[Amended 12-6-2017 by L.L. No. 11-2017]
The Historic Site Committee shall be comprised of a total of
seven members. All members shall be appointed by the Town Board for
four-year terms. Additionally, the Town Historian shall serve in a
consulting and advisory role to the Committee.
A property shall be considered for designation
if at least two of the following factors are provided:
A. The presence of special historical interest relating
to local, state or national history.
B. The presence of special character or aesthetic interest
or value caused by the development pattern of the area or by natural,
landscaping or topographical features of the area.
C. The presence of one or more periods or styles of architecture
typical of one or more eras in the history of the Town which gives
the area a distinct character.
D. The concentration of indigenous examples of local
architecture which have not been significantly altered from their
original design and which have a uniform scale and derive special
value from the repetition of scale and form.
E. The presence of one or more distinguished buildings
of high architectural quality and historic interest.
[Amended 6-10-2020 by L.L. No. 2-2020]
A. Prior to issuance of a building permit or prior to construction if
no building permit is required, all modification, alteration or new
construction within an historic site is subject to review by the Historic
Site Committee and approval by the Town Board as set forth herein.
(1) Modification, alteration or new construction shall be construed to
include changes that affect the visual quality of the site, particularly
from a public street. Normal maintenance and exterior painting are
excluded from these provisions, but only so long as such normal exterior
maintenance conforms to the original standards of the period as determined
by the Code Enforcement Officer upon the advice of the Historic Site
Committee.
(2) Interior changes are left to the discretion of the property owner
and are excluded from these provisions.
B. Review under this section shall include, but is not necessarily restricted
to, all items relating to the exterior facade of the structure, substantial
changes in landscaping or street features, such as fencing and walls,
and the addition of any structure or sign that changes the view of
the existing building, particularly from a public street.
C. Within 30 days of the receipt of application for plan review, the
Historic Site Committee shall forward a recommendation to the Town
Board.
D. The Town Board shall render a determination within 45 days of receipt
of the recommendation from the Historic Site Committee. In rendering
such determination, the Town Board may also determine to permit a
variance from any area or bulk requirements that may be required by
the Zoning Code, but only to the extent needed to proceed with the
subject proposed alteration, modification or construction. The Town
Board may grant such variance only where it determines that it would
align with the intent of this chapter.
Prior to the issuance of a demolition permit
for any structure within a designated historic site, the following
procedures shall be followed:
A. The application for such permit to the Department of Building and
Fire Prevention shall be referred to the Historic Site Committee for
review. The Committee shall forward a recommendation to the Town Board
within 30 days.
[Amended 2-15-2006 by L.L. No. 1-2006; 6-26-2019 by L.L. No. 5-2019]
B. Within 60 days of such application, the Town Board shall hold a public hearing in accordance with the procedures for such hearing as set forth in Article
XII of this chapter.
C. The Town Board shall consider such application for
a demolition permit based upon the following factors:
(1) The historical, architectural, educational and general
value of the structure.
(2) The importance of the structure to the historic site
as a whole and other nearby buildings of historic note.
(3) The potential for developing alternatives that will
permit the saving of the structure.
(4) The economic value and importance of both preservation
and demolition.
D. Approval or disapproval. A project that has received
Town Board approval will be issued a demolition permit.
[Amended 2-18-2015 by L.L. No. 1-2015]