission deems to be appropriate.
  5. Consideration of Designation Any property nominated for designation as HSE, HC (individual or district), or DD shall be considered for designation at public hearings by the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission, the Zoning Commission, and the City Council.
    1.  Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission Hearing. There shall be a public hearing of the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission before a recommendation is voted upon the designation of a property or district.
      1. Upon the determination by the Historic Preservation Officer that a complete application has been received for designation, a public hearing of the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission shall be scheduled. At this hearing, the  Historic Preservation Officer shall verify the required signatures of property owners have been received, present any proposed design guidelines for review, present the context for establishing contributing status of property within the district and a list of the properties considered to meet this criteria, and describe the economic incentives eligible and describe the economic incentives eligible under the designation. The Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission may accept this testimony or may continue consideration of the designation and request amendments or modifications to the information presented.
      2. The Commission may recommend the designation or adoption of the proposed guidelines, may recommend the designation and guidelines with specific modifications or may recommend denial of the designation.
      3.  Where the Commission finds it necessary to continue discussions on any part of the nomination, or cannot recommend approval of the proposed design guidelines, consideration of both the nomination and the guidelines may be continued to a date agreed upon by an affirmative vote of the Commission.
    2. Zoning Commission Hearing.Upon submittal of the recommendation of the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission, the proposed designation and where applicable design guidelines shall be submitted to the Zoning Commission for its review and recommendations. The Zoning Commission shall give notice and conduct its public hearing on the proposed designation and where applicable design guidelines within 45 days of the receipt of such recommendation from the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission, or as soon thereafter as is reasonably practicable. The hearing shall be in the same manner and according to the same procedures for amending the zoning map as set forth in Chapter 3, Article 5.
    3. City Council Hearing.The City Council shall give notice and conduct its hearing on the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission’s recommendation concerning the proposed designation within 45 days of receipt of the recommendation of the Zoning Commission, or as soon thereafter as is reasonably practicable. The City Council shall give notice, follow the publication procedure, hold the hearing, and make its determination in the same manner and according to the same procedures for amending the zoning map as set forth in Chapter 3, Article 5.
    4. Vote Required for Designation by the City Council.If an owner of a property nominated for designation as Highly Significant Endangered, Historic and Cultural Landmark or Demolition Delay or the owners of at least 20 percent of an area nominated for designation as an Historic and Cultural Landmarks District protest such designation by submitting a written, signed protest, the affirmative vote of at least ¾ of all members of the City Council is required in order for the designation to take effect, in accordance with Section 211.006 of the Texas Local Government Code.
  6. Recording of Designations on Zoning Map. Upon designation of a site, structure or area as Highly Significant Endangered, Historic and Cultural Landmark, Historic and Cultural Landmarks District or Demolition Delay, the City Council shall cause the designation to be recorded on the official zoning maps of the City.  All zoning maps shall indicate designated Highly Significant Endangered properties with the suffix “HSE”, Historic and Cultural Landmarks, whether designated individually or as a district, with the suffix “HC”, and Demolition Delay properties as “DD”, in addition to the marks indicating the primary underlying zoning district classification.
  7. Filing of Designations in Property Records. Record of designations of a site, structure or area as Highly Significant Endangered, Historic and Cultural Landmark, Historic and Cultural Landmarks District or Demolition Delay shall be recorded in the official property records of the county in which the property is located.  Property owners who file an application for designation shall record such designation and provide proof of filing to the Historic Preservation Officer. In all other cases the Historic Preservation Officer shall file such designation. Proof of recordation shall be provided to the Historic Preservation Officer prior to the receipt of any subsequent economic incentives from the City of Fort Worth.
  8. Amendments to an existing Historical and Cultural Landmark District. Following the designation by the City Council of a Historic and Cultural Landmark District, amendments to change the district boundary, the adopted design guidelines or the list of contributing properties shall follow the procedures for an amendment to this ordinance and in accordance with the following provisions:
    1. The boundary of an existing district may be amended or otherwise altered to include additional properties where each of the following conditions exist:
      1. The geographic area proposed for inclusion within the existing boundary is contiguous to the existing district;
      2. The area proposed for inclusion is found to meet at least three of the ten criteria for designation as described in this article;
      3. The area proposed for inclusion has a similar context and character that reasonably relates to the existing district, either by architectural, historical, or cultural motif; and
      4. A petition in support of the amendment signed by the owners of more than 50% of the individual tracts, lots, and parcels and more than 50% of the total land area within the area proposed for inclusion.
    2. The design guidelines for a district may be amended at the request of the City Council or property owners where each of the following conditions exist:
      1. A petition in support of the amendments signed by the owners of more than 50% of the individual tracts, lot, and parcels and more than 50% of the total land area within the district; and
      2. The existing guidelines shall remain in effect, unless otherwise found to be void, until the date of approval by the City Council of any amendments or alterations  to the guidelines.
    3. The list of contributing structures for a district may be amended periodically at the request of the district or the City Council where each of the following conditions exist:
      1. A petition of support signed by all owners of property being added to or subtracted from the list; and
      2. A statement for each property as to why the change in status is sought, accompanied by any additional information that may be requested by the historic preservation officer to support the change in status.