A. 
Upon receipt of a completed application for a certificate of appropriateness, the Building Inspector shall give the applicant the following:
(1) 
Written notice of the time and date of the next regularly scheduled meeting of HARB at which said application will be considered.
(2) 
A placard to be placed in a prominent location, visible from a public way, on the property where the alteration is proposed.
B. 
All applications for a certificate of appropriateness and the disposition of same shall be maintained by the certified staff person at the Borough office.
A. 
To allow adequate time for review, applications for a certificate of appropriateness must be received eight business days prior to the regularly scheduled meeting of HARB at which the application will be considered. The meeting schedule and application deadline schedule shall be established and published annually.
B. 
Certified staff shall retrieve all applications from the file after the filing deadline. As part of the preparation of the written review of each application, certified staff may conduct a site visit, talk to the applicant and/or contractor as necessary. The written review shall contain the following:
(1) 
Name and address of the applicant;
(2) 
Address of the proposed alteration;
(3) 
Name and address of the contractor, if applicable;
(4) 
Physical description of the building to which the alteration is proposed;
(5) 
List of proposed activities;
(6) 
Determination of appropriateness: appropriate, appropriate with comments/conditions, inappropriate.
(a) 
The determination shall be based upon the "standards" as well as any design guidelines contained herein or subsequently adopted by Council based upon HARB recommendations.
(b) 
A determination of "inappropriate" shall be accompanied by suggestions that would change the determination to "appropriate" or "appropriate with comments/conditions."
C. 
Certified staff shall forward the written report, applications, and all relevant attachments, together with a meeting agenda, to HARB members three business days before the HARB meeting at which said applications will be considered. Applicants shall be sent a copy of the meeting agenda and a copy of the written report.
A. 
The applicant or the applicant's representative shall be at the HARB meeting at which the applicant's application will be reviewed to answer any questions HARB members may have regarding the application.
B. 
The HARB shall render a decision at the meeting at which the application is reviewed with the following exceptions:
(1) 
The applicant may withdraw the application;
(2) 
The applicant seeks conceptual review only;
(3) 
The applicant and the HARB mutually agree to table the application until the next meeting;
(4) 
The HARB requires additional time, due to the nature or complexity of the proposed activity, to review the materials provided with the application, gather additional information, seek expert testimony, or deliberate its findings.
(a) 
HARB shall make a determination for a recommendation to Borough Council no later than 30 business days from the meeting at which the application was first reviewed.
(b) 
The HARB will specify the information to be compiled and/or any conditions that must be met by the applicant during the intervening period. The applicant understands that failure to gather the information or meet the conditions as specified may result in a recommendation to deny the certificate of appropriateness.
C. 
The HARB decision shall be based upon the standards and the design guidelines contained herein or as are subsequently adopted by resolution of the Borough Council upon recommendation from the HARB. At the conclusion of the HARB's deliberation and vote to approve proposals for new construction or alteration, the property owner will be required to add his, her or its signature to Line 11 of the application for HARB review, indicating the property owner's acceptance of the HARB's recommendation and any associated conditions. In the instance of HARB approval and/or in the instance of a preapproved activity or preapproved replacement of windows in accordance with the terms of this chapter, the Borough Code Officer will notify Borough Council President in writing of the recommendation or necessity to issue a certificate of appropriateness, and the Council President be and thereby is hereby authorized on behalf of the Borough Council to promptly, upon receipt thereof, issue such certificates of appropriateness. Proposals for demolition are exempt from this provision, and must follow the procedures cited in § 130-18 addressing demolition of buildings. The Code Officer and/or Building Inspector shall thereupon be authorized to issue a building permit to the applicant, who shall obtain the permit from the Borough's Code Enforcement Department during regular business hours. No additional action or vote by the Borough Council shall be necessary as the Council hereby specifically authorizes the Council President to act on behalf of the Council in approving the HARB's recommendations and issuing certificates of appropriateness based upon such recommendations and/or based upon the submission of an application for a preapproved activity or an approved replacement window alteration.
[Amended 12-11-2006 by Ord. No. 771; 9-10-2018 by Ord. No. 902]
D. 
If the HARB determination is disapproval, or the property owner has not accepted the HARB's recommendation of approval, the applicant shall be notified in writing of the determination and be given suggestions that would result in approval. HARB shall withhold its recommendation of disapproval from the Borough Council for a period of five days, during which time the applicant may decide whether or not to make changes that would result in approval. If the applicant notifies the HARB prior to the expiration of the five-day period that the changes will be made, HARB will change its determination and so notify the Borough Council. In conjunction with any such changes, the property owner shall be required to add his, her, or its signature to Line 11 of the application for HARB review as set forth in Subsection C above. Thereafter, no additional action or vote by the Borough Council shall be required and the Code Officer and/or Building Inspector is authorized to issue a certificate of appropriateness to the applicant. If the applicant does not notify the HARB as set forth above, then the provisions of Subsection E below shall apply.
[Amended 12-11-2006 by Ord. No. 771]
E. 
HARB shall inform all applicants of the date and time of the next regularly scheduled meeting of Borough Council at which Council will act on the HARB's recommendations for certificates of appropriateness.
The written report to Borough Council concerning HARB's recommendations on the issuance of certificates of appropriateness shall include the following:
A. 
Minutes of the HARB meeting at which the applications were reviewed;
B. 
A copy of the review prepared by the certified staff;
C. 
A certificate of appropriateness for each application containing the following information:
(1) 
Applicant's name.
(2) 
Address of applicant.
(3) 
Address of property where activity is proposed.
(4) 
List of proposed activities.
(5) 
Determination of appropriateness and the standard and guideline cited for each proposed activity.
(6) 
The HARB's recommendation, indicating the vote, for each proposed activity.
(7) 
Comments/conditions associated with each proposed activity.
A. 
Upon receiving the written report from the HARB concerning recommendations on applications for certificates of appropriateness, Borough Council shall consider, at its next regularly scheduled meeting, the issuance of certificates of appropriateness.
B. 
The applicant shall have the right to attend the meeting and be heard regarding his application.
C. 
In its decision-making process Borough Council shall consider the recommendations made by HARB, the "standards" and the guidelines contained herein.
(1) 
Borough Council shall render a decision at the meeting at which the HARB's recommendation for a certificate of appropriateness is reviewed with the following exceptions:
(a) 
The applicant may withdraw the application;
(b) 
Borough Council requires additional time, due to the nature or complexity of the proposed activity, to review and/or deliberate the findings of the HARB, to seek expert testimony and/or gather additional information.
[1] 
Borough Council shall make a determination no later than 45 business days from the meeting at which the HARB recommendation for a certificate of appropriateness was first reviewed.
D. 
Borough Council shall determine the activities proposed on an application are:
(1) 
Appropriate and authorize the issuance of a certificate of appropriateness to the applicant, copied to the Building Inspector who shall issue the building permit (assuming all other requirements of the Borough have been met). Borough Council shall direct the Borough Manager to notify the applicant in writing, within five days, of the determination and inform the applicant to pick up the building permit as noted above.
(2) 
Appropriate with conditions and authorize the issuance of a certificate of appropriateness to the applicant, copied to the Building Inspector, who shall issue a building permit with the conditions specified and assuming all other requirements of the Borough have been met. Borough Council shall direct the Borough Manager to notify the applicant in writing, within five days, of the determination and inform the applicant to pick up the building permit as noted above.
(3) 
Inappropriate and deny issuance of a certificate of appropriateness. In this instance, the applicant, the Building Inspector and PHMC shall receive written notice from the Borough Manager within five days indicating that the certificate of appropriateness has been denied, the reasons it was denied, the "standards" and guidelines cited, and changes the applicant could make which would result in a determination of appropriate or appropriate with conditions. The applicant may appeal the determination to the County Court of Common Pleas within the time specified by law.