The Board of Historical Architectural Review is hereby created.
(A) Membership.
(1) The Board shall be composed of not less than five members, appointed by Borough Council; one of whom shall be a registered architect; one a licensed real estate broker; one the Zoning Permit Officer; and the remaining members shall be persons with knowledge and interest in the preservation of the historic buildings and district. The terms of the members shall be so fixed that no more than two terms shall expire during the same calendar year. All terms shall expire on the same month of the applicable year. Upon the expiration of the term of any member, a successor shall be appointed to serve for a term of five years. There shall be no limit to the number of terms a member can serve.
(2) The term of any member of the Board who was appointed in his or her capacity as a registered architect, a licensed real estate broker, or the building inspector shall automatically be considered vacant if the person ceases to be so engaged. An appointment for fill the vacancy shall be only for the unexpired portion of the term.
(B) Organization of the Board. The Board shall establish its own bylaws, establish offices, and elect officers from its own membership. For the conduct of any meeting and the taking of any action, a quorum shall be not less than a majority of the Board as a whole. Any action taken at any meeting shall require the affirmative vote of a majority of the Board as a whole. No member of the Board shall be permitted to take part in the discussion or vote of the issuance of any certificate of appropriateness for any property in which said member has any interest, direct or indirect. The Board shall keep full public records of its business and shall submit a report of its activities to Borough Council at least once a year.
(C) Removal of members. Any Board member may be removed for malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance in office or for other just cause by a majority vote of Borough Council taken after the member has received 15 days’ advance notice of the intent to take such vote.
(D) Expenditures for services. Borough Council may appropriate funds for legal, secretarial, clerk, consultant, and other technical assistance required to achieve the aims of this subchapter. Board members shall serve without compensation, except that Borough Council may reimburse Board members for expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
(E) Functions of the Board.
(1) Powers and duties.
(a) To conduct a survey of buildings for the purpose of determining those of historic and/or architectural significance and pertinent facts about them; act in coordination with the County Planning Commission and other appropriate groups, and to maintain and periodically revise 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;
(b) To propose, from time to time as deemed appropriate, the establishment of additional Historic Districts and revisions to existing Historic Districts;
(c) To formulate 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;
(d) To formulate recommendations concerning the preparation and publication of maps, brochures, and descriptive material about the borough’s historic and/or architectural sites and buildings;
(e) To cooperate with and advise the Borough Council, the County Planning Commission, and other 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);
(f) To cooperate with and enlist assistance from the National Park Service, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the state’s Historical and Museum Commission and other agencies, public and private, from time to time, concerned with historic sites and buildings;
(g) To advise owners of historic buildings on problems of preservation; and
(h) To promote public interest in the purpose of this subchapter by carrying on a public relations program.
(2) Advise to Borough Council. The Board shall give to Borough Council counsel as regards the advisability of issuing any certificates required to be issued pursuant to this subchapter and to the enabling legislation pursuant to which it was enacted.
(3) Use of criteria. The following criteria shall be used by the Historical Architectural Review Board in making its recommendations to Borough Council concerning the issuance of a certificate of appropriateness:
(a) The effect of the proposed change upon the general historic and architectural nature of the District;
(b) The appropriateness of the exterior architectural features which can be seen from a public street or way;
(c) 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. Consideration shall be given, but not limited to, the following:
1. Proportion of buildings front facades. The relationship between the width of the front of the building and the height of the front of the building;
2. Proportion of openings within the building. The relationship of width to height of windows and doors;
3. Rhythms of solids to voids in the front facade. Since rhythm is a repeated and recurrent alteration of strong and weak architectural elements, a rhythm of masses to openings in building should be maintained;
4. Rhythm of spacing of buildings on streets. In moving past a series of buildings, a rhythm of recurrent or repeated building masses to spaces between them should be experienced.
5. Rhythm of entrance and/or porch projections. Moving past a series of structures, one experiences a rhythm of entrances or projections at an intimate scale;
6. Relationship of materials. Within an area the predominant materials may be brick, stone, stucco, wood siding, or other material;
7. Relationship of textures. The predominant textures of an area may be smooth, such as stucco, or rough as brick with tooled joints or horizontal wood siding, or other textures;
8. Relationship of color. Insofar as the mass and detail such as trim are concerned, a predominant color that may be of a natural material or a patina colored by time. Blending colors of trim is also a factor;
9. Relationship of architectural details. Architectural details and their relationship to the structure in question and adjacent ones including, but not limited to, cornices, lintels, arches, quoins, balustrades and iron work, chimneys, and the like;
10. Relationship of roof shapes. Buildings should have compatible roof shapes such as gable, mansard, hip, flat, gambrel, and/or other kinds of roof shapes;
11. Walls of continuity. Physical ingredients such as brick walls, wrought iron fences, evergreen landscape masses, building facades, or combinations of these form continuous, cohesive walls of enclosures along the street;
12. Relationship of landscaping. There may be a predominance of a quality and quantity of landscaping, although emphasis herein shall be with the amounts and continuity of landscaping;
13. Paving materials. There may be a predominance in the use of brick pavers, cobblestones, granite blocks, or others;
14. Directional expression of front elevation. Structural shape, planning of openings, and architectural detail may provide a predominantly vertical, horizontal, or nondirectional character to the building’s facade; and
15. Scale. Scale is created by the size of units of construction and architectural detail that relate to the size of people. It can also be determined by building mass and how it relates to open space. The major elements of scale may be brick or stone units, window or door openings, porches and balconies, and the like.
(d) The Historical Architectural Review Board shall grant variations in a manner that will be in harmony with the character of the other buildings or structures on the street and/or districts;
(e) The height of any new building or structure shall not exceed the height of the tallest adjacent building or structure by more than 10%. This requirement shall also apply to any proposed modifications to existing buildings or structures;
(f) In cases where applications for proposed demolition occur, the Historical Architectural Review Board shall, where deemed necessary, recommend to the Borough Council that the proposed demolition be postponed for a period not exceeding nine months. However, in the event demolition 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. (Also see § 154.099); and
(g) In addition to the above, all other borough laws and ordinances shall be complied with including the zoning and subdivision ordinances.
(4) Signs.
(a) No sign or permanent external advertising display of any kind shall be erected, altered, or used in any Historic District except for advertising informing the public of the service, business, occupation, or profession carried on in or about the property on which such sign or permanent external advertising display appears. In conjunction with this, no such sign or advertising display of any kind or for any purpose shall be erected or altered until an application for permit to make such erection or alteration has been reviewed by the Board for its conformity in exterior material composition, exterior structural design, external appearance, and size with similar advertising or information media used in the architectural period of the district and a permit granted thereon.
(b) In addition to the above, and those matters considered in division (E)(3) above, 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 free-standing sign shall be more than 15 feet high.
4. No sign shall be erected at the intersection of any street 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.
5. 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.
6. No sign shall be attached to or placed on any public utility pole or tree located within any public right-of-way.
(c) All other requirements of any borough ordinance must be complied with. Historical markers may be authorized by the Board 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 the Board.
(5) Notice to the applicant. Upon receipt by the Board of a notice that an application for a permit for the erection, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, demolition, or razing of a building or structure in a Historic District has been filed in the office of the Zoning Permit Officer, the Board shall schedule a meeting to consider the counsel which the Board will give to the Borough Council. The person applying for the permit shall be given not less than ten days written notice of the time and place of said meeting and shall be invited to appear to explain his or her reasons therefor. The applicant may waive, in writing, this notification period. The Board shall notify the applicant of its decision within 30 days of its receipt of the application. If the Board, on the basis of the information received at the meeting and from its general background and knowledge decides to recommend against the granting of a certificate of appropriateness, it shall indicate to the applicant the changes in plans and specifications, if any, which, in the opinion of the Board, would protect the distinctive historical character of the Historic District. The Board shall withhold its report from Borough Council for a period of five days following its notice to the applicant that the Board intends to recommend against the granting of the certificate of appropriateness. This grace period, which is intended to allow the applicant to decide whether or not to make the suggested changes, may be extended by an additional 15 days upon the written request of the applicant. At the expiration of this grace period, the Board shall forward all pertinent information to Borough Council, including any decision of the applicant as regards suggested changes to the plan in question.
(6) Notice to Borough Council. The Board shall submit its counsel in writing to Borough Council within 30 days of its date of receipt of the application, unless the time limitation is waived in writing by the applicant. This 30-day period shall be extended, automatically, by the number of grace period days given pursuant to division (E)(5) above. Should the Board fail to report to Borough Council within the time specified, it shall be assumed as a matter of law that the Board has recommended that Borough Council issue the subject certificate of appropriateness. The written report to Borough Council shall include the following:
(a) The exact location of the area in which the work is to be done;
(b) The exterior changes to be made or the exterior character of the structure to be constructed or erected;
(c) A list of the surrounding structures with their general exterior characteristics;
(d) The effect of the proposed change upon the general historical and architectural nature of the district;
(e) The appropriateness of exterior architectural features which can be seen from a public street or way;
(f) 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;
(g) The opinion of the Board (including any dissent) as to the appropriateness of the work proposed as it will preserve or destroy the historical aspect and nature of the district; and
(h) The specific counsel of the Board as to the issuance by Borough Council of a certificate of appropriateness.
(Ord. 2010-03, passed 3-1-2010)