[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of
Doylestown 7-15-1997 by Ord. No. 264.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: Exhibit A is included at the end of this chapter.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
A permit issued by the Township in accordance with Chapter 65, Building Construction, and Chapter 175, Zoning, for any structure proposed to be built or erected.
A certificate approved by the Doylestown Township Board of Supervisors
that allows for the issuance of a building permit within the Historic District
after a finding by the Board that the proposed construction, alteration, reconstruction,
repair, restoration, demolition or razing is appropriate within the Historic
District, based upon a review conducted in accordance with the standards of
this chapter.
The dismantling or tearing down of all or part of any building or
structure and all operations incidental thereto and for which a Township demolition
permit is required.
The agency created to advise the Doylestown Township Board of Supervisors
on any request for a building or demolition permit for all or any part of
a building or structure within the Township Historic District.
Any building or property located within the Historic District may be used for any use permitted in the zoning class or classes as set forth in Chapter 175, Zoning.
No building located, in whole or in part, within the Historic District
shall be erected, expanded, reconstructed, altered, restored, demolished or
razed unless or until a certificate of appropriateness, as hereinafter provided,
has been approved by the Doylestown Township Board of Supervisors, provided
that such erection, expansion, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, demolition
or razing requires a building and/or demolition permit from the Township.
A.
A Board of Historical Architectural Review is hereby
established, to be composed of seven members appointed by the Board of Supervisors,
one of whom shall be a registered architect, one a licensed real estate broker,
one the Building Inspector of Doylestown Township and four additional persons
with a knowledge of and interest in the preservation of the historic buildings
and the Historic District. The initial terms of six members of the Board,
other than the Building Inspector, shall be as follows:
B.
Their successors shall serve for terms of four years,
except that an appointment to fill a vacancy existing prior to the end of
the term for which the member was appointed shall be only for the unexpired
portion of the term. Any member of the Board may be removed from office for
misconduct, for consistent failure to attend meetings or for other just cause,
by a majority vote of the Board of Supervisors following a hearing held for
that purpose. The position of any member of the Board residing within Doylestown
Township at the time of appointment who thereafter moves his/her residence
from the Township or of any member of the Board appointed in his/her capacity
as a registered architect, a licensed real estate broker or the Building Inspector
of the Township of Doylestown, who ceases to be so engaged, shall be automatically
considered vacant.
C.
No member of the Board shall participate in or make any
decision in connection with the operation of the Board if the member has any
interest whatsoever in the property subject to the Board's jurisdiction,
including ownership, as a professional employee of the owner or any other
capacity whatsoever. If any member has any interest in the property being
reviewed by the Board, then that member shall excuse him or herself from any
consideration whatsoever related to that property.
A.
The Board shall give counsel to the Board of Supervisors
of Doylestown Township regarding the advisability of issuing any certificates
required to be issued pursuant to this chapter and the enabling legislation
pursuant to which it was adopted. For this purpose, the Board may make and
alter rules and regulations for its organization and procedures, consistent
with ordinances of the Township and the laws of the commonwealth.
B.
A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum and
action taken at any meeting shall require the affirmative vote of a majority
of the entire Board.
C.
The members of the Board shall serve without compensation
and shall make an annual report of its transactions to the Board of Supervisors.
D.
The Board may, pursuant to appropriations by the Board
of Supervisors, employ secretarial assistance, pay salaries and wages for
secretarial assistance and incur other necessary expenses; provided, however,
that the Board shall not incur any expense whatever without a prior resolution
of the Board of Supervisors authorizing such action.
Upon receipt of an application for a building permit for exterior work,
that will be visible from a public street, to be done in the Historic District,
the Building Inspector shall act in accordance with the procedure presently
being followed in that office, except as those procedures are necessarily
modified by the following requirements:
A.
He/she shall forward to the office of the Board of Historical
Architectural Review a copy of the application for a building permit, together
with a copy of the plot plan and the building plans and specifications filed
by the applicant. In addition the Board may require elevation drawings of
any modifications.
B.
He/she shall maintain in his/her office a record of all
such applications and of the handling and final disposition of the same, which
shall be in addition to and appropriately cross-referenced to his/her other
records.
C.
He/she shall require applicants to submit a sufficient
number of additional copies of material required to be attached to an application
for a building permit to permit compliance with the foregoing.
A.
Meeting. Upon receipt by the Board of notice that an
application for a building permit for the erection of a new structure or modifications
to the exterior of an existing structure located within the Historic District
has been filed in the office of the Building Inspector of Doylestown Township,
the Board shall schedule a meeting to consider the counsel which the Board
will give to the Board of Supervisors of Doylestown Township. To ensure consideration
at a particular Board of Supervisors meeting, applications must be submitted
at least two weeks prior to said meeting. The person applying for the permit
shall be given not less than five days' written notice of the time and
place of said meeting of the Board and that he/she may appear to explain his/her
reasons therefor; provided, however, that the applicant may execute and file
a written waiver of the five-day notice requirement if he/she elects to do
so in order that the meeting may be scheduled at an earlier date. The Board
or the applicant may invite such other persons as it desires to attend its
meeting.
B.
Considerations in determination of counsel to be given.
(1)
In determining the counsel to be presented to the Doylestown
Township Board of Supervisors concerning the issuing of a certificate of appropriateness
for a permit for the erection, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, demolition
or razing of all or a part of the exterior of any building within the Historic
District, the Board shall consider the following:
(a)
The effect of the proposed change upon the general historic
and architectural nature of the District.
(b)
The appropriateness of exterior architectural features
which can be seen from a public street or way.
(c)
The general design, arrangement, texture, material and
color of the building or structure and the relation of such factors to similar
features of buildings and structures in the District.
(2)
The Board shall not consider any matters not pertinent
to the historical aspect and nature of the District.
C.
Procedure in counseling against grant of certificate
of appropriateness. If the Board, on the basis of the information received
at the meeting and from its general background and knowledge, decides to counsel
against the granting of a certificate of appropriateness, it shall indicate
to the applicant for a building permit the changes in plans and specifications,
if any, which, in the opinion of the Board, would protect the distinctive
historical character of the Historic District. The Board shall withhold its
report to the Board of Supervisors following its decision, until the applicant
gives written notification to the Board whether or not he/she will abide by
the suggested changes in his/her plans and specifications or until the expiration
of 10 days, whichever first occurs. If the applicant determines that he/she
will make the suggested changes, he/she shall so advise the Board which shall
counsel the Board of Supervisors accordingly.
The Board, after the meeting provided for in this chapter and after the making of any changes in the plans and specifications as provided in § 102-8C of this chapter, shall submit to the Doylestown Township Board of Supervisors, in writing, its counsel concerning the issuance of a certificate of appropriateness for the grant or refusal of a permit for the erection, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, demolition or razing of all or a part of any building within the Historic District. The written report shall set out the following matters:
A.
The exact location of the area in which the work is to
be done;
B.
The exterior changes to be made or the exterior character
of the structure to be erected;
C.
A list of the surrounding structures, describing their
general exterior characteristics;
D.
The effect of the proposed change upon the general historic
and architectural nature of the District;
E.
The appropriateness of exterior architectural features,
including signs and fences which can be seen from a public street or way;
F.
The general design, arrangement, texture, material and
color of the building or structure and the relation of such factors to similar
features of buildings or structures in the District;
G.
The opinion of the Board (including any dissent) as to
the appropriateness of the work proposed as it will preserve or destroy the
historic aspect and nature of the District; and
H.
The specific counsel of the Board to issue or to refuse
to issue a certificate of appropriateness.
Upon receipt of the written counsel of the Board as provided in this chapter, the Doylestown Township Board of Supervisors shall consider at a meeting the question of issuing to the Building Inspector a certificate of appropriateness authorizing a permit for the work covered by the application. The Township shall give the applicant not less than five days' written notice of the time and place of the meeting at which the application will be considered and of the fact that he/she has the right to attend and be heard as to the reasons for filing the same; provided, however, that the applicant may execute and file a written waiver of the five-day notice requirement if he/she elects to do so in order that the meeting may be scheduled at an earlier date. In determining whether or not to certify to the appropriateness of the proposed erection, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, demolition or razing of all or part of such building, the Board of Supervisors shall consider the same factors as the Board of Historical Architectural Review set forth in § 102-8B of this chapter and the report of the Board. If the Board of Supervisors approves the application, it shall approve a certificate of appropriateness authorizing the Building Inspector to issue a permit for the work covered. If the Board of Supervisors disapproves, it shall do so in writing, giving reasons therefor; and a copy thereof shall be given to the applicant, to the Building Inspector and to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The disapproval shall indicate what changes in the plans and specifications would meet the conditions for protecting the distinctive historical character of the District.
Upon receipt of the written disapproval of the Board of Supervisors,
the Building Inspector shall disapprove the application for a building permit
and so advise the applicant. The applicant may appeal from the disapproval
as provided by law and the ordinances of Doylestown Township.
A.
The Building Inspector shall have the power to institute
any proceedings at law or in equity necessary for the enforcement of this
chapter in the same manner as in the enforcement of other building, zoning
or planning legislation or regulations of Doylestown Township.
B.
The Township shall have the power to institute any proceeding
at law or in equity necessary for the enforcement of the provisions of this
chapter.
A certificate of appropriateness shall not be required where the modifications,
alterations or repairs do not alter the appearance of the building or are
limited to interior modifications.
A.
For any and every violation of the provisions of this
chapter, the owner, general agent or contractor of a building or premises
where such violation has been committed or shall exist, the owner, general
agent, contractor, lessee or tenant of any part of a building or premises
in which part such violation has been committed or shall exist and the general
agent, architect, building contractor or any other person who knowingly commits,
takes or assists in any such violation or who maintains any building or premises
in which any such violation shall exist shall be liable, on conviction thereof
in a summary proceeding, to be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $600.
In default of payment of the fine, such person, the members of such partnership
or the officers of such corporation shall be liable to imprisonment for not
more than 60 days.
B.
The Building Inspector shall give official written notice
to the violator, by registered or certified mail that he/she is committing
a violation. The Building Inspector's official written notice of violation
shall be considered as an order, requirement, decision or determination of
the Building Inspector. Each day's continuance of such violation after
such notification shall constitute a separate offense punishable by a like
fine or penalty. Such fines shall be collected as like fines are now collected
by law.
