Source: https://ecode360.com/8976992
Timestamp: 2020-03-31 20:36:25
Document Index: 646571509

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 100', '§ 100', '§ 100', '§ 100', '§ 100', '§ 100', '§ 100', '§ 100', '§ 100', '§ 100', '§ 100']

City of Batavia, NY Historic Preservation
§ 100-2 Historic Preservation Commission.
§ 100-3 Designation of landmarks or historic districts.
§ 100-4 Certificate of appropriateness for alteration, demolition or new construction.
§ 100-5 Criteria for approval of certificate of appropriateness.
§ 100-6 Certificate of appropriateness application procedure.
§ 100-7 Demolition hardship criteria.
§ 100-8 Alteration hardship criteria.
§ 100-9 Hardship application procedure.
§ 100-10 Enforcement.
§ 100-11 Maintenance and repair required.
§ 100-13 Appeals.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Batavia 4-25-1995. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Historic property tax exemption — See Ch. 166, Art. VI.
It is hereby declared as a matter of public policy that the protection, enhancement and perpetuation of landmarks and historic districts is necessary to promote the economic, cultural, educational and general welfare of the public. Inasmuch as the identity of a people is founded on its past, and inasmuch as the City of Batavia has many significant historic, architectural and cultural resources which constitute its heritage, this act is intended to:
Protect and enhance the landmarks and historic districts which represent distinctive elements of the City of Batavia's historic, architectural and cultural heritage;
Protect and enhance the City of Batavia's attractiveness to visitors and the support and stimulus to the economy thereby provided; and
Ensure the harmonious, orderly and efficient growth and development of the city.
There is hereby created a Commission to be known as the "City of Batavia Historic Preservation Commission."
The Commission shall consist of seven members to be appointed, to the extent available in the community, by the City Council as follows:
At least one shall be a resident of an historic district;
All members shall have a known interest in historic preservation and architectural development within the City of Batavia.
Commission members shall serve for a term of three years, with the exception of the initial term of one of the seven members which shall be one year, one which shall be two years, and one which shall be three years. Each member of the Historic Preservation Commission shall be limited to two consecutive terms and may be reappointed upon a one year absence from the Commission.
[Amended 9-26-2005 by Ord. No. 6-2005]
Recommendation to the City Manager as to the establishment of staff and utilization of professional consultants as necessary to carry out the duties of the Commission.
Conduct of surveys of significant historic, architectural and cultural landmarks and historic districts within the city.
Recommendations to the City Council concerning the acquisition or donation of facade easements or other interests in real property as necessary to carry out the purposes of this act.
Making recommendations to the City Council concerning the utilization of state, federal or private funds to promote the preservation of landmarks and historic districts within the city.
Recommending acquisition of a landmark structure by the City Council where its preservation is essential to the purposes of this act and where private preservation is not feasible.
The Commission shall meet as needed, but meetings may be held at any time on the written request of any two of the Commission members or on the call of the City Council.
The Commission may designate a group of properties as an historic district if it:
Contains properties which meet one or more of the criteria for designation of a landmark.
By reason of possessing such qualities, it constitutes a distinct section of the city.
No more than 1/2 of the owners of property within the proposed historic district object to the designation.
Notice of a proposed designation shall be sent by registered mail to the owner of the property proposed for designation, describing the property and announcing a public hearing by the Commission to consider the designation. The notice shall contain language advising all owners that they have the right to consent or object or express no opinions as to the designation in the manner set forth in Subsection F hereinafter. Once the Commission has issued notice of a proposed designation, no building permits shall be issued by the Building Inspector until the Commission has made its decision.
The Commission shall forward notice of each property designated as a landmark and the boundaries of each designated historic district to the offices of the Genesee County Clerk for recordation.
Any owner who receives notice of a proposed designation shall have the right to consent or object or express no opinion as to the designation. Any consent or objection must be made either in writing filed with the Commission prior to the public hearing thereon or in person orally at the public hearing.
Any designation by the Commission of an individual property as a landmark or of properties within an historic district shall take effect immediately.
No person shall carry out any exterior alteration, restoration, reconstruction, demolition, new construction or moving of a landmark or property within an historic district, nor shall any person make any material change in the appearance of such property, its light fixtures, signs, sidewalks, fences, steps, paving or other exterior elements which affect the appearance and cohesiveness of the landmark or historic district without first obtaining a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission.
In passing upon an application for a certificate of appropriateness, the Historic Preservation Commission shall not consider changes to interior spaces, unless they are open to the public. The Commission's decision shall be based on the following principles:
The scale of proposed alteration or new construction in relation to the property itself, surrounding properties and the neighborhood;
Texture, materials and color and their relation to similar features of other properties in the neighborhood;
Visual compatibility with surrounding properties, including proportion of the property's front facade, proportion and arrangement of windows and other openings within the facade, roof shape and the rhythm of spacing of properties on streets, including setback; and
Location and photographs of the property and surrounding properties.
No building permit shall be issued for such proposed work until a certificate of appropriateness has first been issued by the Historic Preservation Commission. The certificate of appropriateness required by this act shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any building permit that may be required by any other ordinance of the City of Batavia.
The Commission shall approve, deny or approve the permit with modifications within 30 days from receipt of the completed application. The Commission shall hold a public hearing on the application at which an opportunity will be provided for proponents and opponents of the application to present their views.
All decisions of the Commission shall be in writing. A copy shall be sent to the applicant by registered mail and a copy filed with the City Clerk's office for public inspection. The Commission's decisions shall state the reasons for denying or modifying any application.
Certificates of appropriateness shall be valid for 12 months, after which time the owner must reapply if he still wishes to undertake work on the property.
The Commission shall 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 Commission, 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 Commission shall be in writing. A copy shall be sent to the applicant by registered mail and a copy filed with the City Clerk's office for public inspection. The Commission's decision shall state the reasons for granting or denying the hardship application. If the application is granted, the Commission shall approve only such work as is necessary to alleviate the hardship.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the ordinary maintenance and repair of any exterior architectural feature of a landmark or property within an historic district which does not involve a change in design, material, color or outward appearance. No owner or person with an interest in real property designated as a landmark or included within an historic district shall permit the property to fall into a serious state of disrepair so as to result in the deterioration of any exterior architectural feature which would, in the judgment of the Historic Preservation Commission, produce a detrimental effect upon the character of the historic district as a whole or the life and character of the property itself.
Examples of such deterioration include:
Failure to comply within 90 days of formal notification of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed a violation, and the violator shall be liable to a fine of up to $250 for each day the violation continues.
Any person who demolishes, alters, constructs or permits a designated property to fall into a serious state of disrepair in violation of this chapter shall be required to restore the property and its site to its appearance prior to the violation. Any action to enforce this subsection shall be brought by the City Attorney. This civil remedy shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any criminal prosecution and penalty.
Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Historic Preservation Commission relating to hardship or a certificate of appropriateness may, within 30 days of the decision, file a written application with the City Council for review of the decision. Reviews shall be conducted based on the same record that was before the Commission and using the same criteria.