[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Lawrence as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 1-14-1998 by L.L. No. 1-1998[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also superseded
former Ch. 12, Board of Building Design, adopted 4-13-1988 by L.L.
No. 2-1988.
A.
The Board of Trustees finds that excessive similarity
or general inappropriateness of design in the exterior appearance
of residential and/or commercial buildings erected in a respective
district adversely affects the desirability of the immediate area
and neighboring areas for residential and/or commercial purposes and
by so doing impairs the benefits for residential and/or commercial
purposes and by so doing impairs the benefits of occupancy of existing
residential and/or commercial property in such areas, impairs the
stability and value of both improved and unimproved real property
in such areas, prevents the most appropriate development of such areas,
produces degeneration of residential and/or commercial property in
such areas with attendant deterioration of conditions affecting the
health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants thereof and destroys
a proper relationship between the table value of real property in
such areas and the cost of municipal services provided therefor.
B.
It is the purpose of Chapter 6, Appeals, Board of, this article and Chapter 212, Zoning, to prevent these and other harmful effects of such exterior appearances of buildings erected in residential and/or commercial neighborhoods and thus to promote and protect the health, safety and general welfare of the community.
C.
It is the further purpose of this article to preserve
and promote the character and appearances and conserve the property
values of the Village, the attractiveness of whose residential and
business areas is the economic mainstay of the community, by providing
procedures for a review of structures henceforth erected, reconstructed
or altered in the Village and thereby:
(1)
To encourage good quality of exterior building design
and appearances and to relate such design and appearances to the sites
and surroundings of the structure.
(2)
To permit originality and resourcefulness in building
design and appearance which are appropriate to the sites and surroundings.
(3)
To prevent such designs and appearances as are unnecessarily
offensive to visual sensibilities.
The Board of Building Design heretofore established
is hereby continued.
A.
It shall consist of five members who will serve without
compensation.
B.
All members of said Board shall be residents of the
Village of Lawrence throughout their terms of office.
C.
The members of said Board and the Chairman thereof
shall be appointed by the Mayor with the consent of the Board of Trustees.
D.
The members of the Board of Building Design shall
serve for terms of one year.
E.
A vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term of
any member whose place has become vacant.
Such Board of Building Design shall appoint
from its members an Acting Chairman, who shall act during the absence
or incapacity of the Chairman. The Board shall also appoint a Secretary,
who need not be a member of the Board and may be compensated.
A.
A majority of said Board shall constitute a quorum.
C.
Notice of meetings shall be given by the Secretary
in the same manner as provided by the Village Law for meetings of
the Board of Trustees.
D.
Minutes of all meetings and proceedings of the Board
shall be taken and recorded by the Secretary. Such minutes need not
be verbatim but shall state the substance of the proceedings.
E.
In case of the absence of the Secretary at any meeting,
the Board may appoint a Secretary pro tem, who shall take and record
the minutes of the meeting for which he was appointed.
F.
The Minute Book shall be kept on file in the Village
office of the Village of Lawrence and shall be open to public inspection
during regular business hours.
G.
The Board may adopt rules of procedure which shall
include, but are not limited to, the frequency and time of meetings
and rules of attendance.
H.
The Chairman (or Acting Chairman) may administer oaths
and compel the attendance of witnesses.
A.
The Board of Building Design shall review and advise
on all applications for building permits referred to it by the Building
Inspector, including but not limited to:
(1)
New construction of any kind.
(2)
Any exterior addition or alteration to preexisting
buildings/structures or accessory buildings.
(3)
Swimming pools, decks, recreational structures.
(4)
New fences (including replacements).
(5)
Air conditioners.
(6)
Curb cuts.
(7)
Other matters referred by the Planning Board or Zoning
Board of Appeals.
(8)
Any plans or proposals which, in the opinion of the
Building Inspector, violate the spirit and intent of this article.
B.
Applications must be accompanied by plans showing
all elevations of new structures and all affected elevations in the
case of additions or alterations. When required by the Building Inspector
or by the Board of Building Design, a site plan shall be submitted
showing both existing and proposed contours at one-foot intervals,
all existing trees with a trunk diameter of three inches or more and
whether such trees shall remain or be removed and/or other topographical
features.
A.
Upon receipt of such application, the Chairman or Secretary shall, pursuant to rules to be established as per § 12-4G, arrange for a meeting of said Board, as soon thereafter as convenient, to consider such application, and the Secretary shall give notice of such meeting in the manner hereinbefore provided.
B.
Approval of any building permit referred to the Board
shall be by a vote of a majority of at least a quorum of members of
the Board of Building Design.
C.
In considering an application for a permit, the Board
shall take into account natural features of the site and surroundings,
exterior design and appearances of existing structures and the character
of the Village and its peculiar suitability for particular purposes,
with a view to conserving the values of property and encouraging the
most appropriate use of land.
D.
The Board may approve any application referred to
it upon finding that the building or structure for which the permit
was requested, if erected or altered in accordance with the submitted
plan, would be in harmony with the purpose of this article, would
not be visually offensive or inappropriate by reason of poor quality
of exterior design, excessive similarity or striking visual discord
in relation to the sites or surroundings, would not mar the appearance
of the area, would not impair the use, enjoyment and desirability
or reduce the values of properties in the area, would not be detrimental
to the character of the neighborhood, would not prevent the most appropriate
development and utilization of the site or of adjacent lands and would
not adversely affect the functioning, economic stability, prosperity,
health, safety and general welfare of the entire community.
E.
In approving any application, the Board may impose appropriate conditions and safeguards designed to prevent the harmful effects set forth in § 12-1.
F.
The Board may disapprove any application for a permit, provided that the Board has afforded the applicant an opportunity to confer upon suggestions for change of the plan, and provided that the Board finds and states that the structure for which the permit was requested would, if erected as indicated, provoke one or more of the harmful effects set forth in § 12-1 and thus be detrimental to the character, property values or development of the surrounding property or of the Village as a whole by reason of:
(1)
Excessive similarity to any other structure or structures
located or proposed to be located on the same street or corner thereof
and within 500 feet of the site of the structure for which a building
permit is requested, in respect to one or more of the following features
of exterior design and appearance:
(a)
Substantially identical facade.
(b)
Substantially identical size and arrangement
of either doors, windows, porticoes, porches or garages or other openings
or breaks or extensions in the facade, including reverse arrangements.
(c)
Other substantially identical features, such
as but not limited to setbacks from street lines, heights, widths
and lengths of elements of the building design and exterior materials
and treatments.
(2)
Striking dissimilarity, visual discord or inappropriateness
with respect to other structures located or proposed to be located
on the same street or a corner thereof and within 150 feet of the
site of the structures for which a building permit is requested, in
respect to one or more of the following features of exterior design
and appearance:
(a)
Facade.
(b)
Size and arrangement of doors, windows, porticoes,
porches or garages or other openings, breaks or extensions in the
facade.
(c)
Other significant design features, such as but
not limited to heights, widths and lengths of elements of design,
exterior materials and treatments, roof structures, exposed mechanical
equipment, service and storage areas, retaining walls, landscaping,
signs, light posts, parking areas and fences and service and loading
areas.
(3)
Visual offensiveness or other poor qualities of exterior
design, including, with respect to signs and awnings, considerations
of the harmony or discord of colors, or incompatibility of the proposed
structure with the terrain on which it is to be located, including
but not limited to excessive divergences of the height or levels of
any part of the structure from the grade of the terrain.
(4)
There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the following matters would produce one or more of the harmful effects set forth in § 12-1 and thus be detrimental to the character, property values or development of the surrounding property or of the Village as a whole:
[Added 12-21-2017 by L.L.
No. 6-2017]
(a)
Side
yard fences in excess of five feet in height, based on the median
grade along the path of the fence (except where the applicant’s
side yard abuts the rear yard of another property and the height of
the applicant’s fence would be necessary to match the height
of an existing rear yard fence on the adjoining property); and
(b)
Side
yard fences extending further than the area between the rear property
line and the front facade of the primary structure on the property;
and
(c)
Rear
yard fences in excess of six feet in height, based on the median grade
along the path of the fence; and
(d)
Horseshoe-shaped
driveways, or other driveways requiring two curb cuts, unless the
property has street frontage of at least 66 feet and a minimum distance
of 50 feet between the curb (or if none, the paved surface of the
street) and the front façade of the primary building on the
property.
G.
The Board may disapprove any application where the provisions of § 12-5B have not been complied with.
H.
In disapproving any application for a building permit,
the Board of Building Design may specify modifications in the design
of the building which the Board finds will, in the opinion of the
Board, be adequate to render the same acceptable.
I.
Such disapproval shall be given within 30 days after
the date when such application was submitted by the Building Inspector
to the Board of Building Design, and, if such disapproval is not given
within said period of time, the application shall be deemed approved
unless the applicant shall have agreed to an extension of time or
shall have agreed to provide additional data, information or plans.
The Building Inspector shall not issue or approve
the issuance of a building permit upon such application until after
the expiration of said period of 30 days, unless such application
has been approved by the Board of Building Design, and shall not approve
the issuance of any building permit for which the application has
been disapproved by said Board, unless the plans for such building
have been amended to include the modifications in design that the
Board may have specified as adequate to render such design acceptable.
[Amended 12-21-2017 by L.L. No. 6-2017]
Any applicant aggrieved by the action of the
Board of Building Design in disapproving a building permit application,
and by the Building Inspector in denying such permit because of such
disapproval, may request the Board to make formal findings of fact.
In the event of such a request, the Board shall make such findings
of fact within 15 days after the request is filed in the office of
the Village Clerk, shall thereafter provide the applicant with an
opportunity to answer the findings by the submission of formal proof
and shall reconsider the application on the basis of such answer.
If the application is disapproved after such reconsideration, the
applicant may appeal the decision through a proceeding filed pursuant
to Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
The powers intended to be exercised under this
article are those conferred upon the Board of Trustees by § 4-412
and Article 7 of the Village Law and by any other statute which may
be applicable.
[Adopted 9-10-2003 by L.L. No. 7-2003]
The Lawrence Village Board of Trustees hereby
enacts this article to provide a process for appointing alternate
members of the Board of Building Design. These individuals would serve
when members are absent or unable to participate on an application
or matter before the Board.
Alternate members of the Board of Building Design
shall be appointed by the Village Board of Trustees for a term of
one year.
The Chairperson of the Board of Building Design
may designate an alternate to substitute for a member when such member
is unable to participate on an application or matter before the Board.
When so designated, the alternate member shall possess all the powers
and responsibilities of such member of the Board. Such designation
shall be entered into the minutes of the initial Board of Building
Design meeting at which the substitution is made.
All provisions of state law relating to Board
of Building Design member eligibility, vacancy in office, removal,
compatibility of office and service on other boards, as well as any
provision of a local ordinance, shall also apply to alternate members.
