No structure located within the Town Center (TC) Zoning District shall be demolished unless and until a demolition permit shall have been approved by Borough Council in accordance with conditional use application procedures outlined in Section 1264.11, this chapter and the building code in effect from time to time in the Borough. Any application for demolition shall be subject to the following regulations.
(a) In order for a building of historic value, as defined in the Borough of Swarthmore Zoning Code, to be demolished, one of the following two conditions must be demonstrated:
(1) The building is structurally unsound and cannot be stabilized in an economically feasible manner as determined by a Professional Engineer; or
(2) Demolition of the building will not have a substantial negative effect on the character of the Town Center.
(b) The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) shall be notified of the intended demolition of a building of historic value at least thirty days prior to request for demolition. The applicant must provide documentation of notification to the PHMC.
(c) When considering whether to permit demolition of a building of historic value, additional consideration shall be given to the following:
(1) The effect that the demolition will have on the historical significance and architectural integrity of the resource itself and neighboring historic resources;
(2) Whether the applicant has demonstrated they have considered all alternates to demolition;
(3) The economic feasibility of adaptive reuse of the historic resource proposed for demolition;
(4) Whether there are reasonable alternatives to demolition of the resource; and
(5) Whether retention of the historic resource would represent an unreasonable economic hardship for the developer.
(d) Zoning Permit.
(1) No permit for demolition shall be approved until the applicant has received a zoning permit for a new building that demonstrates compliance with all codes of the Borough of Swarthmore. The applicant must also provide documentation to the Borough of the financial capability to begin construction of the new building within sixty days of completion of the demolitions and provide a timeline for construction.
(2) Notwithstanding the above, it shall not be necessary to obtain a zoning permit prior to demolition for a new building where demolition is necessitated by casualty (such as by fire or natural disaster) that was not caused by the owner of the property or when the demolition is required due to enforcement of Borough regulations, including but not limited to the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC) and any adopted version of the International Property Maintenance Code.
(e) In all cases where more than sixty days elapse between completion of demolition and start of construction of a new building, the property owner shall be required to clear all debris from the property and provide for landscape materials and grass seeding or grass sodding to provide full grass coverage of the lot. The owner shall be responsible for proper maintenance of all landscape materials until such time that new building construction begins.
(Ord. 1056. Passed 11-12-13; Ord. 4-2022. Passed 12-19-22.)