Village of East Hampton, NY Chapter 176 Historic Areas, Preservation of

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of East Hampton 8-15-1986 by L.L. No. 22-1986 (Ch. 31 of the 1971 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 176-1 Purpose.

It is hereby declared as a matter of public policy that the protection, enhancement and perpetuation of landmarks and historic districts is necessary to promote the economic, cultural, educational and general welfare of the public. Since the identity of a people is founded on its past and since the Incorporated Village of East Hampton, hereafter referred to as the "Village," has many significant historic, architectural and cultural resources which constitute its heritage, this chapter is intended to:

A. Protect and enhance the landmarks and historic districts which represent distinctive elements of the Village's historic, architectural and cultural heritage.

B. Foster civic pride in the accomplishments of the past.

C. Protect and enhance the Village's attractiveness to visitors.

D. Ensure the harmonious, orderly and efficient growth and development of the Village.

§ 176-2 Design Review Board.

A. Except as provided in §§ 176-3 and 176-7, the Design Review Board shall administer this chapter.

B. The powers of the Design Review Board shall include:

(1) Employment of staff and professional consultants as necessary to carry out its duties under this chapter.

(2) Adoption of criteria for the identification and protection of significant historic, architectural and cultural landmarks.

(3) The making of recommendations to the Village Board of Trustees concerning the acquisition of facade easements or other interests in real property as necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

(4) Increasing public awareness of the value of historic, cultural and architectural preservation by developing and participating in public education programs.

(5) Making recommendations to the Village Board of Trustees concerning the utilization of state, federal or private funds to promote the preservation of landmarks and historic districts within the Village.

(6) Recommending acquisition of a landmark structure by the Village Board of Trustees where its preservation is essential to the purposes of this chapter and where private preservation is not feasible.

(7) The approval or disapproval of applications for certificates of appropriateness pursuant to this chapter.

(8) The making of recommendations to the Board of Trustees of changes in Chapter 278, Zoning, of the Code of the Village of East Hampton to support landmark and historic district preservation.

(9) The conduct of surveys of significant historic landmarks and historic districts and recommendation thereafter to the Village Board of Trustees for designation as an historic landmark or historic district or removal therefrom.

(10) Adoption of guidelines for applying the criteria for approval of a certificate of appropriateness provided in § 176-4 and for implementing procedures for certificate of appropriateness application and review provided in § 176-5.

[Added 2-1-1996 by L.L. No. 2-1996]

§ 176-3 Designation of historic landmarks or districts.

The Village Board of Trustees shall designate historic landmarks and historic districts based on the following criteria after a public hearing:

A. The Village Board of Trustees may designate an individual property as a landmark if it:

(1) Possesses special character or historic or aesthetic interest or value as part of the cultural, political, economic or social history of the locality, region, state or nation;

(2) Is identified with historic personages;

(3) Embodies the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style;

(4) Is the work of an architect, designer or builder of local or regional importance; or

(5) Because of a unique location or singular physical characteristic, represents an established and familiar visual feature of the neighborhood.

B. Historic districts.

(1) The Village Board of Trustees may designate a group of properties as an historic district if it:

(a) Contains properties which meet one or more of the criteria for designation of a landmark.

(b) By reason of possessing such qualities, constitutes a distinct geographic section or area of the Village.

(2) The properties in each historic district shall be shown on Historic District Maps[1] and shall be described by Suffolk County Real Property Tax Map numbers, both of which shall be filed in the Village Clerk's office.

[1] Editor's Note: Copies of the Historic District and Landmarks Maps are included at the end of this chapter.

C. Notice of a proposed designation of property as either an historic landmark or of its inclusion in an historic district shall be sent by mail to the owners of such property. The notice shall describe the property so proposed and shall announce a public hearing by the Village Board of Trustees to consider the designation. The Village Board of Trustees shall hold such a public hearing within 45 days of the adoption of a resolution of proposed designation.

§ 176-4 Certificate of appropriateness.

[Amended 2-1-1996 by L.L. No. 3-1996; 1-18-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013; 10-21-2016 by L.L. No. 12-2016]

No person, including any officer, department, authority or board of the Village of East Hampton, shall carry out any exterior alteration, restoration, removal of a member of a pre-1880 timber frame, reconstruction, demolition, new construction, or moving of either a designated landmark or of property within designated historic districts, nor shall any person, including any officer, department, authority or board of the Village of East Hampton, make any change, except normal maintenance as provided in § 176-9, in the appearance of any of the exterior elements of such a property without first obtaining a certificate of appropriateness from the Design Review Board.

A. Consideration of applications; compatibility.

(1) The Design Review Board's consideration of applications for certificates of appropriateness shall be based upon the following criteria:

(a) Properties designated as landmarks or properties located within a designated historic district which contribute to the character of that historic district shall be retained, with their historic features, including the timber frames of pre-1880 buildings, altered as little as possible.

(b) Alterations of properties designated as landmarks or located within a designated historic district shall be compatible with the historic character of the property as well as the designated historic district.

(c) All new construction within a designated historic district shall be compatible with the existing improvement within said district.

(d) In reviewing an application for an accessory dwelling unit to be located on a property designated as a timber-frame landmark, the Design Review Board shall consider:

[1] The extent to which the proposal achieves the goal of maintaining or enhancing the integrity of the landmark building and its setting, particularly its setting when viewed from the street.

[2] The extent to which the proposal keeps the landmark building intact with no additions; or, when this option is not possible, keeps additions subordinate in size and scale to the landmark building. Wherever possible, the Board shall encourage applicants to maintain the integrity of the landmark building by avoiding additions, if a detached building is possible. However, when a landmark building is of a size or has significant additions that make it impractical for use as an accessory dwelling, further expansion of the landmark building and construction of a new accessory dwelling is consistent with these criteria.

(2) In applying the principle of compatibility, the Design Review Board shall consider the following criteria:

(a) The general design, character and appropriateness to the property of the proposed alteration or new construction.

(b) The scale of proposed alteration or new construction in relation to the property itself and the historic district in which the property is located.

(c) Texture, materials and color and their relation to similar features of other properties in the historic district.

(d) Visual compatibility with other properties in the historic district and neighboring properties, including proportions of the property's front facade, proportion and arrangement of windows and other openings within the facade, slope of the roof and the rhythm of spacing of properties on streets, including setbacks.

(e) The importance of historic, architectural or other features to the significance of the property.

§ 176-5 Application procedure for certificate of appropriateness.

A. Prior to the commencement of any work requiring a certificate of appropriateness, the owner shall file an application for such a certificate with the Design Review Board. The application shall contain:

(1) The name, address and telephone number of the applicant.

(2) A survey of the property.

(3) Elevation drawings of proposed changes.

(4) Perspective drawings, including relationship to adjacent properties.

(5) Samples of color or materials to be used.

(6) Where the proposal includes signs or lettering, a scale drawing showing the type of lettering to be used, all dimensions and colors, a description of materials to be used, the method of illumination and a plan showing the sign's location on the property.

(7) Any other information which the Design Review Board may deem necessary in order to visualize the proposed work and consider the application.

B. No building permit shall be issued for such proposed work until a certificate of appropriateness has first been issued by the Design Review Board. The certificate of appropriateness required by this chapter shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any building permit that may be required by any other ordinance or local law of the Village of East Hampton.

C. The Design Review Board shall approve, deny or approve the permit with modifications within 60 days of receipt of a completed application. The Design Review Board may, in its sole discretion, hold a public hearing on any application.

D. All decisions of the Design Review Board shall be in writing. A copy shall be sent to the applicant and a copy filed with the Village Clerk's Office. The Design Review Board's decision shall state the reasons for denying or modifying any application.

E. Expedited review.

[Added 2-1-1996 by L.L. No. 4-1996]

(1) Whenever the Chairman or, in the Chairman's absence, the Vice Chairman of the Board finds that a proposal meets the criteria of § 176-4 and also the conditions set forth below, he is hereby authorized to grant a certificate of appropriateness.

(a) The proposed work is specifically listed as eligible for expedited review by the Design Review Board or is an improvement that relates solely to improving access for persons with disabilities; and

[Amended 6-15-2012 by L.L. No. 11-2012]

(b) The proposed work will have no effect on an historic feature of a contributing property; or

(c) The proposed work will have no effect on the setting of a contributing property; or

(d) The proposed work conforms to all relevant design guidelines adopted by the Design Review Board.

(2) All certificates of appropriateness granted by expedited review will be reported at the following regular meeting of the Design Review Board.

§ 176-6 Hardship exemption.

A property owner may apply to the Village Board of Trustees for relief from landmark designation or inclusion in an historic district on the grounds that the designation or inclusion imposes a hardship upon him. To support such an application, the applicant shall establish that:

A. The property is incapable of earning a reasonable return, regardless of whether that return represents the most profitable return possible.

B. The property cannot be adapted for any other use, whether by the current owner or by a purchaser, which would result in a reasonable return.

C. Bona fide efforts to find a purchaser interested in acquiring the property and preserving it have failed.

§ 176-7 Hardship application procedure.

A. After receiving written notification from the Design Review Board of the denial of a certificate of appropriateness, an applicant may commence the hardship process. No building permit or demolition permit shall be issued unless the Village Board of Trustees makes a finding that a hardship exists.

B. The Village Board of Trustees shall hold a public hearing on the hardship application at which an opportunity will be provided for proponents and opponents of the application to present their views.

C. All decisions of the Village Board of Trustees shall be in writing and shall state the reasons for granting or denying the hardship application.

§ 176-8 Enforcement; inspection; stop-work order.

All work performed pursuant to a certificate of appropriateness issued under this chapter shall conform to the requirements included therein. The Building Inspector shall periodically inspect such work to assure compliance. In the event that work is found that is not being performed in accordance with the certificate of appropriateness, or upon notification of such fact by the Design Review Board, the Building Inspector shall issue a stop-work order and all work shall immediately cease. No further work, except such work as is necessary to bring the project into compliance with the certificate of appropriateness, shall be undertaken on the project while the stop-work order is in effect.

§ 176-9 Maintenance and repair required.

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the ordinary maintenance and repair of any exterior architectural features of a designated landmark or property within a designated historic district which does not involve a change in design, material, color or exterior.

§ 176-10 Food and beverage service; hours permitted.

[Added 5-17-2024 by L.L. No. 12-2024[1]]

A. Legislative intent. The Board of Trustees finds that regulation of the hours of operation of eating and drinking establishment, as defined in this section, located within a Historic District will be in the public interest, in furtherance of the purpose of this chapter as set forth in § 176-1, and will serve to protect public health, safety and the welfare, good order and quality of life in the Village by reducing traffic and noise levels at night.

B. Eating and drinking establishment. Eating and drinking establishment as defined in this chapter shall mean a facility in a fixed location where food and/or beverages are stored, served, prepared, and offered for sale for immediate consumption, either on or off the premises. Eating and drinking establishment includes any restaurant, bistro, brasserie, buffet, cafe, coffee shop, cafeteria, sandwich shop, tavern, cocktail lounge, pub, snack bar, juice bars, bed-and-breakfast, cafeteria or eating establishment, and any other eating or drinking establishment, organization or club, including those dining, restaurant or counter areas of any boarding house, inn, hotel or guest house, which gives, sells or offers for sale, food or drink to the public, guests, or patrons, expressly excluding room service for overnight guests. Houses of worship shall not be considered eating and drinking establishments.

C. It shall be a violation of this chapter for the owner, lessee or operator of any eating and drinking establishment located in a Historic District to remain open for business after 11:30 p.m. or take orders of food and/or beverages after 11:00 p.m. This section shall in no way be construed to restrict the hours of operation which may be permitted by any federal or state agency or federal or state statute that exceeds the hours of operation that are permitted as set forth herein.

[1] Editor's Note: This local law also renumbered former § 176-10, Penalties for offenses, as § 176-11.

§ 176-11 Penalties for offenses.

A. The Building Inspector shall not issue a building permit to a designated landmark or to a property within a designated historic district without the approval, in writing, of the Chairman or, in his absence, the Vice Chairman of the Design Review Board.

B. The penalties for the construction, alteration of site or structure or demolition in violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be a fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both, for any violation or offense, and each day that such violation or offense continues shall be deemed to constitute a separate offense.

[Amended 7-27-2007 by L.L. No. 15-2007]

C. The penalties for violation of § 176-10 above shall be a fine of not less than $500 per day of violation or imprisonment for a period not to exceed 15 days, or both. A separate violation shall be deemed to have occurred for each day during or on which a violation continues. Any owner, lessor, lessee, operator, or management agent of any restaurant, venue or establishment operating in violation of § 176-10, who at the time of any violation was present or otherwise knew or should have known that said violation or violations were being committed on the premises, shall be deemed to have committed a violation of this chapter. In the event of any violation the Village may seek enforcement by any legal or equitable remedy.

[Added 5-17-2024 by L.L. No. 12-2024]

D. In addition to the fine or penalty provided for in § 176-11C above, any condition caused or permitted to exist in violation of any of the provisions § 176-10 shall be deemed a public nuisance and may be abated by the Village as provided by law, and each day that such condition continues shall be regarded as a new and separate violation. The Village shall have the right to enjoin any person or establishment in the event violations occur on a continuing basis (that is, where more than one violation has occurred). The imposition of a penalty for a violation of this Code shall not excuse the violation or permit it to continue, and the remedies herein provided for penalties and civil action to enjoin or abate a violation shall be cumulative.

[Added 5-17-2024 by L.L. No. 12-2024]