[Amended 10-6-1981 by Ord. No. 246; 6-7-1993 by Ord. No. 349; 4-10-2012 by Ord. No. 486; 1-12-2016 by Ord. No. 505]
The intent of this section is to safeguard the
heritage of the City by protecting and preserving buildings and sites
within an area which represents elements of New Castle's cultural,
social, political and architectural history and to promote the educational,
cultural and economic value to the public by maintaining said area
as a landmark of the City's history and architecture.
A.
Creation.
(1)
Historic Area Commission is hereby created. The Commission shall
consist of the following six members:
(a)
An architect licensed in the State of Delaware and having interest
and knowledge in the protection, preservation and restoration of the
historic character of the City, appointed by City Council. The architect
shall be a nonvoting member who shall serve in an advisory capacity
only.
(b)
Two City residents having municipal voting privileges and appointed
by City Council.
(c)
Two City residents having municipal voting privileges, appointed
by the Mayor, subject to confirmation by the City Council of New Castle.
[Amended 1-14-2020 by Ord. No. 524]
(d)
A Planning Commission member, appointed by City Council.
(2)
At least three voting members shall be residents of and have legal
or equitable title to property in the Historic District.
B.
Terms. The terms of office for members shall be for three years.
The five incumbent members of the Historic Area Commission at the
time of the adoption of this section shall continue to serve the balance
of their respective terms. The sixth member of the Historic Area Commission
shall be appointed by City Council within 90 days of the adoption
of this section. No member of the Historic Area Commission may serve
more than two consecutive terms; provided, however, that no term limitation
shall apply to the nonvoting architect member. Members may, after
a public hearing, be removed by City Council for inefficiency, neglect
of duty, malfeasance in office or other good cause.
C.
Quorum. Three voting members shall constitute a quorum to do business.
D.
Conflicts of interest. In the event that any member of the Commission
has a direct or indirect personal, family or business interest in
any matter, applicant, property or activity under consideration by
the Commission, that member shall declare said interest or the potential
for conflict of interest and shall disqualify himself/herself from
participation in any discussion or decision relating to the matter.
A.
Procedures/open meetings. The Historic Area Commission shall organize
itself and may make and adopt procedural rules necessary in the conduct
of its affairs and in keeping with the provisions of this chapter.
The Chairman or, in his/her absence, the Acting Chairman may administer
oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. All meetings shall be
open to the public. The Commission shall keep minutes of its proceedings
showing the vote of each member on each question and shall keep records
of its examinations and other official actions, all of which shall
be public record.
B.
Freedom of Information Act compliance. The Commission shall in all
instances be required to comply with 29 Del.C. Chapter 100, as it
may be amended from time to time.
C.
Neighborhood notification. At least 15 days prior to consideration of any matter submitted to the Historic Area Commission, the Building Official shall post the subject property with a public hearing notice in conformance with this section. Such posting of the subject property shall not be required in cases where the Building Official has administratively issued an historic review certificate pursuant to Subsection E below for matters that are fully compliant with City Council approved historic review guidelines.
(1)
Location: The posted notice shall be placed in a conspicuous location
on the subject property such as the front door or a front window,
clearly visible to the public from the adjacent sidewalk or street
right-of-way. No person entering upon the subject property for purposes
of reading the posted notice shall be deemed guilty of a trespass.
(2)
Size: The posted notice shall be no smaller than 8.5 inches by 11
inches, with a yellow background and black lettering.
(3)
Information: The posted notice shall include the words "PUBLIC NOTICE,"
a brief description of the proposed project, and shall state that
a copy of the application and any supporting plans are available at
the City Building Office for public review. In addition, the date,
time, location and hearing commission shall be clearly visible. The
applicant shall not remove the posted notice prior to the scheduled
hearing and shall be required to clean, replace or repost any posted
notice that has been removed or defaced to the extent that the information
to be conveyed is no longer legible.
(4)
Proof of posting: At the hearing before the Historic Area Commission,
the Building Official shall provide verbal or written proof of posting
the notice required by this section, which proof shall be duly noted
in the minutes of the hearing.
D.
Historic review guidelines. The Historic Area Commission may, subject to approval by City Council, adopt historic review guidelines to assist in applying architectural design criteria in furtherance of the stated intent of this Article VII. New guidelines or changes to existing guidelines may be proposed by the architect, City Council, a special purpose committee established by City Council or the Commission itself. However, the adoption or modification of Commission guidelines shall be subject to approval by City Council.
E.
Administrative issuance of certificates. The Building Official shall
have the authority to issue historic review certificates on behalf
of the Historic Area Commission, without the Commission's independent
review, for any application that proposes construction, reconstruction,
modification, alteration, or signage that is fully consistent and
in compliance with historic review guidelines approved by City Council.
A.
Function.
(1)
It shall be the function of the Historic Area Commission to review
and act upon any request for an historic review certificate as required
by this chapter. The Commission may require plans, elevations, architectural
drawings, photographs, product specifications and other information
to aid in rendering a decision. A copy of any application for a building
permit or a certificate of occupancy that necessitates the issuance
of an historic review certificate shall be made available to the Commission
by the Building Official.
(2)
In deciding upon applications for historic review certificates, the
Commission shall keep in mind the main purposes of this section and
shall consider, among other things, the historical and architectural
value and significance, the general design, arrangement, texture,
material and color of the building, site or structure and appurtenant
fixtures in question, the relation of such features to similar features
and buildings in the immediate surroundings and the position of such
building, structure or site in relation to the street or public way
and to other buildings, structures and sites. Using the above guides,
yard and lot requirements shall be individually established by the
Commission as provided for by the Schedule of District Regulations
of this chapter.[1]
[1]
Editor’s Note: The Schedule of District Regulations is included as an attachment to this chapter.
B.
Approval by Commission. Upon approval of an application, the Historic
Area Commission shall transmit a written report to the Building Official
stating the conditions upon which approval was granted and cause an
historic review certificate to be issued. Final action shall be taken
within 60 days after filing of the request; if not, the application
shall be deemed to be approved, except when mutual agreement between
the Commission and the applicant has been made for an extension of
the time limit. Historic review certificates will expire if the proposed
constmction, alteration, demolition, renovation or other work is not
completed within five years from the date of issuance.
C.
Disapproval by Commission. Upon disapproval of any application, the
Historic Area Commission shall forward a written statement containing
the reasons therefor to the applicant. (Recommendations of changes
necessary to make approval of an application possible, if approval
indeed is possible, may also be forwarded to the applicant.) Notice
of such disapproval and a copy of the written statement shall be transmitted
to the Building Official.
D.
Recommendation for conceptual approval. Applicants may request a
pre-application consultation that results in a recommendation for
conceptual approval if the Historic Area Commission finds the proposed
concept is appropriate, with detailed layout, materials and assemblies
to be reviewed and approved at a later date. A recommendation for
conceptual approval is advisory in nature and shall not inure any
rights in the applicant. No one shall undertake any construction,
alteration, demolition, renovation or other work based solely upon
a recommendation for conceptual approval.
E.
Appeals. Appeals from any decision made under Article VII of this chapter may be made within 20 days of such decision by any person aggrieved or by any officer or agent of the City to the Board of Adjustment in accordance with § 230-55. For the purposes of this Subsection E, a "decision" is defined as a vote by the Historic Area Commission to approve or disapprove an historic review certificate or an administrative decision by the Building Official under § 230-51E.
F.
Review criteria for placing individual structures in historic districts.
The Historic Area Commission may, following notice and public hearing,
recommend that an individual structure or property be placed in an
existing, contiguous historic district or be placed in an historic
district specifically created for the property or structure upon consideration
of the following criteria and factors:
(1)
Significant value as part of the historical, cultural, artistic,
social, ethnic or other heritage of the nation, state or community.
(2)
Association with an important person or event in national, state,
or local history.
(3)
Representative of the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural
type inherently valuable for the study of a period, style, craftsmanship,
method of construction or use of indigenous material.
(4)
Notable work of a master builder, designer, architect, or artist
whose individual genius has influenced an era.
(5)
The desire of the owner to have the property designated.
(6)
Increased potential of economic or community development.
G.
Review criteria for amendments or creation of new historic districts.
The Historic Area Commission may recommend amendments to an existing
historic district, recommend elimination of an existing historic district
or recommend the creation of a new historic district upon considering
the tollowing criteria:
H.
Designation of historic districts or landmarks. The City Council
from time to time may designate or amend certain areas in the City
as City historic districts or landmarks and may define and amend their
boundaries. Such areas shall be submitted as proposed City historic
districts, landmarks or amendments by the architect, a City Councilperson,
a special-purpose Committee established by the City Council or the
Historic Area Commission subject to approval by City Council. Prior
to designating or amending any areas in the City as City historic
districts or landmarks, the City Council shall: 1) refer the matter
to the Planning Commission for its review and recommendation; and
2) adopt any necessary changes to the City of New Castle's Comprehensive
Plan.
I.
National Register nominations. To ensure that decisions regarding
the National Register take into account local concerns, the Historic
Area Commission will recommend and/or actively participate in the
review of National Register nominations for an individual structure
or property. A property will not be recommended for nomination if
the individual property owner objects.
