§ 23-208. Historic district regulatory board.

Sec. 23-208.1. Designated. The City of Lake Wales Historic District Regulatory Board is designated, and referred to herein as the "historic board." The purpose of the historic board is to administer the regulations within this chapter pertaining to historic districts.

Sec. 23-208.2. Composition of historic board and terms of members.

a. The historic board shall consist of five (5) regular members who shall be appointed by the governing body in accordance with section 2-26 of the Code. At least fifty (50) percent of the members shall reside or own property within the city. Members shall be chosen to provide expertise in the following disciplines to the extent such professionals are available in the community: historic preservation, architecture, architectural history, curation, conservation, anthropology, building construction, landscape architecture, planning, urban design, and regulatory procedures.

b. No member of the historic board may concurrently serve on any other regulatory board of the city.

c. Members shall be appointed to three-year terms, staggered so that three (3) members are appointed or reappointed in one (1) year, and two (2) members are appointed or reappointed in each of two (2) other years.

d. All vacancies on the historic board shall be filled within sixty (60) calendar days. Any member may be removed by the mayor with the approval of the city commission for inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance, conflict of interest or similar cause, after written notice and a public hearing.

Sec. 23-208.3. Rules of procedure.

a. The historic board shall elect from its membership one (1) member to serve as chairman and one (1) to serve as vice-chairman.

b. The term of the chairman and vice chairman shall be for a period of one (1) year with eligibility for re-election.

c. The historic board shall hold regular meetings at the call of the chairman and at such other times as the board may determine. Special meetings may be called by the chairman or vice-chairman with twelve (12) hours of notice. No less than four (4) meetings shall be held each year.

d. Each board member shall make a reasonable effort to attend state historic preservation office training programs.

e. The historic board shall adopt rules for transaction of its business and shall keep a public record of its resolutions, transactions, findings, and determinations which record shall be filed with the official records of the city.

Sec. 23-208.4. Functions, powers, and duties.

a. To hear and decide upon applications for certificates of appropriateness as required under this chapter.

b. To adopt guidelines for the review and issuance of certificates of appropriateness consistent with the purposes of this chapter, the historic preservation element of the comprehensive plan, and the Secretary of the Interior's standards for historic properties.

c. To make recommendations to the city commission on matters relating to the establishment of historic districts and regulation of such districts.

d. To make recommendations to the planning board and the city commission for amendments to the code of ordinances and the comprehensive plan on matters relating to historic preservation.

e. To make recommendations to the planning board and city commission regarding special permits for properties within an historic district in cases in which the special permit involves work requiring a certificate of appropriateness.

f. To perform any other duties which are lawfully assigned to it by the city commission.

(Ord. No. 2008-11, § 1, 5-20-08)