[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Upper Allen 10-22-1975 as Ord. No. 221. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any change, modification or addition to a part of or all
of the exterior of any building or structure.
Any enclosed or open structure which is a combination of
materials to form a construction that is safe and stable and designed
and/or intended for the shelter, housing or enclosure of persons,
animals or chattel and including covered porches or bay windows and
chimneys.
[Amended 10-21-2020 by Ord. No. 798]
The officer or officers of this Township authorized to issue
permits for the erection, reconstruction, alteration, restoration,
demolition or razing of all or a part of any building (within an Historic
District).
An approval statement signed by the Building and/or Zoning
Officer authorizing the erection, reconstruction, alteration, restoration,
demolition or razing of all or a part of any building (within an Historic
District).
The request filed by any person with the Building and/or
Zoning Officer that seeks authorization to erect, reconstruct, alter,
restore, demolish or raze all or a part of any building (within an
Historic District).
The approval statement signed by the governing body of Upper
Allen Township which certifies the appropriateness of a particular
request for the erection, reconstruction, alteration, restoration,
demolition or razing of all or a part of any building within an Historic
District and which authorizes the issuance of a building permit for
said request.
The dismantling or tearing down of all or a part of any building
and all operations incidental thereto.
Any or all work necessary for the construction of any building
or structure from a combination of materials that form a safe and
stable structure.
The Board of Commissioners of this Township.
The agency that advises on any requests for authorization
to erect, reconstruct, alter, restore, demolish or raze all or a part
of any building (within an Historic District).
The agency of this Township which advises the governing body
of Upper Allen Township on planning and zoning related matters.
The dismantling or tearing down of all or a part of any building
and all operations incidental thereto.
Any or all work needed to remake or rebuild all or a part
of any building to a sound condition, but not necessarily of original
materials.
Any or all work connected with the returning or restoring
of a building or a part of any building to its original condition
through the use of original or nearly original materials.
Any object, device, display, or structure, or part thereof,
situated outdoors or indoors, which is used to advertise, identify,
display, direct, or attract attention to an object, person, institution,
organization, business, product, service, event, or location by any
means, including words, letters, figures, design, symbols, fixtures,
colors, illumination or projected images. This excludes national or
state flags, window displays, graffiti, athletic scoreboards, or the
official announcements or signs of government. Included would be the
following:
[Amended 10-21-2020 by Ord. No. 798]
ANIMATED SIGNA sign with action or motion, flashing lights or color changes requiring electrical energy or electronic or manufactured sources of supply, but not including wind-actuated elements such as flags, banners or pennants.
BUSINESS SIGNA sign which announces or directs attention to a business, product, service or activity sold or conducted on the premises where such sign is located.
ILLUMINATED SIGNA sign incorporating a source of light in order to make the message readable. Included are internally and externally lighted signs.
Anything constructed or erected, having a permanent or semipermanent
location on another structure or in or upon the ground, including
without limitation buildings, sheds, manufactured homes, garages,
fences, walls, arbors, trellises, gazebos, signs, antennas, satellite
sending or receiving dishes, gutters, downspouts, decks, patios, swimming
pools and spas.
[Added 10-21-2020 by Ord.
No. 798]
The Township of Upper Allen, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.
In accordance with the provisions of an Act
entitled "An Act authorizing counties, cities, boroughs, incorporated
towns and townships to create historic districts within their geographic
boundaries; providing for the appointment of Boards of Historical
Architectural Review; empowering governing bodies of political subdivisions
to protect the distinctive historical character of these districts
and to regulate the erection, reconstruction, alteration, restoration,
demolition or razing of buildings within the historic districts,"
adopted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
and approved by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on
the 13th day of June 1961, as amended,[1] and for the purpose of protecting portions of this Township
which recall the rich architectural and cultural heritage of this
Township and of the state, awakening in our people an interest in
our historic past and promoting the general welfare, education and
culture of this Township, there is hereby created in this Township
historic districts to be known as "Upper Allen Historic Districts."
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 8001
et seq.
The Upper Allen Historic Districts are as follows:
A.
Rosegarden Mill: consisting of the mill and miller's
house and generally bounded by Gettysburg Pike on the west, the Yellow
Breeches Creek on the south, U.S. Route 15 on the east, and on the
north by a line approximately 1,200 feet from the Yellow Breeches
Creek.
B.
Trout Run: consisting of the properties generally
located on both sides of West Lisburn Road west of the intersection
with Stumpstown Road and surrounding Trout Run and the springs at
the source thereof.
C.
Shepherdstown: consisting of the properties generally
located on both sides of Gettysburg Pike from a point approximately
900 feet northeast of the intersection with Fisher Road to a point
approximately 300 feet northeast of the intersection with South York
Street, and the properties on both sides of South York Street from
the intersection with Gettysburg Pike to a point approximately 300
feet northwest thereof.
D.
Yellow Breeches: consisting of an area along both
sides of McCormick Road from the Nauman Bridge to McCormick's Mill,
an area along the east side of Arcona Road from the intersection with
McCormick Road to a point approximately 500 feet north thereof, and
an area along the west side of Arcona Road from the intersection with
McCormick Road to a point approximately 800 feet north thereof.
The Upper Allen Historic Districts shall be
shown on a map which shall be known as the "Township Historic Districts
Map" and which shall be a part of this chapter.[1] Where uncertainty and/or discrepancies exist as to the
boundaries of the districts as shown on the Township Historic Districts
Map and/or as described in this chapter, the following rules shall
apply:
A.
Boundaries indicated as approximately following the
center lines of streets, highways or alleys shall be construed to
follow such center lines.
B.
Boundaries indicated as approximately following plotted
lot lines shall be construed as following such lot lines.
C.
Boundaries indicated as parallel to or extensions
of features indicated in the above shall be so construed. Distances
not specifically indicated on this map shall be determined by the
scale of the map.
D.
Where physical or cultural features existing on the
ground are at variance with those shown on the map or in other circumstances
not covered by the above, the governing body of Upper Allen Township
shall interpret the boundaries of the districts.
[1]
Editor's Note: Said map is on file in the
office of the Township Secretary.
[Amended 6-17-1993 by Ord. No. 474]
When directed by the Board of Commissioners
of Upper Allen Township, the Township Secretary shall forward a copy
of this chapter to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
with a request for certification.
A.
An Historical Architectural Review Board, hereinafter
referred to as "HARB," is hereby established to be composed of seven
members appointed by the governing body of Upper Allen Township. One
member shall be a registered architect; one shall be a licensed real
estate broker; one shall be the Building Inspector of this Township;
and four shall be persons who own property or reside in one of the
Historic Districts and who have a knowledge of and interest in the
preservation of the Historic Districts.
[Amended 4-7-2021 by Ord. No. 806]
B.
Members of HARB shall each be appointed for a term
of five years, and the terms of no more than two members shall expire
in any one year. Persons appointed to HARB shall show interest and/or
knowledge in historical districts or structures. An appointment to
fill a vacancy shall be only for the unexpired portion of the term.
[Amended 6-17-1993 by Ord. No. 474]
C.
Any member of the Board once qualified and appointed
may be removed from office for malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance
in office or for other just cause by a majority vote of the Board
of Commissioners of Upper Allen Township aforesaid taken after the
member has received 15 days' advance notice of the intent to take
such a vote. A hearing shall be held in connection with the vote if
the member shall request it in writing. Any appointment to fill a
vacancy created by removal shall be only for the unexpired term.
[Added 6-17-1993 by Ord. No. 474]
D.
Members of HARB shall disqualify themselves from voting
on any project in which they are, directly or indirectly, financially
interested.
The powers and duties of HARB are the following:
B.
Making and altering rules and regulations for its
own organization and procedure, consistent with this chapter and the
laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
C.
Meeting at such intervals, at least bimonthly, as shall be specified
in its rules and regulations or as shall be required to process expeditiously
the matters pending before it. A majority of the members of HARB shall
constitute a quorum. No action shall be taken without the affirmative
vote of the majority of members.
[Amended 10-21-2020 by Ord. No. 798]
D.
Serving without compensation.
E.
Making an annual report of its transactions to the
governing body of Upper Allen Township.
F.
Pursuant to appropriations which may be made by the
governing body of Upper Allen Township, employing secretarial assistants,
paying their salaries and wages and incurring other necessary expenses.
G.
Conducting a survey of buildings for the purpose of
determining those of historic and/or architectural significance and
pertinent facts about them; maintaining and periodically revising
the detailed listings of historic sites and buildings and data about
them, appropriately classified with respect to national, state or
local significance, to period or field of interest or otherwise.
H.
Proposing, from time to time as deemed appropriate,
the establishment of additional historic districts and revisions to
existing historic districts.
I.
Formulating recommendations concerning the establishment
of an appropriate system of markers for selected historic and/or architectural
sites and buildings, including proposals for the installation and
care of such historic markers.
J.
Formulating recommendations concerning the preparation
and publication of maps, brochures and descriptive material about
the Township's historic and/or architectural sites and buildings.
K.
Cooperating with and advising the governing body of
Upper Allen Township, the Planning Commission and other Township agencies
in matters involving historically and/or architecturally significant
sites and buildings (such as appropriate land usage, parking facilities
and signs, as well as adherence to lot dimensional regulations and
minimum structural standards).
L.
Cooperating with and enlisting assistance from the
National Park Service, the National Trust for Historic Preservation,
the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and other agencies,
public and private, from time to time, concerned with historic sites
and buildings.
M.
Advising owners of historic buildings on problems
of preservation.
N.
Promoting public interest in the purposes of this
chapter by carrying on a public relations program.
Upon receipt of an application for a building
permit for work to be done in an Historic District, the Building and/or
Zoning Officer shall act in accordance with the procedures then being
followed in that office, except those procedures that are necessarily
modified by the following requirements:
A.
He/she shall forward copies of the application for
a building permit, together with copies of any plot plan, building
plans and specifications filed by the applicant, to HARB.
B.
He/she shall not issue a permit for any erection,
reconstruction, alteration, restoration, demolition or razing of all
or a part of any building in an Historic District until the governing
body of Upper Allen Township has issued a certificate of appropriateness.
C.
He/she shall require applicants to submit a sufficient
number of additional copies of material required to be attached to
an application for a building permit to permit compliance with the
foregoing.
D.
He/she shall maintain in his/her office a record of
all such applications and of his/her handling and final disposition
of the same which shall be in addition to, and appropriately cross-referenced
with, his/her other records.
Upon receipt of any building permit application
under the jurisdiction of this chapter, HARB shall proceed as follows:
A.
HARB shall consider such application at a regular
or special meeting which shall be held within 30 days after receipt
of such application.
B.
At least 10 days prior to the meeting, HARB shall
advise the person(s) applying for the permit of the time and place
of the meeting and shall invite such person(s) to appear and explain
his/her reasons for the application. HARB may also invite other persons
to attend the meeting.
C.
In determining the counsel to be presented to the
governing body of Upper Allen Township concerning the issuing of a
certificate of appropriateness of authorizing a permit for the erection,
reconstruction, alteration, restoration, demolition or razing of all
or a part of any building within an Historic District, HARB shall
consider the following matters:
(1)
The effect of the proposed change upon the general
historic and architectural nature of the district;
(2)
The appropriateness of exterior architectural features
which can be seen from a public street or way only; and
(3)
The general design, arrangement, texture, material
and color of the building or structure and the relation of such factors
to similar features of buildings or structures in the district.
D.
Within 10 days after the meeting, HARB shall reach
a decision on the application and communicate it to the person(s)
applying for the permit. If HARB decides to advise against the granting
of a certificate of appropriateness on the basis of the application
as filed, it shall indicate to the person(s) applying for the permit
the changes in plans and specifications, if any, which, in the opinion
of HARB, would protect the distinctive historical character of the
district. If the person(s) applying for the permit is willing to make
the changes, he/she shall so advise HARB within five days after the
decision of HARB was made.
E.
Within 20 days after making its decision or, if changes
specified in the decision are made in the plans and specifications,
then within 10 days after the revised plans and specifications are
filed, HARB shall submit, in writing, to the governing body of Upper
Allen Township its counsel concerning the issuance of a certificate
of appropriateness. The following matters shall be set forth:
(1)
The exact location of the area in which the work is
to be done.
(2)
The exterior changes to be made or the exterior characters
of the structure to be erected,
(3)
A list of the surrounding structures with their general
exterior characteristics.
(4)
The effect of the proposed change upon the general
historic and architectural nature of the district.
(5)
The appropriateness of exterior architectural features
of the building which can be seen from a public street or way.
(6)
The general design, arrangement, texture, material
and color of the building or structure and the relation of such factors
to similar features of buildings or structures in the district.
(7)
The opinion of HARB (including any dissent) as to
the appropriateness of the work proposed as it will preserve or destroy
the historic aspect and nature of the district.
(8)
The specific recommendations of HARB as to the issuance
by the governing body of Upper Allen Township of or its refusal to
issue a certificate of appropriateness. If the application is for
the demolition or razing of a building, HARB shall, where deemed necessary,
recommend to the governing body of Upper Allen Township that the proposed
demolition be postponed for a period not exceeding nine months. However,
in the event that demolition or razing cannot be avoided, then the
moving of a building shall be encouraged as an alternative to demolition
if there is no other way to preserve the building.
Upon receipt of the written counsel of HARB as provided in § 155-9E of this chapter, the governing body of Upper Allen Township shall proceed as follows:
A.
The application shall be considered at the next regular
or special meeting of the governing body of Upper Allen Township held
at least 15 days after receipt of the written counsel of HARB.
B.
At least 10 days prior to the meeting, the governing
body of Upper Allen Township shall advise the person(s) applying for
the permit of the time and place of the meeting and of his/her right
to attend and to be heard as to the reasons for filing the application.
C.
In determining whether or not to certify to the appropriateness of the proposed erection, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, demolition or razing of all or a part of any building within an Historic District, the governing body of Upper Allen Township shall consider the same factors set forth in § 155-9C of this chapter and the report of HARB.
D.
If the governing body of Upper Allen Township approves
the application, it shall issue a certificate of appropriateness authorizing
the Building and/or Zoning Officer to issue a permit for the work
covered.
E.
If the governing body of Upper Allen Township disapproves,
it shall do so in writing and copies shall be given to the person(s)
applying for the permit and to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum
Commission within five days after the decision is made. The disapproval
shall indicate what changes in the plans and specifications would
meet the conditions for protecting the distinctive historical character
of the district.
Upon receipt of the written disapproval of the
governing body of Upper Allen Township, the Building and/or Zoning
Officer shall disapprove the application for a building permit and
so advise the applicant. The applicant may appeal from the disapproval
as provided by law and the Building Code of the Township.
In addition to the creation of Historic Districts,
the governing body may establish a listing of individual sites or
structures of historic value. Such sites or structures shall not be
governed by the provisions of this chapter pertaining to Historic
Districts, but the governing body may establish such reasonable restrictions
on the use of such sites or structures and land adjacent thereto as
will tend to preserve their historic character.
Signs in Historic Districts shall comply with
the following requirements:
A.
No sign or display of any kind shall be erected, altered or used
in Historic Districts until an application for a permit to make such
erection or alteration has been reviewed by HARB for its conformity
in exterior material composition, exterior structural design, and
external size with similar signs or displays used in the architectural
period of the districts and a permit granted thereon.
[Amended 10-21-2020 by Ord. No. 798]
B.
In addition to the above, and those matters considered in § 155-9C, the following shall be adhered to:
(1)
No animated, revolving or moving signs shall be permitted.
(2)
Illumination of any sign shall be indirect, shielded
or otherwise arranged to prevent direct glare.
(3)
No freestanding sign shall be more than 15 feet high.
(4)
Projecting signs extending more than two feet over
any public walk or right-of-way shall be at least 10 feet above the
walk grade and at least 14 feet above any vehicular right-of-way.
(5)
No sign shall be erected at the intersection of any
streets in such a manner as to obstruct free and clear vision or at
any location where by reason of its position, shape or color it may
interfere with, obstruct the view of or be confused with any authorized
traffic sign, signal or device.
(6)
No sign shall be located so as to prevent or hinder
free ingress to or egress from any door, window or fire escape. No
sign shall be attached to a standpipe or fire escape.
(7)
No signs shall be attached to or placed on any public
utility pole or tree located within any public right-of-way.
C.
Furthermore, all other requirements of any Township
ordinance must be complied with. Historical markers may be authorized
by HARB subject to the provisions stipulated, and such markers shall
not be considered as signs but are to be erected in accordance with
the requirements established for historic markers by HARB.
[Added 10-21-2020 by Ord.
No. 798[1]]
The following activities shall be exempt from the provisions
of this chapter regardless of visibility from a public street or way,
including but not limited to the following:
A.
Installation of swimming pools and spas, including associated fencing
as required under Pennsylvania State Law or the International Building
Code (IBC);
B.
Construction or expansion of an unenclosed or uncovered patio in
the rear yard;
C.
Fences, walls not exceeding four feet in height, gates, arbors and
trellises;
D.
General maintenance of a building or structure or part thereof;
E.
Repointing and masonry repair using materials, mortar composition,
color, joint profile and width that closely match historic materials;
F.
Replacement of gutters and downspouts, provided that the new gutters
and downspouts match the existing features in design and materials;
G.
Installation of flower boxes, window boxes, immovable planters or
other plant containers affixed to a building or porch;
H.
Painting of exterior walls or trim or removal of paint from any exterior
surface;
I.
Heating or cooling units, excluding solar fixtures;
J.
Personal antennas and satellite dishes; excluding wireless communication
facilities;
K.
Other ancillary or decorative elements;
L.
Demolition of any structure deemed by the Building Code Official
to be in imminent danger of failure or collapse and where the Building
Code Official orders the demolition in order to protect public health,
safety and welfare.
The Building and/or Zoning Officer shall have
the power to institute any proceedings at law or in equity necessary
for the enforcement of this chapter in the same manner as in his/her
enforcement of Ch. 97, Building Construction, as presently enacted
or as the same may from time to time be amended.
[Added 6-17-1993 by Ord. No. 474]
Any person or persons who shall violate any
of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be sentenced
to pay a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution,
and, in default of payment of such fine and costs, shall be imprisoned
for a term not to exceed 30 days.
