8.14.070 Procedures for designation.
Official listing on the inventory of historical artifacts, or removal from listing, shall be approved by the planning commission. Artifacts that the planning commission or city council accept for designation as historical artifacts are subject to the terms of this chapter, even in those cases where the property owner objects to inclusion in the official inventory. An inventory sheet shall be stored in the address file in the building division offices of properties accepted for designation but not published in the official inventory of historical artifacts.
Only those artifacts officially included in the inventory of historical artifacts shall be eligible for grants of public funds, plaques purchased with public funds, or other incentives or benefits that may arise in support of preservation of the artifacts.
A. Initiation of Listings on the Inventory of Historical Artifacts. Designation may be initiated by the planning commission, by any resident of the town, or by the owner of an artifact. Applications for designation must be accompanied by such historical and architectural documentation as may be required to evaluate the artifact’s significance under the criteria described in Section 8.14.060. If the application is filed by a property owner or resident of the town, the application shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee as described in Article III of this chapter.
B. Notice of the Public Hearing. Upon receipt of a completed application, the secretary of the planning commission shall set a date for the public hearing which shall be held within forty days of the acceptance of the completed application. Written notice by first class mail shall be sent to property owners within five hundred feet of the property containing the artifact and shall be posted on the official town bulletin boards within ten days of the public hearing.
C. Planning Commission Action. The designation of historical artifacts shall be made by resolution of the planning commission and shall be communicated to the building official, the director of public works, and the Atherton Heritage Association. After thirty days from the public hearing, if no written objection is filed by the property owner, the town shall forward a copy of the resolution to the recorder of the county of San Mateo and to the property owner.
D. Owner Consent. Artifacts shall not be listed in the official inventory of historical artifacts over the property owners’ written objection, received by the town within thirty days of the official designation by the city council.
E. Stop Work Order. While the application for a designation as a historical artifact is pending, prior to the public hearing where the planning commission or city council approves or denies the application, the building official may declare a stop work order. During the term of the stop work order, work that would require an alteration permit if the artifact were already designated as a historical artifact shall not be carried out. The stop work order will be lifted upon the earlier of the planning commission or the council’s decision on the proposed designation, the stop work order termination date as adopted by the building official, or one hundred eighty calendar days from the date of the commencement of the stop work order. (Ord. 567 § 1 (part), 2007)