[Added 5-23-2011 by Ord. No. HR-388]
The preservation and protection of historic resources in Tredyffrin
Township (the "Township") are in the interests of education, property
values, and general welfare of the citizens of the Township. The purposes
of this article are:
A.
To protect the integrity of the historic resources of Tredyffrin
Township;
B.
To establish a process by which proposed changes to historic resources
are reviewed by Tredyffrin Township;
C.
To encourage the continued, viable use of historic resources in Tredyffrin
Township;
D.
To discourage the unnecessary demolition of historic resources in
Tredyffrin Township; and
E.
To maintain the property rights of Township residents.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A building to present cultural, scientific, or academic lectures
or performances or art displays to the general public by a nonprofit
entity.
The razing or destruction, whether entirely or in significant
part, of the exterior of a building, structure or site. Demolition
includes the removal of a building or structure from its site or the
removal, stripping, concealing or destruction of the facade or any
significant interior or exterior architectural features which are
integral to the historic character of the resource, for whatever purpose,
including new construction or reconstruction.
The failure to provide ordinary and necessary maintenance and
repair to a building or structure designated as an historic resource
on the Township Historic Resource Map, except for ruins existing at
the time of adoption of this section, whether by ordinary negligence
or willful neglect, purpose or design by the owner or any party in
possession thereof, which results in the following conditions:
The deterioration of exterior features so as to create or permit
a hazardous or unsafe condition to exist.
The deterioration of exterior walls, roofs, chimneys, or windows;
the lack of adequate waterproofing; or deterioration of the structural
system or foundations which will or could result in permanent damage
or loss of exterior features.
Demolition by neglect includes having a building or structure
open or vulnerable to vandalism or decay by the elements.
The Historical Commission of Tredyffrin Township which advises
the Township on matters concerning the preservation of historic resources,
the members of which are appointed by the Board of Supervisors.
An overlay zoning district as established and applied under
this article, designating historic resources within the Township.
Within the context of this chapter, all buildings, sites,
structures, and districts designated on the Historic Resources Map.
A map adopted as part of this chapter showing historic resources.
A.
Establishment and membership. There shall be a Historical Commission
which shall consist of nine members, all of whom shall be residents
of or persons who conduct business in Tredyffrin Township. The Historical
Commission shall be appointed by the Board of Supervisors. The membership
of the Historical Commission shall include individuals who have an
interest in history, archeology, or historic preservation, and to
the extent available one registered architect and one licensed real
estate professional. The Tredyffrin Township Building Inspector shall
serve as an advisor to the Historical Commission but shall not be
a member. The terms of the members of the Historical Commission shall
not exceed three years, except that the terms of the members newly
appointed at the time of adoption of this article shall be so fixed
at the discretion of the Board of Supervisors that no more than three
members shall be reappointed or replaced during any future calendar
year.
(1)
Associate membership. An associate member of the Historical Commission
shall be a resident of the Township of Tredyffrin. The Historical
Commission shall have an unlimited number of associate members. Associate
members shall be nonvoting members of the Historical Commission. Associate
members shall be nominated and appointed by a majority vote of the
Historical Commission.
[Added 11-13-2023 by Ord. No. HR-474]
B.
Organization. The Historical Commission shall annually elect, from
its own membership, a Chairperson who will direct the activities of
the Historical Commission and such other officers as may be required
for the conduct of its business. A quorum shall be not less than a
majority of the current membership. The Historical Commission may
make, alter, and rescind rules and forms for its procedures consistent
with the ordinances of the Township and laws and regulations of the
Commonwealth. To the extent necessary, the Solicitor for the Township
shall act as counsel to the Historical Commission. The Historical
Commission shall conduct business in compliance with Pennsylvania
law. The Historical Commission shall submit a report of its activities
to the Board of Supervisors by March of each year.
C.
Functions and duties. In accordance with the purposes of this article,
the Historical Commission shall have the following functions and duties:
(1)
Maintain a system for the survey, inventory, and photographic
documentation of historic buildings, sites, structures, and objects
in Tredyffrin Township.
(2)
Conduct research on and nominate significant resources to the
national Register of Historic Places and any other appropriate lists
or programs.
(3)
Make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors concerning
revisions, updates, or corrections to the Historic Resource Map on
an annual basis or more frequently as deemed necessary by the Historic
Commission.
(4)
Maintain an updated list which clearly identifies buildings,
sites, structures, objects, and districts and their respective classifications
on the Historic Resource Map.
(5)
Advise the Zoning Officer and Board of Supervisors on the issuance
of demolition permits for historic resources.
(7)
Advise the Board of Supervisors or Zoning Hearing Board on all
requests for conditional uses or variances involving historic resources.
(8)
Review applications for the rehabilitation, enlargement, or
alteration of historic resources and advise the Board of Supervisors
thereon.
A.
The provisions of the Historic Resource Overlay District shall be
deemed to be an overlay on any zoning districts now or hereafter enacted
to regulate the use of land in Tredyffrin Township applicable to any
property shown on the Historic Resource Map, as amended by the Board
of Supervisors by resolution from time to time. The provisions of
this chapter shall supersede any and all otherwise applicable requirements
of the underlying zoning district.
B.
Should any portion of the overlay district be determined to be inapplicable,
such portion shall be deemed severable and the remaining portions
of this article shall remain in full force and effect. Should this
overlay district be determined not to be applicable in whole for any
reason, the zoning requirements and other regulatory measures applicable
to the property in question shall be those of the underlying zoning
district without consideration of this article.
C.
Revisions. The Historic Resources Map may be revised from time to
time by the Board of Supervisors.
(1)
In considering any revision, including additions, deletions,
or changes of classification to the Historic Resources Map, the Board
shall receive a written recommendation from the Historical Commission
stating in detail the reason(s) for any revisions to the Historic
Resources Map.
(2)
The owner(s) of any property within Tredyffrin Township may
propose the inclusion of his or her property on the Historic Resources
Map and such property may be included upon recommendation of the Historical
Commission and the approval of the Board of Supervisors.
(3)
The owner(s) of any property(ies) which are the subject of proposed
inclusion on the Historical Resources Map shall be given written notice
of the Historical Commission's recommendation to the Board of Supervisors
as required for zoning district/map changes in the Zoning Ordinance.
Said written notice will specify that the owner(s) must consent to
the proposed recommendation within 90 days by sending a written acceptance
of the proposed recommendation to the Township Manager or the property
will not be added to the Historic Resources Map.
(4)
If the owner consents, as a predicate to the inclusion of any
property on the Historic Resources Map, the owner(s) of the property
shall submit to the Township a declaration on a form prepared by the
Township to be recorded in the Office of the Record of Deeds of Chester
County against the property providing a record notice of the inclusion
of the property on the Historic Resources Map. The declaration shall
be signed by all record owners of the property and in recordable form.
Without such signed declaration, the property shall not be added to
the Historic Resources Map.
The following uses and no other shall be permitted in the Historic
Resource Overlay District:
A.
Any use permitted in the underlying zoning district in which the
property is located.
B.
The following additional uses:
(1)
A property upon which a historic resource is situated, excluding
buildings and structures which do not contribute to the historic resource,
which property obtains access from any street, may be used for any
one of the following uses, subject to obtaining a recommendation from
the Historical Commission and obtaining conditional use approval from
the Board of Supervisors:
(a)
Bed-and-breakfast, subject to the following conditions:
[2]
A bed-and-breakfast facility shall be permitted
only in single-family detached owner-occupied dwellings, or existing
buildings accessory thereto on the same property, provided that the
property on which the dwellings or buildings are situated is located
on a collector road.
[3]
A lot size of not less than 80,000 square feet
shall be required for the operation of a bed-and-breakfast facility,
provided that:
[a]
Parking to meet the requirements of § 208-13 can be provided on the lot without substantially altering its residential character and shall not be located in any required front or side yard area.
[b]
An adequate sewage system exists to handle the
anticipated sewage flows and the availability of sufficient backup
area on the lot has been certified by the Chester County Health Department
on the basis of an on-site inspection.
[4]
The principal use of the property shall remain
that of a single-family dwelling.
[5]
No more than three guest rooms may be offered for
bed-and-breakfast purposes on any individual residential property.
[6]
There shall be provided one full bathroom (including
one toilet, wash basin, bath and/or shower) for each two guest rooms.
[7]
Length of stay shall not exceed seven uninterrupted
days for any guest.
[8]
Meals shall consist of breakfast only, and only
for guests of the establishment. Owners shall comply with all federal,
state, and local requirements for the preparation, handling, and serving
of food.
[9]
Any amenities (swimming pool, tennis court, etc.)
shall be for the sole use of the resident owner and the bed-and-breakfast
guests.
[10]
The owner shall maintain a current guest register.
[11]
There shall be no kitchen or cooking facilities
in any guest suite.
(b)
Cultural studio, subject to the following conditions if located
in a residential zoning district:
[1]
The use shall be limited to one instructional class
at a time with not more than 10 students in the class and not more
than two instructors.
[2]
One off-street parking space shall be provided
in the amount equal to half of the permitted occupancy rate, with
a minimum of four off-street parking spaces.
(c)
Gallery or museum, subject to the following conditions if located
in a residential zoning district:
(d)
Accessory apartment. This use may be conducted in a structure
accessory to the principal dwelling on the property, rather than within
the principal dwelling, provided the accessory structure is determined
by the Board of Supervisors to be a contributing resource and is identified
as such on the Historic Resource Map and subject to the following:
(2)
A property upon which an historic resource is situated, excluding
buildings and structures which do not contribute to the historic resource,
which obtains direct access from a major collector or higher order
roadway in the currently enacted Tredyffrin Township Comprehensive
Plan, may also be used for any one of the following, subject to obtaining
a recommendation from the Historical Commission and obtaining conditional
use approval from the Board of Supervisors. Where the facility is
located in a residential zoning district, the property owner or manager
or lessor of the facility must reside on the premises.
(a)
Professional office, limited to one employee per 500 square
feet of gross habitable floor area devoted to professional office
use.
(b)
Artist studio or craft workshop employing not more than five
persons. Such crafts shall include model making, rug weaving, lapidary
work, furniture making, and similar crafts.
C.
For all uses located in a residential zoning district, the following
regulations shall apply:
(1)
To the extent that proposed new off-street parking would otherwise
be visible from neighboring properties, such parking areas shall be
completely screened by plant material or a combination of plant material,
fencing, or berms to a height of at least four feet.
(2)
There shall be no use of show windows or display or advertising
visible outside the premises, other than a single, nonilluminated
sign not exceeding two square feet.
(3)
No use shall be permitted which generates noise perceptible
at the property line.
(4)
Site lighting shall be designed to screen the source of illumination
and glare completely from adjacent properties.
(5)
No square footage added to a historic resource after January
1, 2011, may be used in the calculations of gross habitable floor
area for purposes of this section.
The requirements applicable to the underlying zoning district
relating to building area, impervious surfaces and front, side, and
rear yard setbacks may be modified by up to 15% with respect to historic
resources, subject to obtaining a recommendation from the Historical
Commission and conditional use approval from the Board of Supervisors.
These modifications shall apply to the area of the lot as it existed
on January 1, 2011.
A.
The additional building area and impervious surface coverages permitted
by this section each may not exceed 50% of the building area of the
historic resource.
B.
Where the requested relief is determined by the Board of Supervisors
to be essential to the preservation of the historic resources because
without such relief it would not be physically or economically possible
to maintain the historic resource, the Board of Supervisors may, by
conditional use, reduce such requirements to a greater degree than
permitted by this section to protect the historic resource.
A.
Standards. Any proposed rehabilitation, alteration, or enlargement
of any historic resource shall be in substantial compliance with the
Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, as published
in its current edition.
B.
Compliance. Determination of compliance with these standards shall
be made by written report of the Historical Commission, using the
Secretary's Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings to apply
the standards to each project. The Board of Supervisors' decision
on the conditional use shall be made as per the requirements for conditional
use in the Zoning Ordinance.
In any instance where the Board of Supervisors is required to consider a request for a conditional use in accordance with the provisions of this article, the following shall apply in addition to the requirements of § 208-117 of this chapter. Where the requirements of this section expressly conflict with any requirement of § 208-117, the requirements of this section shall be followed.
A.
Applicant shall submit the appropriate application, including the
following information:
(1)
Name and address of the record owner and applicant (if different).
(2)
Site plan showing all buildings and structures on the property.
(3)
Recent photographs of the historic resource.
(4)
A detailed narrative description of the proposed use(s).
(5)
Any physical changes proposed for the affected historic resource(s)
and the surrounding landscape.
B.
The application shall be accompanied by a historic resource impact
study where any land development or subdivision is proposed on a property
that contains any historic resource(s).
C.
The Zoning Officer shall forward the complete application to the
Historical Commission. The Historical Commission, at a public meeting,
shall review the application for conditional use and shall forward
its recommendations to the Board of Supervisors within 60 days from
the date the application was filed. In formulating its recommendations,
the Historical Commission shall consider each of the criteria imposed
by this section for the grant of conditional use approval. If the
Historical Commission fails to act within 60 days, the application
shall be deemed to be not recommended by the Historical Commission.
D.
Any conditional use granted under this subsection shall be subject to the expiration requirements of § 208-117F, Expiration of conditional use.
E.
Criteria for the grant of conditional use approval. Where a use is permitted in a Historical Resource Overlay District by conditional use, that use shall not be granted unless the following requirements have been satisfied, in addition to those set forth at § 208-150:
(1)
The applicant shall have the burden of demonstrating that approval
of the application will not jeopardize the preservation of historic
resource(s) contained on the property subject to application. To sustain
this burden the applicant shall present evidence demonstrating the
following:
(a)
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 surrounding structures with their general exterior
characteristics.
(d)
The effect of the proposed change upon the general historic
and architectural nature of the property.
(e)
The appropriateness of exterior architectural features of structures
involved with the proposed work.
(f)
The general design, arrangement, texture, material, scale, mass
and color of any affected building, structure, or site and the relation
of such factors to similar features of other structures on the property.
(g)
That rehabilitation work will not destroy the distinguishing
qualities or character of the historic resource and its environment.
(h)
Distinctive stylistic features or examples of skilled craftsmanship
shall be preserved.
(2)
The most current version of the Secretary of the Interior's
Standards for Rehabilitation of Historic Structures, as amended, shall
be used as a guideline in carrying out any plans involving the rehabilitation,
alteration, or enlargement of historic resource(s).
(3)
Where plans involving the rehabilitation, alteration, or enlargement
of the historic resource(s) will result in all or portions of any
such resource(s) remaining unoccupied, such unoccupied resources shall
be securely sealed and barred off and the utilities turned off for
safety, in a manner not jeopardizing historical integrity, as per
the most current construction techniques for historic structures.
(4)
A means to guarantee the protection of the historical integrity
of the subject resource(s), such as the establishment of conservation
easement(s) or appropriate covenants in a form acceptable to the Township
Solicitor, shall be provided.
(5)
The applicant shall have the burden of proving that the historical
integrity of the historic resource has been provided for through the
design of the building improvements as well as through implementation
of buffering, landscaping, lighting, storage, access and traffic management,
interior circulation, loading, parking, fencing, signage, and all
other land development features.
(6)
The applicant shall have the burden of proving that the grant
of the application will not be destructive of the integrity of the
historic resource or detrimentally affect the value of surrounding
properties.
(7)
The applicant must comply with the parking requirements for
the proposed use as set forth in this article. The Board of Supervisors
may prohibit any additional parking between the right-of-way and the
facade of the building if the Board of Supervisors finds such parking
would negatively impact the historical integrity of the resource.
(8)
The applicant must comply with the requirements of this chapter
with respect to signage. The Board of Supervisors may condition approval
on a reduction in the size of the signage if it finds that the permitted
signage will obstruct views required to assure the safety of the public
or to retain the historic nature of the property.
(9)
The Board of Supervisors may attach conditions to achieve the
objectives set forth in this section and to promote the public health,
safety, and welfare, which conditions may relate to any aspect of
the proposed use of the property, including but not limited to buffering,
parking, signage, traffic volume and flow, hours of operation, noise,
and odor emissions.
(10)
Where the Board of Supervisors waives any requirement which
thereby increases the rate or volume of stormwater generated on the
property, the additional rate and/or volume of runoff caused by such
waiver shall be controlled for the one-hundred-year storm.
A.
Demolition by neglect. No historic resource shall be demolished by
neglect.
B.
Demolition permits. No historic resource shall be demolished, in
whole or in part, unless approved by the Board of Supervisors in accordance
with the procedures as provided in this article, the Zoning Ordinance,
and the Township Building and Fire Codes.
C.
Application requirements for historic resources. In addition to applicable
requirements under the Township Building and Fire Codes, any applicant
seeking a permit to demolish a historic resource shall provide the
following information with regard to that historic resource:
(1)
The identity of the owner of record;
(2)
Site plan showing all buildings and structures on the property;
(3)
Recent photographs of the resource proposed for demolition,
including internal features;
(4)
Reasons for the proposed demolition;
(5)
Method of proposed demolition;
(6)
A statement of future use of the site and of the materials from
the demolished resource; and
(7)
In any instance where there is a claim that a historic resource
cannot be used for any purpose for which it is or may be reasonably
adapted, or where a permit application for demolition is based, in
whole or in part, on financial hardship, the applicant shall submit
financial documentation as requested by the Board of Supervisors.
D.
Review by the Historical Commission. All applications for demolition
of any property listed on the Historic Resource Map shall be submitted
to the Historical Commission and no permit shall be issued without
the completion of such review. The Historical Commission shall determine
whether issuance of a demolition permit is in the public interest.
The Historical Commission shall submit their recommendation to the
Board of Supervisors not later than 60 days from the date application
was filed. If the Historical Commission fails to act within 60 days,
the application shall be deemed to be not recommended by the Historical
Commission.
E.
After review, the Historical Commission shall make a written report
to the Board of Supervisors setting forth its recommendation regarding
proposed demolition.
F.
Within 45 days from receipt of the Historical Commission's recommendation,
the Board of Supervisors will consider the Historical Commission's
recommendation with regard to application for demolition of the historic
resource at a public hearing. The property owner will be given a minimum
of 10 days' notice of the meeting. The Board of Supervisors will consider
evidence, reports, or testimony from interested parties and will render
a decision either to deny or approve the application for demolition
within 30 days of the meeting. If the Board of Supervisors fails to
act within the time frames provided in this subsection, the application
shall be deemed denied.
