(a) Preliminary Review; Suggestions; Preliminary Approval.
(1) Any person who seeks to construct or alter a structure within the City which materially changes the exterior appearance or size of said structure may obtain a preliminary review of the proposed design before an application for final approval is presented for review. The recommendations of the Architectural Board of Review are intended to assure that high quality of exterior design excellence and landscape harmony are preserved in the city.
(2) The preliminary review may be made of conceptual sketches and sketch plans which convey the general nature of the architectural floor plans; the site plan indicating the topography, existing tree cover, and related access roadways; the context and/or visual relationship to adjacent residences and properties; and the visual massing and appearance of all sides of the proposed structure. A new house may be designed in any style, but its exterior size, shape, materials, color and texture should be compatible with existing houses and it should fit into its site and its scenic surroundings so as to be complementary and unobtrusive.
(3) All applicants proposing new construction or alterations to existing buildings are strongly encouraged to present their conceptual designs as early as possible and prior to making major design commitments to their architect or contractor, so that the Architectural Board of Review may offer timely and appropriate guidance to such applicants.
(4) The Board may make suggestions regarding the proposed design, and indicate any problems the applicant is likely to encounter if final plans are presented in conformance with the preliminary plans.
(5) The Board shall grant preliminary approval if the Board determines that the proposed design presented in the preliminary plans is sufficient to warrant final plans. If the Board does not grant preliminary approval, it shall advise the applicant of the reasons preliminary approval was not granted.
(b) Preliminary Approval. Preliminary approval shall be marked upon the conceptual drawings of the residence or other structure(s). Preliminary approval shall be evidence that the concepts presented are acceptable to the Architectural Board of Review, and the project should proceed to final drawings.
(c) Final Review. Each application for final approval by the Architectural Board of Review shall have scale drawings including:
(1) A site plan showing the proposed building location, property boundary lines, topography and any prominent ground or site features;
(2) Floor plans;
(3) Building elevations;
(4) Transverse and longitudinal sections; and written specifications, that, taken together, provide a detailed description of the site placement, size, volume and appearance of the proposed building; and
(5) A plan of any landscape features to be installed as a part of the proposed project.
(d) Approval; Disapproval. If the Architectural Board of Review finds, upon final review, that the plot plan and exterior design and accompanying documents conform to the requirements of the standards and criteria set forth in this chapter, it may approve the application. If such design and documents do not conform, it may conditionally approve them by specifying modifications, which would make the same acceptable. If the Board finds the exterior design for a building or structure would produce harmful effects within the City, or otherwise not comply with the standards and criteria of this chapter, the Board shall disapprove the application, design and accompanying documents. In the event the Board fails to act upon the plans within one hundred twenty (120) days of the filing date of the application, the application will be deemed to be approved.
(e) Final Approval. Final approval or disapproval of the plot plan and of the exterior design and accompanying documents shall be endorsed thereon by the Board by its Chairman, or by the Building Inspector in the event of action by the Planning Commission, as described in Section 1450.06(f). In the event the Board or Commission issues conditional approval, the conditions shall be noted in writing upon the appropriate plans to which the conditions apply. The Building Inspector shall not issue any building permit for any application, which has not received final approval, nor shall any building permit be issued for any application which has granted conditional approval, unless and until the conditions noted on the plans have been satisfied.
(f) Appeal to Planning Commission.
(1) If the Board disapproves any application or makes any determination adverse to the applicant, the applicant shall have twenty (20) days after the meeting at which the announcement of the decision is made to file a notice of appeal to the Planning Commission of the adverse decision. Such notice shall be filed with the Building Inspector.
(2) The Planning Commission shall place the matter for hearing on the agenda for the next regular meeting of the Planning Commission following the filing of the notice of appeal, provided that the notice of appeal is filed at least fourteen (14) days prior to the next Planning Commission meeting; otherwise the Planning Commission shall place the appeal on the agenda of the subsequent regular meeting.
(3) The Planning Commission shall decide the appeal within ninety (90) days of the filing of the notice of appeal, unless the applicant requests additional time for decision. A failure by the Planning Commission to decide the matter within ninety (90) days of the notice of appeal shall be deemed to be an affirmance of the decision of the Board. The decision of the Planning Commission shall be final within the City. In the event the Planning Commission reverses or modifies the decision of the Board, the Building Inspector shall endorse the approval or modification, ordered by the Planning Commission, and issue the appropriate building permits.
(Ord. 2014-31. Passed 6-17-15.)