This District is created for the following purposes:
A. Pursuant to Article I, Section 27, of the Pennsylvania
Constitution which states that:
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"The people have a right to clean air, pure
water, and the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and aesthetic
values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources
are the common property of all the people, including generations yet
to come. As trustees of these resources, the commonwealth shall conserve
and maintain them for the benefit of all the people."
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B. Now, therefore, it is the purpose and intent of the
Township to promote, protect, enhance, perpetuate, and preserve historic
districts for the educational, cultural, economic and general welfare
of the public through the preservation, protection and regulation
of buildings, structures, and areas of historic interest or importance
within the Township; to safeguard the heritage of the Township by
preserving and regulating historic districts which reflect elements
of its cultural, social, economic, political and architectural history;
to preserve and enhance the environmental quality of neighborhoods;
to strengthen the Township's economic base by the stimulation of the
tourist industry; to establish and improve property values; to foster
economic development; to foster civic pride in the beauty and accomplishments
of the Township's past; and to preserve and protect the cultural,
historical and architectural assets of the Township for which the
Township has been determined to be of local, state or national, historical
and/or architectural significance.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
ALTERATION
Any act or process requiring a building permit and any other
act or process not requiring a building permit but specifically listed
in this chapter as a reviewable action, including, without limitation,
the original construction repair, replacement, reconstruction, demolition,
or relocation of any structure or object, or any part of a structure,
which is visible from the public way.
[Amended 2-9-2023 by Ord. No. 1022]
BUILDING
Any enclosed or open structure which is a combination of
materials to form a construction for occupancy and/or use for human
or animal habitation and is permanently affixed to the land, including
manufactured homes.
BUILDING INSPECTOR or CODES ADMINISTRATOR
A municipal employee of or individual retained by the Township
designated by Whitemarsh Township as the individual who enforces compliance
with building and/or fire codes and issues the permit for the erection,
alteration, restoration, reconstruction, demolition or razing of any
building within the Historic District, which includes construction
of new buildings or structures or changes to existing modern buildings
or structures within the District.
BUILDING PERMIT
An approval statement signed by the Building Inspector or
Codes Administrator authorizing the construction, alteration, reconstruction,
repair, restoration, demolition or razing of all or a part of any
building (within an historic district).
BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION
The request filed by any person with the Building Inspector
or Codes Administrator that seeks authorization to erect, alter, reconstruct,
repair, restore, demolish, or raze all or a part of any building or
structure within an historic district that requires a certificate
of appropriateness.
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
The approval statement signed by the Township Board of Supervisors
which certifies to the historical appropriateness of a particular
request for the erection, alteration, restoration, reconstruction,
demolition or razing of any building within the Historic District,
which includes construction of new buildings or structures or changes
to existing modern buildings or structures within the District, and
authorizes the issuance of a building permit for said request.
COMPLETED APPLICATION
A completed permit or certificate of appropriateness application
is an application which conforms to the submittal criteria for specific
historic preservation projects, as determined by the Historical Architectural
Review Board.
DEMOLITION
The dismantling or tearing down of all or part of any building
and all operations incidental thereto, including neglecting routine
maintenance and repairs which can lead to deterioration and decay.
DEMOLITION BY NEGLECT
The absence of routine maintenance and repair which can lead
to a building's or structure's structural weakness, decay and deterioration
resulting in its demolition.
ERECTION
The result of construction such as a building, structure,
monument, sign or object on the ground or on a structure or building.
PRESERVATION
The act or process of applying measures necessary to sustain
the existing form, integrity and materials of an historic property.
Work, including preliminary measures to protect and stabilize the
property, generally focuses upon the ongoing maintenance and repair
of historic materials and features rather than extensive replacement
and new construction. New exterior additions are not within the scope
of this treatment; however, the limited and sensitive upgrading of
mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems and other code-required
work to make properties functional is appropriate within the preservation
project.
RECONSTRUCTION
The act or process of reproducing by new construction the
exact form and detail of a vanished building, structure, or object,
or a part thereof, as it appeared at a specific period of time but
not necessarily of original material.
REHABILITATION
The act or process of making possible a compatible use for
a property through repair, alterations and additions while preserving
those portions or features which convey its historical, cultural or
architectural values.
RESTORATION
The act or process of accurately depicting the form, features
and character of a property as it appeared at a particular period
of time by means of the removal of features from other periods in
its history and reconstruction of missing features from the restoration
period. The limited and sensitive upgrading of mechanical, electrical
and plumbing systems and other code-required work to make properties
functional is appropriate within a restoration project.
STRUCTURE
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land, including,
without limitation, buildings, sheds, manufactured homes, garages,
fences, gazebos, freestanding signs, billboards, antennas, satellite
sending or receiving dishes, vending machines, desks and swimming
pools.
In addition to the above, HARB shall have the
following powers and duties:
A. To conduct a survey of buildings, structures, objects
and monuments for the purpose of determining those of historic and/or
architectural significance and pertinent facts about them; action
in coordination with the Township Planning Commission, Zoning Hearing
Board, and other appropriate groups and to maintain and periodically
revise the detailed listings (resource inventories) of historic resources
and data about them, appropriately classified with respect to national,
state and local significance in accordance or consistent with the
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission's "Cultural Resource
Management in Pennsylvania: Guidelines for Historic Resource Surveys."
B. To propose, from time to time as deemed appropriate,
the establishment of additional historic districts and revisions to
existing historic districts.
C. To formulate recommendations concerning the establishment
of an appropriate system of markers for selected historic and/or architectural
sites and buildings including proposals for the installation and care
of such historic markers.
D. To formulate recommendations concerning the preparation
and publication of maps, brochures and descriptive material about
the Township's historical and/or architectural sites and buildings.
E. To cooperate with and advise the Township Board of
Supervisors and agencies in matters involving historically and/or
architecturally significant sites and buildings (such as appropriate
land usage, parking facilities and signs, as well as adherence to
dimensional regulations and minimum structural standards).
F. To cooperate with and enlist assistance from the National
Park Service, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Preservation
Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and
other agencies, public and private, from time to time, concerned with
the preservation of historic sites and buildings.
G. To advise owners of historic buildings regarding rehabilitation,
repairs, maintenance methods and technologies, adaptive use, economic
and tax incentives and other historic preservation strategies.
H. To advise the owners or developers of new buildings or structures on the appropriateness of the design, based upon the design guidelines contained in §
10-7.
I. To promote public interest in the purpose of this
chapter by carrying on educational and public relations programs.
In determining the recommendations to be made
to the Township Board of Supervisors concerning the issuance of a
certificate of appropriateness, HARB shall consider only those matters
that are pertinent to the preservation of the historical and/or architectural
aspect and nature of the building, structure, site, area or district
certified to have historical significance, including the following:
A. Broad historical values representing the cultural,
political, economic, or social history of the Township.
B. The relationship of the building or structure to historic
personages or events.
C. Significant architectural types representative of
a certain historical period and a style or method of construction.
D. The effect of the proposed change upon the general
historical and architectural nature of the District.
E. The appropriateness of the exterior architectural
features that can be seen from a public street or way.
F. The general design, arrangement, texture, and material
of the building or structure and the relation of such factors to similar
features of buildings or structures in the District. Consideration
shall be given but not be limited to the following:
(1) Proportion of building or structure front facades:
preserving the relationship between the width of the front of the
building or structure and the height of the front of the building
or structure.
(2) Proportion of openings within the building or structure:
preserving the relationship of width to height of windows and doors.
(3) Rhythm of solids to voids in the front facade: preserving
the relationship between a recurrent alteration of strong and weak
architectural elements, thereby maintaining a rhythm of solids to
voids.
(4) Rhythm of spacing of building or structure on streets:
preserving the existing rhythm of recurrent or repeated building and
structure masses to spaces between each building and structure.
(5) Rhythm of entrance and/or porch projections: preserving
the existing rhythm of entrances or porch projections to maintain
a pedestrian scale.
(6) Relationship of materials: preserving the predominant
materials of the District, such as brick, stone, stucco, wood siding,
or other material.
(7) Relationship of textures: preserving the predominant
textures of the District (which may be smooth, such as stucco, or
rough, such as brick) with tooled joints or horizontal wood siding
or other textures.
(8) Relationship of architectural details: preserving
the character-defining features of buildings and structures, such
as architectural details, including but not limited to cornices, lintels,
arches, quoins, balustrades and ironwork, chimneys, etc.
(9) Relationship of roof shapes: preserving compatible
roof shapes, such as gable, mansard, hip, flat, gambrel, and/or other
kinds of roof shapes.
(10) Walls of continuity: preserving physical elements
which comprise streetscapes, such as stone or brick walls, wrought-iron
fences, building and structure facades or combinations of these which
form visual continuity and cohesiveness along the street.
(11) Directional expression of front elevation: preserving
the orientation of structural shapes, plan of openings and architectural
detail that reflect a predominately vertical or horizontal character
to the building and structure facade.
(12) Scale: preserving the scale of the built environment
created by the size of units of construction and architectural detail
that relate to the size of persons; in addition, preserving building
and structure mass relation to open space.
G. Variations. The HARB shall grant variations in a manner
that will be in harmony with the character of the other buildings
or structures on the street and/or districts.
H. The height of any new building or structure shall
not exceed the height of the tallest adjacent building or structure
by 10%. This requirement shall also apply to any proposed modifications
to existing buildings or structures.
I. In such rare cases where the HARB recommends and the
Board of Supervisors approves demolition of an historic building or
structure, a good-faith effort shall be made by the Township and the
owner(s) to move said building or structure to a proximate site. If
moving a building or structure slated to be demolished is economically
or practically infeasible, efforts shall be made to salvage architectural
features of said building or structure for use within the Township.
Prior to such demolition, the building or structure shall be documented
with photographs and measured drawings that are to be provided to
the Plymouth Meeting Historical Society.
J. All other Township laws and ordinances shall be complied
with as appropriate, including the Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances.
K. Financial feasibility.
(1) The Review Board shall consider the financial feasibility
of its recommendations in response to a request for a certificate
of appropriateness or building permit for the erection, reconstruction,
alteration, and restoration of a building or structure. Financial
feasibility shall be determined by the HARB on the basis of an unreasonable
cost for repair or replacement in-kind of a whole or a part of a building
or structure.
(2) The applicant shall submit a minimum of three estimates
from bona fide contractors and/or vendors substantiating his or her
claim that the financial feasibility of repair in-kind is unreasonable.
The Board shall determine as to the condition of said architectural
feature based on its inspection, photographs or report from the Building
Inspector or preservation staff or consultant. No substitute material
shall be approved which is inappropriate, incompatible, or is destructive
or has the potential to be destructive to the original fabric of the
building or structure.
All buildings and structures within the Township
Historic District shall be maintained in good repair, structurally
sound, and reasonably protected against decay and deterioration. Examples
of such deterioration include:
A. Deterioration of exterior walls or other vertical
supports.
B. Deterioration of roofs or other horizontal members.
C. Deterioration of exterior chimneys.
D. Deterioration of crumbling or exterior stucco or mortar.
E. Ineffective waterproofing of exterior walls, roofs,
or foundations, including broken windows or doors.
F. Deterioration of any feature so as to create a hazardous
condition which could lead to the claim that a demolition is necessary
for the public safety.
The Building Inspector shall serve a notice
of violation on the person in violation of this chapter which would
result in but not be limited to failure to apply for a certificate
of appropriateness or a building permit required for the erection,
reconstruction, alteration, restoration, demolition, demolition by
neglect, or razing of any building or structure which can be seen
from a public way and failure to comply with HARB-approved work. Such
notice shall direct the abatement of said violation.
The Building Inspector or his designated representative
shall have the power to institute any proceedings at law or in equity
necessary for the enforcement of this chapter.
Any person violating any of the provisions of
this chapter shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine not
to exceed the maximum fine of $1,000 plus costs of prosecution and,
in default of payment of such costs and prosecution, to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 30 days; provided, however, that if the District
Justice determines that the defendant is without the financial means
to pay the fines and costs immediately or in a single remittance,
such defendant shall be permitted to pay the fines or costs in installments
and over such period of time as the District Justice deems to be just.
In case any work is performed by any person
in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, the proper
officer of this Township, in addition to other remedies, may institute
in the name of the Township any appropriate action or proceeding,
whether by legal process or otherwise, to prevent such unlawful work
and to restrain or abate such violation.