[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Harwinton as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-17-1990 by Ord. No. 89, effective 5-10-1990; amended 10-23-2001 by Ord. No. 104]
It is the intent of this article:
A. 
To promote the educational, cultural, economic and general welfare of the Town of Harwinton through the preservation and protection of buildings and places of historic interest within the Town of Harwinton.
B. 
To preserve and protect the several architectural phases recognizable in Harwinton's history.
The purpose of this article is to carry out the provisions of §§ 7-147a through 7-147k of the Connecticut General Statutes concerning historic districts, as amended, herein referred to as the "Act."
A. 
Establishment. The Harwinton Historic District and Historic Properties Commission is hereby established which shall have such powers and limitations and perform such functions as shall be prescribed under the General Statutes of Connecticut and as provided in this article.
B. 
Composition. The Commission shall consist of five regular members and three alternate members, all of whom shall be electors of the Town holding no salaried Town office and shall serve without compensation. At least three regular members and one alternate member shall be residents within the Harwinton Historic District, if any persons so qualified are willing to serve on the Commission.
C. 
Terms. The terms of the original members of the Commission shall be such that the term of at least one regular member and one alternate member shall expire each year. Their successors shall be appointed for terms respectively of five years for regular members and three years for alternate members, except that an appointment to fill a vacancy shall be for the duration of the unexpired term.
D. 
Officers. Within 30 days after appointment of the original members of the Commission, and annually thereafter, the regular members shall meet and elect officers as specified in the Act. Alternate members shall not participate in the vote for election of officers of the Commission.
E. 
Appointment. Members shall be appointed within 30 days of the passage of this article. Appointments shall be made by the Board of Selectmen.
F. 
Quorum. Three members or designated alternates of the Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of its business or the performance of its functions and the concurring vote of a majority of those constituting a quorum shall be necessary for the adoption of any recommendation, motion or other act of the Commission, except that the affirmative vote of at least three members or designated alternates shall be necessary for the approval of a certificate of appropriateness.
G. 
Designation of alternates. When a member of the Commission is unavailable to act at a particular time due to absence, sickness, conflict of interest or other good reason, the Chairman shall designate an alternate member to act in place of such member, choosing alternates in rotation so that they shall act as nearly equal a number of times as possible.
No building or structure shall be erected, altered, restored, or moved within the historic district until after an application for a certificate of appropriateness as to exterior architectural features has been received by the Commission and approved by said Commission. No building permit for erection of a building or structure or for alteration of an exterior architectural feature within a historic district and no demolition permit for demolition or removal of a building or structure within the historic district shall be issued by the Town of Harwinton or any department, agency, or official thereof until a certificate of appropriateness has been issued. A certificate of appropriateness shall be required whether or not a building permit is required. The style, material, size and location of signs and fences within a historic district shall also be under the control of such Commission. In addition, the Commission shall exercise such other authority granted to it by law.
This article shall not be construed to regulate:
A. 
The color of paint on the exterior of any building or structure.
B. 
Interior arrangements or use.
C. 
The ordinary maintenance or repair of any exterior feature which does not involve a change of design or appearance.
D. 
Vegetation or natural landscape features.
E. 
Exterior architectural features not visible from a public street, way or place if any obstructing vegetation were removed.
A. 
Filing application. An application for a certificate of appropriateness shall be filed with the Commission through the office of the Harwinton Building Official and shall be deemed received as of the date of the Commission's next regularly scheduled meeting.
B. 
Notice, hearings, and approvals.
(1) 
The Historic District and Historic Properties Commission shall hold a public hearing upon each application for a certificate of appropriateness unless the Commission determines that such application involves items not subject to approval by the Commission. The Commission shall fix a reasonable time and place for such hearing. Notice of the time and place of such hearing shall be published in a newspaper having circulation in the Town of Harwinton not more than 15 days and not less than five days before such hearing. Also notification of the hearing will be given by certified mail to the owners of property within the district within 100 feet of the subject property.
(2) 
The Commission shall act upon an application within 65 days of its receipt or the application shall be deemed approved as submitted and a certificate of approval shall be issued. In acting upon an application, the Commission may approve, deny or modify the application by imposing conditions of approval, but in any event the Commission shall state, in its records and notice to the applicant, the reason for its decision. Notice of the Commission's decision shall be sent to the applicant by certified mail and shall be published in a newspaper having a circulation in the Town of Harwinton within 15 days of the decision. Any person aggrieved by the Commission's action may appeal to the Superior Court for the Judicial District of Litchfield in the time and manner provided by Connecticut General Statutes § 7-147i.
(3) 
All hearings and meetings of the Commission at which decisions are made shall be open to the public. The Commission shall keep a permanent record of its resolutions, transactions and determinations and of the vote of each member participating thereon.
C. 
Commission action. In its deliberations, the Commission shall act only for the purpose of controlling the erection, demolition or alteration of buildings, structures or parking, visible from the public right-of-way, which is incongruous with the historic or architectural aspects of the district.
D. 
Adoption of rules. The Commission shall adopt rules of procedures which it deems necessary to carry out the intent of §§ 7-147a through 7-147k of the Connecticut General Statutes and the intent expressed in § 225-1 above. The Commission shall adopt guidelines consistent with the provisions of §§ 7-147a through 7-147k, inclusive, to provide guidance to property owners as to factors to be considered in preparing an application for a certificate of appropriateness. Such guidelines shall not bind the Historic District and Historic Properties Commission to any uniform or necessarily traditional style throughout the district, but shall consider both the protection of the district's historic assets and environment as well as the interest and distinctiveness of this community.
A. 
Relationship to other commissions. The Commission and other Town commissions and officials whose areas of concern may overlap or affect each other shall maintain liaison for information and coordination in matters with which the Commission may be dealing.
B. 
Annual report. The Commission shall make an annual report of its activities to the Town. In addition, the Historic District and Historic Properties Commission shall file with the Connecticut Historical Commission at least once every year a brief summary of its actions during that year, including a statement of the number and nature of certificates of appropriateness issued, any changes in the membership of the Commission, and any other information deemed appropriate by the Historic District and Historic Properties Commission.
C. 
Cooperation and coordination. The Commission may:
(1) 
Provide information to property owners and others involved in the preservation of the district.
(2) 
Initiate planning and zoning proposals.
(3) 
Cooperate with other regulatory agencies and civic organizations and groups interested in historic preservation.
(4) 
Comment on applications for subdivision approvals, zoning variances, site plan approvals and special exceptions where they affect the district.
(5) 
Render advice on tree planting, street improvements and the erection or alteration of public buildings within or affecting the district.
(6) 
Furnish information and assistance in connection with any capital improvement program involving the district.
For the purpose of encouraging the participation and support of interested residents of the historic district who are not members of the Historic District and Historic Properties Commission, and apart from the provision in the Act for formal appeals from the Commission decisions by aggrieved parties, and other than the required public hearings by the Commission upon application for certificate of appropriateness, the Commission shall hold meetings with residents of the district when at least 20% of the owners of real property in the district make written petition to the Commission for such a meeting to discuss matters of policy or other matters that may be at issue between property owners and the Commission. The Commission shall call meetings so requested within 65 days, shall not be bound by the meetings, but in formulating policy shall be responsive to the sentiments of the community insofar as its best judgment suggests and the power and limitations derived from the General Statutes permit.
In recognition of Harwinton's early history as an agricultural society, the Historic District and Historic Properties Commission shall consider as special and overriding issues the needs of any owner who earns a principal livelihood through agricultural endeavors within the district which were established at the time of its creation. In such cases the role of the Commission shall be to counsel the owner and seek alternatives toward appropriate change and development. If the proposed development is to facilitate the continued earning of a livelihood through agriculture, the Historic District and Historic Properties Commission shall not deny a certificate of appropriateness such as to create a hardship for the owner or deny his continued livelihood.
It is recognized that some parcels in the historic districts may be only portions of an owner's holding, with backland in the same parcel not included in the districts. In such situations the Historic District and Historic Properties Commission may not deny a proposal for constructing a road or driveway or erection of a sign on or through the area in the historic district being constructed for the purpose of access to the backland. An owner shall be required to apply for a certificate of appropriateness which shall be granted accompanied by design recommendations from the Commission if deemed appropriate by the Commission.
Regulations and orders of the Commission issued pursuant to the Act or to this article shall be enforced by the Zoning Enforcement Official.
There are hereby established two historic districts in the Town of Harwinton which are set forth below as Catlin Corners District and Center Corners District.
A. 
Catlin Corners District.
Beginning on Harmony Hill Road at the northwest corner of property N/F of Bruce and Mary Louise Alexsavich proceeding easterly along the northerly boundary then southerly along the easterly boundary of said Alexsavich to its intersection with the northerly boundary of property N/F of Rosamond Norton, then easterly along that boundary to a point 550 feet from Harmony Hill Road, then southerly in a straight line across property of said Norton, then property N/F of Irving and Rosamond Norton, then property N/F of Gary and Joan Comminotti, then property N/F of Dirk Patterson to the northeast corner of property N/F of Edward and Margaret Vrabec, then continuing southerly along the easterly boundary of said Vrabec, then southerly along the easterly boundary of property N/F of Julian and Anna Cheeca, then southerly, westerly and southerly along the easterly boundary of land N/F of Henry David, et al. to its intersection with Burlington Road.
From that point the District boundary proceeds southerly across Burlington Road to the northeast corner of land N/F of Brett R. Quinion, then southerly, easterly and southerly along the easterly border of said Quinion to its intersection with land N/F of Henry and Evelyn Camp, then westerly along the southerly boundary of said Quinion to its intersection with Locust Road.
From that point the District Boundary proceeds south across Locust Road in a straight line to the southeasterly corner of land N/F of Carol Stillwagon, then westerly along the southerly boundary and northerly along the westerly boundary of said Stillwagon, then northerly along the westerly boundary of land N/F of George J. Young to its intersection with Burlington Road.
From that point across Burlington Road to the southwest corner of land N/F of Kathryn Baker, shown as D6-2-11 on the Historic District map, then northerly along the western boundary and easterly along the northern boundary of said Baker, then northerly along the western boundary of land N/F of Joyce Wilson, then northerly along the western boundary and easterly along the northern boundary of land N/F of John A. Stevenson to the southwest corner of land N/F of James and Elizabeth Sawyer, then northerly along the westerly boundary and easterly along the northerly boundary of said Sawyer to the southwesterly corner of land N/F of Randolph Smith, then northerly along the westerly boundary of said Smith.
From the northwestern corner of said Smith, the District Boundary will proceed in a straight line across properties N/F of Stephen and Heather Braddock, N/F of Carol Crain, and N/F of Spencer Reynolds, said line running parallel to Harmony Hill Road in a northerly direction to the northern boundary of said Reynolds, then easterly along the northern boundary of said Reynolds to its intersection with Harmony Hill Road, from whence it crosses Harmony Hill Road in a northeasterly direction to the point of origin.
B. 
Center Corners District.
Beginning at the northeasterly corner of Center Cemetery southerly along the east boundaries of the Cemetery, property N/F Sayra Poole, property N/F Congregational Church Parsonage, property N/F Vincent Minella, then southerly across properties N/F Clarence and Judith Brown and N/F Randolph Smith Jr. in a straight line to the northeast corner of land N/F Wayne and Sandy Murphy, then southerly along easterly border of land N/F of said Murphy, then southerly across land N/F of Randolph Smith Jr. and N/F Harwinton Tennis Club to the northeast corner of land N/F of Walter and Germaine Bell, then southerly along easterly border of land N/F of said Bell, then crossing Village Lane to the northeast corner of land N/F of Robert and Judith Monoskey, continuing southerly along easterly border of land N/F of said Monoskey, then easterly along northerly border of land N/F of Alphonsus and Phyllis Manzi, southerly along easterly border of land N/F of said Manzi, then westerly along southerly border of land N/F of said Manzi to the intersection of that property line with South Road, then southwesterly across South Road to the southeasterly corner of South Cemetery, then westerly along the south border of South Cemetery and northerly along the westerly border of South Cemetery to its intersection with the southerly boundary of land N/F of Douglas and Deborah Doyle, then westerly along the southerly boundary of land N/F of said Doyle, then northerly along westerly boundary of land N/F of said Doyle.
From the northwesterly corner of land N/F of said Doyle, the district boundary shall proceed northerly in a straight line across properties N/F of Keith and Donna Kron, N/F of Elizabeth Goodwin, and N/F Susan Glazier to the southwesterly corner of property N/F John and Mary Jane Febbroriello, shown as C6-5-9 on the Historic District map, then northerly along the westerly boundary of said property, then northerly along the westerly boundary of further property N/F of said Febbroriello shown as C6-5-12 on the Historic District map to the intersection of that boundary with the southerly boundary of land N/F of Howard and Arlene Winterson, then westerly along the southerly border of said Winterson and northerly along the westerly boundary of said Winterson to its intersection with property of N/F of Leon Graham and John Ring.
From the southwesterly corner of property N/F of Leon Graham and John Ring, the district boundary shall run in a straight line through property of the Town of Harwinton westerly to the southeast corner of property N/F Frank and Elizabeth Rybak, then westerly along the southern boundary of land N/F said Rybak, then westerly along the southerly boundary of land of Town of Harwinton, then northerly along the westerly boundary of land of Town of Harwinton, and continuing in a straight line across Litchfield Road to the southerly boundary of land N/F Michael and Diane Rybak, then westerly along the southerly boundary, northerly along the westerly boundary (being Cemetery Road) and easterly along the northerly boundary, all N/F of said Rybak.
From the northeasterly corner of land N/F of said Rybak (at Catlin Brook Bridge) the Historic District boundary shall proceed easterly in a straight line across Birge Park Road and land N/F of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church to the northwest corner of land N/F of John and Helene Gerardo, then generally easterly along the northerly boundary of land N/F of said Gerardo, then easterly, southerly and easterly along the northerly boundary of land N/F of Marvin McMillen and Victoria Elliot, then northerly along the westerly boundary and easterly along the northerly boundary of land of Harwinton Congregational Church, then easterly across North Road to the northwest corner of land N/F of Leon and Marjorie Francisco, then easterly along the northerly boundary and southerly along the easterly boundary of land N/F of said Francisco, then easterly along the northerly boundary of a triangular parcel of land N/F of Town of Harwinton to its eastern most point, then southerly across Burlington Road to the point of origin.
A. 
Samuel Peck house designated. The Samuel Peck house owned by Alex and Bree Gurin, located at 295 County Line Road, shown on Assessor's Map E8-02-180A, is hereby designated as a "historic property."
(1) 
The legal description of the property is as follows:
"All that certain piece or parcel of land, together with all improvements thereon, situated on the westerly side of County Line Road in the Town of Harwinton, County of Litchfield and State of Connecticut, being the same premises as shown as "Parcel A, Area = 6.810 Acres" on a map entitled "Property Resurvey Map of Land Owned by John Booss and Claire Booss Townline Road and County Line Road Harwinton, Connecticut Scale one inch equals 40 feet November 1996 Hodge Surveying Associates, P.C., prepared by Francis A. Richard, L.S. #11351, which map was filed February 27, 1997, as Map #1123 in the Town Clerk's office."
(2) 
This designation, and all such future designations, shall be at the expense of the property owner(s) and at no cost or expense to the Town of Harwinton, other than the cost of publishing and/or mailing legal notices.
[Adopted 2-21-2006 by Ord. No. 119, effective 3-11-2006]
This article is adopted pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes §§ 7-148(c)(6)(C) and (10) and 7-152c and in support of the duties and authority conferred on the Board of Selectmen pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes §§ 13a-39, 13a-41, 13a-61 and 13a-99. The purpose of this article is to:
A. 
Preserve highway boundary stone walls as important monuments;
B. 
Prevent the scavenging and destruction of these historic agrarian landmarks;
C. 
Preserve Harwinton's historic scenic highways; and
D. 
Regulate excavation within or adjacent to highways.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
HIGHWAY BOUNDARY STONE WALL
A stone or masonry wall, or portion thereof, located on, or adjacent to, the boundary between a Town highway and the property of the adjacent owner, which thereby constitutes a monument which determines, either directly or as a point of reference, the limits of the highway commonly known as the "highway line" or the "street line," which delineates the limits of the public highway.
HIGHWAY SUPERVISOR
That Town official appointed by the Board of Selectmen to supervise the construction and maintenance of Town highways on behalf of the Board of Selectmen.
TOWN HIGHWAY
Any improved or unimproved highway of the Town of Harwinton designated as such on the current Town aid road list prepared by the Highway Supervisor pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 240, Part Iia, and any other highway of the Town of Harwinton which has not been statutorily discontinued or lawfully abandoned.
A. 
No property owner, and no person acting on behalf of a property owner, shall remove, dismantle, demolish, bury or relocate a highway boundary stone wall without first having obtained a permit from the Highway Supervisor, acting on behalf of the Board of Selectmen.
B. 
The application fee, application procedure, bond and insurance requirements shall be the same as provided in Chapter 193, Driveways, of this Code.
C. 
The Highway Supervisor may issue a permit if he or she determines that the proposed removal, dismantling, demolition, burying or relocation of a highway boundary stone wall:
(1) 
Is permitted as of right under this article;
(2) 
Is required for safe driveway access, highway intersection layout or sight lines, or other necessary highway improvements approved by the Town's professional engineer or traffic safety consultant;
(3) 
Is restricted to the minimum amount of highway boundary stone wall disturbance necessary to accomplish the foregoing objectives; and
(4) 
Includes proposed measures to mitigate the loss of that portion of the highway boundary stone wall, such as landscaping, fencing and/or relocating or reconstructing the stone wall in an alternate location on the owner's property as part of a highway boundary stone wall or other property boundary stone wall.
D. 
Upon completion of the work, the permittee shall submit a recordable Mylar Class A-2 survey map of the highway line along the owner's property and shall set concrete or granite highway monuments in accordance with such survey map and statutory requirements, which survey map shall be filed in the Harwinton Town Clerk's office.
The following activities shall be permitted as of right under this article:
A. 
Maintenance of existing driveways and barways in highway boundary stone walls.
B. 
The construction of new driveways and barways in highway boundary stone walls pursuant to a permit issued by the Highway Supervisor or the State of Connecticut.
C. 
The maintenance, rebuilding or landscaping of highway boundary stone walls in their current locations.
D. 
Drainage openings and drainways pursuant to historic rights to drain or easement to the Town of Harwinton or the State of Connecticut.
E. 
Highway maintenance, necessary construction, approved safety improvements, and the removal of highway obstructions and encroachments by the Town of Harwinton or the State of Connecticut.
The regulation and protection of stone walls within proposed subdivisions or adjacent to proposed subdivision roads shall be regulated by the Planning Commission under the Harwinton Subdivision Regulations until such time as the subdivision roads are accepted as public highways of the Town of Harwinton.
Any person who knowingly violates this article by engaging in the removal, dismantling, demolition, burying or relocation of a highway boundary stone wall without a permit may be issued a cease-and-desist order by the Board of Selectmen. If such person fails to comply with such order, such person may be issued a citation with a fine of $100 for each violation of this article. The procedure for issuing such a citation, the right to a hearing and the right to appeal shall be the same as that specified in Chapter 241, Land Use, Article II, Enforcement of Zoning and Wetlands Regulations, of this Code.