[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Eden 7-13-1994
by L.L. No. 3-1994. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
The Town Board of the Town of Eden hereby finds that:
(1)
There exist in the Town of Eden places, sites, structures,
buildings and areas of special historic significance or places, sites, structures,
buildings and areas which, by reason of famous events, their antiquity or
uniqueness of architectural construction and design, are of particular significance
to the heritage of our town, county, state and country.
(2)
The conservation, protection and preservation of such
places, sites, structures, buildings and areas is a public necessity in harmony
with the town plan and will promote the public health, safety and general
welfare.
B.
Now, therefore, the Town Board of the Town of Eden hereby
declares that the purpose of this chapter is to accomplish the conservation,
protection and preservation of such places, sites, structures, buildings and
areas.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Any act or process which changes one or more of the exterior architectural
features of a structure designated as a landmark or any structure or building
in an historic district.
A structure wholly or partially enclosed within exterior walls, or
within exterior or party walls and a roof, affording shelter to persons, animals
or property.
The architectural style, design, general arrangement and components
of all of the outer surfaces of any building or structure, including but not
limited to the kind, color and texture of the building material and the type
and style of all windows, doors, lights, signs and other fixtures appurtenant
to said building or structure.
Any area which contains places, sites, structures or buildings which
have a special character and ambience or historical value or aesthetic interest
and which represent one or more periods or styles of architecture of an era
of history and which cause such area to constitute a distinct section of the
town.
Any place, structure or building of historical value or aesthetic
interest by reason of its antiquity or uniqueness of architectural design
or as part of the development, heritage or cultural characteristics of the
town, county, state or country.
A map to be prepared and maintained by the Building and Zoning Inspector,
identifying the location of all landmarks, landmark sites and historic districts.
A parcel, or part thereof, on which is situated a landmark, and any
abutting parcel or part thereof constituting part of the premises on which
the landmark is situated.
Any assembly of materials forming a construction framed of component
structural parts for occupancy or use, including buildings.
Style recognized by one of the following organizations:
The National Register of Historic Places.
The Historic American Buildings Survey.
The Historic American Engineering Record, United States Department of
the Interior, National Park Service.
The Division for Historic Preservation, New York State Office of Parks
and Recreation.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The Society of Architectural Historians.
A.
Creation; composition; membership.
(1)
There is hereby created a Historic Review Board inclusive
of the Town Historian who shall serve as an ex officio member, which shall
consist of seven members who shall be appointed by the Town Board of the Town
of Eden.
(2)
The Town Board shall attempt to include among the membership
one member who shall be an architect, one member of the New York State Bar
and five other residents of the Town of Eden.
(3)
Members are to be appointed for terms of two years; members
may serve for more than one term each; and each member shall serve until the
appointment of a successor.
(4)
In the event of a vacancy occurring during the term of
a member of the Historic Review Board, the Town Board shall make an appointment
to complete the unexpired term of such member.
(5)
The members of the Historic Review Board shall serve
without compensation but shall be reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred
in the performance of their duties.
B.
Powers and duties.
(1)
The Historic Review Board shall have the powers and duties
granted by the sections of this chapter and shall have the power to designate
a place, site, structure or building as a landmark or as part of an historic
district, subject to the approval or disapproval of the Town Board.
(2)
In addition, the Historic Review Board shall have the
power to retain consultants, including but not limited to technical experts,
engineers, architects and historians, to advise in the preparation of any
plans or projects or to render assistance and advice in connection with any
project to fulfill the duties of the Historic Review Board. Any contract to
retain such consultants which involves the expenditure of town funds shall
be subject to the approval of the Town Board.
C.
Officers.
D.
Quorum. Four members of the Historic Review Board shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of its business or the performance
of its functions, and the concurring vote of four members of the Board shall
be necessary for the adoption of any recommendations, motions or other acts
of the Board.
A.
Any person may request the designation of a landmark,
landmark site or historic district by submitting to the Historic Review Board
an application for such designation on a form furnished by the Historic Review
Board. In addition, the Historic Review Board may, on its own motion, initiate
proceedings for the designation of a landmark, landmark site or historic district.
B.
In the event that the Historic Review Board shall decide
to entertain an application for such designation or shall, on its own motion,
initiate such proceedings, it shall notify the owner(s) of the subject property
and any other person(s) which it deems appropriate of a meeting of such Board
at which the matter will be discussed. Notification shall be by certified
mail and must be received by the owner(s) no less than 14 days prior to the
date of said meeting. Persons in attendance will be given adequate time to
express their views.
C.
The Historic Review Board shall approve, approve with
modification or disapprove the application or initiation within 60 days of
such meeting or adjourned date thereof.
D.
In the event that no decision is made by the Historic
Review Board within 60 days as set forth above, the matter shall be deemed
to be disapproved.
E.
The decision of the Historic Review Board shall be advisory
only. In the event of approval or approval with modification, the matter shall
be sent to the Town Board for action as set forth below. In the event of disapproval,
the matter shall be terminated unless the owner(s) of property which was the
subject of the application or initiation by the Historic Review Board shall
appeal to the Town Board for a reversal of such decision.
F.
In either of these events, the Town Board shall schedule
a public hearing on the matter. Such hearing shall be advertised in a newspaper
designated by the Town Board for such purpose at least 14 days prior to the
date of such public hearing, and notice thereof shall be served by mail postmarked
at least 14 days prior to such hearing on the owner(s) of the proposed landmark
or on the owners of all property within the proposed historic district and
the owners of all properties within 250 feet of the boundaries of the subject
place, site, structure or historic district. The Town Board may approve, approve
with modification or disapprove any matter irrespective of the action taken
by the Historic Review Board. In the event of disapproval, the Historic Review
Board shall not entertain any new application or initiate any new action with
respect thereto within one year from the date of such public hearing.
G.
When the Town Board approves or denies an application,
the Building and Zoning Inspector, the Historic Review Board and the owner
or owners of the subject property shall be notified, in writing, by the Town
Clerk.
Upon receipt of notice that the Historic Review Board is considered
a place, site, structure or building for designation as a landmark or landmark
site or as part of an historic district, the Building and Zoning Inspector
shall not issue any permit for the demolition, alteration or improvement of
said place, site, structure or building for a period of 90 days, unless prior
to the expiration of said period there is a final determination by the Town
Board that said place, site, structure or building has not qualified as a
landmark or landmark site or as part of an historic district.
A.
No structure, site, place or building designated as a
landmark or landmark site appearing on the Landmark and Historic District
Map nor any place, site, structure, building or property located wholly or
partly within the boundaries of the historic district shall be constructed,
altered, repaired, moved or demolished, except in compliance with the requirements
set forth in this section.
B.
Certificate of appropriateness required. No person shall
carry out any exterior alteration, restoration, reconstruction, demolition,
new construction or moving of a landmark, landmark site or property within
an historic district nor shall any person make any material change in the
appearance of such a property, its light fixtures, signs, sidewalks, fences,
steps, paving or other exterior elements without first obtaining a certificate
of appropriateness from the Historic Review Board.
(1)
The Historic Review Board shall only consider changes
relating to the exterior features of a structure or building and shall have
no jurisdiction to consider interior walls, arrangements or structures.
(2)
In passing upon an application for a certificate of appropriateness,
the Historic Review Board shall give consideration to:
(a)
The historical and architectural value and significance
of the building or structure and its relationship to the historic and architectural
value of the surrounding area.
(b)
The general appropriateness of proposed exterior design,
colors, arrangement, texture and materials.
(c)
Any other factors relating to aesthetic considerations
which the Historic Review Board deems pertinent to the benefit of the Town
of Eden and to the historic significance of the structure or building and
surrounding area.
C.
Alterations, repairs and additions to buildings or structures
located wholly or partly within the boundaries of the historic district or
which are designated as landmarks shall be made consistent with the materials
and styles of the particular architectural period of which said building or
structure is characteristic.
D.
New construction shall be consistent with the architectural
styles of historic value in the historic district. However, the Historic Review
Board may approve the construction of buildings or structures which have a
dissimilar architectural style to that of the historic district if said Board
deems it proper that the new construction will be in the best interests of
the historic district.
E.
Moving of buildings or structures designated as landmarks
or located wholly or partly within the boundaries of the historic district
may be allowed as an alternative to demolition.
F.
Procedure for certificate of appropriateness.
(1)
Prior to the commencement of all work requiring a certificate
of appropriateness, the owner shall file an application for such a certificate
with the Historic Review Board. The application shall contain:
(a)
The name, address and telephone number of the applicant.
(b)
The location and photographs of the property.
(c)
Elevation drawings of proposed changes, if available.
(d)
Perspective drawings, including relationships to adjacent
properties, if available.
(e)
Samples of color or materials to be used.
(f)
Where the proposal includes signs or lettering, a scale
drawing showing the type of lettering to be used, all dimensions and colors,
a description of materials to be used, the method of illumination and a plan
showing the sign's location on the property.
(g)
Any other information which the Board may deem necessary
in order to visualize the proposed work.
(2)
The Historic Review Board may require the applicant or
a suitable representative to appear before the Board to answer questions regarding
the application.
(3)
No building permit shall be issued for such proposed
work until a certificate of appropriateness has first been issued by the Historic
Review Board. The certificate of appropriateness required by this chapter
shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any building permit that may be
required by any other ordinance of the Town of Eden.
(4)
The Board shall approve or deny the application or approve
the application with modifications within 30 days from receipt of the completed
application, provided that the application was received at least 14 days before
the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board. The Board shall transmit
a copy of its findings and determination to the Building and Zoning Inspector
and the applicant. If the Board fails to act within the allotted time, the
application shall be deemed to be approved. If the application was not received
within 14 days of the next regularly scheduled meeting, the Board shall have
30 days from the date of the next regularly scheduled meeting to approve or
deny the application.
(5)
The certificate of appropriateness will be valid for
one year from the date of issuance.
G.
Hardship criteria. An applicant whose certificate of
appropriateness has been denied may apply for relief to the Historic Review
Board on the grounds that the designation is working a hardship upon him.
In order to prove the existence of hardship, the applicant shall establish
that:
(1)
The property is incapable of earning a reasonable return,
regardless of whether that return represents the most profitable return possible.
(2)
The property cannot be adapted for any other use, whether
by the current owner or by a purchaser, which would result in a reasonable
return.
(3)
Efforts to find a purchaser interested in acquiring the
property and preserving it have failed.
H.
This section shall not apply in any case where the Building
and Zoning Inspector or any authorized town enforcement agency orders or directs
the construction, removal, alteration or demolition of any improvement on
a landmark site or in an historic district for the purpose of remedying conditions
determined to be unsafe or dangerous to the life, health or property of any
person.
All work performed pursuant to a certificate of appropriateness issued
by the Board shall conform to any requirements included therein. It shall
be the duty of the Historic Review Board to inspect periodically any such
work to assure compliance. In the event that work is found that is not being
performed in accordance with the certificate of appropriateness, or upon notification
of such fact by the Historic Review Board, the Building and Zoning Inspector
shall issue a stop-work order, and all work shall immediately cease. No further
work shall be undertaken on the project as long as a stop-work order is in
effect. The Building and Zoning Inspector and the Historic Review Board shall
have the right to inspect ongoing work at landmarks or landmark sites during
normal business hours.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the ordinary maintenance
and repair of any exterior architectural feature of a landmark, landmark site
or property within an historic district which does not involve a change in
design, material, color or outward appearance.
Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Historic Review Board relating
to hardship, maintenance and repair or a certificate of appropriateness may,
within 15 days of the decision, file a written application with the Town Board
for review of the decision.
A.
Upon notification that the Town Board has designated
a landmark, landmark site or historic district, the Town Board of Assessors
shall immediately cause such property to be so designated on the town tax
roll, and the Building and Zoning Inspector shall immediately cause such property
to be so designated on the Landmark and Historic District Map.
A.
A violation of this chapter shall be punishable by a
fine not exceeding $250. Each week's continued violation shall constitute
a separate additional violation.
B.
The imposition of the penalties in this chapter shall
not preclude the Town Board from instituting any appropriate action or proceeding
to prevent an unlawful erection, construction, reconstruction, demolition,
alteration, repair, conversion, maintenance or use or to restrain, correct
or abate a violation or to prevent an illegal act, conduct, business or use
in or about any premises.
A.
Relation to zoning. Nothing contained in this chapter
shall be construed as authorizing the Historic Review Board, in acting with
respect to any landmark, landmark site or historic district, to regulate or
limit the height and bulk of buildings, to regulate and determine the area
of yards, courts and other open spaces, to regulate [as] to the density of
population or to regulate and restrict the location of trades and industries
or location of buildings designed for specific uses or to create districts
for any such purposes.
B.
Restrictions permitted. Except as provided in Subsection A above, the Historic Review Board exercising or performing its powers, duties or functions under this chapter with respect to any improvement to a landmark, landmark site or historic district may apply or impose, with respect to the construction, removal, alteration, demolition or use of such improvement, regulation limitations, determinations or conditions which are more restrictive than those prescribed or made by or pursuant to other provisions of law applicable to such activities, work or use.
