The historic area is delineated in the attached
Exhibit A, which is incorporated by reference.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
BUILDING PERMIT
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.
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
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.
DEMOLITION
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.
HISTORICAL ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD (HARB)
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.
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.
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 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.