Town/Village of Mount Kisco, NY Article X Board of Architectural Review

§ 110-47 Findings; purpose.

A. The Board of Trustees of the Village of Mount Kisco hereby finds that excessive uniformity, dissimilarity, inappropriateness or poor quality of design in the exterior appearance of buildings erected in any portion of the Village adversely affects the desirability of the immediate area and neighboring areas for residential, business or other purposes.

B. It is the purpose of this article to prevent these and other harmful effects of poor-quality exterior appearance of buildings that are erected or altered in any portion of the Village and thus to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the community, conserve the value of buildings and encourage the most appropriate use of land within the Village of Mount Kisco.

§ 110-48 Membership; compensation; removal.

[Amended 8-16-1993 by L.L. No. 7-1993; 7-31-1995 by L.L. No. 7-1995]

A. The Board of Architectural Review shall consist of five persons appointed by the Village Board of Trustees, each of whom shall serve without compensation. Each member of the Board shall serve for a term of three years, commencing on the first day of the official year of the Village, except that any current member whose term is to expire at other than the end of an official year of the Village shall, upon expiration of such term, hold office until the end of the official year, and his or her successor shall then be appointed to a term of three official years. The Board of Trustees shall annually designate one member of the Board of Architectural Review as Chairman until the start of the next official year of the Village.

[Amended 12-16-1996 by L.L. No. 5-1996]

B. In addition to such members, the Board of Trustees may appoint not more than two alternate members of the Board of Architectural Review. Each such alternate member shall attend meetings of the Board of Architectural Review and participate in its deliberations but shall vote only in the event that a member of the Board of Architectural Review is absent or otherwise unable to act with respect to a particular matter. When acting pursuant to the authority provided hereby, such alternate member shall have all of the rights and privileges of a member of the Board of Architectural Review. This subsection is adopted pursuant to the authority granted by § 10, Subdivision 1(e)(3), of the Municipal Home Rule Law and shall supersede any provision of the Village Law which is inconsistent herewith.

C. Each member and alternate member of the Board of Architectural Review shall attend, in each year of the member's term, not less than six hours of training approved by the Chairman relating to the activities of such Board and not less than 75% of the meetings of such Board. For purposes of this provision, "attendance at a meeting" shall mean presence at the entire meeting, from the call to order until adjournment. In the event that any member or alternate member fails to satisfy these training and attendance requirements, the Chairman shall report such fact to the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees may remove a member or alternate member for cause, including failure to comply with the training and attendance requirements set forth herein, after a public hearing.

§ 110-49 Criteria for architectural review.

[Amended 8-3-1998 by L.L. No. 6-1998]

The Board of Architectural Review shall consider the appropriateness of the proposed building, structure, alteration or addition in relation to the established character of other structures in the immediate area and with respect to significant architectural features. The Board may disapprove any application for a permit, provided that the Board has afforded the applicant an opportunity to confer upon suggestions for change of the plans, and provided that the Board finds and states that the building or structure for which the permit was requested would, if erected, altered or remodeled as indicated, provoke one or more of the harmful effects set forth in § 110-47 by reason of:

A. Monotonous similarity to any other structure or structures located or proposed to be located on the same street or a corner thereof and within 1,000 feet of the site of the structure for which a building permit is requested, in respect to one or more of the following features of exterior design and appearance:

(1) Substantially identical facade, disregarding color and building materials of single-family building and structures accessory thereto.

(2) Substantially identical size and arrangement of either doors, windows, porticos, porches or garages or other openings or breaks or extensions in the facade, including reverse arrangements.

(3) Other substantially identical features, such as but not limited to setbacks from street lines, heights, rooflines, widths and lengths of elements of the building design.

B. Striking dissimilarity, visual discord or inappropriateness with respect to other structures located or proposed to be located on the same street or a corner thereof, in respect to one or more of the following features of exterior design and appearance:

(1) Substantially dissimilar facade, disregarding color and building materials, of one- and two-family buildings and structures accessory thereto.

[Amended 4-7-2014 by L.L. No. 2-2014]

(2) Size and arrangement of doors, windows, porticos or other openings, breaks or extensions in the facade, including garage openings and main entrance locations.

[Amended 4-7-2014 by L.L. No. 2-2014]

(3) Other significant design features, such as but not limited to heights, widths and lengths of elements of design, exterior materials and treatments of structures in nonresidential districts, roof structures, attached mechanical equipment and screening.

(4) Signs which are placed on or attached to a building or structure.

C. Visual offensiveness or inappropriateness because of poor quality of exterior design, including, with respect to signs, considerations of the harmony or discord of colors.

D. Marring the appearance of the area.

E. Preventing an appropriate development and utilization of the site or adjacent lands.

§ 110-50 Procedure.

A. The Board shall meet upon the call of its Chairman as its business shall require. In no event shall meetings of said Board be held more than 15 days after the referral to it of any matter, as hereinafter provided for. Three members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any item of business. The Board shall have full power to make rules and regulations to govern the conduct of its meetings and to provide for the orderly submission and reference of matters to it, provided that the same are not inconsistent with law or the provisions of this chapter. A copy of such rules and regulations and any amendments shall be filed in the office of the Building Inspector and shall constitute a public record. The Board shall keep minutes of its public meetings, which shall also constitute a public record.

B. Submission of application.

[Amended 1-9-1989 by L.L. No. 1-1989; 9-26-1994 by L.L. No. 7-1994; 8-3-1998 by L.L. No. 6-1998]

(1) Upon the submission of any application for a site plan approval as required by this chapter, any application for a building permit to construct a new building or structure, any application for a building permit to make alterations or additions to that part of the facade of a single-family home which faces a street, or any application for a building permit to make exterior alterations or additions to a building or structure other than a single-family home or a structure accessory to a single-family home, the Building Inspector shall refer a full and complete copy of the application as submitted to the Board of Architectural Review, together with all documents relating thereto and the following additional items:

(a) Exterior elevations.

(b) Roof plans clearly indicating all proposed rooftop equipment.

(c) Building materials information and samples of the same for structures not including single-family buildings and structures accessory thereto.

(d) Any pertinent architectural renderings or other information that the applicant wishes to submit in support of the proposal.

(2) The Board of Architectural Review may, at its discretion and in consultation with the Building Inspector, request additional information deemed necessary for a proper review or waive any documentation deemed superfluous to the given case.

(3) The terms of this section shall not apply to subdivisions approved prior to the adoption of this local law which have been built by a single developer, including a successor in interest of such single developer, utilizing a limited number of models or architectural features which have been previously approved by the Planning Board as part of the subdivision process.

C. Promptly upon the receipt of a complete application and required support documentation, the Chairman of the Board of Architectural Review shall call a meeting of said Board. Notice of the date, time and place of such meeting shall be provided to the applicant, the Building Inspector, the Chairman of the Planning Board (or such member of the Planning Board as the Chairman shall have designated as liaison with the Board of Architectural Review) and the members of the Board of Architectural Review. At the discretion of the Chairman, such application may be placed upon the agenda of any meeting of the Board theretofore called, provided that at least five days' notice thereof be given to the persons above specified.

D. For any action subject to environmental review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) pursuant to Article 8 of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law and 6 NYCRR Part 617, the Board of Architectural Review shall be prohibited from rendering any final decision or determination until the SEQR process has been completed, whereupon the Board shall either approve, with or without modification, or disapprove such an application within six months and shall not be required to act sooner. In the event that the Board of Architectural Review fails to so act within such period, the applicant may demand that the Board of Architectural Review act, and, if the Board of Architectural Review fails to do so within 60 days of such demand, the applicant shall be entitled to a certificate from the Village Clerk so stating.

[Amended 11-16-1987 by L.L. No. 11-1987; 1-9-1989 by L.L. No. 1-1989; 4-7-2014 by L.L. No. 2-2014]

E. In no event shall an application to the Board of Architectural Review be deemed complete until the following have been provided to the Board:

[Amended 4-7-2014 by L.L. No. 2-2014]

(1) Written certification from the Building Inspector confirming the application's compliance with all applicable codes: and

(2) Written proof that the action is either not subject to environmental review under SEQR (Type II action) or that the lead agency has completed its SEQRA process, together with, to the extent applicable, a copy of the determination of significance, final environmental impact statement, including responses to all substantive questions and comments, and the lead agency's statement of findings and any comments, concerns or recommendations from other involved or interested agencies or the public pertaining to the site's architecture, appearance, massing, aesthetics, appropriateness of the structure(s), or any other element within the Board of Architectural Review's jurisdiction.