Institutional master plan requirement
All historic institution uses may remain as they were as of the date of adoption of this division (September 20, 2001) without an institutional master plan. However, for any changes other than minor changes as defined below, the historic institution shall be required to file an institutional master plan with the planning board, which institutional master plan shall be in compliance with the use and dimensional requirements of this division and the town's comprehensive plan and which shall be approved by the planning board as a major land development project. Such institutional master plan shall be approved prior to the issuance of any approvals, permits or certificates of appropriateness. Nothing herein shall prevent an historic institution from filing an institutional master plan at any time.
(1) Purpose. An institutional master plan is required to promote the orderly and limited growth to support the historic institution while preserving neighborhood character, and historic resources, and to insure that the plans are consistent with the town's comprehensive plan. The institutional master plan shall be a statement, in text, maps, illustrations, or other media of communication that is designed to provide a basis for rational decision making regarding the long term physical development of the historic institution. The plan shall include an implementation element which defines and schedules for a period of five years or more, the specific public actions to be undertaken in order to achieve the goals and objectives of the plan.
(2) Filing requirements and changes.
a. Historic institutions shall file with the planning board an institutional master plan as set forth above. Said historic institution shall review its institutional master plan five years following the first approval, and every five years thereafter (regardless of any intervening amendments) to determine if any changes are being considered or proposed. If changes are not proposed, the historic institution shall notify the planning board in writing that the current institutional master plan is valid for another five years.
b. The institutional master plan may be amended at any time by the historic institution upon application to the planning board.
c. Minor changes to the historic institution use include, but are not limited to the following:
1. The addition or cumulative addition to an existing building of less than 250 square feet,
2. Changes to existing landscaping not located in a designated buffer;
3. Any change in parking which does not result in a net decrease in the number of spaces available.
d. Major changes to the historic institution use include, but are not limited to, changes to the use of any existing building. An example of such change of use would include the conversion of a residence or museum to a country inn.
e. Whether or not an institutional master plan has yet been filed by the historic institution, a minor change may be made by the institution upon prior written notice to the planning board.
(3) Review and approval. An institutional master plan shall be subject to the procedure for review and approval set forth in the subdivision and development review regulations of the Town of Bristol for a major land development. (Note: an institutional master plan includes the entire process of a major land development, including the pre-application stage, the conceptual master plan stage and the preliminary plan stage the latter two of which may be combined by the planning board and the final plan stage.) Where an historic institution is also subject to the jurisdiction of the Bristol Historic District Commission ("commission"), the commission's approval shall also be necessary for the institutional master plan, although changes to individual structures or new structures may receive final approval and certificate of appropriateness at a later date when detailed plans of said structure are available.
(4) Plan contents. The institutional master plan shall contain the following minimum requirements:
a. Mission statement of the historic institution, including its relationship with the neighborhoods communities and environment in which it is physically situated.
b. Description of existing conditions that shall include a list of all properties owned or leased by the historic institution within the town regardless of whether they are part of the institution's institutional master plan. The list shall be arranged by assessors plat and lot and include street address, present uses, whether single or multiple uses, including street level and all upper story uses; condition of buildings, structures, parking lots, open space, public space, and the like; and other relevant existing conditions of the campus or grounds. Use shall include the general function of the building or structure.
c. A list of properties owned by the historic institution that are on the National Register of Historic Places or designated in a local Bristol Historic District (including individually listed properties) and proposed exterior changes to these properties (other than ordinary maintenance), if known.
d. Statement of ten-year goals and five-year objectives and means and approaches through which such goals and objectives may be reached.
e. Proposed changes in land holdings of the historic institution including property to be acquired or sold, proposed street(s) to be abandoned, and new streets to be established including private rights-of-way.
f. Proposed changes in land use within the historic institution's campus and grounds.
g. Proposed capital improvements including new structures, additions to existing structures, parking garages, parking lots, parks, and grounds. Major repairs that affect the building and/or campus grounds shall be included. The plan shall, at a minimum, identify the location of such improvements (on a map of the campus), the footprint and exterior dimensions of any new structure, height in stories and feet, proposed uses, including primary and accessory uses, parking and loading to support such uses, and landscaped buffers.
h. For the campus of all historic institutions, the institutional master plan shall include a map showing all existing landscaped areas, and a designated buffer along all property lines where the campus abuts a street. Said buffer shall not be less than 80 feet from the property line. Said buffer may not include any permanent buildings or structures, but may be used for historic institutional purposes, including agriculture, and may contain temporary structures or structures that exist as of the date of the adoption of this section. Said map shall also include a buffer of not less than 50 feet from the property of any other land owner, which buffer shall not be used for any purpose other than landscaped buffer. The planning board shall approve a buffer to be clearly marked on the approved and recorded institutional master plan.
i. For any new building or addition to an existing building that has building plans, including scaled plans and elevations, such plans and drawings shall be included in the institutional master plan submission. If historic district commission review is not required, architectural drawings for new buildings and additions shall be submitted to the technical review committee for development plan review, pursuant to the town subdivision and development review regulations and this chapter. The development plan review shall include the location including the relationship to the public street and the impact on the view of the historic institution's campus from the public street, overall design including the basic architectural style, the shape and form of the roof, the facade, the fenestration and the integration of the new structure into the campus parking and circulation system.
j. Proposed demolition of any building, structure, parking garage, parking lot, park, or any other campus facility. In the event of demolition for any building that has tenants other than the institution itself, the institutional master plan shall contain a tenant relocation program which shall contain, as a minimum, provisions relative to institutionally owned residential structures intended for demolition. The relocation shall contain alternatives to demolition which will accommodate the interests of said tenants, the neighborhood and the institutions and which will provide for tenant relocation assistance.
k. A circulation plan indicating existing and proposed vehicular access, pedestrian sidewalks and general circulation layout of the campus. The circulation plan shall be prepared by a registered professional engineer who shall have significant experience in traffic engineering. The circulation plan shall address on-site and off-site impacts on adjacent streets. In addition, the plan shall address the adequacy of on-site traffic circulation, parking and loading, sidewalk/pedestrian circulation, delivery, and emergency access and related circulation issues.
l. A parking plan that shows the location of all parking on and off the campus. The plan shall identify: the number of parking spaces that exist and the number that are required by this chapter; the location of new spaces required as a result of any proposed development; any proposed shuttle system between lots and campus facilities; and other information deemed appropriate.
m. Any proposed activity that would require an action by the town to implement.
n. Application filing fee, in the amount of $500.00, or as may be amended by the town council from time to time. Engineering review fees, inspections fees, and other fees (as per Article 7 of the town subdivision and development review regulations) shall be reimbursed by the applicant based on the actual costs incurred by the town, prior to final approval.
o. The institutional master plan shall contain text and maps to facilitate the review process.