[Amended 6-8-2009 by Ord. No. 16-2009; 8-10-2009 by Ord. No. 43-2009; 10-25-2010 by Ord. No. 77-2010]
A. Preservation Officer.
(1) Appointment. This chapter shall be administered and enforcement actions undertaken by an agent of the City, who shall be known as the "Preservation Officer." The Director of the City of Reading Community Development Department may, with approval of the Mayor and Council, designate a City employee or employees as his/her authorized assistant or assistants who shall exercise all the powers of the Preservation Officer at such times as the Preservation Officer indicates and during the absence of the Preservation Officer.
(2) Duties. The Preservation Officer shall:
(a) Administer the Preservation Ordinance in accordance with its literal terms.
(b) Identify and register violations of this chapter, together with the reasons therefor.
(c) Receive and examine all applications required under the terms of this chapter.
(d) Issue or refuse certificates of appropriateness within 30 days of the receipt of the complete application, except as specifically provided in this chapter.
(e) Receive complaints of violations of this chapter.
(f) Issue an enforcement notice to any person violating any provision of this chapter and institute civil enforcement proceedings as a means of enforcing this chapter, as hereinafter set forth.
(g) Keep records of applications and permits issued, of all certificates of appropriateness granted by the Reading Board of Historical Architectural Review or City Council, of complaints received, of inspections made, of reports rendered, and of notice or orders issued; such records shall be and are the property of the City, and shall be available for the use of the Reading Board of Historical Architectural Review, City Council, other City officials and staff and City residents.
(h) Make required inspections and perform all other duties as called for in this chapter.
(3) Conflicts. The Preservation Officer shall not hold any elective office within the City.
(4) Qualifications. The minimum professional qualifications to be met by the Preservation Officer are a graduate degree in history, architectural history or a closely related field; or a bachelor's degree in history, architectural history or a closely related field plus two years of full-time professional experience in the field.
(5) Limitations of authority. The Preservation Officer shall not have the power to permit any work affecting the general design, arrangement, texture, material, and color which can be seen from a public street or way which does not conform to this chapter.
B. Building Inspector.
(1) Duties. The Building Inspector shall be responsible for the issuance of permits for any work that is required according to the presently enacted building code. No such permit shall be issued by the Building Inspector until the Board or Council has authorized the issuance of a certificate of appropriateness.
(2) Conduct of office. Upon receipt of an application for a permit for work to be done in any historic district, the Building Inspector shall act in accordance with the procedures presently being followed in that office except as those procedures are modified by the following requirements:
(a) He or she shall forward within three working days to the Preservation Officer a copy of the application for a permit, together with construction plans and specifications filed by the applicant pursuant to § 295-107.
(b) He or she shall maintain in that office a record of all such applications. The record shall include details of the handling and disposition of the same and shall be in addition to, and appropriately cross-referenced with, other building inspection records.
(c) If an application for a certificate of appropriateness is approved by the Historical Architectural Review Board or City Council, a building permit shall be issued if all other requirements for such permit are satisfied.
(d) The Building Inspector or his designated representative 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 enforcement of the building code.
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C. Finances and fees. Council shall appropriate monies to finance the preparation, administration and enforcement of this chapter, to finance the work of the Reading Board of Historical Architectural Review and to support or oppose, upon appeal to the courts, decisions of the Reading Board of Historical Architectural Review. For the same purposes, Council may accept gifts and grants of money and services from private sources and from the county, the state and the federal government which are not prejudicial to the fair and impartial enforcement and administration hereof.
D. General administrative procedures.
(1) All persons or entities desiring to undertake an exterior alteration or modification, requiring a building permit under the presently enacted building code, to any building, structure, sign, or premises or install any gas meter assembly, satellite dish, antenna, or other modern device utilized to receive video programming signals as set forth in Subsection E below within any designated historic district, shall apply to the Preservation Officer for a certificate of appropriateness prior to obtaining the required building permits as set forth in § 295-107. No application shall be accepted or deemed complete until such time as all forms, materials and plans are filed and any and all fees are fully paid. [Amended 8-24-2015 by Ord. No. 45-2015]
(2) The Preservation Officer shall either issue a certificate of appropriateness as set forth in §§ 295-108 and 295-109 or schedule the certificate of appropriateness application for review at the next applicable meeting of the Reading Board of Historical Architectural Review.
(3) Until a certificate of appropriateness is issued no construction shall be undertaken, and any construction which has occurred prior to the issuance of the permit shall, if requested by the Board, be removed.
(4) If a certificate of appropriateness is issued, the action proposed may be immediately undertaken, provided that the applicant has also been issued other permits required under the presently enacted building code.
E. Placement of satellite dishes in historic districts.
(1) Installation.
(a) No satellite dishes, antenna, or other similar modern device shall be installed or placed in front yards, front of buildings or along their facades that can be seen from a public right-of-way within historic districts. All satellite dishes, antenna, or other similar modern devices shall be located to the rear of the main dwelling unit. Antenna and satellite dishes shall be installed in the rear or on the roof of the main dwelling unit. A roof-mounted satellite dish or antenna shall not be visible from the public right-of-way. When being secured to a brick wall, anchoring for satellite dishes shall only occur within the mortar joints and not within the brick themselves.
(b) Satellite dishes that are placed in accordance with this chapter may be approved at staff level when submitted with a diagram of their proposed placement on the structure or building. Placement of satellite dishes on any other area of a structure or building shall be sent to the Reading Board of Historical Architectural Review for review.
(2) Exceptions. Satellite dishes, antenna or other modern devices, as defined herein, may be installed in front of buildings in the historic district only if no other means of reception can be provided. In such cases where the proposed location of a satellite dish is visible from a public right-of-way, the owner or tenant of the property shall seek the issuance of a certificate of appropriateness as required in § 295-107 of this chapter. Such satellite dishes, antenna or other modern devices shall be installed to be unobtrusive and shall be screened from view through the use of landscaping, fencing and/or architectural building features. The Building Inspector and Historic Preservation Specialist shall approve the installation to ensure there is no disruption to the historic nature and aesthetic value of the district.
(3) Removal. Any satellite dishes installed in the front of buildings before the enactment of this chapter shall be removed to meet the requirements of the ordinance or must be reviewed by the Reading Board of Historical Architectural Review to obtain a certificate of appropriateness as required per § 295-107 of this chapter within one year of the effective date of this chapter. Satellite dishes shall be removed when the owner or tenant who installed the device no longer inhabits the property.
(4) Violations and penalty. Placement of any satellite dish that does not conform to the guidelines of this section will constitute a violation and may be subject to penalty and enforcement per §§ 295-122 and 295-123.
F. Placement of gas meters in historic districts. [Added 8-24-2015 by Ord. No. 45-20153]
(1) Installation.
(a) No gas meters shall be installed or placed in front yards, front of buildings or along their facades that can be seen from a public right-of-way within any historic district designated by City ordinance or listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Such gas meters shall be located inside the building, at an exterior location that is not visible from a public right-of-way, or shall be installed within an exterior, below-grade vault that is covered by a flush, corrosion-resistant access hatch.
(b) Exposed gas pressure regulator installations shall be inconspicuously located outside the main dwelling unit.
(c) All exposed components of a gas meter assembly installation shall be fabricated of corrosion-resistant materials and painted along with associated visible valves and piping to match the color of the adjacent facade of the building.
(d) Gas meter assembly installations shall be resistant to tampering, vandalism, and protected from damage by moving vehicles.
(e) Gas meter assembly installations shall not encroach upon required sidewalk widths, so designated by City ordinance.
(f) Gas meter assembly installations shall maintain uniformity in overall size, elevation, and configuration with new or existing gas meter assembly installations located at each immediately adjacent property.
(g) Existing sidewalks and streets disturbed by installations or alterations of the gas main, gas service, or a gas meter assembly shall be repaved to applicable published City of Reading standards.
(h) Gas meters that are placed in accordance with this chapter may be approved by the Preservation Officer when submitted with a diagram of their proposed placement on the structure or building and relevant photographs of the building. Placement of gas meters on any other area of a structure or building shall be reviewed by the Historical Architectural Review Board.
(2) Exceptions. Gas meters, as defined herein, may be installed in front yards, front of buildings, or along their facades that can be seen from a public right-of-way within historic districts only if no other means of gas service can be provided. In such cases where the proposed location of a gas meter is visible from a public right-of- way, the public utility shall seek the issuance of a certificate of appropriateness as required in § 295-107 of this chapter. Such gas meters shall be unobtrusive and shall be screened from view through the use of landscaping, fencing and/or architectural building features. The Building Inspector and Historic Preservation Specialist shall approve the installation to ensure there is no disruption to the historic nature and aesthetic value of the district.
(3) Removal. Any existing gas meter assembly installed in front yards, front of buildings or along their facades that can be seen from a public right-of-way within historic districts before the enactment of this subsection must be reviewed by the Historical Architectural Review Board to obtain a certificate of appropriateness as required per § 295-107 of this chapter within one year of the effective date of this chapter. The Historical Architectural Review Board may require removal and/or alterations to existing gas meter assemblies and adjacent construction to meet the requirements of this subsection.
(4) Violations and penalty. Placement of any gas meter that does not conform to the guidelines of this subsection will constitute a violation and may be subject to penalty and enforcement per §§ 295-122 and 295-123.
G. Enforcement notice.
(1) Following an inspection of a building or structure located in a designated historic district, if it appears to the Preservation Officer, Property Maintenance Inspector, Property Maintenance Supervisor or Zoning Enforcement Officer that a violation of any provision of this chapter has occurred, enforcement proceedings shall be initiated by sending a notice of violation as provided in this section. Copies of the notice of violation shall be filed in the Zoning Office, Property Maintenance Division and Historic Preservation Office.
(2) Enforcement notice shall be sent to the owner of record of the parcel on which the violation has occurred, to any known occupant (if different from the owner), or to any person who has filed a written request to receive enforcement notices regarding the property.
(3) An enforcement notice shall state at a minimum the following:
(a) The name of the owner of record and any other person against whom the Preservation Officer, Property Maintenance Inspector, Property Maintenance Supervisor or Zoning Enforcement Officer intends to take action.
(b) Location of the property in violation.
(c) The specific violation, with a description of the requirements which have not been met, citing in each instance the applicable provisions of this chapter.
(d) The date before which the steps for compliance must be commenced and the date before which the steps must be completed.
(e) That the recipient of the notice has a right to appeal to the Reading Board of Historical Architectural Review within 14 days of the receipt of the notice by completing a COA application and submitting it to the Preservation Officer for review by the Board at the next regularly scheduled meeting.
(f) Any person who authorizes or continues any work on any structure, building, sign or premises after having been served with an enforcement notice, except such work as is directed by the City to be performed, shall be in violation of this chapter and subject to remedies set forth in § 295-122 hereof.
(g) Any person who has been served with an enforcement notice or discontinues or abandons work shall not leave any structure, building, sign or premises in such condition as to be hazardous to the public health, safety and welfare.
(4) Stop-work orders.
(a) Upon notice from the Preservation Officer, Property Maintenance Inspector, Property Maintenance Supervisor or Zoning Enforcement Officer that the work on any building, structure, or premises is conducted contrary to the provisions of this chapter, such work shall be stopped immediately. The stop-work order shall be posted by the Building Inspector, Property Maintenance Inspector, Property Maintenance Supervisor or Zoning Enforcement Officer on the property involved and shall state the conditions under which work may be resumed.
(b) Any person who authorizes or continues any work on any building, structure, or premises after the posting of a stop-work order thereon shall be in violation of this chapter and subject to the penalties as set forth in § 295-123.
(c) Following the posting of a stop-work order, any person who discontinues or abandons work shall not leave any building, structure, or premises in such condition as to be hazardous to the public health, safety and welfare. In the event that any building, structure, or premises is abandoned or left in a condition which, in the opinion of the Building Inspector, constitutes a hazard to the public health, safety and welfare, the Preservation Officer may declare the same to be a nuisance. Such hazard shall, thereafter, be abated as permitted by statute or ordinance.
2. Editor's Note: See Ch. 180, Construction Codes.
3. Editor's Note: Pursuant to this ordinance, former Subsection F, Enforcement notice, was redesignated as Subsection G.