2004-012-ORD PROVIDING CODE OF ORDINANCES BE AMENDED BY REVISING SECTION 7-156 OF SAID CODE
ORDINANCE NO. 2004-012
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS,
PARIS, TEXAS, PROVIDING THAT THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF
THE CITY OF PARIS, PARIS, TEXAS, BE AMENDED BY REVISING
SECTION 7-156 OF SAID CODE TO INCLUDE THE PLANTING OF
GRASS, FLOWERS, SHRUBS, AND TREES UNDER "ORDINARY
MAINTENANCE"; REVISING SECTION 7-157 OF SAID CODE TO
PROVIDE FOR THE EXPIRATION OF CERTIFICATES OF
APPROPRIATENESS; REVISING SECTION 7-160 OF SAID CODE TO
ALLOW FOR CERTIFICATES OF APPROPRIATENESS IN PROPOSED
DISTRICTS IN CONFORMANCE WITH THE UNITED STATES
SECRET ARY OF THE INTERIOR'S ST ANDARDS FOR THE
REHABILITATION OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS AND TO REQUIRE
COMPLETION OFTHE DESIGNATION PROCESS BY THE COMMISSION
WITHIN 180 DAYS; DELETING SECTION 7-161 OF SAID CODE;
PROVIDING FOR A PENAL TY NOT TO EXCEED $2,000.00; REPEALING
ALL ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT
HEREWITH; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED
TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, Chapter 211 Texas Local Government Code, the Municipal Zoning Authority,
specifically authorizes zoning functions and procedures for municipalities; and,
WHEREAS, Chapter 211 Texas Local Government Code, Section 211.005 authorizes the
governing body of a municipality to divide the municipality into districts, within which the
governing body may regulate the erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, or use of
buildings, other structures, or land and within which zoning regulations must be uniform for each
class or kind of building in a district although zoning regulations may vary from district to district;
and,
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Paris, Paris, Texas, in conjunction with other
governmental entities, private groups, and private individuals, has supported and participated in a
community-wide beautification program intended to remove junk, litter, and other unsightly
materials, generally improve blighted areas of the City, regulate and where appropriate remove
substandard buildings and structures, protect and preserve the public health, safety, and welfare, and
generally improve the overall appearance of the community; and,
WHEREAS, in pursuit of such goals, the City Council desires to protect the public health
and safety at the same time protecting the rights of individual property owners; and,
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WHEREAS, in furtherance of these goals, the City Council has adopted Article III to
Chapter 7 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Paris, entitled "Hazardous Buildings" for the
purpose of regulating substandard structures and buildings within the City; and,
WHEREAS, in the process of the adoption of said Article, City Council directed the
inclusion of Section 7-50 thereto, dealing with the preservation of substandard buildings as historic
property; and,
WHEREAS, in order to implement fully said Section 7-50, and to otherwise provide for the
preservation of significant historical landmarks and properties within the City, the City Council
authorized application on behalf ofthe city for a designation as a Certified Local Government by the
Texas State Historical Preservation Office as provided by 16 U.S.c.A. Section 470 et seq; and,
WHEREAS, by letter dated January 30,2003, the United States Department ofthe Interior
designated the City of Paris, Texas, a Certified Local Government pursuant to Section 101 (c) of the
National Historic Preservation Act; and,
WHEREAS, as part of the aforesaid certification process, the City Council, on June 17,
2002, adopted Ordinance No. 2002-033, an appropriate historic preservation ordinance establishing,
among other things, a Historic Preservation Commission empowered to undertake certain actions
and exercise certain responsibility related to the preservation of historical landmarks and structures
within the City; and,
WHEREAS, the Historic Preservation Commission has recommended amendments to said
Historic Preservation Ordinance relating to the expiration, scope, and application of Certificates of
Appropriateness; and,
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to adopt said proposed amendments, as revised by the
City Legal Department, to the Historic Preservation Ordinance; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, PARIS,
TEXAS;
Section 1. That the findings set out in the preamble to this ordinance are hereby in all things
approved.
Section 2. That Chapter 7, Article VII, Section 7-156 ofthe Code of Ordinances ofthe City
of Paris, Paris, Texas, be, and the same is hereby, amended to include the planting of grass, flowers,
shrubs, and trees as Ordinary maintenance thereunder, to read as follows:
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"Sec. 7-156. Ordinary maintenance.
Nothing in this ordinance should be construed to prevent ordinary
maintenance or repair of any exterior architectural feature of a property designated
as a landmark or within a historic overlay district. Ordinary maintenance shall be
defined as any work that does not constitute a change in design, material, color, or
outward appearance, and includes in-kind replacement or repair. Ordinary
maintenance shall also include the planting or replacing of grass, flowers, shrubs, and
trees. The director of community development shall be the officer in charge of
making the decisions as to what is 'ordinary maintenance'."
Section 3. That Chapter 7, Article VII, Section 7-157 of the Code of Ordinances ofthe City
of Paris, Paris, Texas, be, and the same is hereby, amended by adding a subparagraph (g) thereto to
read as follows:
"Sec. 7-157. Certificates of appropriateness.
(g) Expiration of certificate. A certificate of appropriateness shall expire six
(6) months from the date it is issued ifthe approved work has not commenced, and
it shall expire one (1) year from the date it is issued if the approved work has not
been completed."
Section 4. That Chapter 7, Article VII, Section 7-160 ofthe Code of Ordinances of the City
of Paris, Paris, Texas, be, and the same is hereby, amended in its entirety to read as follows:
"Sec. 7-160. Initiation of process for designation of historic landmark or
district.
(a) Procedures. As set out herein, the procedure for adopting an ordinance
to establish or amend a historic landmark or district designation may be initiated by
the city council, the planning and zoning commission, the historic preservation
commission or by the owner( s) of property within the area of request. Upon initiation
of the procedure for designation, applications for a permit to place, construct, alter,
demolish, or remove any structure on the property shall follow the procedures set
forth herein for areas designated as historic districts, and shall continue thereafter
unless and until the City Council shall deny the proposed designation.
(b) Standards for certificates of appropriateness in proposed districts. The
commission shall follow the United States Secretary ofthe Interior's formal written
Standards for the Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings in its consideration of all
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applications for certificates of appropriateness. These Standards shall be made
available to owners and tenants of property designated as historic.
(c) Timing. For purposes of this section, the procedure for designation is
considered to be initiated immediately when the city councilor planning and zoning
commission or historic preservation commission votes to authorize the filing of a
designation case, or in the case of owner initiation, when the application for
designation is filed with the historic preservation commission. With regard to
designations initiated with or by the historic preservation commission, the
commission's review of such designation shall be completed and a recommendation
made within one hundred eighty (180) days of initial designation, or the initial
designation shall expire.
(d) Orders of the buildings standards commission exempt, This section shall
not apply to buildings or structures subject to orders of the building and standards
commission pursuant to Article III of Chapter 7 of the Code of Ordinances."
Section 5. That Chapter 7, Article VII, Section 7-1610fthe Code of Ordinances of the City
of Paris, Paris, Texas, be, and the same is hereby, deleted in its entirety, and that the remaining Secs.
7-162,7-163, and 7-164 be consecutively renumbered Secs. 7-161, 7-162, and 7-163, respectively.
Section 6. That it is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council of the City of
Paris that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, and phrases of this ordinance are severable
and, if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, or section of this ordinance shall be declared
unconstitutional or unlawful by the valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction,
such finding of unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect any of the remaining phrases,
clauses, sentences, paragraphs, or sections of this ordinance, it being the intention of the City
Council that such remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
Section 7. That all other ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith and not
expressly addressed herein are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict only.
Section 8. That Section 7 of this ordinance notwithstanding, this ordinance and these
amendments to Article VII, Chapter 7 ofthe Code of Ordinances of the City of Paris, Paris, Texas,
shall not affect any pending or subsequent prosecution or other litigation for violation of the prior
or current provisions of Article VII, Chapter 7 amended or repealed herein, it being the intention of
the City Council that the aforesaid amended provisions be continued in full force and effect to the
extent necessary and as required by law, to effectuate the prosecution of all such outstanding
violations, or to effectuate the continuation of other litigation related thereto, and for such purposes
only.
Section 9. That this ordinance shall become effective on June 1,2004.
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PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 10th day of May, 2004.
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ATTEST:
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Mattie Cunningham, City Clerk
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