A. Application procedures.
(1) An applicant seeking conditional
approval under the provisions of this article shall submit the appropriate application to the Director of Code Enforcement in accordance with the provisions of § 255-192. The information to be provided shall, in addition, include the following:
(a) Name and address of the record owner and applicant (if different).
(b) Site plan showing all
and
on the property.
(c) Recent photographs of the
.
(d) A detailed narrative description of the proposed
(s).
(e) Any physical changes proposed for the affected
(s) and their surrounding landscape.
(f) Any proposed modifications to otherwise applicable area, bulk and parking regulations.
(2) The conditional
application shall be accompanied by an
impact study where any land
or
is proposed on:
(a) Any property that contains any Class I or Class II Historic Resource(s).
(b) Any contributing property within the boundaries of any National Register Historic District or any local historic district.
(3) The Director Of Code Enforcement shall forward the complete application to the Historic Commission and the Planning Commission in accordance with § 255-193. The Historical Commission, at a regular or special meeting, shall review the application for conditional
and shall promptly forward its recommendations to the Director of Code Enforcement for distribution to the Board of Commissioners. In formulating its recommendations, the Historical Commission shall consider each of the criteria imposed by this section for the grant of conditional
approval.
(4) The Board of Commissioners shall act upon the application in accordance with the provisions of Article XXV of this Chapter. The Board may refer the application to a hearing officer to conduct any hearings and make recommendations to the Committee.
B. Criteria for the grant of conditional
approval. Where a
is permitted in an Historic Resource Overlay District by conditional
, that
shall not be granted unless the following requirements have been satisfied in addition to those set forth at § 255-194:
(1) The applicant shall have the burden of demonstrating that approval of the application will not jeopardize the preservation of the
(s) contained on the property subject to application. To sustain this burden the applicant shall present evidence demonstrating the following:
(a) The exact location of the area in which the work is to be done, supports the applicants ability to preserve the
.
(b) The exterior changes to be made or the exterior character of the
to be erected aids in the preservation of the
.
(c) A list of the surrounding
with their general exterior characteristics and how they relate to the
and how and if the proposed
change that relationship.
(d) The effect of the proposed
upon the general historic and architectural nature of the property.
(e) The appropriateness of exterior architectural features of
involved with the proposed work and how they support or enhance the application’s preservation of the
.
(f) The general design, arrangement, texture, material, scale, mass and color of any affected
,
or site and how the proposed
affect the
as well as the relationships between such factors to similar features of other
on the property.
(g) That proposed
and any rehabilitation work will preserve the distinguishing qualities or character of the
and
.
(h) In the event that replacement of contributing architectural features is necessary and can not be done in kind, the new material shall, as closely as possible, match the material being replaced. At a minimum, the composition, design, color, texture and other aesthetic qualities shall be sympathetic to and in character with the
. In instances where original materials are either unavailable or their
economically infeasible, the Board may approve the
of materials which are aesthetically consistent with, even if not completely duplicative of, the character of the
.
(i) That the distinctive stylistic features or examples of skilled craftsmanship are preserved.
(j) Changes which may have taken place in the course of time are evidence of the history and
of the
,
or site and its environment. Provided the Historical Commission deems these changes have acquired significance in there own right, the proposed application recognizes and respects this significance.
(k) The property is used for its historic purpose or is placed in a new
that requires minimal change to the defining characteristics of the
and its
.
(2) The most current version of the secretary of the interior’s standards for rehabilitation of historic
, as amended, shall be used as a guideline in carrying out any plans involving the rehabilitation, alteration or enlargement of
(s).
(a) Additions and/or expansions to
shall be sited to the rear or side of the
being preserved, provided that location is the best opportunity to preserve the
’s significant architectural features.
(3) Where plans involving the rehabilitation, alteration or enlargement of
(s) will result in all or portions of any such resource(s) remaining unoccupied, such unoccupied resources shall be securely sealed and barred off and the utilities turned off for safety, in a manner not jeopardizing historical integrity, as per the most current
techniques for historic
.
(4) A means to guarantee the permanent protection of the historical integrity of the subject resource(s), such as the establishment of conservation easement(s) or appropriate covenants in a form acceptable to the Township Solicitor, shall be provided.
(5) The applicant shall have the burden of proving that the historical integrity of the resource has been provided for through the design of the
as well as through implementation of buffering, landscaping, lighting, storage, access and traffic management, interior circulation, loading, parking, fencing, signage and all other land
features.
(6) The applicant shall have the burden of proving that the grant of the application will not be destructive of the integrity of the
or detrimentally affect the value of surrounding properties.
(7) Unless otherwise provided for in this article, the off-street parking requirements of this chapter are applicable to the proposed
as set forth in this article. The Board of Commissioners may prohibit any additional parking between the
and the facade of the
if the Board finds such parking would negatively impact the historical integrity of the resource.
(8) The applicant must comply with the requirements of this chapter with respect to signage. The Board of Commissioners may condition approval on a reduction in the size of the signage if it finds that the permitted signage will obstruct views required to assure the safety of the public or to retain the historic nature of the property.
(9) The Board of Commissioners may attach conditions to achieve the objectives set forth in this section and to promote the public health, safety and welfare, which conditions may relate to any aspect of the proposed
of the property including, but not limited to, buffering, parking, signage, traffic volume and flow, hours of operation, noise and odor emission.
(10) Where the Board of Commissioners waives any requirement which thereby increases the rate or volume of stormwater generated on the property, the additional rate and/or volume of runoff caused by such waiver shall be controlled for the 100-year storm.
C. Any conditional
granted under this subsection shall expire unless a
to perform the work for which the conditional
was sought, or an occupancy
to allow such
, is issued within one year after the same shall have been granted.