The following terms shall have the meanings indicated herein. For the purpose of this chapter, all words used in the present tense include the future tense. All words in the plural number include the singular number, all words in the singular number include the plural number and all masculine references include the feminine and neutral, unless the natural construction of the word clearly indicates otherwise. The word "shall" is mandatory.
Any change or proposed work which is visible from a public street or way to or on a building or structure, in whole or in part.
An owner, whether the legal or beneficial owner, of land, a building or a structure; a lessee if he is authorized under the lease to exercise the rights of an owner; or a developer, or agent thereof, who causes to be made or filed an application for a certificate of appropriateness.
Any enclosed or open structure used or intended to be used for occupancy and/or used for human or animal habitation and/or storage of property, including manufactured homes.
A Newtown Borough employee or individual retained by Newtown Borough and designated by Newtown Borough as the individual who enforces compliance with the building codes of Newtown Borough and issues the permit for the erection, alteration, reconstruction, repair, restoration, demolition or razing of all or a part of any building or structure within Newtown Borough.
The approval statement signed by the Newtown Borough Council President which certifies to the historical appropriateness of a particular request for the erection, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, demolition (whether affirmatively or by neglect), or razing of all or a part of any building, structure or sign within the Newtown Borough Historic District.
A Newtown Borough employee or individual retained by Newtown Borough and designated by Newtown Borough as the individual who enforces compliance with this chapter, issues the certificate of appropriateness approved by the Newtown Borough Council and notifies the applicant of any certificate of appropriateness denied by the Newtown Borough Council.
A certificate of appropriateness application which contains all the necessary information to process the proposal and conforms to the submittal criteria of this chapter. A completed application includes the following items, with sufficient number of copies of each, as identified by the COA Administrator in his discretion:
For buildings or other structures: completed application form; fee, if any, as set by resolution of Council; drawings to scale, showing elevations from the public street or way; photographs; manufacturer's brochure for items included in the project plan, such as building materials, windows, external fixtures, etc.; plot plan for all additions, decks, etc.; and any other items as determined necessary by the COA Administrator.
For signs: completed application form; fee, if any, as set by resolution of Council; rendering of the sign, to scale, with color samples; photographs of sign and showing location on building or structure; any fixtures for any illumination, along with a manufacturer's brochure; and any other items as determined necessary by the COA Administrator.
A building, structure or sign, or any part thereof, in the Newtown Borough Historic District, which supports the Newtown Borough Historic District's historical significance through location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and/or association.
The governing body of Newtown Borough.
The dismantling or tearing down of all or part of any building and all operations incidental thereto. The word also includes the absence of routine maintenance and/or repairs which can lead to a building's or structure's structural weakness, decay and deterioration resulting in its deterioration, decay and/or demolition.
The result of construction, such as a building, structure, monument, sign or object on the ground or on a structure or building.
Any area or district in Newtown Borough which has been designated by ordinance of the Borough of Newtown and certified for historical significance by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in accordance with Pennsylvania Act No. 167.[1]
Any structure that is:
[Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the Department of the Interior) or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National Register;
Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district;
Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places in states which have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior; or
The Board that advises the Newtown Borough Council on any requests for a certificate of appropriateness and performs other duties as set forth in this chapter.
The National Register of Historic Places, a list maintained by the United States Secretary of the Interior, composed of buildings, sites, structures, objects and districts of national, state or local significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering and culture.
Application of measures necessary to sustain the existing form, integrity, and materials of an historic property.
[Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any prearranged gathering of Council and/or the HARB, as the case may be, which is conducted and advertised pursuant to public notice under Act 84 of 1986, as amended, P.L. 388, July 3, 1986, also referred to as the "Sunshine Act" (65 Pa.C.S.A. § 701 et seq.).
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any land dedicated to public use or passage, including but not limited to streets, alleys, parks and pedestrian rights-of-way, whether constructed, dedicated or proposed.
The act or process of reproducing by new construction the exact or near 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.
Alterations and additions making possible a compatible use for a property through repair, while preserving those portions or features which convey its historical, cultural, or architectural values.
[Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Limited replacement of extensively deteriorated or missing components when the original features can be substantiated by documentary or physical evidence. The replacement material must match the old, both physically and visually, in type or species, style, dimension, texture, and detailing.
[Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
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 by preserving materials, features, finishes, and spaces from its period of significance.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Standards used by the United States Secretary of the Interior, as administered by the National Park Service.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any display, structure, device or object which incorporates lettering, logos, colors, lights, or illuminated inert gas tubes visible to the public from a building or structure, which either conveys a message to the public or intends to advertise, direct, invite, announce, or draw attention to goods, products, services, activities or facilities, excluding window displays, merchandise and temporary signs.
Anything constructed or erected, having a permanent or semipermanent location on another structure or in the ground, including, by way of example and without limitation, buildings, sheds, manufactured homes, garages, fences, gazebos, freestanding signs, billboards, awnings, antennas, satellite sending or receiving dishes and decks. A structure does not include, however, poles with basketball backboards and hoops, swing sets with two or fewer seats and one or no slides, poles with clotheslines (including umbrella-types), poles with bird feeders, flagpoles and mailbox posts only.