The Town Board of the Town of North Castle hereby finds that
it is in the best interests of the citizens of the Town of North Castle
and protective of their health, safety and economic and general welfare
to enact this article for the creation of an Architectural Review
Board (hereinafter referred to as "ARB"), empowered to ensure high
standards for the visual environment of the Town of North Castle.
The Town Board hereby finds that effective action by the ARB in inhibiting
development deleterious to the visual environment will prevent loss
of tax revenue to the Town of North Castle which it would otherwise
receive and will prevent destruction of the proper balance between
the taxable value of real property and the cost of Town services provided
therefor. It is the intent of the Town Board to prevent excessive
uniformity of exterior building design in commercial, municipal, recreational
or residential structures where such uniformity shall be deemed inappropriate
and detrimental to the visual environment. It is also the intent of
the Town Board to prevent excessive dissimilarity of exterior building
design in commercial, municipal, recreational or residential structures
where such dissimilarity shall be deemed inappropriate and detrimental
to the visual environment. It is the intent of the Town Board to preserve
the aesthetic value of natural and man-made features and structures
and to prevent the harmful effects of potentially unattractive or
inappropriate projects and the use of potentially unattractive or
inappropriate building materials insofar as they may affect the visual
environment. The Town Board finds that it benefits the interest of
public welfare to ensure high standards of quality of design for commercial,
municipal, recreational and residential structures, exterior landscaping
and development planning, and hereby enacts this article to achieve
the above-stated purpose.
Any person aggrieved by an action of the ARB may take an appeal
therefrom to the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of North Castle
in the same manner as is provided for in the case of appeals regarding
zoning requirements. The Zoning Board of Appeals, after proceeding
in the same manner as is provided for other appeals before it and
with the same power and authority now vested in it under the provisions
of law, may affirm, modify or reverse an appealed action of the ARB.