Art. 6145-4. OLD GALVESTON QUARTER.

Sec. 1. PURPOSE OF ACT. The purpose of this Act is to implement the Texas constitutional provisions by preserving and perpetuating as a memorial to the history of Texas one of the most historically significant areas of Texas, being that of Old Galveston.

Sec. 2. CREATION OF OLD GALVESTON QUARTER; BOUNDARIES. (a) There is hereby created in the City of Galveston a district to be known as the Old Galveston Quarter, which shall be comprised of all the territory contained within the boundaries described as follows:

BEGINNING 1/2 block South of the corner of Broadway and 12th Street, West parallel to Broadway to a point 1/2 block South of the corner of 19th and Broadway;

THENCE North to a point 1/2 block North of Sealy;

THENCE East to a point 1/2 block North of Sealy and 17th Street;

THENCE North to the corner of 17th Street and Market Street;

THENCE East along Market Street to the corner of Market Street and 15th Street;

THENCE North along 15th Street to Avenue A;

THENCE East along Avenue A to the corner of Avenue A and 12th Street;

THENCE South along 12th Street to the place of beginning.

(b) Property contiguous to that described above may come within said District upon petition of the property owners.

Sec. 3. OLD GALVESTON QUARTER COMMISSION; MEMBERS; TERMS; CHAIRMAN AND OFFICERS. (a) The powers of the Old Galveston Quarter shall be exercised by the Old Galveston Quarter Commission consisting of five members all of whom shall be property owners within the Quarter. The Governor shall appoint the five members from a list of ten property owners nominated by the membership of the Old Galveston Quarter Property Owners Association at the annual meeting or a special meeting called for this purpose, provided that all resident property owners within the Quarters are entitled to vote upon these nominations at the meeting. The initial terms of the first five members of the Commission shall be as follows: the Governor shall appoint two for a three year term; two for a two year term; and one for a one year term. Upon the expiration of each of these terms, subsequent appointments shall be filled in a similar manner for a term of three years.

(b) As the term of any such Commissioner, or of any subsequent Commissioner expires, his successor shall be appointed in like manner. Vacancies in the Commission shall be filled in the same manner for the unexpired term. Every Commissioner shall continue in office after the expiration of his term until his successor is duly appointed and has qualified.

(c) The Commission shall elect one of its members as chairman, one as vice-chairman and another as treasurer; and the signed authorization by two shall be necessary for operating expenditures. Members of the Commission shall serve without compensation. The records of the Commission shall set forth every determination made by the Commission and the vote of every member participating therein and the absence or failure to vote of every other member.

Sec. 4. LIMITATION ON ISSUANCE OF BUILDING PERMIT. No permit shall be issued by the City of Galveston for the construction of any structure in the Old Galveston Quarter or the reconstruction, alteration or demolition of any structure now or hereafter in said Quarter, except in cases excluded by this Act, unless the application for such permit shall bear a certificate under Section 6 of this Act that no exterior architectural feature is involved or shall be accompanied by a certificate of appropriateness issued under this Act, or in the case of the demolition of a structure, a certificate under this Act that thirty (30) days or such lesser period as the Commission may have determined has expired after receipt by the Commission of notice of demolition.

Sec. 5. CERTIFICATE OF NONAPPLICABILITY OF STATUTE. Except in cases excluded by Section 8 of this Act, every person about to apply to the City of Galveston for a permit to construct any structure in the Old Galveston Quarter or to reconstruct, alter or demolish any structure now or hereafter in said Quarter shall deposit with the secretary of the Commission his application for such permit together with all plans and specifications for the work involved. Within fifteen (15) days thereafter, Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays excluded, the Commission shall consider such application, plans and specifications and determine whether any exterior architectural feature is involved. If the Commission determines that no exterior architectural feature is involved, it shall cause its secretary to endorse on the application forthwith a certificate of such determination and return the application, plans and specifications to the applicant.

Sec. 6. EXTERIOR ARCHITECTURAL OR ADVERTISING FEATURES; CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS. (a) No person shall construct any exterior architectural or advertising feature in the Old Galveston Quarter, or reconstruct or alter any such feature now or hereafter in said Quarter, until such person shall have filed with the Secretary of the Commission an application for a certificate of appropriateness in such form and with such plans, specifications and other material as the Commission may from time to time prescribe and a certificate of appropriateness shall have been issued as hereinafter provided in this Section.

(b) Within fifteen (15) days after the filing of an application for a certificate of appropriateness, Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays excluded, the Commission shall determine the estates deemed by it to be materially affected by such application and, unless a public hearing on such application is waived in writing by all persons entitled to notice thereof, shall forthwith cause its secretary to give by mail, postage prepaid, to the applicant, to the owners of all such estates as they appear on the then most recent real estate tax list, and to any person filing written request for notice of hearings, such request to be renewed yearly in December, reasonable notice of a public hearing before the Commission on such application.

(c) As soon as conveniently may be after such public hearing or the waiver thereof, but in all events within thirty (30) days, Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays excluded, after the filing of the application for the certificate of appropriateness, or within such further time as the applicant may in writing allow, the Commission shall determine whether the proposed construction, reconstruction or alteration of the exterior architectural feature involved will be appropriate to the preservation of the Old Galveston Quarter for the purposes of this Act, and whether, notwithstanding that it may be inappropriate, owing to conditions especially affecting the structure involved, but not affecting the Old Galveston Quarter generally, failure to issue a certificate of appropriateness will involve a substantial hardship to the applicant and such a certificate may be issued without substantial detriment to the public welfare and without substantial derogation from the intent and purposes of this Act. In passing upon appropriateness, the Commission shall consider, in addition to any other pertinent factors, the historical and architectural value and significance, architectural style, general design, arrangement, texture, material and color of the exterior architectural feature involved and the relationship thereof to the exterior architectural features of other structures in the immediate neighborhood.

(d) If the Commission determines that the proposed construction, reconstruction or alteration of the exterior architectural feature involved will be appropriate, or, although inappropriate, owing to conditions as aforesaid, failure to issue a certificate of appropriateness will involve substantial hardship to the applicant and issuance thereof may be made without substantial detriment or derogation as aforesaid, or if the Commission fails to make a determination within the time hereinbefore prescribed, the secretary of the Commission shall forthwith issue to the applicant a certificate of appropriateness. If the Commission determines that a certificate of appropriateness should not issue, the Commission shall forthwith spread upon its records the reasons for such determination and may include recommendations respecting the proposed construction, reconstruction or alteration. Thereupon the secretary of the Commission shall forthwith notify the applicant of such determination, transmitting to him an attested copy of the reasons and recommendations, if any, spread upon the records of the Commission.

Sec. 7. NOTICE OF DEMOLITION. No person shall demolish any exterior architectural feature now or hereafter in the Old Galveston Quarter until he shall have filed with the secretary of the Commission on such form as may be from time to time prescribed by the Commission a written notice of his intent to demolish such feature and a period of thirty (30) days, Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays excluded, or such lesser period as the Commission, because the feature is not historically or architecturally significant or otherwise worthy of preservation, may in a particular case determine, shall have expired following the filing of such notice of demolition. Upon the expiration of such period the secretary of the Commission shall forthwith issue to the person filing the notice of demolition a certificate of the expiration of such period.

Sec. 8. EXCLUSIONS. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent the ordinary maintenance or repair of any exterior architectural feature now or hereafter in the Old Galveston Quarter; nor shall anything in this Act be construed to prevent the construction, reconstruction, alteration or demolition of any such feature which the Commission shall certify is required by the public safety because of an unsafe or dangerous condition; nor shall anything in this Act be construed to prevent the construction, reconstruction, alteration or demolition of any such feature under a permit issued by the City of Galveston prior to the effective date of this Act.

Sec. 9. APPEALS. Any applicant aggrieved by a determination of the Commission may, within thirty (30) days after the making of such determination, appeal to the District Court of Galveston County. The Court shall hear all pertinent evidence and shall annul the determination of the Commission if it finds the reasons given by the Commission to be unwarranted by the evidence or to be insufficient in law to warrant the determination of the Commission or make such other decree as justice and equity may require. The remedies provided by this Section shall be exclusive; but the parties shall have all rights of appeal and exception as in other equity cases.

Sec. 10. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. The Commission may regulate the types and location of business as well as business hours within the Quarter where such regulation does not conflict with any state law or city ordinance and may sell or lease, for periods not to exceed twenty (20) years, real or personal property for use within the Quarter which it may acquire by purchase or gift; provided that the Commission shall have no power of eminent domain.

Sec. 11. BONDS. The Commission shall have no authority to issue bonds.

Sec. 12. ACTION FOR DECLARATORY JUDGMENT. The Commission may bring an action for a declaratory judgment in any District Court in Galveston or Travis Counties, Texas, in order to finally determine any question concerning this Statute.

Sec. 13. ELECTION; PETITION; RETURNS. (a) The powers granted to the Old Galveston Quarter Commission under this Act shall not take effect until an election has been held within the boundaries of the proposed District, and its creation has been approved by the majority of those voting in an election.

(b) A petition shall first be presented to the Commissioners Court signed by a majority of the resident property owners within the Quarter.

(c) The Commissioners Court shall then order an election to be held within the boundaries of the Old Galveston Quarter at which election shall be submitted the following propositions and none other:

"FOR the Old Galveston Quarter."

"AGAINST the Old Galveston Quarter."

(d) A majority of those voting in the Special Election shall be necessary to carry the proposition. Only resident property owners may vote at such an election. All such elections shall be conducted in the manner provided by the General Election Laws, unless otherwise provided. The Commissioners Court shall name polling places within the Quarter and shall appoint the judges and other necessary election officers.

(e) Immediately after the election each presiding judge shall make returns of the result as provided for in General Elections for state and county officers, and return the ballot boxes to the County Clerk, who shall keep same in a safe place and deliver them together with all returns to the Commissioners Court at its next regular or special session to canvass the vote. If the court finds that the proposition carried, it shall so declare the result and enter the same in its minutes.

Acts 1962, 57th Leg., 3rd C.S., p. 81, ch. 30. Amended by Acts 1963, 58th Leg., p. 1166, ch. 453, Sec. 1-5, eff. Aug. 23, 1963.