[Added 10-7-2025 by Ord. No. 25-3356]
The Common Council has enacted this Part V, Historic Preservation, of Chapter 35, Development Regulations, pursuant to the authority granted under the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., including N.J.S.A. 40:55D-65.1 and 40:55D-107 to 40:55D-112.
The purpose of Summit's Historic Preservation Ordinance is, among other things:
A.
To effectuate and accomplish the protection, enhancement and perpetuation of historic buildings, structures, sites, objects, improvements, and districts within the City;
B.
To implement the historic preservation element of the City's Master Plan;
C.
To maintain Summit's historic character; and
D.
To advance the following public purposes:
1.
To safeguard the heritage of the City of Summit by preserving resources which reflect elements of its cultural, social, economic, architectural, and historical heritage;
2.
To preserve the City's historic and architecturally significant buildings and sites which are deemed to contribute to the City's character and quality of life as essential elements of the community's identity;
3.
To encourage the continued use of historic landmarks and historic districts and to facilitate their appropriate use or reuse;
4.
To promote the conservation of historic sites and districts, open space, energy resources and valuable natural resources and to prevent urban sprawl and degradation of the environment through improper use of land, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-2j;
5.
To maintain and develop an appropriate and harmonious setting for historically significant structures, sites, and districts located within Summit;
6.
To identify, designate, and regulate historic landmarks and historic districts in order to maintain and enhance the historic character of the City of Summit;
7.
To foster civic pride in the history and architecture of the City of Summit;
8.
To promote appreciation of historic landmarks and historic districts for the education, civic mindedness, pleasure and welfare of the local population;
9.
To encourage beautification and private reinvestment in historic landmarks and historic districts, and surrounding properties and landscapes;
10.
To encourage and manage appropriate alterations of historic sites and improvements within historic districts, and to encourage new construction in keeping with the character of historic districts;
11.
To discourage the unnecessary total or partial demolition, removal, or destruction of historical resources, residences, structures, landmarks, and districts, and the general character of the community; and
12.
To encourage property owners and tenants to maintain their properties in keeping with the requirements and standards of this article to prevent the deterioration of historic buildings and sites and to promote them as useful community assets.
[Added 10-7-2025 by Ord. No. 25-3356]
Listed below are definitions specific to Part V, Historic Preservation, of Chapter 35, Development Regulations, of the City Code which, for the purposes of the Historic Preservation Ordinance, shall supplement and not supersede the definitions contained in other sections of the City Code which shall otherwise remain in effect, as applicable.
Any building, landmark, structure, site, object, or improvement which is an integral component of an historic district either because it dates from a time period which makes them historically significant or because they represent an architectural type, period, or method which is historically significant.
Strictly for the purposes of the Historic Preservation Ordinance and the review of a Historic Site Verification the term "demolition" shall mean the removal, razing, dismantling, or destruction of 50% or more of the principal facade or volume, whichever is more restrictive, of a structure or building at the time of partial or total demolition. This definition is not applicable to properties, structures or buildings which do not meet the criteria of a historic site and or fall outside of a historic district.
A permit issued by the Construction Official in accordance with the State Uniform Construction Code ("UCC") for the demolition of a building or structure, excluding interior demolition.
For the purposes of the City's Historic Preservation Ordinance, the term "historic district" shall mean one or more historic sites and intervening or surrounding property significantly affecting or affected by the quality and character of the historic sites or historic districts, and as formally designated as such by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Historic Preservation Office, the New Jersey or National Registers of Historic Places, or the City of Summit's most recently adopted Master Plan or Master Plan Reexamination Report. Summit's Individual Historic Landmarks and Historic Districts are demonstrated in Appendix J.[1]
For the purposes of the City's Historic Preservation Ordinance, the term "historic site" shall mean any real property, man-made structure 100 years or older at the time of verification submission, natural object or configuration, or any portion or group of the foregoing which have been previously and remain, or hereinafter are, formally designated in the master plan as being of historical, archeological, cultural, scenic or architectural significance and or contributing to the streetscape.
A request to the Zoning Office on a form provided by the Summit Department of Community Services Division of Land Use to be reviewed by the HPC for the total or partial demolition and/or additions to historic buildings, structures or landmarks for the purpose of providing non-binding recommendations on the historic or architectural significance of a respective historic structure or landmark.
Strictly for the purposes of the Historic Preservation Ordinance and the Historic Site Verification the term "partial demolition" shall mean the removal, razing, dismantling, or destruction of less than 50% of the principal facade or volume of a structure or building. This definition is not applicable to properties, structures or buildings which do not meet the criteria of a historic site and or fall outside of a historic district.
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix J is included as an attachment to this chapter.