Source: https://ecode360.com/10672556
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 14:39:41+00:00

Document:
§ 9-2 Creation; membership; terms of office; organization.
§ 9-3 Meetings; records; rules; expenditures.
§ 9-4 Referral of applicants for building permits.
§ 9-5 Referral of application for variances from signs legislation.
§ 9-6 Approval or disapproval of referred applications; certificates of appropriateness.
§ 9-7 Refusal or issuance of permit; failure of Board to act.
§ 9-8 Notice of meetings; filing of affidavit.
§ 9-9 Additional duties of Board.
§ 9-11 Consultation with other boards.
§ 9-12 Historical Architectural Review Board.
Historic districts and landmarks — See Ch. 191.
Signs — See Ch. 251.
Subdivision of land — Se Ch. 263.
The Board of Trustees of the Village of Tarrytown hereby finds that excessive uniformity, dissimilarity, inappropriateness or poor quality of design in the exterior appearance of buildings or other structures erected, reconstructed or altered in any area in the Village of Tarrytown adversely affects the desirability of the immediate area and the neighboring area within the community for residential, business or other purposes and by so doing impairs the benefits of occupancy or use of property in such areas; impairs the stability and value of both improved and unimproved real property in such areas; prevents the most appropriate development of such areas; produces degeneration of property in such areas, with attendant deterioration of conditions affecting the health, safety, comfort and general welfare of the inhabitants of the community; and destroys a proper relationship between the taxable value of real property in the areas and the cost of municipal services provided therefor. It is the purpose of this chapter to prevent these and other harmful effects of such exterior appearances of such buildings or other structures and thus to promote and protect the health, safety, comfort and general welfare of the community, to conserve the value of buildings and to encourage the most appropriate use of land within the Village of Tarrytown.
There is hereby created an Architectural Review Board, which shall consist of five members, who shall serve without compensation. All members of the Board shall be residents of the Village of Tarrytown and shall be specially qualified, by reason of training or experience in art, architecture, landscape architecture, community planning, land development, real estate or other relevant business or profession, to judge the effects of a proposed building or other structure or alteration thereof upon the desirability, property values and development of surrounding areas. At least one member of the Board shall be a registered architect licensed by the State of New York; at least one other member of the Board shall be experienced in the real estate business; and at least one other member of the Board shall be appointed from a list of three or more persons recommended by the official governing Board of the Historical Society of the Tarrytowns.
The members of the Board shall be appointed by the Mayor, with the approval of a majority of the Trustees present and voting, for a term of three years, except that, of the members first appointed, one shall hold office for a term of one year, two for terms of two years and two for terms of three years from and after their appointments. Members of the Board shall continue to hold office until their successors have been appointed and qualified.
The Mayor shall appoint from among the members of the Board a Chair, Acting Chair and Secretary. The Village Clerk or Deputy Clerk shall act as the Clerk of the Board. If a vacancy on the Board shall occur otherwise than by expiration of term, it shall be filled by the Mayor for the unexpired term, provided that that appointment shall maintain on the Board at least one architect, one other person experienced in real estate and one other person picked from a panel proposed by the Historical Society, as set forth above. The Board of Trustees shall have power to remove any member of the Architectural Review Board for cause and after public hearing. Architectural Review Board members shall be required to excuse themselves from voting on any project in which their own financial interests are directly involved.
Meetings of the Architectural Review Board shall be open to the public and shall be held at the call of the Chair and at such times as the Board may determine. Three members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Actions of the Board must be taken by an affirmative vote of at least three members.
The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each question or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating that fact, and shall also keep records of its examinations and other official actions.
The Board shall have the power, from time to time, to adopt, amend and repeal rules and regulations, not inconsistent with law or the provisions of this chapter, governing its procedure and the transaction of its business and for the purpose of carrying into effect the standards outlined in § 9-4 below. Every rule or regulation, every amendment or repeal thereof and every order, requirement, decision or determination of the Board shall immediately be filed in the offices of the Board and the Village Clerk and shall be a public record.
An application shall be submitted to the Secretary to the Architectural Review Board at least 18 calendar days prior to the date of the meeting of the Board. An application not submitted within the time frame herein established shall not be heard by the Board until the minimum time frame requirement has been met. Submissions for subsequent meetings to the Board after the submission of the initial application shall be submitted to the Secretary to the Architectural Review Board at least 10 days prior to the meeting.
The Board may request the assistance of consultants as part of their review of an application or other matter before the Board. In those cases, the Board shall submit a request for an appropriation of funds to the Board of Trustees in order for the Board to employ consultants and to pay for their services and such other expenses as may be necessary and proper. The Board may not exceed the appropriations that may be provided for such purposes by the Board of Trustees.
The proposed plans include construction, reconstruction or alteration of any fence or wall exceeding three feet in height or 20 feet in length that is visible from any public street.
The application shall not be referred to the Architectural Review Board unless and until it conforms in all other respects to all other applicable laws and ordinances, including but not limited to necessary approvals from the Zoning Board of Appeals and/or the Planning Board.
Editor's Note: L.L. No. 7-2014, adopted 9-15-2014, redesignated former Subsection B as Subsection C, and former Subsection C as Subsection B.
Construction of swimming pools shall not be subject to review by the Architectural Review Board.
The photovoltaic cells and cell arrays are constructed on a roof of a structure that has a roof line with an angle that is equal to or less than 26º (six on 12 slope of roofline).
The photovoltaic cells and cell arrays are not freestanding on the property.
Notwithstanding the provisions of § 9-6B herein regarding signs, all variances from the provisions of Chapter 251, Signs, shall be submitted to the Architectural Review Board. In review of a request for a sign variance, the Board shall be subject to the same requirements included herein in regard to building permit requests. The applicant for a sign variance shall be required to prove to the Architectural Review Board that the strict application of Chapter 251, Signs, will render a hardship to the applicant. The applicant, in supplying proof of a hardship to the Architectural Review Board, shall demonstrate that there are special circumstances or conditions specific to the property and the sign related thereto that warrant the variance. The Architectural Review Board, in granting a variance, shall grant the minimum variance necessary so that the sign will be in harmony with the surrounding buildings and signage and will not be injurious to the neighborhood or the village. In granting any variance, the Architectural Review Board shall prescribe any appropriate safeguards and conditions applying thereto that it may deem to be necessary or desirable in the public interest, and such determination shall be recorded on the sign permit or the certificate of appropriateness.
Excessive similarity to any other existing building or other structure or to any other building or other structure for which a permit has been issued or to any other building or other structure included in the same permit application, facing the same street and within 250 feet of the proposed site, in respect to one or more of the following features of exterior design and appearance: apparently identical facade; substantially identical size and arrangement of doors, windows, porticoes or other openings or breaks in the facade facing the street, including reverse arrangement; or other significant identical features, such as material, roofline and height.
Excessive dissimilarity in relation to any other existing building or other structure or to any other building or structure for which a permit has been issued or to any other building or other structure included in the same permit application and within 250 feet of the proposed site, in respect to one or more of the following features: cubical contents; gross floor area; height of building or height of roof; or other significant design features, such as material or quality or architectural design.
The specific harmful effects, as set forth in § 9-1 above, produced by that excessive similarity or excessive dissimilarity.
Any approval, including approvals subject to specified conditions or modifications issued pursuant to these rules and regulations, shall expire of its own limitation 12 months from the date of issuance if the work authorized thereby is not commenced by the end of such twelve-month period; and further, any such approval and permit issued pursuant thereto shall also expire and become null and void if such authorized work is suspended and abandoned for a period of 12 months after being commenced. Upon completion of any authorized work related to a referred application or certificate of appropriateness, no changes to the faade or exterior portion (including material and color) of any building shall be permitted. In cases where a building permit is required, the Building Inspector shall refuse any building permit application unless said applicant first obtains approval for said change from the Architectural Review Board pursuant to this section.
Notwithstanding any inconsistent ordinance, code, rule or regulation concerning the issuance of building, sign or other permits, no material change of appearance in any designated feature of a structure in a designated historic district or of a designated landmark and no new construction in a designated historic district or substantially contiguous to and visible without a significant obstruction from a public street within a historic district or visible without a significant obstruction from a designated landmark and no demolition in such district or of a landmark shall be commenced without a certificate of appropriateness having first been issued. The certificate of appropriateness required by this section shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any building, sign or other permit that may be required by any state or local law or regulation.
Applications for a certificate of appropriateness shall be submitted to the Board in such form and including such information as the Board may require.
The Board shall consider the request for a certificate of appropriateness and shall determine whether the proposed material change will be appropriate to the preservation of the district or the landmark in view of the purposes of the Landmark and Historic District Act (Chapter 191, Historic Districts and Landmarks). In passing upon appropriateness, the Board shall consider, in addition to any other pertinent factors, the historical and architectural style, general design, arrangement, texture, material and color of the building component or sign involved and the relationship thereof to other structures in the immediate neighborhood or district.
With respect to construction, the Board shall take into consideration the visual relationship between the property in question and existing structures and the character of the district and the extent to which a new structure would be harmonious with or incongruous to the historic, quaint, picturesque or distinctive aspect of the surroundings.
With respect to alteration, the Board shall first take into consideration the visual relationship between the altered portion of the structure and the remaining portion of the structure; and second, shall take into consideration the visual relationship between the property in question and existing structures and the character of the district and the extent to which the altered structure would be harmonious with or incongruous to the historic, quaint, picturesque or distinctive aspect of the surroundings.
Retention will promote the general welfare by maintaining and increasing real estate values and encouraging interest in history and architecture.
If the Board approves a material change proposed, the Board shall issue a certificate of appropriateness, which shall specify that work to be done. In issuing such certificate, the Board may prescribe any conditions that it deems to be necessary to carry out the intent and purposes of this chapter. A certificate issued pursuant to this section shall relate solely to proposed plans accompanying the application or otherwise submitted to the Board for official consideration prior to issuance of said certificate. It shall be unlawful to deviate from the plans, including any modifications required as a condition of the issuance of such certificate, unless and until an amended certificate shall be applied for and issued. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board shall not issue any such certificate unless and until it has been advised by the Building Inspector that there is no impediment to the issuance of any building, sign or other permit as may be required by applicable state or local law or regulation for said work.
With respect to an application to raze a landmark or a structure located in an historic zone, the Architectural Review Board shall have all rights relating to the approval, disapproval or approval with conditions related to certificates of appropriateness but shall also have the right to issue a delayed certificate of appropriateness. Such certificate shall not permit demolition or razing for a period of up to 10 months from the date of application therefor, during which time the Board and the applicant shall undertake serious and continuing discussion for the purpose of determining alternate methods to save such property. During such period, the applicant and the Board shall cooperate in attempting to avoid demolition of the property. At the end of this ten-month period, if no mutually agreeable method of saving the subject property bearing a reasonable prospect of eventual success is underway or if no formal application for funds from any government unit or nonprofit organization to preserve the subject property is pending, the Architectural Review Board shall either approve, disapprove or approve with conditions a certificate of appropriateness.
If the Board determines that a certificate of appropriateness should not be issued or that a delayed certificate or a certificate contingent upon specific structural performance should be issued, the Board shall notify the applicant, in writing, of such determination and of the Board's reasons therefor and shall file such notice with the Village Clerk.
The Building Inspector shall refuse to grant a building permit or sign or demolition or other permit in an historic district or involving a landmark where a certificate of appropriateness has been denied or where the grant of such permit is not within the terms and conditions of such certificate of appropriateness which has been granted.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed as authorizing the Architectural Review Board, in acting with respect to an application for a certificate of appropriateness or in adopting regulations in relation thereto, to waive any regulation or laws relating to the Zoning Board of Appeals or the Planning Board. The Board may, in exercising its powers and performing its functions under this chapter with reference to an historic district or landmark, apply or impose, with respect to the construction, reconstruction, alteration, demolition or use of any structure or sign, determinations or conditions which are more restrictive than those prescribed or made by or pursuant to the applicable regulations contained herein or to any other applicable provisions of law.
Any certificate of appropriateness and any permit to raze a building issued pursuant to these rules and regulations shall expire of its own limitation 12 months from the date of issuance if the work authorized thereby is not commenced by the end of such twelve-month period; and further, any such certificate and permit shall also expire and become null and void if such authorized work is suspended and abandoned for a period of 12 months after being commenced. Any period or periods of time during which the right to use any such certificate or permit is stayed pursuant to these rules and regulations or to any statutory or judicial rule or order shall be excluded from the computation of the 12 months.
The property is incapable of earning a reasonable return, regardless or whether that return represents the most profitable return possible.
The property cannot be adapted for any other use, whether by the current owner or by a purchaser, which would result in a reasonable return.
Efforts to find a purchaser interested in acquiring the property and preserving it have failed.
In determining whether or not an applicant has established that the property is incapable of earning a reasonable return, the Architectural Review Board, in addition to all other facts used to determine the reasonable return on a parcel of land, shall consider the increasing market values of the property in the area and the tax consequences of depreciation on the subject parcel.
The applicant would suffer significant economic injury if the application is denied.
After receiving written notification from the Architectural Review Board of the denial of a certificate of appropriateness, an applicant may commence the hardship process. No building permit or demolition permit shall be issued unless the Architectural Review Board makes a finding that a hardship exists.
The Architectural Review Board may hold a public hearing on the hardship application, at which an opportunity will be provided for proponents and opponents of the application to present their views.
The applicant shall consult in good faith with the Architectural Review Board, local preservation groups and interested parties in a diligent effort to seek an alternative that will result in preservation of the property.
All decisions of the Architectural Review Board shall be in writing. A copy shall be sent to the applicant by registered mail and a copy filed with the Village Clerk's office for public inspection. The Architectural Review Board's decision shall state the reasons for granting or denying the hardship application.
Every owner or other person in charge of a landmark building or structure or a building or structure in an historic district shall keep in good repair all of the exterior portions of such improvements and all interior portions thereof which, if not so maintained, may cause or tend to cause the exterior portions of such improvements to deteriorate, decay or become damaged or otherwise to fall into a state of disrepair.
In any case where the Building Inspector shall order or direct the construction, removal, alteration or demolition of any improvement on a landmark site or in an historic district for the purpose of remedying conditions determined to be dangerous to life, health or property, nothing contained herein shall be construed to make it unlawful for any person, without prior issuance of a certificate of appropriateness, to comply with such order or direction. The Building Inspector shall give the Architectural Review Board notice of any such proposed order or direction, and the Board shall have the power to require that the work not materially change the exterior appearance where the danger of life, health or property may be abated without detracting from the exterior appearance.
The Building Inspector shall refuse any building permit application that has been disapproved by the Architectural Review Board pursuant to § 9-6 above. The Building Inspector shall forthwith issue a building permit, the application for which has been approved by the Architectural Review Board pursuant to § 9-6 above, provided that all other requirements of law for the issuance of that permit have been met and further provided that the permit shall set forth all conditions or modifications to which the approval by the Board is subject. If the Architectural Review Board fails to render a decision pursuant to § 9-6 above on an application for a building permit within 75 days after the first consideration of the application by the Architectural Review Board, the Board shall be deemed to have approved the application, and the Building Inspector shall forthwith issue the building permit, provided that all other requirements of law for the issuance of that permit have been met. That seventy-five-day period may be extended by mutual consent of the applicant and the Board. The Building Inspector shall determine compliance with the decision of the Architectural Review Board prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. Should the Building Inspector determine that compliance has not occurred, a certificate of occupancy will not be issued until the applicant complies with the decision of the Architectural Review Board.
The Village, at least seven days prior to the Architectural Review Board meeting, shall place a notice of the matters to be considered by the Board in a newspaper of general circulation and shall post in a conspicuous space notice at least 72 hours prior to the meeting.
All applicants, at least 10 days prior to the public hearing, shall send written notice by certified mail to owners of property adjacent to the subject property (on all sides) and across the street from the subject property and to any other such persons as the Architectural Review Board may deem necessary, all at the expense of the applicant. Property owners entitled to notice shall be those listed as owners on the record in the Village of Tarrytown Tax Assessor's office as of the date of mailing. The written notice shall contain information equal to the notice published in the newspaper, and proof of mailing receipts must be furnished prior to the public hearing.
Additionally, any person making an application is further required to erect a sign facing each public street on which the property abuts, giving notice that such application has been made and that a public hearing will be held. Such signs shall be obtained from the Building Inspector. Signs are to be displayed for a period of not less than 10 days immediately preceding the hearing date or any adjourned hearing date. The sign shall not be set back more than 10 feet from any property or street line and shall not be less than two feet nor more than six feet above the grade at the property line. Said sign shall be affixed to a suitable frame which will assure visibility from the street at all times.
At the commencement of the public hearing before the Architectural Review Board, the applicant is required to file an affidavit which states that the aforementioned public notice requirements have been complied with. The affidavit shall provide the name of the applicant and the location of the property and must state that the applicant has read and is fully familiar with the requirements of § 9-8 of the Code of the Village of Tarrytown and that in accordance therewith he/she has caused written notice to be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to all interested parties as directed in the Code and that he/she makes this affidavit knowing that it shall be relied upon by the appropriate officials as proof of compliance with the requirements of the Code of the Village of Tarrytown.
The Architectural Review Board shall assemble and maintain a current file of all historic districts and landmarks in the Village designated by the federal or state authorities. The Board may also establish procedures for the identification and designation of additional historic districts and landmarks of special importance to the Village of Tarrytown because of their importance to events of Village history, their association with the lives of persons significant to the Village, their importance as examples of art or craftsmanship or architecture characteristic of a past period in the Village's development or their capacity to have yielded or their likelihood to yield information important to prehistory or history in and around the Village. Once the Board has identified a structure suitable for designation as an historic landmark or an area suitable for designation as an historic district, it shall report its recommendation, together with its reasons therefor, to the Planning Board. The Planning Board shall thereupon hold a public hearing and then recommend to the Board of Trustees the rejection of or the amendment of or the whole or partial acceptance of the Architectural Review Board's recommendation. Notice of the proposed designation shall be sent by registered mail to the owner of the property proposed for designation, describing the property proposed and announcing a public hearing by the Board of Trustees to consider the designation. When the proposed designation involves so many owners that individual notice is infeasible, notice may instead be provided by publication in the official newspaper designated for that purpose at least 10 days prior to the date of the public hearing.
Maintain and periodically revise listings of historical sites, buildings and districts and data about them, appropriately classified with respect to national, state or local significance.
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.
Formulate recommendations concerning the preparation and publication of maps, brochures and descriptive material about the village's historic and/or architectural sites and buildings.
Cooperate with and advise the Board of Trustees, the Planning Board and other village 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 our Zoning Regulations having to do with lot dimensions and minimum structural standards.
Editor's Note: See Ch. 305, Zoning.
Cooperate with and enlist assistance from the National Park Service, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and other state agencies, public and private, and local agencies concerned with historic sites and buildings.
Advise the owners of historic buildings on problems of preservation.
Fees shall be as adopted by resolution of the Board of Trustees.
Upon the request of the Planning Board and/or the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Architectural Review Board shall consult with and advise the requesting Board with respect to any site plan that the Planning Board is required by law to review or with respect to zoning appeals that the Zoning Board of Appeals is required by law to review.
The Historical Architectural Review Board established by the Landmark and Historic District Act (Chapter 191, Historic Districts and Landmarks) is hereby abolished, and the powers, duties and functions of that Board are hereby vested in the Architectural Review Board created by § 9-2 above. Section IIIA of the Landmark and Historic District Act (Local Law No. 3-1978) is hereby repealed.

References: § 9

§ 9

§ 9

§ 9

§ 9

§ 9

§ 9

§ 9

§ 9
 § 9
 § 9
 § 9
 § 9
 § 9
 § 9
 § 9
 § 9