This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Village of Williamsville Historic Preservation Local Law."
Pursuant to Article 5, § 96-a; and Article 5-K, § 119-dd of the General Municipal Law; Article 14 of the Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Law; and § 10 of the Municipal Home Rule Law; 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 cultural, economic and general welfare of the public.
There is hereby continued the Village of Williamsville Historic Preservation Commission (the "Commission") created under Local Law No. 4 of 1983, which shall be constituted as follows:
A. Membership: The Commission shall consist of seven members and two alternate members.
B. Appointments: Members of the commission shall be appointed by the by the Village Board. No person appointed to the Commission can also serve as a member of the Village Board.
C. Term of office: The terms for all members of the Commission shall be as specified by the Board of Trustees. Unless removed, each member shall serve until the appointment of a successor, notwithstanding the expiration of said member's term.
D. Qualifications: To the extent practicable, Commission members shall be required to have the following expertise:
(1) At least one member shall be a historian;
(2) At least one member shall be an architect;
(3) At least one member shall be an archeologist;
(4) At least one member shall be a member of the Village Planning and Architectural Review Board;
(5) At least one member shall be a member of the Village Zoning Board of Appeals;
(6) At least one member shall be a state-licensed real estate professional;
(7) At least one member shall have demonstrated significant interest in and commitment to the field of preservation planning as evidenced either by involvement in a local or regional historic preservation group, employment or volunteer activity in the field of preservation planning, or other serious interest in the field;
(8) All members shall have a known interest in historic preservation and planning within the Village; and
(9) In the event that the Village Board determines that any of the positions described in Subsection
D(1) through
(7) cannot be filled by persons so qualified, the Village Board may fill any such position by appointing persons qualified under Subsection
D(8).
E. Vacancies: Vacancies occurring on the Commission other than by expiration of term of office shall be filled by appointment of the Mayor, subject to approval of the Village Board. Any such appointment shall be for the unexpired portion of the term of the replaced member, and the appointment must be made in accordance with the criteria established above for original appointments.
F. Removal: The Mayor, subject to the approval of the Village Board, shall have the power to remove, after public hearing, any member of the Commission for cause. Cause for removal shall include, but shall not be limited to, noncompliance with the minimum requirements relating to meeting attendance and training as established herein.
G. Compensation: Members of the Commission shall serve without compensation.
H. Training and attendance requirements:
(1) Each member of the Commission shall complete, at a minimum, four hours of training each year designed to enable such members to more effectively carry out their duties. Training received by a member in excess of four hours in any one year may be carried over by the member into succeeding years in order to meet this requirement. Such training shall be approved by the Village Board and may include, but is not be limited to, training provided by a municipality, regional or county planning office or commission, zoning board of appeals, planning board, county planning federation, state agency, statewide municipal association, college, attorney or other similar entity. Training may be provided in a variety of formats, including but not limited to, electronic media, video, distance learning and traditional classroom training.
(2) To be eligible for reappointment to the Commission, a member shall have completed the training approved by the Village Board. However, the training requirement may be waived or modified by resolution of the Village Board when, in the judgment of the Village Board, it is in the best interest to do so.
(3) Each member of the Commission shall regularly attend meetings of the Commission. Failure of any member to attend a regularly scheduled meeting of the Commission on more than three occasions within one calendar year shall constitute sufficient cause for removal of such member.
(4) No decision of a Commission shall be voided or declared invalid because of a failure of any member to comply with this Subsection
H.
The Commission may establish permanent or ad hoc committees consisting of not less than three current members of the Commission for assignments assigned to it by the full Commission. The Commission may appoint non-Commission members to serve on such committees in an ex officio capacity.
All Village departments, officers and personnel shall, upon request of the Commission, assist and furnish available permits, plans, reports, maps and statistical and other information which the Commission may require for its work.
The Commission shall delineate landmarks or historic districts and recommend them to the Village Board for designation, pursuant to the procedures and criteria provided herein.
A. Individual landmark: The Commission may recommend an individual property be designated as an individual landmark if it:
(1) Exemplifies or possesses special character, or historic or aesthetic interest of value as part of the political, economic, or social history of the Village;
(2) Is identified with persons or events significant in local, state, or national history;
(3) Embodies the distinguishing characteristics of a type, period or method of construction or design style, or is a valuable example of the use of indigenous materials or craftsmanship; or is representative of the work of a designer, architect or builder;
(4) Represents an established and familiar visual feature of the community by virtue of its unique location or singular physical characteristic, represents an established and familiar visual feature of the community; and/or
(5) Has yielded or may be likely to yield information important in prehistory or history.
B. Historic district. The Commission may recommend a group of properties within the Village for designation as an historic district if a majority of properties therein:
(1) Contain properties which meet one or more of the criteria for designation as a landmark and which may have within its boundaries other properties or structures that, while not of such historic and/or architectural significance to be designated as landmarks, nevertheless contribute to the overall visual characteristics of the landmark or landmarks located within the historic district; and
(2) Constitute a unique section of the Village by reason of possessing those qualities that would satisfy such criteria.
C. Interior landmark: The Commission may recommend the interior of a property as an interior landmark if such interior has special historical or aesthetic interest or value as part of the development, heritage or cultural characteristics of the Village, and:
(1) It is customarily open or accessible to the public; or
(2) It is an interior into which the public is customarily invited.
D. Scenic landmark: The Commission may recommend a landscape feature or group of features for designation as a scenic landmark. Recommendations for designation must be accompanied by such historical and architectural information as is required by the Commission to make an informed recommendation concerning the application.
E. Ordinarily, properties that have achieved significance within the past 50 years are not considered eligible for designation under this chapter. However, such properties will qualify if they are:
(1) Integral parts of historic districts that meet the criteria for designation; or
(2) If they are properties of exceptional importance.
The Commission shall recommend for designation as individual landmarks or historic districts in the following manner:
A. Initiation of proposed designation. Designation of a landmark or historic district may be proposed in writing, in a manner proscribed by the Commission, by the Commission, the owner of the property, or by any resident of the Village.
B. Notice of proposed designation. Except in the case of a proposed designation of a landmark initiated by the owner thereof, within 10 days of the receipt of a written application as provided in Subsection
A above or the proposed designation adopted by a majority vote of the members of the Commission at a regular or special meeting of the Commission, the Village Clerk will transmit notice of the proposed designation to the record owner(s) of the proposed landmark or any property located in the proposed historic district. Such notice shall advise said owner(s) of the date of the public hearing, if any has yet been scheduled, and of the prohibition against making any alteration to the proposed landmark or property located in the proposed historic district, except as otherwise authorized herein, pending the final determination on proposed designation.
C. Public hearing by Commission; notice.
(1) Within a reasonable time after receipt of a full application or other matter referred to it, but not more than 60 days after such date, the Commission shall schedule a public hearing on any proposed landmark or historic district designation.
(2) Notice of such hearing shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the Village at least 10 days prior to the public hearing date. Such notice shall include a description of the properties proposed for designation and state the time and place where any public hearing to consider such designation will be held by the Commission.
(3) Unless the notice described in Subsection
B above included notice of such public hearing, notice of the public hearing shall also be mailed to the record owner(s) of the proposed landmark or any property within a proposed historic district at least 10 days prior to the date of the public hearing.
(4) The Commission, property owners, and any interested parties may present testimony or documentary evidence at the hearing which will become part of a record regarding the historic, architectural, or cultural importance of the proposed landmark or historic district.
D. Work moratorium: The Commission shall promptly provide a copy of any notice of proposed designation to the Code Enforcement Officer. Once the Commission has issued notice of a proposed designation, no building or demolition permits shall be issued by the Code Enforcement Officer for any work requiring such permit, except for emergency repairs, until a final determination on the proposed designation has been made.
E. Commission record: The Commission shall compile a public record in support of its designation of a resource, landmark or historic district. In addition to testimony or documentary evidence received at any public hearing, the record may also contain reports, public comments, expert testimony, or other evidence offered outside of the hearing, but submitted for the Commission's consideration by the date of the hearing. At a minimum, the record of the designation shall contain the application, Commission and/or staff reports, any comments made on the application at the public hearing, and the Commission's determination regarding the proposed designation.
F. Commission recommendation: Within 32 days after the Commission public hearing, which time period may be extended by mutual agreement of the Commission and the property owner(s), the Commission shall make a determination regarding the proposed designation. If the Commission, by a majority vote of its members, determines to recommend the proposed landmark or historic district to the Village Board, the Commission shall set forth its recommendation in written form, identifying the relevant criteria satisfied by the landmark or historic district and the evidence relied upon in making this determination. In the case of a proposed historic district, the Commission shall identify which properties of structures constitute contributing structures as defined in this chapter.
G. Within 10 days of the Commission making its determination, the Village Clerk shall cause such determination, along with a complete record of the matter as provided in Subsection
E herein, to be filed in the Office of the Village Clerk and transmit a copy of the same to the Village Board. A copy of such determination shall also be transmitted to the applicant, if any, and record owner(s) of the property at issue within the time-frame specified herein.
H. Public hearing by Village Board; general notice.
(1) At its discretion, the Village Board may, or, at the request of the owner(s) of any property that is the subject of such recommendation, the Village Board shall schedule a public hearing on proposed landmark of historic district designations. Public notice of any such hearing shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the Village at least 10 days prior to the public hearing date in the same manner as provided in §
47-12C, above.
(2) The Commission, property owners, and any interested parties may present testimony or documentary evidence at any such public hearing which will become part of a record regarding the historic, architectural, or cultural importance of the proposed resource, individual, landmark or historic district.
I. Village Board decision: Within 32 days after receipt of the Commission's recommendation and record or, if a public hearing is conducted, after the close of the Village Board public hearing, which time period may be extended by mutual agreement of the Commission and the property owner(s), the Village Board shall by resolution designate in whole or in part, or shall disapprove such designation, setting forth in writing the reasons for the decision.
J. The boundaries of each landmark or historic district designated shall be specified in detail with reference to the tax map identification number and shall be filed, in writing, in the office of the Village Clerk and there made available for review by the public. The Village Clerk shall forward notice of each property designated as a landmark and the boundaries of each designated historic district to the Village Building Department, Town of Amherst Assessor and Erie County Clerk for recordation.
K. Within 10 days of any designation made hereunder, the Village Clerk shall transmit notice of the designation to the applicant(s) and owner(s) of a designated property by certified mail return receipt requested or such other means as he or she determines is appropriate, or in the case of an approved historic district, the Village Board shall send notice by certified mail return receipt requested to the applicants and owners of all properties within the approved district.
L. Failure to send notice. Failure to send any notice by mail to any property owner(s) where the address of such owner(s) is not a matter of property tax records shall not invalidate any proceedings in connection with the proposed designation.
M. Amendment or rescission. In the same manner and using the same procedures as followed for designation, the Commission, by a majority vote of its members, may recommend to the Village Board to amend or rescind the designation of an individual landmark or historic district. Upon receipt of the public record in support of such amendment or rescission request, the Village Board may amend or rescind any designation of an individual landmark or historic district in the same manner and using the same procedures as followed for designation.
Any person or persons, jointly or severally aggrieved by any final decision of the Commission or any officer, department, board or bureau of the Village exercised under this chapter, may apply to the supreme court for review by a proceeding under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
As used in this chapter, the following words and phrases have the following meaning:
ACQUISITION The act or process of acquiring fee title or other interest in real property, including acquisition of development rights or remainder interest.
ADAPTIVE REUSE Conversion of a building originally designed for a certain purpose to a different purpose.
ADDITION See §
15-2. For purposes of this chapter, an addition includes any act or process that changes one or more of the exterior architectural features of a building or structure by adding to, joining with or increasing the size or capacity of the building or structure.
[Amended 6-28-2021 by L.L. No. 1-2021]
ALTERATION See §
15-2. For purposes of this chapter, an alteration includes any act or process, other than demolition or preventative maintenance, that removes or changes the exterior appearance of significant historical or architectural features, or the historic context of a designated landmark, including, but not limited to, exterior changes, additions, new construction, erection, reconstruction or grading.
[Amended 6-28-2021 by L.L. No. 1-2021]
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE The quality of a building or structure based on its date of erection, style and scarcity of same, quality of design, present condition and appearance or other characteristics that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction.
BUILDING See §
15-2. For the purposes of this chapter, building may also refer to a historically related complex.
[Amended 6-28-2021 by L.L. No. 1-2021]
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS An official form issued by the Commission stating that the proposed alteration to a designated historic landmark is compatible with the historic character of the property and thus in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and therefore the proposed work may be completed as specified in the certificate; and the Village and/or Town of Amherst's departments, as applicable, may issue any permits needed to do the work specified in the certificate.
CERTIFICATE OF ECONOMIC HARDSHIP An official form issued by the Commission when the denial of a certificate of appropriateness has deprived, or will deprive, the owner of the property of all reasonable use of, or economic return on the property.
CHANGE Any alteration, demolition, removal or construction involving any property subject to the provisions of this chapter.
CHARACTER Defined by form, proportion, structure, plan, style or material. General character refers to ideas of design and construction such as basic plan or form. Specific character refers to precise ways of combining particular kinds of materials.
CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER The person, or his or her designee, authorized to grant permits for construction, alteration, and demolition pursuant to the codes adopted by the Village.
COMMISSION The Historic
Preservation Commission established pursuant to §
47-4 of this chapter and appointed by the Village Board.
COMPATIBLE In harmony with location, context, setting, and historic character.
CONSTRUCTION The act of constructing an addition to an existing structure or the erection of a new principal or accessory structure on a lot or property.
CONTRIBUTING STRUCTURE A structure located in an historic district that has been determined by the Commission to substantially possess characteristics forming the basis for the designation of the historic district.
DEMOLITION PERMIT A permit issued by the appropriate Village official or body authorizing the applicant to demolish a building or structure.
EVALUATION The process by which the significance and integrity of a building, structure, object, or site is judged by an individual who meets the professional qualification standards published by the National Park Service at 36 CFR Part 61 as determined by the State Historic
Preservation Office, using the designation criteria outlined in §
47-11 of this chapter.
EXTERIOR Architectural style, design, general arrangement and components of the outer surfaces of an improvement, building or structure as distinguished from the interior surfaces, including, but not limited to the kind and texture of building material and the type and style of windows, doors, signs and other such exterior fixtures.
FACADE The exterior of a building or structure that can be viewed.
FEATURE Elements embodying the historical significance or architectural style, design, general arrangement and components of all of the exterior surfaces of any landmark or historic resource, including, but not limited to, the type of building materials, and type and style of windows, doors, or other elements related to such landmark or historic resource.
HISTORIC CONTEXT A unit created for planning purposes that groups information about historic properties based on a shared theme, specific time period and geographical area.
HISTORIC DISTRICT A geographically definable area so designated pursuant to this chapter.
HISTORIC FABRIC Original or old building materials (masonry, wood, metals, marble) or construction.
HISTORIC INTEGRITY The retention of sufficient aspects of location, design, setting, workmanship, materials, feeling or association for a property to convey its historic significance.
HISTORIC RESOURCE Any evaluated building, structure, object, or site that potentially meets the designation criteria outlined in §
47-11.
HISTORIC RESOURCES SURVEY The process of systematically identifying, researching, photographing, and documenting historic resources within a defined geographic area, and the resulting list of evaluated properties that may be consulted for future designation. For the purpose of this chapter, all surveys shall be conducted in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Identification and Evaluation, as may be amended.
HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE The quality of a place, site, building, district or structure based upon its identification with historic persons or events in the Village.
INTEGRITY The authenticity of a property's historic identity, evidenced by the survival of physical characteristics that existed during the property's historic or prehistoric period.
INVENTORY A list of historic properties determined to meet specified criteria of significance.
LANDMARK Property, object, structure or natural feature or any part thereof so designated pursuant to this chapter.
LISTING The formal entry or registration of a property.
MAINTAIN To keep in an existing state of preservation or repair.
MINOR WORK Any repair that does not materially change the appearance of the landmark in any way.
NATIONAL REGISTER CRITERIA The established criteria for evaluating the eligibility of properties for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES The official inventory of the nation's historic properties, districts, sites, districts, structures, objects and landmarks which are significant in American history, architecture, archaeology, and culture, maintained by the Secretary of the Interior under the authority of the Historic Sites Act of 1935 and the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (16 USC. 470 et seq., 36 CFR Sections 60, 63, as may be amended).
NONCONTRIBUTING A feature, addition or building, structure, object or site which does not add to the sense of historical authenticity or evolution of an historic resource or landmark or where the location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, history, and/or association of the feature, addition or building, structure, object or site has been so altered or deteriorated that the overall integrity of that historic resource or landmark has been irretrievably lost.
OBJECT Constructions that are primarily artistic in nature or are relatively small in scale and simply constructed. Although it may be moveable by nature or design, an object is associated with a specific setting or environment. Examples include boundary markers, mileposts, fountains, monuments, and sculpture. This term may include landscape features.
OWNER Those individuals, partnerships, corporations, or public agencies holding fee simple title to property, as shown on the records of the property records section of the Village, Town of Amherst or County of Erie.
PERIOD OF SIGNIFICANCE The length of time when a property was associated with important events, activities, or persons, or attained characteristics which qualify it for landmark status. Period of significance usually begins with a date when significant activities or events began giving the property its historic significance; this is often a date of construction.
PRESERVATION Retention of essential character of an improvement, object, building natural feature or structure as embodied in its existing form, integrity and material. This term includes the retention of trees, landscaping and vegetative cover of a site. This term may include temporary stabilization work as well as on-going maintenance of historic building materials.
PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE Any work to prevent deterioration or damage to the structural integrity or any exterior feature of a landmark or historic resource that does not involve a change in design, material or exterior appearance. Such work includes, but is not limited to, painting, roof repair, foundation or chimney work, or landscape maintenance.
PROPERTY TYPE A grouping of individual properties based on a set of shared physical or associative characteristics.
RECONSTRUCTION Reproduction of the exact form and detail of a vanished building, structure, improvement, or part thereof as it appeared at a specific time.
REDEVELOPMENT PLAN A plan for the redevelopment of a property on which a landmark or contributing structure within an historic district is located that has been approved by the Commission as a condition for granting approval for demolition or relocation.
REHABILITATION The act or process of making possible a compatible use for a property through repair, alterations, and additions while preserving those portions or features of the property which convey its historical, architectural and cultural values.
RELOCATE Any relocation of a building or structure on its site or to another site.
REPAIR Acts of ordinary maintenance that do not include a change in the design, material, form, or outer appearance of a resource, such as repainting. This includes methods of stabilizing and preventing further decay, and may incorporate replacement-in-kind material or character or refurbishment of materials on a building or structure.
RESTORATION The act or process of 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. The limited and sensitive upgrading of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems and other code-required work to make properties functional is appropriate within a restoration project.
RETAIN The act of keeping an element, detail or structure and continuing the same level of repair to aid in the preservation of elements, sites, and structures.
REVERSIBLE An addition which is made without damage to the project's original condition.
SCENIC LANDMARK Scenic landmarks encompass structures that are not buildings, such as bridges, piers, parks, cemeteries, sidewalks, clocks, and trees.
SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR'S STANDARDS FOR THE TREATMENT OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES Principles developed by the National Park Service (36 CFR 68.3, as may be amended) to help protect historic properties by promoting consistent preservation practices and providing guidance to historic building owners and building managers, preservation consultants, architects, contractors, and project reviewers on how to approach the treatment of historic properties. The Secretary of the Interior Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties may also be referred to in this chapter as "Secretary of the Interior's Standards."
SIGNIFICANT Having particularly important associations with the contexts of architecture, history and culture.
SITE A plot or parcel of land.
STABILIZATION The act or process of applying measures designed to reestablish a weather resistant enclosure and the structural stability of an unsafe or deteriorated property.
STRUCTURE See §
15-1. For purposes of this chapter, structure shall include but not be limited to Buildings, Walls, Fences, signs, billboards, lighting fixtures, screen enclosures and works of art.
[Amended 6-28-2021 by L.L. No. 1-2021]
STYLE A type of architecture distinguished by special characteristics of structure or ornament and often related in time; also a general quality of distinctive character.
UNDERTAKING Any project or other action involving the expansion, modification, development or disposition of the physical plant or any site or building.
If any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, clause or phrase in this chapter, or any part thereof, is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining sections or portions of this chapter, or any part thereof. The Village Board hereby declares that it would have passed each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase of this chapter, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, or phrases may be declared invalid or unconstitutional.