[Added 4-24-1997 by L.L. No. 3-1997; amended 11-14-2002 by L.L. No. 1-2002; 11-6-2014 by L.L. No. 5-2014; 7-25-2019 by L.L. No. 7-2019]
A. 
Appointment.
(1) 
There is hereby created an Architectural Review Council (ARC) to administer this article. The ARC shall be appointed by the Town Board of the Town of East Fishkill and shall consist of five members, all of whom shall be residents of the Town of East Fishkill. Members shall serve without compensation. Of the members first appointed, three members shall be appointed for two-year terms and two members shall be appointed for one-year terms. Their successors shall be appointed for two-year terms. Vacancies shall be filled by the Town Board for unexpired terms of any members whose position on the ARC shall become vacant.
(2) 
The Town Board may appoint two alternate members to the ARC who shall serve for a two-year term. The alternates shall be members of the Board for all purposes in the absence of any regular member.
B. 
Members. The ARC members shall, insofar as possible, be chosen for qualification and training in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, construction, planning, design or other related disciplines.
C. 
Chairman. The Town Board shall, from time to time, designate one member of the ARC as Chairman.
D. 
Quorum and meetings. Three members of the ARC shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Decisions of the ARC shall be the result of a majority vote of the membership. Meetings shall be conducted under the Open Meetings Law.[1] The ARC is also authorized to make site visits.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Public Officers Law § 100 et seq.
E. 
Coordination with other Town agencies. The ARC shall coordinate its activities with the Building Inspector and Zoning Administrator, the Planning Board, Zoning Board and Town Board to promote quality and efficiency in the review process. The ARC may issue advisory reports or recommendations relating to the visual environment.
A. 
Review of proposed construction. The ARC shall review and advise as to the exterior architectural features of proposed construction, additions, alterations or remodeling of the following buildings or structures, and prior to the issuance of any building permit, and, where site plan approval is required, prior to the grant of an unconditional final approval of the site plan or the signing of any site plan to evidence compliance with all conditions of approval. In cases where site plan approval is required, the Architectural Review Council shall advise as part of the overall site plan review, in coordination with the Planning Board. Such ARC advisory opinion shall be required for the following buildings and structures:
(1) 
Any buildings and/or structures in a B-1, B-2, I-1, I-2, I-3, PBN, PCP or PRDP Zone.
(2) 
Any buildings and/or structures in the PRD and CRD Zones.
(3) 
Any buildings in a cluster subdivision which contain two or more dwelling units, including attached and semidetached units.
(4) 
Any buildings and/or structures approved as part of a special permit in any zone, except a special permit to expand a nonconforming residence under § 194-123.
B. 
Signs. The Architectural Review Council shall have such authority over signs as may be delegated to that Council in the future by the Town Board.
C. 
Advisory reports. The ARC shall render advisory reports whenever requested to do so by another board.
D. 
Effect on other reviews. The approvals required herein shall be in addition to any site plan or special permit approval presently required by law, subject to the following:
(1) 
The review process shall be coordinated to the maximum extent possible as provided in § 194-28E. To the extent possible, the ARC and the Planning Board and/or Zoning Board shall conduct their reviews concurrently, and shall coordinate their reviews to avoid delay, expense and repetitious procedures for the applicant.
(2) 
The Planning Board shall retain exclusive jurisdiction over all elements of the site plan and architectural features.
A. 
Applications for construction which also require site plan or special permit approval shall be submitted to the Zoning and Planning Office as part of the submission for the site plan or special permit. Applications for modification, reconstruction or remodeling, or other construction, not requiring site plan or special permit approval, shall be submitted to the Building Inspector. The application shall be forwarded to the ARC within seven days of the receipt of a completed application meeting the above standards.
B. 
The applicant shall provide the following to the ARC:
(1) 
Plans and elevations of the proposed building or structure(s), prepared by a registered architect and/or professional engineer, showing the architectural features of all existing and proposed construction and the details of all elements of exterior design, including exterior materials, colors and texture, roof design (including mechanical equipment which will protrude above the roof), awnings and other decorative elements. The plans shall also show the relationship of the proposed structure(s) to neighboring structures as to height, scale, size, design, rhythm, setback, materials, texture, facade treatment and sign location and treatment. Such information shall be at a scale and of a quality to enable the ARC to assess the appearance of the proposed structures and their relationship to their surroundings. Where necessary for such purposes, the ARC may require perspective renderings or models to be submitted. Notwithstanding the foregoing, where a renovation or modification does not require site plan approval, the drawings need not be prepared by a licensed professional, but must be legible and clearly portray the architectural features to be reviewed.
(2) 
A description of all exterior materials. Samples shall be submitted to the ARC upon request.
A. 
The ARC shall review the exterior architectural features of the proposed construction, additions, alterations or remodeling, and evaluate them in accordance with the adopted guidelines set forth in the Town of East Fishkill Design Handbook, dated January 1997, as such may be amended from time to time. The standards set forth herein have been found to be consistent with the guidelines set forth in Greenway Connections.[1] The Architectural Review Council, in its deliberations on any discretionary actions under this article, shall consider the statement of policies, principles and guidelines in Greenway Connections as the Architectural Review Council deems appropriate and relevant in its deliberations on such discretionary actions.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 117, Greenway Compact.
B. 
In exercising its authority, the ARC shall consider costs of materials, availability of materials, and the needs and objectives of the project sponsor. The ARC shall make every reasonable effort to find a means of achieving the applicant's goals in conformance with the purposes of this article. Where the ARC has objections to a proposal, it shall make every effort to work with the applicant in developing an economically feasible plan to address the ARC's objections.
A. 
Authority of ARC. The ARC shall only be authorized to issue advisory opinions.
B. 
Coordination with Planning Board on site plan reviews.
(1) 
The ARC shall not hold a separate public hearing for an architectural advisory opinion. However, during the Planning Board hearing, the public is entitled to comment on any issues relating to the architectural elements of the site plan, and any such comments shall be noted in the minutes and immediately transmitted by the Planning Board Secretary to the Architectural Review Council.
(2) 
The ARC shall promptly submit comments to the Planning Board concerning the visual impact issues and any other environmental issues relating to the architectural features. Where practicable, the ARC may also forward informal comments to the Planning Board on any review that the ARC has undertaken. All such comments should be submitted to the Planning Board prior to the close of the public hearing.
C. 
Time for decision. The ARC shall issue its advisory opinion within 45 days of receiving all necessary plans and materials for review. If it fails to do so, the approving authority may proceed without the ARC advisory opinion.
Effect of decision. The Building Inspector shall not issue any permit, including a building permit or a certificate of occupancy, for any construction, additions, alterations or remodeling, the architectural features of which the ARC has not issued an advisory opinion on within the required time period. The Building Inspector may approve a building permit for proposed construction, additions, alterations or remodeling conditionally approved by the Planning Board as soon as the conditions specified in such conditional approval have been fulfilled, provided that the proposed construction, additions, alterations or remodeling otherwise qualifies for a building permit. The Building Inspector may issue a building permit for proposed construction, additions, alterations or remodeling approved by the Planning Board, provided that it otherwise qualifies for a building permit.
A. 
No building permit or certificate of occupancy shall be issued until the applicant shows compliance with this article.
B. 
No construction shall take place except as approved by the approving agency pursuant to the provisions of this article.
C. 
Any person or corporation who violates this article, or who engages in construction without obtaining the required approvals as required in this article, or who engages in construction contrary to the provisions and conditions set by the approving agency, or any person who uses any building or structure constructed in violation of this article or in violation of the provisions or conditions of any approval or building permit as required by this article shall be liable, upon conviction, to a fine of up to $250 or imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or both, for each offense. Each and every week that such violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.
D. 
Nothing in this article shall be construed as depriving the Town or the Town Board of any other available remedy, either of a civil or criminal nature, as provided by law.