[HISTORY: Adopted by the Northport Board of Architectural and Historic Review 2-4-2009 by Res. No. 1-2009; approved by the Board of Trustees 5-5-2009 by Res. No. 78-2009.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Board of Architectural and Historic Review — See Ch. 13.
[1]
Editor's Note: This resolution also repealed former Ch. A311, Board of Architectural and Historic Review Rules and Regulations, adopted by the Northport Board of Architectural and Historic Review 9-4-1985 and approved by the Board of Trustees 10-15-1985.
A. 
Meetings will be held on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at Northport Village Hall. Meetings may also be held at other dates and times on the call of the Chairman or at the call of four members, both on reasonable notice to all members and applicants.
B. 
If a meeting must be canceled due to lack of a quorum or for any other reason, the meeting will be rescheduled for the following Wednesday, unless the Chair or four members wish to schedule the meeting on another day on reasonable notice.
C. 
The Chairman or Clerk of the Board will contact all members regarding cancellations, and each member will contact the Chairman or Clerk of the Board as soon as practicable to give notice of his/her absence from a meeting.
D. 
The Clerk of the Board shall maintain minutes which shall be presented for approval to the Board at subsequent meetings.
E. 
The Clerk shall take minutes at each meeting, either by hand or electronically, unless a stenographer has been designated by the Chairman to take verbatim minutes.
F. 
The Chair shall call each applicant in the order the Chair shall determine.
G. 
The applicant will have the opportunity to present witnesses, evidence, documents, displays, designs, materials or other relevant items in support of the application.
H. 
At any time, Board members may ask questions and/or comment and provide suggestions, alternatives and/or modifications regarding the application.
I. 
Upon conclusion of the presentation, the members of the public attending who wish to speak will be given an opportunity to make relevant comments on the application and in the discretion of the Board, to present witnesses, evidence, documents, displays, designs or other relevant items in support of their comments.
J. 
The applicant will be given an opportunity to make his/her closing comments after all public comments have been made.
K. 
At the conclusion of the application or at a subsequent meeting, the Board shall vote on the application in a motion that describes the proposed action, to either approve or disapprove the application, with or without conditions, or modifications, or the Board may vote to reserve decision for further deliberation by the Board at another time. The Chair will sign the applications that the Board approves.
L. 
Each modification upon which approval has been made dependent shall be clearly drawn on the appropriate exhibit. Also written onto the exhibit shall be all specifiying information about the modification, such as dimensions, material and colors. These drawings and notes shall be made at the meeting at which consensus upon the modification is achieved or at such other time as the Board may determine is appropriate, prior to voting on an application. Alternatively, the Board may require an amended application/plan/drawing or other submission to be reviewed at a subsequent meeting to ensure all suggestions, comments, modifications and requirements have been implemented.
M. 
Each determination shall clearly set forth the Board determination. The exhibits shall be clearly marked so as to make what the Board has approved plain and unambiguous. The applicant shall be provided a copy of the approval or denial within five business days of the date said determination is filed in the office of the Village Clerk.
N. 
Related materials.
(1) 
Before the review of an application for any permit other than a sign permit begins, the Clerk, upon request by the Board, shall make available at the meeting all other material in Village files relating to the structure and site, including:
(a) 
The building card;
(b) 
Files concerning past or other current applications before any board or officer of the Village;
(c) 
The building inventory sheet, if any;
(d) 
Photos or other depictions contained in the Board's reference material, such as a notebook of signs; and
(e) 
Landmarks, historic districts or historic sites as listed by the Village of Northport, the Town of Huntington or any superior jurisdiction any part of which is located within 1,000 feet of the subject property line.
(2) 
The following material shall also be made available if the application is for a major alteration:
(a) 
Files regarding planned or in-process Village work on the adjacent street, sidewalk or other public property, other than repairs in kind to existing infrastructure;
(b) 
A list of any applications regarding adjacent properties for building or demolition permits, site plans, subdivisions and variances, either pending or approved, but where construction has not been completed.
O. 
No public hearing or application review may be completed until a completed application, including all required and requested exhibits and information, is provided to the Board. No public hearing may be closed until a completed application, including all required and requested exhibits and information, has been made available for public inspection for at least five business days prior to the closure of the public hearing. For good cause, the Board may modify any of these requirements.
P. 
At the start of the review of an application, the Chair shall determine whether all requirements have been met. If any requirement has not been met, the review shall be continued at a later meeting of the Board after all requirements have been met. At the start of a public hearing, the Chair shall determine whether all requirements have been met. If any requirements have not been met, the public hearing shall be continued at a later meeting of the Board, for which new, full notice will be required.
A. 
The Clerk of the Board shall be responsible for the preparation of minutes of all meetings of the Board. Such minutes shall state the sense of testimony given before the Board, the discussion of matters by the Board members and the Board's decision on each application and shall be submitted to the Board for approval.
B. 
The Clerk of the Board will make available to each Board member completed application packets at least 10 days before each meeting, except that sign applications will be made available at least two days before each meeting. The Chair may allow later delivery of applications for good cause.
C. 
Subject to review and approval by the Chair, the Clerk will create the agenda for each meeting and provide a copy thereof to each member five days before each meeting. Notice of the meeting will be posted in the Village Hall and in the official newspaper of the Village or, alternatively, on a Village website, if available.
D. 
The applicant must post a notice on the premises for which a review is pending and provide an affidavit of such posting prior to or at the meeting. Failure to post or to provide such proof shall be grounds for the Chair to adjourn the application.
E. 
The Clerk will mail or hand deliver written decisions to the applicant and provide a copy to Code Compliance and the Building Inspector.
A. 
Applications must be submitted at the Village Hall no later than two weeks before each monthly meeting in order to allow ample time for the Clerk to make available each application to each member of the Board. Sign applications must be submitted at the Village Hall no later than one week before each monthly meeting.
B. 
The applicant shall submit a completed application for review by the Board, on a form promulgated by the Board, together with such additional information as is necessary and appropriate to process the application. With the advice and consent of the Chair and, if necessary, after consultation with the Building Inspector and Code Compliance Officer, the Clerk shall determine if the application constitutes a minor alteration, major alteration or new construction to a commercial structure or a sign application.
(1) 
Minor alterations:
(a) 
Definition of minor alterations.
[1] 
Application or use of exterior materials of a different kind, type, color or texture from those already in use which will substantially cover one or more sides of the structure. This subsection applies to roofing as well as siding.
[2] 
Addition or removal of architectural detail permanently attached to the structure, such as railings, grillwork, architectural woodwork (molding, cornices, brackets, finials, bargeboards and the like), stone or metal coping and cornices and the like.
[3] 
Addition or removal of awnings, shutters, canopies and similar appurtenances.
[4] 
Alterations to doors or windows which do not make any change to the dimensions or locations of the doors or windows, or porches visible from the public way.
[5] 
All improvements, alterations or renovations which can be accomplished without obtaining a building permit.
(2) 
Major alterations.
(a) 
Definition of improvements to be considered major:
[1] 
Construction of a new building or auxiliary structure.
[2] 
Any addition to or alteration of an existing structure which increases the square footage in that structure or otherwise alters its size, height, contour or outline.
[3] 
Change or alteration of a structure's architectural style.
[4] 
Addition or removal of one or more stories.
[5] 
Alteration of a roofline.
[6] 
Regrading or excavation of the site which alters the size, height, contour or outline of the site, such as driveways, parking spaces, addition or removal of walls or fences and the like.
(3) 
Signs. Signs are defined in Chapter 243, Signs, of the Code and are subject to the requirements of that chapter and applicable provisions of Chapter 13, Board of Architectural and Historic Review, and as supplemented by these rules and regulations.
C. 
Applications must be accompanied by the filing fee at the time the application is submitted. Applications that are incomplete or do not include the filing fee will not be accepted or processed.
D. 
Subsequent to Board approval of an application, the Clerk shall request the Code Compliance Officer to visit the site of the approval within 60 days to inspect whether there is compliance with the approval and to take photograph(s), which the Clerk of the Board shall file in the applicant's file and in a book used to display typical types of projects and exemplars that meet Code requirements.
E. 
Where joint applications require review and comment among the Boards, as set forth in Code § 13-7B, all files, including but not limited to decisions, transcripts, exhibits, minutes and the like, shall be made available to the Boards.
A. 
Where applicable, the foregoing rules and regulations shall be in effect when reviewing applications for historic review pursuant to Chapter 14, Historic Review, of the Code.
B. 
The Board shall promulgate application forms and submission requirements.