[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Ocean Beach 9-10-2005 by L.L. No. 2-2005. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building construction — See Ch. 64.
Zoning — See Ch. 164.
A. 
It is the purpose of this chapter to preserve and promote the character and appearance and conserve the property values of the Village of Ocean Beach, the attractiveness of whose residential and business areas is the mainstay of the community, by providing procedures for an architectural review of structures and buildings henceforth erected, reconstructed or altered that are within a covered property within the Village, and thereby:
(1) 
To encourage good qualities of exterior building design and good appearances and to relate such design and appearances to the sites and surroundings of structures.
(2) 
To permit originality and resourcefulness in building design and appearances which are appropriate to the sites and surroundings.
(3) 
To prevent such design and appearances as are unnecessarily offensive to visual sensibilities.
B. 
The Board of Trustees hereby finds that structures which are visually offensive or inappropriate by reason of poor quality of exterior design, monotonous similarity or striking visual discord in relation to their sites or surroundings mar the appearances of their areas, impair the use, enjoyment and desirability and reduce the values of properties, are detrimental to the characters of neighborhoods, prevent the most appropriate development and utilization of land and therefore adversely affect the functioning, economic stability, prosperity, health, safety and general welfare of the entire community.
C. 
For the purposes of this chapter, a "covered property" shall include all properties located within the Village's Business District C and all properties situated outside of the Village's Business District C which are used for a commercial purpose or in furtherance of a commercial use. For the purpose of this chapter only, a single-family residential rental property shall not be considered a commercial purpose or in furtherance of a commercial use.
There is hereby created an Architectural Review Board (hereinafter referred to as "the Board"), which shall be comprised of and be identical to the members of the Village of Ocean Beach's Planning Board.
A. 
Meetings of the Architectural Review Board shall be held at the call of the Chairman and at such other times as the Board shall determine. The Board may hold a public hearing when it deems the same to be in the public interest.
B. 
A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
C. 
The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings showing the vote of each member upon each question or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and shall also maintain records of its examinations and other official actions, such records to be kept in the Village Office.
D. 
The Board may from time to time adopt, amend and repeal rules and regulations, not inconsistent with law or the provisions of this chapter, governing its procedure and the transactions of its business and for the purpose of carrying into effect the standards outlined in § 4-5 hereof.
A. 
As soon as practicable and in any event within three business days after determining that an application for a building permit for the construction, reconstruction or alteration of any building or structure of a covered property complies with all provisions of the Code of the Village of Ocean Beach other than this chapter, the Building Inspector shall transmit to each member of the Architectural Review Board a copy of any such application which comes within either of the following categories:
(1) 
Construction of any new building or structure.
(2) 
An addition to or reconstruction or alteration of any existing building or structure in such manner as to change substantially the exterior character and appearance of the building or structure.
B. 
Applications must be accompanied by plans showing all elevations of new structures and all affected elevations in the case of additions or alterations. When required by the Building Inspector or by the Board of Architectural Review, a site plan shall be submitted showing both existing and proposed contours at five-foot intervals, all existing trees with a trunk diameter of four inches or more at a point three feet above the ground level and whether such trees shall remain or be removed and/or other topographical features. Plans shall include grade elevations, finish floor elevations and overall height of all structures on site.
C. 
Any person who wishes to have a review by the Architectural Review Board of any proposed construction of, addition to or reconstruction or alteration of any building or structure may submit an application to the Architectural Review Board for such review. The Architectural Review Board may thereafter process and act upon the said application in the same manner as any other referral under this chapter.
D. 
Exceptions. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any permit for construction, alteration or improvement of a building or structure performed under the direction and approval of the Board of Trustees on property or buildings owned, leased or maintained by the Village.
E. 
Exclusions. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the in-kind replacement of windows and doors of the same material, color and size; repairs; and minor alterations, as determined by the Building Inspector.
A. 
Recommendation of any building permit shall be by a vote of at least a majority of the members of the Board of Architectural Review.
B. 
In considering an application for a permit, the Board shall take into account the natural features of the site and surroundings, exterior design and appearances of existing structures and the character of the district and its peculiar suitability for particular purposes, with a view to conserving the values of property and encouraging the most appropriate use of land.
C. 
The Board may recommend approval of any application referred to it upon finding that the building or structure for which the permit was requested, if erected or altered in accordance with the submitted plan, would be in harmony with the purpose of this chapter; would not be visually offensive or inappropriate by reason of poor quality of exterior design, monotonous similarity or striking visual discord in relation to the sites or surroundings; would not mar the appearance of the area; would not impair the use, enjoyment and desirability and reduce the values of properties in the area; would not be detrimental to the character of the neighborhood; would not prevent the most appropriate development and utilization of the site or of the adjacent lands; and would not adversely affect the functioning, economic stability, prosperity, health, safety and general welfare of the entire community. Design features, including facade appearance, but not limited to heights, widths and lengths of elements of design, exterior materials and treatments, roof structures, exposed mechanical equipment, service and storage areas, retaining walls, landscaping, signs, light posts, and fences are all subject to review.
D. 
In recommending approval of any application, the Board may impose appropriate conditions and safeguards designed to prevent harmful effects.
E. 
The Board may disapprove any application for a permit, provided that the Board has afforded the applicant an opportunity to confer upon suggestions for change of plan, and provided that the Board finds and states that the structure for which the permit was requested would, if erected or altered as indicated, provoke one or more of the harmful effects described in this chapter by reason of:
(1) 
Monotonous similarity to any other structure or structures located or proposed to be located on the same street or a corner thereof and within 250 feet of the site of the structure for which a building permit is requested, in respect to one or more of the following features of exterior design and appearance:
(a) 
Substantially identical facade, disregarding color.
(b) 
Substantially identical size and arrangement of either doors, windows, porticoes, porches or garages or other openings, or breaks or extensions in the facade, including reverse arrangements.
(c) 
Other substantially identical features, such as but not limited to setbacks from street lines, heights, widths and lengths of elements of the building design, and exterior materials and treatments.
(2) 
Striking dissimilarity, visual discord or inappropriateness with respect to other structures located or proposed to be located on the same street or a corner thereof and within 250 feet of the site of the structure for which a building permit is requested, in respect to one or more of the following features of exterior design and appearance:
(a) 
Facade, disregarding color.
(b) 
Other significant design features, such as but not limited to heights, widths and lengths of elements of design, exterior materials and treatments, roof structures, exposed mechanical equipment, service and storage areas, retaining walls, landscaping, signs, light posts, and fences, service and loading areas.
(3) 
Visual offensiveness or other poor qualities of exterior design, including, with respect to signs, considerations of the harmony or discord of colors or incompatibility of the proposed structure with the terrain on which it is to be located, including but not limited to excessive divergences of the height or levels of any part of the structure from the grade of the terrain.
F. 
Appendix A, attached hereto and incorporated into this chapter, shall be guidelines for review of submissions.[1] These are only guides and will be changed from time to time as needed by the Architectural Review Board.
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is included at the end of this chapter.
G. 
The Architectural Review Board's final action will be in the form of a written recommendation to the Village of Ocean Beach's Board of Trustees indicating whether the application is recommended for approval, disapproval or approval with special conditions. Any recommendation from the Architectural Review Board does not imply or guarantee like action by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees will make a final independent assessment of the application.
A. 
The Architectural Review Board shall advise with respect to public buildings and such other matters as the Board of Trustees, the Zoning Board of Appeals or the Planning Board may refer to it, however, such advice will continue to be subject to final approval or disapproval by the Village of Ocean Beach's Board of Trustees.
B. 
The members of the Architectural Review Board shall be notified by the Village Clerk of all scheduled hearings and meetings of the Planning Board with respect to preliminary and/for final site plan applications and shall have the right to attend and be heard on such applications,
The Building Inspector shall refuse any building permit application disapproved as provided in § 4-5 hereof. If the Architectural Review Board shall fail to approve or disapprove any application referred to it under § 4-4 hereof within 60 days of the date of referral of such application to it, approval of such application shall be deemed to have been recommended unless the applicant shall have agreed in writing to an extension of time.
A. 
All final actions by way of recommendations from the Architectural Review Board shall be forwarded to the Village of Ocean Beach Board of Trustees for final review and action. The Board of Trustees shall consider such application and recommendation at a meeting at which the applicant is entitled to notice and to appear and be heard. The Board of Trustees shall make its final determination within 75 days after the matter has been reviewed at a meeting.
B. 
Any determination made by the Board of Trustees pursuant to this section may be reviewed by a proceeding instituted in the manner provided by Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules, commenced within 30 days after the date of the determination by the Board of Trustees.
This chapter shall take effect immediately upon filing pursuant to the Municipal Home Rule Law and shall be applicable to all applications for building permits for any covered property in the Village which are pending on the effective date hereof or which are filed after the effective date hereof.