[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Hoosick 6-7-2004 by L.L. No. 1-2004. Amendments noted where applicable.]
It is hereby declared as a matter of public policy that the protection, enhancement and perpetuation of landmarks and historic districts are necessary to promote the economic, cultural, educational, and general welfare of the public. Inasmuch as the identity of a people is founded on its past and inasmuch as Hoosick has many significant historic, architectural and cultural resources, which constitute its heritage, this act is intended to:
A. 
Protect and enhance the landmarks and historic districts which represent distinctive elements of Hoosick's historic, architectural, and cultural heritage;
B. 
Foster civic pride in the accomplishment of the past;
C. 
Protect and enhance Hoosick's attractiveness to visitors and the support and stimulus to the economy thereby provided; and
D. 
Ensure the harmonious, orderly, and efficient growth and development of the Town of Hoosick.
There is hereby created a commission to be known as the "Town of Hoosick Historic Preservation Commission."
A. 
The Commission shall consist of five members to be appointed, to the extent available in the community, by the Supervisor as follows:
(1) 
At least one shall be an architect experienced in working with historic buildings;
(2) 
At least one shall be an historian;
(3) 
At least one shall be a resident of an historic district;
(4) 
At least one shall have demonstrated significant interest in and commitment to the field of historic preservation evidenced either by involvement in a local historic preservation group, employment or volunteer activity in the field of historic preservation, or other serious interest in the field; and
(5) 
All members shall have a known interest in historic preservation and architectural development within the Town of Hoosick.
B. 
Commission members shall serve for a term of four years, with the exception of the initial term of one of the members which shall be one year, one which shall be two years, one which shall be three years, one which shall be four years and one which shall be five years.
C. 
The Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Commission shall be elected by and from among the members of the Commission.
D. 
The powers of the Commission shall include:
(1) 
Employment of staff and professional consultants as necessary to carry out the duties of the Commission. Town Board approval is required;
(2) 
Promulgation of rules and regulations as necessary to carry out the duties of the Commission;
(3) 
Adoption of criteria for the identification of significant historic, architectural, and cultural landmarks and for the delineation of historic districts;
(4) 
Conduct of surveys of significant historic, architectural, and cultural landmarks and historic districts within the Town of Hoosick;
(5) 
Designation of identified structures or resources as landmarks and historic districts;
(6) 
Acceptance on behalf of the Town of Hoosick's government of the donation of facade easements and development rights and the making of recommendations to the Town of Hoosick government concerning the acquisition of facade easements or other interests in real property as necessary to carry out the purposes of this act;
(7) 
Increasing public awareness of the value of historic, cultural and architectural preservation by developing and participating in public education programs;
(8) 
Making recommendations to Town of Hoosick government concerning the utilization of state, federal or private funds to promote the preservation of landmarks and historic districts within the Town of Hoosick;
(9) 
Recommending acquisition of a landmark structure by the Town of Hoosick government where its preservation is essential to the purposes of this act and where private preservation is not feasible; and
(10) 
Approval or disapproval of applications for certificates of appropriateness pursuant to this act.
E. 
The Commission shall meet at least once bimonthly, but meetings may be held at any time on the written request of any two of the Commission members or on the call of the Chairman or the Supervisor.
F. 
A quorum for the transaction of business shall consist of three of the Commission's members, but not less than a majority of the full-authorized membership may grant or deny a certificate of appropriateness.
A. 
The Commission may designate an individual property as a landmark if it:
(1) 
Possesses special character or historic or aesthetic interest of value as part of the cultural, political, economic or social history of the locality, region, state or nation; or
(2) 
Is identified with historic personages; or
(3) 
Embodies the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style; or
(4) 
Is the work of a designer whose work has significantly influenced an age; or
(5) 
Because of unique location or singular physical characteristic, represents an established and familiar visual feature of the neighborhood.
B. 
The Commission may designate a group of properties as a historic district if it:
(1) 
Contains properties which meet one or more of the criteria for designation of a landmark; and
(2) 
By reason of possessing such qualities, constitutes a distinct section of the Town of Hoosick.
C. 
The boundaries of each historic district designated henceforth shall be specified in detail and shall be filed, in writing, in the Town Clerk's office for public inspection.
D. 
Notice of a proposed designation shall be sent by registered mail to the owner of the property proposed for designation, describing the property and announcing a public hearing by the Commission to consider the designation. Where the proposed designation involves so many owners that individual notice is infeasible, notice may instead be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation at least 10 days prior to the date of the public hearing. Once the Commission has issued a notice of a proposed designation, no building permits shall be issued by the Building Inspector until the Commission has made its decision.
E. 
The Commission shall hold a public hearing prior to designation of any landmark or historic district. The Commission, owners and any interested parties may present testimony or documentary evidence at the hearing which will become part of a record regarding the historical, architectural, or cultural importance of the proposed landmark or historic district. The record may also contain staff comments, public comments, or other evidence offered outside of the hearing.
F. 
The Commission shall forward notice of each property designated as a landmark and the boundaries of each designated historic district to the office of the Rensselaer County Clerk for recordation.
No person shall carry out any exterior alteration, restoration, reconstruction, demolition, new construction, or moving of a landmark or property within an historic district, nor shall any person make any material change in the appearance of such property, its light fixtures, signs, sidewalks, fences, steps, paving or other exterior elements which affect the appearance and cohesiveness of the landmark or historic district without first obtaining a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission.
A. 
In passing upon an application for a certificate of appropriateness, the Historic Preservation Commission shall not consider changes to interior spaces unless they are open to the public. The Commission's decision shall be based on the following principles:
(1) 
Properties which contribute to the character of the historic district shall be retained, with their historic features altered as little as possible;
(2) 
Any alteration of existing properties shall be compatible with their historic character,, as well as with the surrounding district; and
(3) 
New construction shall be compatible with the district in which it is located.
B. 
In applying the principle of compatibility, the Commission shall consider the following factors:
(1) 
The general design, character and appropriateness to the property of the proposed alteration or new construction;
(2) 
The scale of proposed alteration or new construction in relation to the property itself, surrounding properties, and the neighborhood;
(3) 
Texture, materials, and color and their relation to similar features of other properties in the neighborhood;
(4) 
Visual compatibility with surrounding properties, including proportion of the property's front facade, proportion and arrangement of windows and other openings within the facade, roof shape, and the rhythm of spacing of properties on streets, including setback; and
(5) 
The importance of historic, architectural or other features to the significance of the property.
A. 
Prior to the commencement of any work requiring a certificate of appropriateness, the owner shall file an application for such a certificate with the Historic Preservation Commission. The application shall consist of:
(1) 
Name, address and telephone number of the applicant;
(2) 
Location and photographs of the property;
(3) 
Elevation drawings of proposed changes, if available;
(4) 
Perspective drawings, including relationship to adjacent properties, if available;
(5) 
Samples of color or materials to be used;
(6) 
Where the proposal includes signs or lettering, a scale drawing showing the type of lettering to be used, all dimensions and colors, a description of materials to be used, method of illumination, and a plan showing the sign's location on the property; and
(7) 
Any other information which the Commission may deem necessary in order to visualize the proposed work.
B. 
No building permit shall be issued for such proposed work until a certificate of appropriateness has first been issued by the Historic Preservation Commission. The certificate of appropriateness required by this act shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any building permit that may be required by any other local law of the Town of Hoosick.
C. 
The Commission shall approve, deny or approve the permit with modifications within 60 days of receipt of the completed application or at the close of the public hearing, whichever is later. The Commission shall hold a public hearing on the application, at which an opportunity will be provided for proponents and opponents of the application to present their views. The notice of public hearing shall be published in the Town's official newspaper no less than 10 days prior to the hearing.
D. 
All decisions of the Commission shall be in writing. A copy shall be sent to the applicant by mail and a copy filed with the Town Clerk's office for public inspection. The Commission's decision shall state the reasons for denying or modifying any application.
E. 
Certificates of appropriateness shall be valid for 12 months, after which the owner must reapply if he still wishes to undertake work on the property.
An applicant whose certificate of appropriateness for a proposed demolition has been denied may apply for relief on the ground of hardship. In order to prove the existence of hardship, the applicant shall establish that:
A. 
The property is incapable of earning a reasonable return, regardless of whether that return represents the most profitable return possible;
B. 
The property cannot be adapted for any other use, whether by the current owner or by a purchaser, which would result in a reasonable return; and
C. 
Efforts to find a purchaser interested in acquiring the property and preserving it have failed.
An applicant whose certificate of appropriateness for a proposed alteration has been denied may apply for relief on the ground of hardship. In order to prove the existence of hardship, the applicant shall establish that the property is incapable of earning a reasonable return, regardless of whether that return represents the most profitable return possible.
A. 
After receiving written notification from the Commission of the denial of a certificate of appropriateness, an applicant may commence the hardship process. No building permit or demolition permit shall be issued unless the Commission makes a finding that a hardship exists.
B. 
The Commission shall hold a public hearing on the hardship application, at which an opportunity will be provided for proponents and opponents of the application to present their views. Notice of the public hearing shall be published in the Town's official newspaper no less than 10 days prior to the hearing.
C. 
The applicant shall consult in good faith with the Commission, local preservation groups and interested parties in a diligent effort to seek an alternative that will result in preservation of the property.
D. 
All decisions of the Commission shall be in writing. A copy shall be sent to the applicant by mail and a copy filed with the Town Clerk's office for public inspection. The Commission's decision shall state the reasons for granting or denying the hardship application. If the application is granted, the Commission shall approve only such work as is necessary to alleviate the hardship.
All work performed pursuant to a certificate of appropriateness issued under this chapter shall conform to any requirements included therein. It shall be the duty of the Building Inspector to inspect periodically any such work to assure compliance. In the event work is found that is not being performed in accordance with the certificate of appropriateness, or upon notification of such fact by the Historic Preservation Commission, the Building Inspector shall issue a stop-work order and all work shall immediately cease. No further work shall be undertaken on the project as long as a stop-work order is in effect.
A. 
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the ordinary maintenance or repair of any exterior architectural feature of a landmark on the property within an historic district which does not involve a change in design, material, color or outward appearance.
B. 
No owner or person with an interest in real property designated as a landmark or included within a historic district shall permit the property to fall into a serious state of disrepair so as to result in the deterioration of any exterior architectural feature which would, in the judgment of the Historic Preservation Commission, produce a detrimental effect upon the character of the historic district as a whole or in the life and character of the property itself.
C. 
Examples of such deterioration include:
(1) 
Deterioration of exterior walls or other vertical supports.
(2) 
Deterioration of roofs or other horizontal members.
(3) 
Deterioration of exterior chimneys.
(4) 
Deterioration or crumbling of exterior stucco or mortar.
(5) 
Ineffective waterproofing of exterior walls, roofs or foundations, including broken windows or doors.
(6) 
Deterioration of any feature so as to create a hazardous condition which could lead to the claim that demolition is necessary for the public safety.
A. 
Failure to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed a violation, and the violator shall be liable to a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $250 or by imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment, for each day the violation continues.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
B. 
Any person who demolishes, alters, constructs, or permits a designated property to fall into a serious state of disrepair in violation of this chapter shall be required to restore the property and its site to its appearance prior to the violation. Any action to enforce this subsection shall be brought by the Town Attorney. This civil remedy shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any civil or criminal prosecution or penalty.
Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Historic Preservation Commission relating to hardship or a certificate or appropriateness may, within 15 days of the decision, file a written application with the Town Board for review of the decision. Reviews shall be conducted based on the same record that was before the Commission and using the same criteria. Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Town Board shall be entitled to commence an Article 78 proceeding. Said proceeding must be commenced within 30 days of the filing a copy of the decision in the Town Clerk's office.