3.4 Historic Preservation Commission3.4.1 Establishment of the Durham Historic Preservation Commission
There is hereby established, pursuant to NCGS Chapter 16A, Article 19, Part 3C, a joint commission to be known as the Durham Historic Preservation Commission. The Commission is designated as the historic preservation advisory and quasi-judicial body for the County and City, and shall have the powers and duties described in this Section.
3.4.2 Membership
| A. | The Commission shall consist of nine members. All members of the Commission shall be residents of Durham County. A majority of the members of the Commission shall have demonstrated special interest, experience or education in history or architecture. The Commission shall always include at least one of each of the following five designations: |
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| The Commission shall also include four at-large members. All members shall have equal rights regardless of whether the matters at issue are located inside or outside of the Durham City limits. | ||
| B. | The regular term of office for Commission members shall be three years. Initial appointments shall be considered regular terms. A member may be reappointed for a second term. After two consecutive terms, a member shall be ineligible for reappointment until one calendar year has elapsed from the date of termination of his or her second term. A term shall continue until a successor is appointed by the appropriate Governing Body. Vacancies occurring for reasons other than the expiration of terms shall be filled by the appointing authority for the period of the unexpired term. | |
| C. | Two of the at-large members shall be appointed by the Board of County Commissioners and two of the at-large members shall be appointed by the City Council. The five designated members shall be appointed as follows: The Board of County Commissioners shall appoint a landscape architect, a social or cultural historian and a representative of a lending institution or an attorney. Initially, the City Council shall appoint an architect and a real estate agent, builder, or developer. The length of initial appointments shall be as follows: |
| County At-Large Appointment #1 | One year term | |
| County At-Large Appointment #2 | Two year term | |
| City At-Large Appointment #1 | One year term | |
| City At-Large Appointment #2 | Three year term | |
| Landscape Architect | Three year term | |
| Social or Cultural Historian | Two year term | |
| Representative of Lending Institution or Attorney | One year term | |
| Architect | Two year term | |
| Real Estate Agent, Builder or Developer | Three year term |
| In making appointments to the Commission, the Board and the Council shall give special preference to current members, to provide continuity in historic preservation planning. The Board of County Commissioners and the City Council shall also make a reasonable effort to balance representation between urban and rural interests. The Board of County Commissioners and the City Council shall consider the recommendations for appointments from the Joint City-County Planning Committee; however, neither elected body is bound to follow any recommendations for appointment which that Committee may make. |
3.4.3 Organization and Meetings
| A. | The Commission shall elect its own officers. The Commission officers shall consist of a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson. The Commission may establish committees and subcommittees at its discretion. | |
| B. | The Commission shall adopt rules of procedure for the conduct of its business. | |
| C. | The Commission shall establish a regular meeting time and shall meet at least quarterly and more often as it shall deem necessary. All meetings shall be open to the public and shall conform to the North Carolina Open Meetings Law, NCGS Chapter 143, Article 33C. The commission shall keep permanent minutes of its meetings. The minutes shall include the attendance of its members and its resolutions, findings, recommendations and other actions. | |
| D. | Any member of the Commission who misses three consecutive regular meetings or one-half of the regular meetings in a calendar year without an excuse approved by the Commission shall be considered to have resigned from membership on the Commission. In this event, the Commission shall notify the Governing Body that appointed the member, so that the Governing Body can appoint a replacement member. |
3.4.4 Annual Report
The Commission shall prepare an annual report and submit it to the Board of County Commissioners and the City Council. The annual report shall include a comprehensive review of the Commission's activities, problems, and actions of the Commission and any budget requests or other recommendations.
3.4.5 Powers and Duties
The Commission is authorized and empowered to undertake such actions reasonably necessary to discharge and conduct its duties and responsibilities, including but not limited to the following:
| A. | General Responsibilities of the Commission: | |
| The Commission shall act to promote, enhance and preserve the character and heritage of the Durham community. | ||
| B. | Specific Authority and Powers are: | 1. | To undertake inventories in Durham County of properties of historical, architectural or archaeological significance. |
| 2. | To recommend to the Board of County Commissioners and/or the City Council areas to be designated by ordinance as Historic Districts. | |
| 3. | To recommend to the Board of County Commissioners and/or the City Council that designation of any Historic District be revoked or removed. | |
| 4. | To recommend to the Board of County Commissioners and/or the City Council buildings, structures, sites, areas or objects within their relative areas of zoning jurisdiction to be designated by ordinance as Historic Landmarks. | 5. | To recommend to the Board of County Commissioners and/or the City Council that the designation of any building, structure, site, area, or object as an Historic Landmark be removed. |
| 6. | To sponsor or conduct educational programs regarding Historic Districts or Historic Landmarks. | |
| 7. | To give advice to property owners concerning the treatment of the historical and visual characteristics of his or her property located within any Historic District or designated as an Historic Landmark, such as color schemes, gardens and landscape features, and minor decorative elements. | |
| 8. | To cooperate with the State, Federal and local governments in historic preservation matters. | 9. | To consider and grant or deny applications for Certificates or Appropriateness or Master Certificates of Appropriateness in Historic Districts or Historic Landmarks in accordance with City and/or County ordinances. |
| 10. | To enter, solely in the performance of its official duties and only at reasonable times and only with the consent of the property owner, upon private land for the examination or survey of the property. However, no member, employee or agent of the Commission may enter any private building or structure without the express consent of the occupants or owner. | |
| 11. | To recommend to the Board of County Commissioners and/or to the City Council other means of preservation and intervention at such times as vital historic resources appear, in the view of the Commission, to be threatened by neglect, use, demolition, or alteration. | |
| 12. | To propose to the Board of County Commissioners and/or the City Council changes to the City-County Interlocal Agreement which establishes the Commission, or any other related County and City ordinances, and to propose new ordinances relating to Historic Districts, Historic Landmarks or the total program for the development and preservation of historic resources of Durham and its environs. |
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