3.24.010 Findings and purposes of provisions.
A. It is found that structures, sites and areas of special character or special historical, architectural or aesthetic interests or value have been and continue to be unnecessarily destroyed or impaired, despite the feasibility of preserving them.
B. It is further found that prevention of such needless destruction and impairment is essential to the health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the City.
C. The purpose of this legislation is to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the City through:
1. The protection, enhancement, perpetuation and use of structures, sites and areas that are reminders of past eras, events and persons important to local, state or national history, or which provide significant examples of architectural styles of the past, or are landmarks in the history of architecture, or which are unique and irreplaceable assets to the City and its neighborhoods, or which provide for this generation and future generations examples of the physical surroundings in which past generations lived;
2. The development and maintenance of appropriate settings and environments for such structures, in such sites and areas;
3. The enhancement of property values, the stabilization of neighborhoods and areas of the City, and the increase of economic and financial benefits to the City and its inhabitants;
4. The preservation and encouragement of a City of varied architectural styles, reflecting the distinct phases of its history--cultural, social, economic, political and architectural;
5. The enrichment of human life in its educational and cultural dimensions in order to serve spiritual as well as material needs by fostering knowledge of the living heritage of the past. (Ord. 4694-NS § 1, 1974)