4.504 Certificate of appropriateness

To preserve significant structures and neighborhoods, changes shall be documented and reviewed to determine if the proposed change is appropriate to the character of the area designated or pending designation as HSE, HC, or DD and does not adversely impact its significance.

  1. Certificate of appropriateness required. All changes to the exterior of a structure designated or pending designation as HSE or HC and the land by which it is accessed shall require review for appropriateness with the provisions of this article, and adopted design guidelines.  In addition, the demolition or relocation of any structure designated or pending designation as HSE, HC, or DD shall also require review for appropriateness in the same manner.
    1. Work, which does not involve a change to material, configuration, dimension, or outward appearance, shall be considered in-kind repair and does not require a certificate of appropriateness.
    2. Removal of non-original and non-historic materials, restoration of existing features, repairs, alterations and construction not visible from the public right of way, and alteration of a non-contributing structure shall be reviewed by the historic preservation officer and if found to be appropriate and consistent with applicable standards and guidelines may be issued a certificate of appropriateness. At the discretion of the historic preservation officer, an application found to alter significantly the character of a structure or site may be referred to the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission for further review.
    3. Alterations and construction visible from the public right of way, demolition, relocation of a structure, and any an application found to alter significantly the character of a structure or site shall be reviewed by the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission.
  2. Application for a certificate of appropriateness. The property owner of authorized agent shall file an application for a certificate of appropriateness with the historic preservation officer prior to the commencement of any work.  The application shall contain a completed application form, as provided by the historic preservation officer, with the signature of the property owner or authorized agent and attachments as required by the historic preservation officer in order to evaluate the appropriateness of the application, including but not limited to:
    1. Site plan of the property;
    2. Photographs of all affected elevations of the structure and property;
    3. Detailed description of the proposed work;
    4. Scaled drawings or renderings of all proposed changes for each affected elevation, including dimensions, materials and profile drawings;
    5. Structural reports and documents;
    6. Samples of materials to be used;
    7. For demolition and relocation applications, rationale why the structure is no longer significant, based on the criteria for designation, or if applicable, proof of economic hardship; and
    8. Any other information requested by the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission or historic preservation officer necessary to evaluate the appropriateness of the proposed work. An application shall not be accepted until it is determined complete and correct by the historic preservation officer.
  3. Criteria for evaluation of appropriateness.  The intent of the historic designation is to preserve the character, identity, and presence of historic structures and sites without constraining creative use and adaptation.  Therefore, in determining the appropriateness of proposed changes to an area designated or pending designation the following standards adapted from the Secretary of the Interior’s Standard for Rehabilitation shall be used in conjunction with approved design guidelines and applicable city code:
    1. A structure or property shall be used for its historic purpose or be placed in a new use that is permitted under the zoning ordinance. The use shall require minimal change to the defining characteristics of the structure, property, site and environment.
    2. The historic character of a structure or property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a structure or property shall be avoided.
    3. Each structure or property shall be recognized as a physical record of its time, place and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features or architectural elements from other structures or property, shall not be undertaken.
    4. Most structures and property change over time; those changes that have acquired historic significance in their own right shall be retained and preserved.
    5. Distinctive features, finishes and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship which characterize a structure or property shall be preserved within the limits permitted by applicable codes and ordinances.
    6. Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature shall match the old in design, color, texture and other visual qualities and, where possible, materials, provided such materials meet other applicable codes and ordinances. Replacement of missing features shall be substantiated by documentary, physical or pictorial evidence.
    7. Chemical or physical treatments, such as sand-blasting, which cause damage to historic materials, shall not be used. The surface cleaning of structures, if appropriate, shall be undertaken using the gentlest means possible.
    8. Significant archeological resources affected by a project shall be protected and preserved. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken.
    9. New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials which characterize the structure or property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the structure or property and its environment.
    10. New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic structure or property and its environment will be unimpaired.
    11. New construction, which takes place after demolition or removal of a structure or property in an historic and cultural landmarks district has been approved, must comply with the design guidelines for the district.
    12.  New construction, which takes place after demolition or removal of a structure that is an accessory use to a structure designated highly significant endangered or historic and cultural landmark, must comply with the design guidelines in order to maintain the historic character of the designated structure.
  4. Procedure for review of a certificate of appropriateness.  Upon acceptance of a completed application, the historic preservation officer shall review the project for consistency with applicable city ordinances, the provisions of this article and adopted design guidelines.
    1. Historic preservation officer.  Where the proposed work can be considered for review by the historic preservation officer under section 4.503 (A) [2], the historic preservation officer may issue a certificate of appropriateness when the proposed work is found to be consistent with all regulations and guidelines. Where the historic preservation officer considers the proposed work to be inconsistent with applicable regulations and guidelines or potentially to have impact on the character of a structure of site the application shall be forwarded to the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission for consideration of the certificate of appropriateness.
    2. Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission.  The Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission shall conduct a public hearing to consider an application for a certificate of appropriateness within 45 days after it is accepted by the historic preservation officer or as soon thereafter as is reasonably practicable.
      1. Notice to owners of adjacent property. Upon receipt of a complete application for a certificate of appropriateness, the historic preservation officer or a designee shall prepare a notice of public hearing, which shall be mailed to the owner or owners of property located within a distance of 200 feet of the property listed within the application, at least ten days prior to the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission hearing. The notice may be served by depositing the same, properly addressed and postage paid, in the United States Mail.
      2. For applications seeking to demolish or relocate a structure designated or pending designation as HSE, HC or DD, the city manager or designee shall cause the posting of at least one sign on the property used to access the structure no less than ten days before the date of the public hearing at which the application will be considered by the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission.  Where possible, the sign shall be conspicuously located near the public right of way. The sign shall indicate the pending request for demolition or relocation and provide a contact source for additional information. The posting of the sign or its maintenance shall not be deemed a condition precedent to the holding of any public hearing, to the approval or denial of the certificate of appropriateness or to any other official action concerning the application.
      3. The owner or authorized representative and all other persons who have executed a purchase contract or option contract for purchase of the property, or their representatives, shall appear at the hearing. The owner, potential buyers and all other interested parties, including local preservation groups, will be heard concerning the application. For requests to demolish or relocate a structure, the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission may request evidence concerning plans for the future development of the property.
    3. Decision of the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission . At the conclusion of the public hearing, or as soon thereafter as is reasonably practicable, the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission shall take one or more of the following actions:
      1. If the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission finds that the application is consistent with applicable regulations and guidelines, a certificate of appropriateness may be approved, with or without any conditions that may be appropriate;
      2. If the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission finds that the application is not consistent with applicable regulations and design guidelines, a certificate of appropriateness may be denied with or without prejudice;
      3. If the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission fails to issue the certificate of appropriateness because the proposed work is not consistent with applicable regulations and design guidelines, the owner shall have the right to request deviations from the design guidelines from the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission. In order to receive a deviation from the guidelines, the owner must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that no reasonable opportunity exists to recover the cost of the proposed work if it is required in accordance with the design guidelines. If the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission finds that the owner has failed to satisfy this burden of proof, the certificate of appropriateness will be denied. If the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission finds that the owner has satisfied the burden of proof, the deviation from the design guidelines may be approved and the work allowed, with or without conditions. In determining whether to grant such a deviation, the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission may consider the cost to perform the work in compliance with the criteria and design guidelines, the value of the property, the extent to which a deviation is necessary to allow the owner a reasonable opportunity to recover the cost of the work, whether granting the deviation will harm an existing or proposed historic and cultural landmarks district or property designated highly significant endangered or historic and cultural landmark and whether the proposed work is in harmony with the spirit and purposes of this article. The Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission and city staff, in consultation with local preservation groups and other interested parties, shall explore with the owner, or a representative, alternatives for performance of the proposed work that will preserve the structure or property to the greatest extent that is economically feasible. If a deviation is granted, the certificate of appropriateness for the proposed work shall state the terms and conditions of the deviation. All deviations shall be in compliance with all other city codes and ordinances.
      4. If the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission finds that there is not enough information to reasonably determine the appropriateness of proposed work or if all interested parties who may present testimony are not in attendance at the public hearing, the application may be continued until such time necessary information or interested parties are available.
    4. Certificate of appropriateness, loss of significance: If the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission finds that a structure is no longer significant; a certificate of appropriateness for demolition or relocation may be approved. In making this determination, the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission must find that the owner has established by a preponderance of evidence that the structure has undergone significant and irreversible changes which have caused it to lose the significance, qualities or features which qualified the structure designation.
    5. Certificate of appropriateness, economic hardship:
      1. If the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission finds that an owner of a property is not entitled to a certificate of appropriateness as a result of loss of significance, the owner shall have the right to introduce evidence to establish that the owner will suffer an unreasonable economic hardship if the certificate of appropriateness is not issued for the proposed demolition or relocation. The owner shall have the burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that an unreasonable economic hardship exists under the criteria set forth in section 4.506.
      2. If the owner does not establish that an unreasonable economic hardship exists, the certificate of appropriateness shall be denied.
      3. If the owner does establish that an unreasonable economic hardship exists, the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission may delay the issuance of a certificate of appropriateness for up to 180 days from the date of the public hearing and may require the preparation of a salvage plan, documentation of the property and/or the preservation of trees, shrubs and other landscaping of substantial significance. These conditions shall be in compliance with all other city codes and ordinances.
    6. Certificate of appropriateness, demolition delay: The Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission may not deny an application for a certificate of appropriateness for demolition of property designated or pending designation as demolition delay, however, the owner or authorized agent shall be required to participate in a consultation meeting to discuss a process for alternatives to demolition prior to the issuance of a permit, in accordance with the following:
      1. Within thirty (30) days, of submission of an application for demolition, the historic preservation officer shall schedule a consultation meeting with the owner or authorized agent, city staff and interested parties to propose alternatives to the owner which would seek to alleviate the need for demolition.  These alternatives may include but are not limited to property tax relief, loans or grants from public or private resources, acquisition of the property, a transfer of development rights, or a variance from provisions of the zoning ordinance or building code. The application shall not be deemed complete by the historic preservation officer until the owner or authorized agent provides a written response to any alternatives proposed in the consultation meeting.
      2. The historic preservation officer shall upon completion of the application schedule a public hearing in accordance with section 4.504(D). The owner of the property shall be in attendance at the public hearing.
      3. The Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission shall conduct a public hearing during which the owner or authorized agent shall present testimony and evidence stating why the structure should be demolished, including but not limited to proof of unreasonable economic hardship, barriers to development, structural deficiency or loss of significance.
      4. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission shall issue a certificate of appropriateness for demolition pending the submission by the owner of a response to each proposal in writing and submitted to the historic preservation officer for review and acceptance by the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission.
        1. As a condition to the certificate of appropriateness, the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission may require a delay of no more than 180 days from the date of the hearing.
        2. During the delay period the owner may request a hearing of the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission to present evidence why the delay should be waived or shortened.
        3. At the end of any delay period, if a suitable alternative plan acceptable to the owner has not been approved by the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission, the city shall issue a permit for demolition.
        4. If the owner of the property can provide a preponderance of evidence that there is no economically viable use of the property without demolition of the structure, the delay period may be waived or shortened to any time less than 180 days at the discretion of the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission.
        5. In determining the length of any delay, the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission shall consider whether delay of such certificate of appropriateness will cause unreasonable economic hardship to the owner.
        6. Should the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission fail to approve a specific delay period by an affirmative vote, the maximum delay of 180 days allowed by this article shall be required.
        7. In the event that the owner of property designated demolition delay allows a valid demolition permit to expire without demolishing the property, the owner and subsequent owners of the property shall not be subject to the 180 day demolition delay with regard to applications for a demolition permit submitted to the appropriate city official within three years following expiration of the permit.
  5. Documentation of properties to be demolished or relocated. Unless the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission determines otherwise, the property owner shall file the following documentation with the historic preservation officer, at the owner's expense, as a condition for the issuance of a certificate of appropriateness for the demolition or relocation of any structure or property designated or pending designation as highly significant endangered or historic and cultural landmark or located in an area designated or pending designation as an historic and cultural landmarks district, other than a non-essential element:
    1. Photographs of the structure, property or features to be demolished;
    2. Written documentation of the architecture of the structure or property;
    3. Documentation that the site has been rezoned (e.g. “PD” Planned Development), replatted, variances granted or that other development requirements have been met; and
    4. Additional documentation required for certain highly significant properties:
      1. Significant historical background of past owners and events in the structure or on the property;
      2. Scaled drawings of the floor plan;
      3. Scaled drawings of the exterior elevation;
      4. Scaled plan indicating the dimensions of the site and exact location of each structure, property and landscape feature on the site; and
      5. Any other information the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission may deem reasonably necessary to record the proposed demolition or relocation, such as documentation in accordance with the Historic American Building Survey (HABS) or Historic American Engineering Record (HAER)
  6. Re-filing of application for certificate of appropriateness. When an application for certificate of appropriateness is denied by the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission, or the Appeals Board on appeal, or when the owner has withdrawn an application after the application has been scheduled for hearing, no new application of like nature shall be accepted by the city or scheduled for a hearing by the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission for a period of 12 months following the date of denial or withdrawal, unless the application is denied without prejudice; provided, however, on receipt of written request by the owner describing substantially changed conditions since prior consideration of the application to justify an earlier consideration of the application, the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission may waive the mandatory delay period and authorize the acceptance of a new application.
  7. All decisions of the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission shall be in writing. The decisions shall state the findings of the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission relating to the approval, denial or approval with conditions of the certificate of appropriateness. The historic preservation officer shall provide copies of the decisions of the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission to the applicants, the building official and the superintendent of the code compliance division.
  8. Other permits required. The certificate of appropriateness required by this article shall be in addition to any other permit or approval required by state or federal law. A certificate of appropriateness, where required, must be obtained prior to the approval of any building, demolition, relocation or other permit that is required by any code or ordinance of the City of Fort Worth.
  9. Commencement of work.  Work, as described by any certificate of appropriateness may not begin until the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission has issued a decision on the certificate of appropriateness, and then only after all other required permits and approvals have been granted.
  10. Limitation of term of certificate of appropriateness.  Where work approved under a certificate of appropriateness has not commenced within 180 days of the date of issuance, the certificate of appropriateness shall be considered void and a new application shall be required.
    1.  As an exception, where a valid permit has been issued by the City of Fort Worth in compliance with the terms of the certificate of appropriateness, the certificate of appropriateness may remain valid until the date of expiration of the associated permit, at the discretion of the historic preservation officer and building official.
    2. upon expiration of a certificate of appropriateness, an applicant may apply for an extension of the previously approved project. Where no change is made to the project, the historic preservation officer may approve an extension not to exceed 90 days. Where a change is made to the proposed project or an extension has expired, the applicant shall be required to submit a new application for a certificate of appropriateness.
  11.  No authority to grant variance. The board of adjustment shall not have jurisdiction to grant any variance from the criteria listed section 4.504(C) or from any adopted design guidelines.