This chapter is adopted pursuant to authority contained in the Act of June 13, 1961, Public Law 282, No. 167,[1] as amended.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 8001 et seq.
This chapter shall be known as and may be cited as the "Borough of Columbia Historic District Ordinance."
Pursuant to Article I, Section 27, of the Pennsylvania Constitution which states that "The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and aesthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustees of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people," now, therefore, it is the purpose and intent of the Borough of Columbia to:
A. 
Promote, protect, enhance, perpetuate and preserve the historic districts located within the Borough for the educational, cultural, economic and general welfare of the public through the preservation, protection and regulation of buildings, structures and areas of historic interest or significance within the Borough;
B. 
Safeguard the heritage of the Borough by preserving and regulating historic districts located herein which reflect elements of the Borough's cultural, social, economic, political and architectural history;
C. 
Preserve and enhance the environmental quality of neighborhoods in the Borough;
D. 
Strengthen the Borough's economic base by the stimulation of tourism;
E. 
Stabilize and improve property values within the Borough;
F. 
Foster economic development in the Borough;
G. 
Foster civic pride in the beauty and accomplishments of the Borough's past; and
H. 
Preserve and protect the cultural, historical and architectural assets of the Borough that the Borough has determined to be of local, state or national historical and/or architectural significance.
The adoption of this chapter is conditional upon the occurrence of the following:
A. 
The Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commission has certified by resolution the historical significance of the Borough's historic district;
B. 
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission's Bureau for Historic Preservation has reviewed the chapter and confirmed that it complies with the Pennsylvania Historic District Act (Act 167, as amended); and
C. 
The Borough has complied with all other applicable provisions of Pennsylvania law relating to the adoption of ordinances.