A. Except as provided for in subsection B, no person shall carry out or cause to be carried out, nor shall any permit be issued for, any alteration, demolition, or relocation of a designated cultural resource or of property within a historic district without first obtaining the approval of the commission or, on appeal thereto, of the city council. Application for such approval shall be made to the commission on forms provided by the city.

B. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require approval of the commission for alterations, even if a permit is required, which are listed below and which will not adversely affect the architectural features of the structure, where those features are specified in the designation and which will not affect the special character or special historical, architectural or aesthetic interest or special historical, architectural or aesthetic interest or the relationship and congruity between the subject structure or feature and its neighboring structures and surroundings, where specified in the designation.

C. Upon submittal of a complete application for commission approval of alteration, demolition or removal of a designated cultural resource or property within a historic district, the commission shall hold a public hearing and render a decision on the application as soon as possible. Notice shall be sent not less than ten days prior to the hearing, giving the date, time and place of such hearing, the location of the property, and the nature of the request, by mailing the notice to the applicant, to the owners of all property within three hundred feet of the subject property if such property is a cultural resource, and to all owners of property within the historic district, if such property is within such a district. Additionally, such notice shall be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the city at least ten days prior to the hearing.

D. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the ordinary maintenance or repair of any exterior architectural feature in or on any property covered by this section that does not require a permit from the city.

E. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the building director from issuing a building permit if he determines that demolition, removal or alteration of a designated cultural resource or of property within a historic district is immediately necessary in the interest of the public health, safety, or welfare.

F. At the time of submittal of the application, the applicant shall provide whatever detailed information (plans, drawings, agreements, etc.) is required or necessary to describe the intended work and any additional information necessary for the commission to act on the matter, as determined by staff. Applications without such information shall be deemed incomplete for purposes of subsection C of this section.

G. The commission shall have the authority to approve, deny, or approve subject to conditions, any application for the alteration, removal or demolition of a designated cultural resource or property within a historic district. If the commission determines that a permit should not be issued, the commission shall issue its findings in writing, documenting the specific reasons for denial. The decision of the commission and the findings supporting that decision shall be mailed to the applicant within five days of the decision. A new application for the same work affecting the same property may be submitted after the disapproval only if a change in circumstances of the owner or the property has occurred.

H. The decision of the commission to approve, deny, or approve with conditions any application as set forth in this chapter is appealable to the city council. Such appeal shall be made in writing and delivered to the office of the city clerk not later than ten calendar days from the date of mailing of notice of the commission’s decision. At the time of filing, the applicant shall pay a fee not to exceed the cost of processing such appeal as required by Section 3.70.040 of the Bakersfield Municipal Code. No application for appeal shall be deemed complete until the prescribed fee has been received by the city. Such appeal shall specify the reasons for the appeal from the decision of the commission. Upon the filing of the appeal, the clerk shall set the matter for public hearing within sixty days or as soon thereafter as is practicable and shall give written notice to the appellant of the time and date set for the hearing. Upon the hearing of such appeal, the city council may by resolution affirm or modify or reverse the determination of the commission. (Ord. 4460 § 1, 2007)