There shall be an advisory board known as the
"Design Review and Preservation Board," which shall consist of nine
members. Of the members appointed, three shall serve until June 30,
1996, three shall serve until June 30, 1997, and three shall serve
until June 30, 1998. Thereafter, appointments shall be for a term
of three years. The Board shall include membership from the Greater
Middletown Preservation Trust, the Middletown Special Services District
or comparable agency, and the public at large. Its membership should
include expertise in architecture, planning, historic preservation
and urban design.
The Board shall create guidelines for and, when
requested, shall review designs for exterior rehabilitation or new
construction in business zones, including signage, and advise the
Planning and Zoning Commission and the Redevelopment Agency regarding
their appropriateness. The Board shall be the recipient and keeper
of historic easements held by the City. It shall, further, provide
a forum for, and advise the Economic Development Committee on, the
demolition of any structure in the historic districts or any structure
listed in Middletown's Historic Resources Inventory, the National
or State Registers of Historic Places, or the Inventory of Historic
Engineering and Industrial Sites. The Board shall also perform such
duties as are required and permitted of a municipal preservation board
by the General Statutes and shall make recommendations to the Mayor
and Common Council concerning any issue related to the preservation
of architecturally and historically significant artifacts, buildings
and streetscapes.