[Added 11-1-2004]
A.
A Design Review Advisory Committee is established
to advise and help the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Town
Council promote and encourage public and private actions to:
(1)
Encourage the highest quality standard of design and
development;
(2)
Protect the value of all real property within the
community;
(3)
Promote aesthetically pleasing development;
(4)
Promote the development of a harmonious character
in newly developing or redeveloped areas;
(5)
Preserve the special character of existing neighborhoods;
and
(6)
Thus to promote and protect the public health, safety,
convenience and welfare of the community.
B.
The advice of the Design Review Advisory Committee
is intended to encourage higher quality building and site design and
result in development that is compatible with the character of the
community.
A.
The Design Review Advisory Committee shall be appointed
by the Town Council upon an advisory recommendation from the Planning
and Zoning Commission.
B.
The Design Review Advisory Committee shall consist
of five members, plus one alternate.
C.
To the extent available, at least one regular member
shall be an architect and at least two regular members shall be specifically
qualified by reason of education, training or experience in landscape
architecture, historic preservation, community planning, civil engineering,
building trades, graphic arts, the Americans with Disability Act,
State Building Codes or other related fields.
D.
Members must be residents of the Town of Wethersfield.
E.
Of the five members and one alternate initially appointed,
two regular members and one alternate shall be appointed for an initial
two-year term to expire January 1, 2007, and three regular members
shall be appointed for an initial three-year term to expire January
1, 2008. All subsequent appointments of members and alternates shall
be for terms of three years.
F.
The Design Review Advisory Committee shall adopt its
own rules and procedures, the method of selection of its officers
and the establishment of meeting schedules.
G.
A quorum shall consist of three members.
Any member of the Design Review Advisory Committee
may be removed by the Town Council for cause and, on request of such
member, after public hearing.
The members of the Design Review Advisory Committee
shall receive no compensation for their services as such but shall
be reimbursed for their necessary expenses incurred in the performance
of their official duties, subject to budgetary limitations.
The Design Review Advisory Committee may appoint
employees necessary for the discharge of its duties, subject to budgetary
limitations and relevant Charter provisions.
A.
The Design Review Advisory Committee shall meet at
regularly scheduled meetings to consider applications referred to
it.
B.
Applicants are encouraged to submit preliminary or
conceptual plans to the Design Review Advisory Committee for review
and comment prior to a formal submission to the Planning and Zoning
Commission. In such instance, the Design Review Advisory Committee
shall submit a report, together with its recommendations and suggestions,
to the applicant no later than 20 days after receipt thereof.
C.
The Design Review Advisory Committee shall submit
its advisory recommendations to the Planning and Zoning Commission
in writing at least five days prior to a meeting by the Planning and
Zoning Commission on any application.
D.
The written report shall, to the extent feasible,
include specific recommendations regarding plan modifications which
the Committee finds desirable based on the standards and criteria
outlined in the Zoning Regulations and the Design Guidelines found
in Appendix C to the Wethersfield Zoning Regulations.[1]
E.
The Planning and Zoning Commission shall not be required
to delay its action on an application due to the failure of the Design
Review Advisory Committee to act in a timely manner.
The Design Review Advisory Committee shall coordinate
its activities with the Planning and Zoning Commission and with other
interested officials and agencies of the Town. The Design Review Advisory
Committee may invite any person not a member of the Committee to attend
and participate in its meetings and deliberations. Such invited person
or persons shall have no vote on the actions of the Design Review
Advisory Committee.
The Design Review Advisory Committee may advertise
and may prepare, print and distribute books, maps, charts and pamphlets
which, in its judgment, will further its official purposes, subject
to budgetary limitations. These materials shall be referred to the
Planning and Zoning Commission and Town Council prior to distribution.
In the performance of its duties and in the
exercise of its powers aforesaid, the Design Review Advisory Committee
shall not incur any expenses or obligate the Town to pay any expense
in excess of the funds appropriated by the Town Council for such purpose.