HOUSE BILL No. 5232

January 26, 2016, Introduced by Reps. Afendoulis, Chatfield, Theis, Lucido, Poleski, Lyons, Cox, Sheppard, Hughes, Hooker, Smiley, Price, LaFontaine, Callton, Yonker, Garcia, Victory, Cole, Johnson, Kivela, Jenkins, Bumstead, Kelly and Glenn and referred to the Committee on Local Government.

 

     A bill to amend 1970 PA 169, entitled

 

"Local historic districts act,"

 

by amending sections 1a, 3, 5, 9, and 14 (MCL 399.201a, 399.203,

 

399.205, 399.209, and 399.214), sections 1a and 5 as amended by

 

2004 PA 67, sections 3 and 9 as amended by 2001 PA 67, and section

 

14 as added by 1992 PA 96.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 1a. As used in this act:

 

     (a) "Alteration" means work that changes the detail of a

 

resource but does not change its basic size or shape.

 

     (b) "Authority" means the Michigan state housing development

 

authority created by section 21 of the state housing development

 

authority act of 1966, 1966 PA 346, MCL 125.1421.

 

     (c) (b) "Certificate of appropriateness" means the written

 


approval of a permit application for work that is appropriate and

 

that does not adversely affect a resource.

 

     (d) (c) "Commission" means a historic district commission

 

created by the legislative body of a local unit under section 4.

 

     (e) (d) "Committee" means a historic district study committee

 

appointed by the legislative body of a local unit under section 3

 

or 14.

 

     (f) (e) "Demolition" means the razing or destruction, whether

 

entirely or in part, of a resource and includes, but is not limited

 

to, demolition by neglect.

 

     (g) (f) "Demolition by neglect" means neglect in maintaining,

 

repairing, or securing a resource that results in deterioration of

 

an exterior feature of the resource or the loss of structural

 

integrity of the resource.

 

     (h) (g) "Denial" means the written rejection of a permit

 

application for work that is inappropriate and that adversely

 

affects a resource.

 

     (h) "Department" means the department of history, arts, and

 

libraries.

 

     (i) "Fire alarm system" means a system designed to detect and

 

annunciate the presence of fire or by-products of fire. Fire alarm

 

system includes smoke alarms.

 

     (j) "Historic district" means an area, or group of areas not

 

necessarily having contiguous boundaries, that contains 1 resource

 

or a group of resources that are related by history, architecture,

 

archaeology, engineering, or culture.

 

     (k) "Historic preservation" means the identification,

 


evaluation, establishment, and protection of resources significant

 

in history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, or culture.

 

     (l) "Historic resource" means a publicly or privately owned

 

building, structure, site, object, feature, or open space that is

 

significant in the history, architecture, archaeology, engineering,

 

or culture of this state or a community within this state, or of

 

the United States.

 

     (m) "Local unit" means a county, city, village, or township.

 

     (n) "Notice to proceed" means the written permission to issue

 

a permit for work that is inappropriate and that adversely affects

 

a resource, pursuant to a finding under section 5(6).

 

     (o) "Open space" means undeveloped land, a naturally

 

landscaped area, or a formal or man-made landscaped area that

 

provides a connective link or a buffer between other resources.

 

     (p) "Ordinary maintenance" means keeping a resource unimpaired

 

and in good condition through ongoing minor intervention,

 

undertaken from time to time, in its exterior condition. Ordinary

 

maintenance does not change the external appearance of the resource

 

except through the elimination of the usual and expected effects of

 

weathering. Ordinary maintenance does not constitute work for

 

purposes of this act.

 

     (q) "Proposed historic district" means an area, or group of

 

areas not necessarily having contiguous boundaries, that has

 

delineated boundaries and that is under review by a committee or a

 

standing committee subject to the review process set forth in

 

section 3(1)(a) to (d)(iii) or 14(1) for the purpose of making a

 

recommendation as to deciding whether it should be established as a

 


historic district or added to an established historic district.

 

     (r) "Repair" means to restore a decayed or damaged resource to

 

a good or sound condition by any process. A repair that changes the

 

external appearance of a resource constitutes work for purposes of

 

this act.

 

     (s) "Resource" means 1 or more publicly or privately owned

 

historic or nonhistoric buildings, structures, sites, objects,

 

features, or open spaces located within a historic district.

 

     (t) "Smoke alarm" means a single-station or multiple-station

 

alarm responsive to smoke and not connected to a system. As used in

 

this subdivision, "single-station alarm" means an assembly

 

incorporating a detector, the control equipment, and the alarm

 

sounding device into a single unit, operated from a power supply

 

either in the unit or obtained at the point of installation.

 

"Multiple-station alarm" means 2 or more single-station alarms that

 

are capable of interconnection such that actuation of 1 alarm

 

causes all integrated separate audible alarms to operate.

 

     (u) "Standing committee" means a permanent body established by

 

the legislative body of a local unit under section 14 to conduct

 

the activities of a historic district study committee on a

 

continuing basis.

 

     (v) "Work" means construction, addition, alteration, repair,

 

moving, excavation, or demolition.

 

     Sec. 3. (1) A local unit may, by ordinance, establish 1 or

 

more historic districts. The historic districts, which shall be

 

administered by a commission established pursuant to under section

 

4, . Before establishing a historic district, subject to all of the

 


following:

 

     (a) The local unit shall obtain preliminary approval of a

 

proposed historic district from at least 2/3 of the property owners

 

within the proposed historic district, as listed on the tax rolls

 

of the local unit, pursuant to a written petition that includes a

 

precise description of the boundaries of the proposed historic

 

district.

 

     (b) For purposes of further considering 1 or more proposed

 

historic districts approved under subdivision (a), the legislative

 

body of the local unit shall appoint a historic district study

 

committee. The committee shall contain a majority of persons who

 

have a clearly demonstrated interest in or knowledge of historic

 

preservation, and shall contain representation from 1 or more

 

consist of 4 to 7 individuals, 1 of whom is an elected member of

 

the legislative body of the local unit, 1 of whom is a

 

representative of a duly organized local historic preservation

 

organizations. organization, and at least 1 of whom is engaged in

 

the business of residential or commercial construction. The

 

committee shall do all of the following:

 

     (i) (a) Conduct a photographic inventory of resources within

 

each proposed historic district. following procedures established

 

or approved by the department.

 

     (ii) (b) Conduct basic research of each proposed historic

 

district and the historic resources located within that district.

 

     (iii) (c) Determine the total number of historic and

 

nonhistoric resources within a proposed historic district and the

 

percentage of historic resources of that total. In evaluating the

 


significance of historic resources, the committee shall be guided

 

by the selection criteria for evaluation issued by the United

 

States secretary of the interior Secretary of the Interior for

 

inclusion of resources in the national register of historic places,

 

as set forth in 36 C.F.R. CFR part 60. , and criteria established

 

or approved by the department, if any.

 

     (iv) (d) Prepare a preliminary historic district study

 

committee report that addresses at a minimum all of the following:

 

     (A) (i) The charge of the committee.

 

     (B) (ii) The composition of the committee membership.

 

     (C) (iii) The historic district or districts studied.

 

     (D) (iv) The boundaries for each proposed historic district in

 

writing and on maps.

 

     (E) (v) The history of each proposed historic district.

 

     (F) (vi) The significance of each district as a whole, as well

 

as a sufficient number of its individual resources to fully

 

represent the variety of resources found within the district,

 

relative to the evaluation criteria.

 

     (v) (e) Transmit copies of the preliminary report for review

 

and recommendations to the local planning body, to the department,

 

authority, and to the Michigan historical commission. , and to the

 

state historic preservation review board.

 

     (vi) (f) Make copies of the preliminary report available to

 

the public pursuant to subsection (4).(2).

 

     (c) (2) Not less than 60 calendar days after the transmittal

 

of the preliminary report, the committee shall hold a public

 

hearing in compliance with the open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL

 


15.261 to 15.275. Public notice of the time, date, and place of the

 

hearing shall be given in the manner required by the open meetings

 

act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 to 15.275. Written notice shall be

 

mailed by first-class mail not less than at least 14 calendar days

 

before the hearing to the owners of properties within the proposed

 

historic district, as listed on the tax rolls of the local unit.

 

     (d) (3) After All of the following must occur within 1 year

 

after the date of the public hearing, the committee and the

 

legislative body of the local unit shall have not more than 1 year,

 

unless otherwise some other time frame is authorized by the

 

legislative body of the local unit: , to take the following

 

actions:

 

     (i) (a) The committee shall prepare and submit a final report

 

with its recommendations and the recommendations, if any, of the

 

local planning body to the legislative body of the local unit. If

 

the recommendation is to establish a historic district or

 

districts, the final report shall may include a draft of a proposed

 

ordinance or ordinances.

 

     (ii) (b) After receiving a final report that recommends the

 

establishment of a historic district or districts, the legislative

 

body of the local unit, at its discretion, may introduce and pass

 

or reject an a conditionally effective ordinance or ordinances that

 

will establish a historic district or districts only if approved

 

under subparagraph (iii).

 

     (iii) A conditionally effective ordinance or ordinances passed

 

under subparagraph (ii) establishes a historic district or

 

districts only if a majority of the electors in the local unit

 


voting at an election approve that establishment of the historic

 

district or districts. This vote shall be taken at the next regular

 

election held in the local unit that occurs at least 70 days after

 

the passage of the conditionally effective ordinance or ordinances

 

described in subparagraph (ii).

 

     (iv) If the local unit passes actions taken under

 

subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) result in the passage of an ordinance

 

or ordinances establishing 1 or more historic districts, the local

 

unit shall file a copy of that ordinance or those ordinances,

 

including a legal description of the property or properties located

 

within the historic district or districts, with the register of

 

deeds. A local unit shall not pass an ordinance establishing a

 

contiguous historic district less than 60 days after a majority of

 

the property owners within the proposed historic district, as

 

listed on the tax rolls of the local unit, have approved the

 

establishment of the historic district pursuant to a written

 

petition.

 

     (2) (4) A writing prepared, owned, used, in the possession of,

 

or retained by a committee in the performance of an official

 

function shall be made available to the public in compliance with

 

the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246.

 

     Sec. 5. (1) A permit shall be obtained before any work

 

affecting the exterior appearance of a resource is performed within

 

a historic district or, if required under subsection (4), work

 

affecting the interior arrangements of a resource is performed

 

within a historic district. The person, individual, partnership,

 

firm, corporation, organization, institution, or agency of

 


government proposing to do that work shall file an application for

 

a permit with the inspector of buildings, the commission, or other

 

duly delegated authority. If the inspector of buildings or other

 

authority receives the application, the application shall be

 

immediately referred together with all required supporting

 

materials that make the application complete to the commission. A

 

permit shall not be issued and proposed work shall not proceed

 

until the commission has acted on the application by issuing a

 

certificate of appropriateness or a notice to proceed as prescribed

 

in this act. A commission shall not issue a certificate of

 

appropriateness unless the applicant certifies in the application

 

that the property where work will be undertaken has, or will have

 

before the proposed project completion date, a fire alarm system or

 

a smoke alarm complying with the requirements of the Stille-

 

DeRossett-Hale single state construction code act, 1972 PA 230, MCL

 

125.1501 to 125.1531. A local unit may charge a reasonable fee to

 

process a permit application.

 

     (2) An applicant aggrieved by a decision of a commission

 

concerning a permit application may file an appeal with the state

 

historic preservation review board within the department.

 

legislative body of the local unit. The appeal shall be filed

 

within 60 days after the decision is furnished to the applicant.

 

The appellant may submit all or part of the appellant's evidence

 

and arguments in written form. The review board legislative body of

 

the local unit shall consider an appeal at its first regularly

 

scheduled meeting after receiving the appeal, but may not charge a

 

fee for considering an appeal. The review board legislative body of

 


the local unit may affirm, modify, or set aside a commission's

 

decision and may order a commission to issue a certificate of

 

appropriateness or a notice to proceed. A permit applicant

 

aggrieved by the decision of the state historic preservation review

 

board legislative body of the local unit may appeal the decision to

 

the circuit court having jurisdiction over the historic district

 

commission whose decision was appealed to the state historic

 

preservation review board.legislative body of the local unit.

 

     (3) In reviewing plans, the commission shall follow consult

 

the United States secretary Secretary of the interior's Interior's

 

standards for rehabilitation and guidelines for rehabilitating

 

historic buildings, as set forth in 36 C.F.R. CFR part 67, unless

 

the commission finds that a different standard is in the best

 

interest of the community. Design review standards and guidelines

 

that address special design characteristics of historic districts

 

administered by the commission may be followed if they are

 

equivalent in guidance to the secretary of interior's standards and

 

guidelines and are established or approved by the department. the

 

commission finds that they are in the best interest of the

 

community. The commission shall also consider all of the following:

 

     (a) The historic or architectural value and significance of

 

the resource and its relationship to the historic value of the

 

surrounding area.

 

     (b) The relationship of any architectural features of the

 

resource to the rest of the resource and to the surrounding area.

 

     (c) The general compatibility of the design, arrangement,

 

texture, and materials proposed to be used.

 


     (d) Other factors that the commission finds relevant, such as

 

aesthetic value , that the commission finds relevant.and the

 

reasonableness of the additional costs required to complete a

 

historically accurate rehabilitation.

 

     (e) Whether the applicant has certified in the application

 

that the property where work will be undertaken has, or will have

 

before the proposed project completion date, a fire alarm system or

 

a smoke alarm complying with the requirements of the Stille-

 

DeRossett-Hale single state construction code act, 1972 PA 230, MCL

 

125.1501 to 125.1531.

 

     (4) The commission shall review and act upon only exterior

 

features of a resource and, except for noting compliance with the

 

requirement to install a fire alarm system or a smoke alarm, shall

 

not review and act upon interior arrangements unless specifically

 

authorized to do so by the local legislative body or unless

 

interior work will cause visible change to the exterior of the

 

resource. The commission shall not disapprove an application due to

 

considerations not prescribed in subsection (3).

 

     (5) If an application is for work that will adversely affect

 

the exterior of a resource the commission considers valuable to the

 

local unit, state, or nation, and the commission determines that

 

the alteration or loss of that resource will adversely affect the

 

public purpose of the local unit, state, or nation, the commission

 

shall attempt to establish with the owner of the resource an

 

economically feasible plan for preservation of the resource.

 

     (6) Work within a historic district shall be permitted through

 

the issuance of a notice to proceed by the commission if any of the

 


following conditions prevail and if the proposed work can be

 

demonstrated by a finding of the commission to be necessary to

 

substantially improve or correct any of the following conditions:

 

     (a) The resource constitutes a hazard to the safety of the

 

public or to the structure's occupants.

 

     (b) The resource is a deterrent to a major improvement program

 

that will be of substantial benefit to the community and the

 

applicant proposing the work has obtained all necessary planning

 

and zoning approvals, financing, and environmental clearances.

 

     (c) Retaining the resource will cause undue financial hardship

 

to the owner when a governmental action, an act of God, or other

 

events beyond the owner's control created the hardship, and all

 

feasible alternatives to eliminate the financial hardship, which

 

may include offering the resource for sale at its fair market value

 

or moving the resource to a vacant site within the historic

 

district, have been attempted and exhausted by the owner.

 

     (d) Retaining the resource is not in the interest of the

 

majority of the community.

 

     (7) The business that the commission may perform shall be

 

conducted at a public meeting of the commission held in compliance

 

with the open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 to 15.275.

 

Public notice of the time, date, and place of the meeting shall be

 

given in the manner required by the open meetings act, 1976 PA 267,

 

MCL 15.261 to 15.275. A meeting agenda shall be part of the notice

 

and shall include a listing of each permit application to be

 

reviewed or considered by the commission.

 

     (8) The commission shall keep a record of its resolutions,

 


proceedings, and actions. A writing prepared, owned, used, in the

 

possession of, or retained by the commission in the performance of

 

an official function shall be made available to the public in

 

compliance with the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL

 

15.231 to 15.246.

 

     (9) The commission shall adopt its own rules of procedure and

 

shall adopt design review standards and guidelines for resource

 

treatment to carry out its duties under this act.

 

     (10) The commission may delegate the issuance of certificates

 

of appropriateness for specified minor classes of work to its

 

staff, to the inspector of buildings, or to another delegated

 

authority. The commission shall provide to the delegated authority

 

specific written standards for issuing certificates of

 

appropriateness under this subsection. On at least a quarterly

 

basis, the commission shall review the certificates of

 

appropriateness, if any, issued for work by its staff, the

 

inspector, or another authority to determine whether or not the

 

delegated responsibilities should be continued.

 

     (11) Upon a finding by a commission that a historic resource

 

within a historic district or a proposed historic district subject

 

to its review and approval is threatened with demolition by

 

neglect, the commission may do either of the following with the

 

approval of the legislative body of the local unit:

 

     (a) Require the owner of the resource to repair all conditions

 

contributing to demolition by neglect.

 

     (b) If the owner does not make repairs within a reasonable

 

time, the commission or its agents may enter the property and make

 


such repairs as are necessary to prevent demolition by neglect. The

 

costs of the work shall be charged to the owner, and may be levied

 

by the local unit as a special assessment against the property. The

 

commission or its agents may enter the property for purposes of

 

this section upon obtaining an order from the circuit court.

 

     (12) When work has been done upon a resource without a permit,

 

and the commission finds that the work does not qualify for a

 

certificate of appropriateness, the commission may require an owner

 

to restore the resource to the condition the resource was in before

 

the inappropriate work or to modify the work so that it qualifies

 

for a certificate of appropriateness. If the owner does not comply

 

with the restoration or modification requirement within a

 

reasonable time, the commission may seek an order from the circuit

 

court to require the owner to restore the resource to its former

 

condition or to modify the work so that it qualifies for a

 

certificate of appropriateness. If the owner does not comply or

 

cannot comply with the order of the court, the commission or its

 

agents may enter the property and conduct work necessary to restore

 

the resource to its former condition or modify the work so that it

 

qualifies for a certificate of appropriateness in accordance with

 

the court's order. The costs of the work shall be charged to the

 

owner, and may be levied by the local unit as a special assessment

 

against the property. When acting pursuant to an order of the

 

circuit court, a commission or its agents may enter a property for

 

purposes of this section.

 

     Sec. 9. (1) The commission shall file certificates of

 

appropriateness, notices to proceed, and denials of applications

 


for permits with the inspector of buildings or other delegated

 

authority. A permit shall not be issued until the commission has

 

acted as prescribed by this act. If a permit application is denied,

 

the decision shall be binding on the inspector or other authority.

 

A denial shall be accompanied with a written explanation by the

 

commission of the reasons for denial and, if appropriate, a notice

 

that an application may be resubmitted for commission review when

 

suggested changes have been made. The denial shall also include

 

notification of the applicant's rights of appeal to the state

 

historic preservation review board legislative body of the local

 

unit and to the circuit court. The failure of the commission to act

 

within 60 calendar days after the date a complete application is

 

filed with the commission, unless an extension is agreed upon in

 

writing by the applicant and the commission, shall be considered to

 

constitute approval.

 

     (2) Local public officials and employees shall provide

 

information and records to committees, commissions, and standing

 

committees, and shall meet with those bodies upon request to assist

 

with their activities.

 

     (3) The department authority shall cooperate with and assist

 

local units, committees, commissions, and standing committees in

 

carrying out the purposes of this act and may establish or approve

 

standards, guidelines, and procedures that encourage uniform

 

administration of this act in this state but that are not legally

 

binding on any individual or other legal entity.

 

     Sec. 14. (1) A Except as otherwise provided in this

 

subsection, a local unit may at any time establish by ordinance

 


additional historic districts, including proposed districts

 

previously considered and rejected, may modify boundaries of an

 

existing historic district, or may eliminate an existing historic

 

district. Before establishing, modifying, or eliminating a historic

 

district, a historic district study committee appointed by the

 

legislative body of the local unit When considering the

 

establishment of an additional historic district or the

 

modification of the boundaries of an existing one, the local unit

 

shall first obtain the petition described in section 3(1)(a) before

 

the legislative body of the local unit may appoint a historic

 

district study committee or authorize the services of a retained

 

initial committee, a standing committee, or a committee established

 

to consider only specific proposed districts and then be dissolved.

 

If a committee is appointed or its services are authorized by the

 

legislative body of the local unit, further consideration of the

 

establishment of an additional historic district or modification of

 

the boundaries of an existing one shall follow the procedures set

 

forth in section 3(1)(b) to (d) and the committee shall also

 

consider any previously written committee reports pertinent to the

 

proposed action. When considering the elimination of a historic

 

district, the legislative body of the local unit may appoint a

 

historic district study committee and may do so without the

 

petition described in section 3(1)(a) first being obtained; that

 

committee shall , except as provided in subsection (2), comply with

 

the procedures set forth in section 3 3(1)(b) to (d) and shall

 

consider any previously written committee reports pertinent to the

 

proposed action; and any ordinance that the legislative body of the

 


local unit passes for purposes of eliminating the historic district

 

is effective without the electors' approval described in section

 

3(1)(d)(ii) to (iii) subsequently being obtained. To conduct these

 

the activities described in this subsection, local units may,

 

subject to the petition procedure referenced in this subsection,

 

retain the initial committee, establish a standing committee, or

 

establish a committee to consider only specific proposed districts

 

and then be dissolved.

 

     (2) If considering elimination of a historic district, a

 

committee shall follow the procedures set forth in section 3 for

 

issuing a preliminary report, holding a public hearing, and issuing

 

a final report but with the intent of showing 1 or more of the

 

following:

 

     (i) The historic district has lost those physical

 

characteristics that enabled establishment of the district.

 

     (ii) The historic district was not significant in the way

 

previously defined.

 

     (iii) The historic district was established pursuant to

 

defective procedures.

 

     (2) (3) Upon receipt of substantial evidence showing the

 

presence of historic, architectural, archaeological, engineering,

 

or cultural significance of a proposed historic district, the

 

legislative body of a local unit may, at its discretion, adopt a

 

resolution requiring that all applications for permits within the

 

proposed historic district be referred to the commission as

 

prescribed in sections 5 and 9. The commission shall review permit

 

applications with the same powers that would apply if the proposed

 


historic district was an established historic district. The review

 

may continue in the proposed historic district for not more than 1

 

year, or until such time as the local unit approves or rejects the

 

establishment of the historic district by ordinance, is approved or

 

rejected pursuant to the procedures set forth in section 3 or 14,

 

whichever occurs first.

 

     (3) (4) If the legislative body of a local unit determines

 

that pending work will cause irreparable harm to resources located

 

within an established historic district or a proposed historic

 

district, the legislative body may by resolution declare an

 

emergency moratorium of all such work for a period not to exceed 6

 

months. The legislative body may extend the emergency moratorium

 

for an additional period not to exceed 6 months upon finding that

 

the threat of irreparable harm to resources is still present. Any

 

pending permit application concerning a resource subject to an

 

emergency moratorium may be summarily denied.

 

     (4) A historic district in existence on the effective date of

 

the amendatory act that added this subsection shall dissolve 10

 

years after the effective date of the amendatory act that added

 

this subsection unless the question of its renewal is submitted to

 

the electors in the local unit at the regular election immediately

 

preceding the date that the historic district would otherwise

 

dissolve and a majority of those electors voting at the election

 

approve the renewal of the historic district. A historic district

 

established under this act or renewed under this subsection after

 

the effective date of the amendatory act that added this subsection

 

shall dissolve 10 years after the date of that establishment or

 


renewal unless the question of its renewal is submitted to the

 

electors in the local unit at the regular election immediately

 

preceding the date that the historic district would otherwise

 

dissolve and a majority of those electors voting at the election

 

approve the renewal of the historic district. A renewal approved

 

under this subsection is effective on the date that the historic

 

district would have otherwise dissolved.