[Amended 10-10-2006 by L.L. No. 10-2006; 12-1-2008 by L.L. No. 9-2008]
A.
Purpose. It is hereby declared as a matter of public
policy and the intent of the Town of Clifton Park to essentially
follow the terms of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966
which established a national historic preservation policy and authorized
the National Park Service to oversee the Act. Additionally, it is
the intent of the Town of Clifton Park to essentially follow the mandates
of the New York State Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Preservation
Officer. In this capacity the protection, enhancement and perpetuation
of landmarks and historic buildings is necessary to promote cultural
and educational opportunities for the public. In as much as the identity
of a people is founded on its past and recognizing that Clifton Park
has many significant historic, architectural and cultural resources
which constitute its heritage, this article is intended to:
(1)
Protect and enhance the buildings, structures, objects,
sites and districts which represent distinctive elements of Clifton
Park's historic, architectural and cultural heritage;
(2)
Foster civic pride in the accomplishments of the past;
(3)
Protect and enhance Clifton Park's attractiveness
to its residents and visitors and the support and stimulus to the
economy thereby provided;
(4)
Ensure the harmonious, orderly, and efficient growth
by integrating future development of Clifton Park with our historic
past; and
B.
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
CERTIFICATE OF COMPATIBILITY
COMMISSION
FACADE
HISTORIC DISTRICT
HISTORIC PRESERVATION
HISTORIC PROPERTY
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
LANDMARK
MATERIAL EXTERNAL ALTERATIONS
NATIONAL REGISTER
PLANNING BOARD
STATE REGISTER
TOWN BOARD
TOWN REGISTER
Definitions. When used in this article, unless a different
meaning clearly appears from the context, the terms listed below shall
have the following meanings:
A written authorization from the Planning Board that permits
alterations, restoration, reconstruction or other construction with
respect to a building, structure, site or object that has been designated
a landmark.
A written authorization from the Planning Board indicating
any new proposed construction within an Historic District meets the
general design, character, continuity and scale of other buildings
in the Historic District.
The Clifton Park Historic Preservation Commission.
That area of a building, place or site that is clearly visible
from any adjacent public street or highway, generally constituting
the outer shell of the structure that can be observed by the passing
public.
A district that possesses a significant concentration, linkage,
or continuity of sites, buildings, structures, or objects united historically
or aesthetically by plan or physical development.
The identification, study, documentation, protection, acquisition,
restoration, rehabilitation, management, maintenance and use of buildings,
structures, objects, sites and historic districts, significant in
the history, architecture, or culture of the Town of Clifton Park,
the State of New York or the United States.
Any building, structure, object, site or district that is
of significance in the history, architecture, archeology, or culture
of the Town of Clifton Park, the State of New York, or the United
States. Listed below, but not limited to these categories, are examples
of historic properties.
Examples of buildings include:
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Administration building
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Carriage house
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Church
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City or town hall
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Courthouse
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Detached kitchen, barn, or privy
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Dormitory
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Fort
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Garage
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Hotel
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House
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Library
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Mill building
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Office building
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Post office
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School
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Shed
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Social hall
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Stable
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Store
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Theater
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Train station
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Examples of structures include:
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Aircraft
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Apiary
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Automobile
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Bandstand
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Boats and ships
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Bridge
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Cairn
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Canal
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Carousel
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Corncrib
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Dam
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Earthwork
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Fence
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Gazebo
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Grain elevator
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Highway
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Irrigation system
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Kiln
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Lighthouse
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Railroad grade
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Silo
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Trolley car
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Tunnel
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Windmill
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Examples of objects include:
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Boundary marker
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Fountain
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Milepost
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Monument
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Sculpture
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Statuary
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Examples of sites include:
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Battlefield
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Campsite
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Cemeteries significant for information potential
or historic association
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Ceremonial site
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Designed landscape
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Habitation site
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Natural feature (such as a rock formation) having
cultural significance
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Petroglyph
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Rock carving
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Rock shelter
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Ruins of a building structure
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Shipwreck
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Trail
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Village site
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Examples of districts include:
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Business districts
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Canal system
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College campuses
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Estates and farms with large acreage/numerous
properties
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Groups of habitation sites
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Industrial complexes
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Irrigation system
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Residential areas
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Rural historic districts
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Rural villages
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A historic building or structure that has been placed on
the Town, State or National Register of Historic Places, the owner
has requested and received a historic preservation conservation easement,
and the building or structure has been designated a landmark by the
Town Board. This classification is unique to the Town of Clifton Park.
External changes to a home, including landscaping, fencing,
or other alterations. Painting and other regular and ordinary items
of maintenance are not "material external alterations" to a property.
The National Register of Historic Places authorized by the
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.
The Town of Clifton Park Planning Board.
The State Register of Historic Places established pursuant
to § 14.07 of the New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic
Preservation Law.
The Town Board of Clifton Park.
The Clifton Park Town Register of Historic Places established
pursuant to Town Board Resolution 16 of 1999, a local honorary listing
of buildings, structures, objects, sites and historic districts deemed
by the Commission to be of significant historic value. Property owners
on the Historic Register have no restrictions on what they may do
with their property.
C.
Historic Preservation Commission. There is hereby
created a Commission to be known as the "Clifton Park Historic Preservation
Commission."
(1)
The Commission shall consist of 15 members to be appointed,
to the extent available in the community, by the Town Board as follows:
There shall be at least one each of the following: architect, historian,
licensed real estate broker, attorney and resident of an historic
district and 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. So as not to weigh the Historic Preservation
Commission decision making process unfairly:
(2)
Commission members shall serve at the discretion of
the Town Board.
(3)
The Chairman of the Commission shall be appointed
by the Town Board for a one-year term.
(4)
The purpose of the Commission shall include:
(a)
Making recommendations to the Town Board for
its consideration and approval so that it may employ staff and professional
consultants as necessary to aid the Commission in carrying out its
duties.
(b)
Promulgation of rules and regulations as necessary
for the conduct of its business. Any such rules or regulations are
subject to the approval of the Town Board.
(c)
Conduct surveys of significant historic buildings,
structures, objects and districts within the Town.
(d)
Recommending to the Town Board certain criteria
for selection of historic buildings, structures, objects, sites and
historic districts in the Town of Clifton Park to be placed on the
Town Register of Historic Places.
(e)
Recommending to the Town Board suggested buildings,
structures, objects and sites which should be listed on the Town Register
of Historic Places.
(f)
Recommendations to the Town government concerning
the acquisition of facade easements or other interests in real property
as necessary to carry out the purposes of this article.
(g)
Recommendations to the Town Board as to those
areas of the Town which should be designated as Town historic districts.
(h)
Increasing public awareness of the value of
preserving historic buildings, structures, objects and sites by developing
and participating in public education programs, conducting preservation
workshops, and providing technical assistance and guidance to owners
of historic properties.
(i)
Making recommendations to Town government concerning
the utilization of state, federal or private funds to promote the
preservation of historic buildings, structures, objects and sites
within the Town of Clifton Park.
(j)
Recommending the acquisition of historic buildings,
structures, objects and sites by the Town government where their preservation
is essential to the purposes of this article and where private preservation
is not feasible.
(k)
Serving in an advisory capacity to the Town
Board, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and Building Department
on all matters that affect or impact on designated Register properties
or historic districts.
(l)
In its capacity to advise the Town Board and
the Planning Board, the Commission will review and offer comments
and assist to bring about a successful integration of proposed new
projects, developments or building additions for registered properties
or for properties within a Historic District.
(5)
The Commission shall meet at least monthly, 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 of the Commission or the Chairman
of the Planning Board.
(6)
A quorum for the transaction of business shall consist
of one or more than 1/2 of the Commission's members.
D.
Designation of Historic Districts, buildings, structures,
objects and sites on the Town Register of Historic Places.
(1)
Pursuant to Town Board Resolution No. 16 of 1999,
the Commission may recommend, for designation by the Town Board, a
building, structure, object, historic district or site for the Town
Register of Historic Places if it:
(a)
Is associated with events that have made a significant
contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or
(b)
Is identified with historic personages or the
lives of persons significant in our past; or
(c)
Embodies distinctive characteristics of a type,
period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a
master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a
significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual
distinction; or
(d)
Has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information
in prehistory or history.
(2)
Each building, structure, or object added to the Town
Register of Historic Places will receive a plaque acknowledging placement
on the Register.
(3)
The Clifton Park Town Register of Historic Places
is strictly a local honorary listing. Properties placed on the Register
are given only Town-wide historic recognition. Owners of properties
on the Historic Register have no restrictions on the use or maintenance
of their property as a result of this designation.
(4)
Each site or Historic District added to the Town Register
of Historic Places will receive an historic road marker acknowledging
its history and placement on the register.
E.
Landmarks.
(1)
Once a site or structure has been listed on the Town Register of Historic Places, the site or structure becomes eligible for tax relief under the Historic Preservation Easement Law (Local Law No. 12 of 1996, Conservation Easement Law, Chapter 125, as amended by Local Law No. 1 of 2004). If the owner elects to submit an application, and the Commission establishes that the building, structure, or site continues to meet the required criteria it may be approved by the Town Board and thus be eligible for a historic conservation easement.
(2)
The Town Board shall hold a public hearing prior to
granting a historic preservation easement (Local Law 12 of 1996).
Within 30 days after the conclusion of the public hearing, the Town
Board shall grant the application for a preservation easement, and
thereby designate the property as a landmark, or shall deny such designation.
(3)
Upon designation by the Town Board, the Town Clerk
shall record and forward notice of each property designated as a landmark
to the Town of Clifton Park Assessor and the Director of Building
and Development.
[Amended 12-12-2022 by L.L. No. 3-2022]
(4)
Upon accepting a historic preservation easement and
the property thereby receiving landmark status, the property owner
agrees to preserve the historic building or structure as follows.
(a)
Certificate of appropriateness. Any alterations,
modifications or additions to a landmark building or structure shall
be aesthetically and architecturally compatible with the existing
building. No person shall carry out any exterior alteration, restoration,
reconstruction, demolition or new construction or move a landmark,
nor shall any person make any material changes in the appearance of
such a property, its light fixtures, signs, sidewalks, fences, steps,
paving or other exterior elements which affect the appearance of the
landmark, without first obtaining a review by the Historic Preservaton
Commission and a certificate of appropriateness, unless, in the opinion
of the Director of Building and Development, such activity is necessary
to prevent the property or structure from posing a danger to the public
at large. In making a recommendation to the Planning Board on 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, or to architectural features that are not visible from
a public street or alley.
[Amended 12-12-2022 by L.L. No. 3-2022]
[1]
Any material external alterations of existing
property shall be compatible with the property's historic character,
as well as with the surrounding district.
(b)
Certificate of appropriateness application procedure.
[1]
Prior to the commencement of any work requiring
a certificate of appropriateness, the owner shall file an application
for such a certificate with the Planning Board. The application shall
contain:
[a]
Name, address and telephone number
of applicant.
[b]
Location and photographs of property.
[c]
Elevation drawings of proposed
changes, if available.
[d]
Samples of color or materials to
be used.
[e]
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.
[2]
No building permit shall be issued for such
proposed work until a certificate of appropriateness has first been
approved by the Planning Board. The certificate of appropriateness
required by this article shall be in addition to and not in lieu of
any building permit that may be required by this chapter or any other
local law of the Town of Clifton Park.
[3]
The Planning Board shall approve, approve with
modifications or disapprove the application within 45 days from receipt
of the completed application and recommendation from the Historic
Preservation Commission.
[4]
All decisions of the Planning Board shall be
in writing. A copy shall be sent to the applicant by registered mail
and a copy filed with the Town Clerk. The Board shall state in writing
the reason for its action. A copy of the Board's decision shall also
be forwarded to the Director of Building and Development and to the
Chairperson of the Zoning Board of Appeals.
[Amended 12-12-2022 by L.L. No. 3-2022]
F.
Demolition of any building or structure more than
49 years old.
(1)
Prior to issuing any demolition permit on a building
or structure more than 49 years old, the Town Department of Building
and Development, hereafter referred to as "the Department," shall
notify the Historic Preservation Commission, by providing 30 days'
written notice, identifying the building or structure for which such
permit is sought by address and name of owner or owners, unless, in
the opinion of the Building Department, the structure poses an imminent
danger to health and safety.
[Amended 12-12-2022 by L.L. No. 3-2022]
(2)
The Commission shall evaluate and document the building
or structure for historic or architectural significance appropriately,
as may be necessary, during the thirty-day notice period prior to
issuance of any such demolition permit. The Commission may request
an additional 14 days to evaluate and document such significant structures
in cases where extensive research is required, which may be granted
in the sole discretion of the Building Department.
(3)
In the event that the Building Department has received
no comment from the Historic Preservation Commission within 30 days
after such notification, the Building Department shall issue the requested
permit for demolition if the same is deemed otherwise appropriate.
