[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Pennsbury 4-17-2013 by Ord.
No. 2013-4-17-1. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A. A
Township historical commission consisting of seven members is hereby
created and reestablished, which shall be known as the "Pennsbury
Township Historical Commission."
B. The
members of the Historical Commission shall be appointed by the Board
of Supervisors.
C. In
addition to the seven members, the Board of Supervisors may appoint
nonvoting Township liaisons to the Historical Commission, which include
a Board of Supervisors liaison, Planning Commission liaison, and the
Code Enforcement Officer. The Board may also appoint members to adjunct
committees. These liaisons and adjunct committee appointees shall
not be members of the Commission but may participate in the discussions
of the Commission.
D. Each
Historical Commission member shall serve for a term of four years,
which shall be so fixed that no more than two terms shall expire each
year. The members of the Historical Commission in office on the date
of enactment of this chapter shall remain in office until the expiration
of their terms or their resignation. The Historical Commission shall
notify the Board of Supervisors of any vacancies in the Historical
Commission, and the Board of Supervisors shall act to fill those vacancies
as soon as practical. Appointments to fill vacancies for unexpired
terms shall be only for the unexpired portion of the term. Members
shall serve without pay but shall be reimbursed for any personal expenditure
in the conduct of Historical Commission business when authorized by
the Board of Supervisors. The members of the Historical Commission
shall be residents of the Township who shall express an interest in
historic buildings, sites, structures and objects. If the members
move out of the Township during their term of office, their term shall
end and they shall no longer be eligible for Commission membership.
A. The
Historical Commission shall annually elect from its own membership
a Chair who shall preside over the meetings of the Historical Commission.
The Commission may also elect such other officers as may be required
for the conduct of its business.
B. A
quorum shall be not less than a majority of the current membership.
A quorum shall be required for the conduct of business of the Commission.
Action of the Commission shall be an affirmative vote of the majority
of a quorum.
C. The
Historical Commission may make, alter and rescind rules for its procedures
consistent with the ordinances of the Township and laws and regulations
of the commonwealth. The Historical Commission shall deliberate and
take official action at regular public meetings, unless the meeting
may be closed in accordance with the Commonwealth Sunshine Act. An agenda of each public meeting shall be available for
inspection prior to the meeting. The Historical Commission shall keep
minutes of its public meetings, which shall be the public record of
its business and shall submit a report of its activities to the Board
of Supervisors by March 1 of each year.
D. Expenditures.
Within the limits of funds appropriated by the Board of Supervisors,
the Historical Commission may employ staff or contract for clerical,
consulting, or other technical services.
The Historical Commission shall have the following functions
and duties:
A. Maintain
a system for the survey and inventory of historic buildings, sites,
structures, objects, and districts in Pennsbury Township.
B. Provide
advice and recommendations to the Board of Supervisors, Planning Commission,
Code Enforcement Officer, and/or Zoning Hearing Board regarding the
following subdivision, land development and building matters:
(1) The issuance or denial of demolition permits for historic resources.
(2) Subdivision or land development applications which affect historic resources, in accordance with the requirements and procedures of Chapter
138, Subdivision and Land Development.
(3) Requests for special exceptions, conditional uses or variances affecting
historic resources.
(4) Applications for the rehabilitation, adaptive reuse, conversion,
enlargement or alteration of historic resources for compliance with
the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation.
(5) Perform all functions required by the Township's ordinances, regulations and policies, including but not limited to those required by Chapter
162, Zoning.
C. Make
recommendations to the Board of Supervisors concerning revisions,
updates, or corrections to the Historic Resources Map.
D. Maintain
an inventory that clearly identifies historic resources and their
respective classifications (Class I or Class II) on the Historic Resources
Map.
E. Contribute
to and maintain files on Township historic resources, which at a minimum
shall include the following items:
(1) For Class I historic resources: a copy of National Register and National
Historic Landmark nominations that have been approved by the National
Park Service and a copy of determination of eligibility (DOE) for
listing on the National Register of Historic Places by the Pennsylvania
Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC).
(2) For Class II historic resources: documentation of these resources
on a Pennsylvania historic resource survey form.
F. Perform
such other functions and duties as may be assigned or requested from
time to time by the Board of Supervisors.