[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of
the Village of Port Chester 12-19-1966; effective 12-30-1966. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fees — See Ch. 175.
The Village Board of Trustees hereby finds that
excessive uniformity, dissimilarity, inappropriateness or poor quality
of design in the exterior appearance of any buildings erected, altered
or extended in any neighborhood adversely affects the desirability
of the immediate area and neighboring areas for residential and business
purposes or other purposes and by so doing impairs the benefits of
occupancy of existing property in such areas, impairs the stability
and value of both improved and unimproved real property in such areas,
prevents the most appropriate development and use of such areas, produces
degeneration of property in such areas, with attendant deterioration
of conditions affecting the health, safety and general welfare of
the community, and destroys a proper relationship between the taxable
value of real property in such areas and the cost of municipal services
provided therefor. It is the purpose of this chapter to prevent these
and other harmful effects of such exterior appearance of buildings
erected or altered in any neighborhood and thus to promote the health,
safety and general welfare of the community, conserve the value of
the buildings and encourage the most appropriate use of land within
the incorporated area of the Village of Port Chester.
[Amended 5-2-1967; 12-28-1988 by L.L. No. 24-1988; 11-6-1995 by L.L. No.
8-1995; 7-16-2001 by L.L. No. 10-2001; 5-20-2020 by L.L. No. 5-2020]
There is hereby created
an Architectural Review Board, which shall consist of seven members
who shall serve without compensation. All members of the Board shall
be residents of the Village of Port Chester and shall be specifically
qualified by reason of training or experience in art, architecture
or other relevant business or profession or by reason of civic interest
and sound judgment to judge as to the effects of a proposed building
upon the desirability, property values and development of surrounding
area. At least one member of such Board shall be a registered architect
in the State of New York. The members of such Board shall be appointed
by the Village Board of Trustees. Members shall be appointed for a
term of three years as the terms of existing members expire. If a
vacancy shall occur otherwise than by expiration of term, it shall
be filled by the Village Board of Trustees for the unexpired term.
The Village Board of Trustees shall have the power to remove any member
of the Board for cause and after public hearing. There shall also
be one alternate member who shall attend all meetings of the Architectural
Review Board and shall sit as a member when one of the regular members
is absent or is otherwise unable to serve. The Board of Trustees shall
designate the Chairperson. The Building Inspector shall act as consultant
to the Board.
[Amended 5-20-2020 by L.L. No. 5-2020]
Meetings of the Architectural Review Board shall be held at least once a month or at such other times as the Chairperson may determine. The Chairperson or, in his or her absence, the Acting Chairperson may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. A majority of said Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each question, or if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and shall also keep records of its examinations and other official actions. The Board shall have power from time to time to adopt, amend and repeal rules and regulations not inconsistent with law or the provisions of this chapter governing its procedure and the transaction of its business, and for the purpose of carrying into effect the standards outlined in § 9-5 hereof. Every rule or regulation, every amendment or repeal thereof and every order, requirement, decision or determination of the Board shall be filed in the office of the Board, which shall be at the Village Rooms and shall be a public record.
[Amended 4-5-1982 by L.L. No. 9-1982; 11-3-1997 by L.L. No.
17-1997]
Every application for a building permit for construction, reconstruction, alteration or extension of any structure within the village shall be made simultaneously with the Building Inspector and the Architectural Review Board and, if said application conforms in all respects to all other applicable laws, and upon payment of a filing fee as set forth in Chapter 175, Fees, shall be noticed for review by the Architectural Review Board.
[Amended 5-20-2020 by L.L. No. 5-2020]
The Architectural Review Board may disapprove any application for a building permit, provided that such disapproval shall be by a majority of the members of the entire Board, regardless of the quorum requirements for the transaction of business set forth in § 9-3 hereof, at any meeting where said vote is taken, and provided that the Board finds that the building for which the permit was applied would, if erected, be so detrimental to the desirability, property values or development of the surrounding area as to provoke one or more of the harmful effects set forth in § 9-1 hereof by reason of:
A.
Excessive
similarity to any other structure existing or for which a permit has
been issued or to any other structure included in the same permit
application facing upon the same street and within 250 feet of the
proposed site, in respect to one or more of the following features
of exterior design and appearance:
(1)
Apparently identical facade.
(a)
Size, both in width and height.
(b)
Roofline and slope, including considerations to type, such as gable,
hip and projection of overhanging eave.
(c)
Fenestration and openings, both size and arrangement.
(d)
Basic exterior material, such as brick, stone, siding or shingle.
Siding may vary horizontally or vertically.
(e)
Configuration of the front wall, that is, whether wings break in
or out.
(f)
Location of additional masses or features, such as chimneys or other
permanent exterior construction attached to the building.
B.
Excessive
dissimilarity in relation to any other structure existing or for which
a permit has been issued, or to any other structure included in the
same permit application facing upon the same street and within 250
feet of the proposed site in respect to one or more of the following
features:
(1)
Cubical contents.
(2)
Gross floor area.
(3)
Height of building or height of roof.
(4)
Other significant design features, such as material or quality of architectural design, provided that a finding of excessive dissimilarity shall state not only that such dissimilarity exists, but further that it is of such a nature as to be expected to provoke beyond reasonable doubt one or more of the harmful effects set forth in § 9-1, and that the finding is not based on personal preference as to taste or choice of architectural style.
C.
Inappropriateness in relation to the established character of other structures in the immediate area or neighboring areas in respect to significant design features, such as material or quality or architectural design, provided that a finding of inappropriateness shall state not only that such inappropriateness exists, but that it is of such a nature as to be reasonably expected to provoke one or more of the harmful effects set forth in § 9-1 hereof and that the finding is not based on personal preference as to taste or choice of architectural style.
[Amended 5-20-2020 by L.L. No. 5-2020]
The Building Inspector shall refuse any building permit application disapproved as provided in § 9-5 hereof. If the Architectural Review Board shall fail to disapprove any such application referred to it within 30 days of the date of filing such application or if such Board shall approve any such application, the Building Inspector shall forthwith issue the building permit, provided that it conforms in all respects to all other applicable laws and ordinances.
[Amended 5-20-2020 by L.L. No. 5-2020[1]]
Any person aggrieved by
the action of the Architectural Review Board in disapproving a building
permit application and of the Building Inspector in denying such permit
because of such disapproval may take an appeal therefrom to the Zoning
Board of Appeals in the same manner as is provided for other zoning
appeals, and such Zoning Board of Appeals, after proceeding in the
same manner as is provided for other zoning appeals and with the same
power and authority therein vested in passing under appeals before
it under the provisions of law and this chapter and in the exercise
thereof, may reverse or affirm or modify and affirm the action of
the Architectural Review Board and of the Building Inspector.
[Added 5-20-2020 by L.L. No. 5-2020[1]]
Pursuant to Chapter 345, § 345-804C, all site plans and development parcel plans shall be referred to the Architectural Review Board for review and recommendation with regard to colors and materials, architectural articulation, and harmony of exterior features only.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also repealed former § 9-9,
Site plan approval.
