Historic District Commission
Sec. 19.5. Historic District Commission.
Establishment: There is hereby established a Historic District Commission to carry out the purpose of this section.
Membership and appointment:
(1) The Commission shall consist of seven qualified members, residents of the Town, to be appointed by the Town Council President with the consent of the Council. Members shall be appointed for three year terms, except that the initial appointments of two members shall be for one year, two members for two years, and three members for three years.
Members shall be eligible for reappointment.
(2) Members of the Commission shall have a demonstrated interest in historic preservation.
Duly organized and existing preservation societies may present to the Town Council President lists of qualified citizens to be considered for appointment.
(3) The Town Council President shall have the right to name an auxiliary member to the Commission in addition to the regular members, which auxiliary member shall sit as an active member, upon the request of the Chairman of the Commission when and if a regular member of the Commission is unable to serve at any meeting of the Commission.
(4) In the event of a vacancy on the Commission, the Town Council President shall promptly make an interim appointment, with the consent of the Council, for the remainder of the unexpired term. Vacancies on the Commission shall be filled within 45 days. Organization of the commission.
(1) The Commission shall organize annually and, by election, shall select from its membership a Chairman, Vice-Chairman and a Secretary.
(2) The Commission shall:
(a) Adopt and publish all rules and regulations necessary to carry out its functions under the provisions of this section; and, (b) Adopt and publish Standards of Review which shall be in harmony with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings, 36 CFR 671, as amended, within 12 months following the adoption of this section to inform Historic District residents, property owners, and the general public of those criteria by which the Commission shall determine whether to issue a Certificate of Appropriateness. The Commission may from time to time amend these standards as reasonably necessary, and it shall publish all such amendments.
(3) Conduct of business:
(a) The Chairman shall preside over all Commission meetings and shall have the right to vote.
(b) The Vice-Chairman shall, in the case of absence or disability of the Chairman, perform the duties of the Chairman.
(c) All meetings of the Commission shall be open to the public and any person or his duly constituted representative shall be entitled to appear and be heard on any matter before the Commission reaches its decision.
(d) The Secretary shall keep a record of all resolutions, proceedings, findings of fact, decisions and actions and such record shall be on file for public view at the office of the Town Clerk.
(e) Notice of the Commission meetings shall appear in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town seven days prior to such meetings.
(f) Five members shall constitute a quorum and the concurring vote of a majority, but not less than four of the members present shall be necessary for either approval or rejection of any plans before the Commission for review and for establishing or amending Commission rules. Powers and procedures.
(1) Certificate of Appropriateness required:
(a) Before a property owner may authorize or commence construction, alteration, repair, removal or demolition affecting the exterior appearance of a structure or its appurtenances, within any designated Historic District, the owner must apply for and receive a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Commission approving such construction, alteration, repair, removal or demolition.
(b) In applying for a Certificate of Appropriateness, a property owner must comply with the application procedures as established by the Commission pursuant to Chapter 45-24.1 of the General Laws, as amended, and the provisions of this section.
(c) A Certificate of Appropriateness is necessary only if a building permit is required for such construction, alteration, repair, removal or demolition. The Inspector may not issue a permit until the Commission has granted a Certificate of Appropriateness.
(2) Application for Certificate of Appropriateness:
(a) Application for Certificates of Appropriateness shall be filed with the Commission at the office of the Inspector, who shall determine if such application is complete and who shall forward complete applications, together with all maps, plans, and other data to the Commission. Incomplete applications shall be returned to the applicant within seven days of receipt to the Inspector.
(b) The Commission shall require the owner to submit information which is reasonably necessary to evaluate the proposed construction, alteration, repair, removal or demolition including but not limited to site plans, elevation drawings, photographs or other information deemed appropriate by the Commission and set forth in the Commission's rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this section.
(c) In reviewing the applications and plans, the Commission shall give consideration to:
(1) The historic and architectural significance of the structure and its appurtenances;
(2) The way in which the structure and its appurtenances contribute to the historical and architectural significance of the District.
(3) The appropriateness of the general design, arrangement, texture, material and siting proposed in the plans; and, (4) The Commission shall pass only on exterior features of a structure and its appurtenances and shall not consider interior arrangements.
(d) All decisions of the Commission shall be in writing. The Commission shall articulate and explain the reasons and bases of each decision on a record, and the Commission shall include the basis for its conclusion that the proposed activity would be incongruous with those aspects of the structure, appurtenances, or the district which the Commission has determined to be historically or architecturally significant. The Commission shall send a copy of the decision to the applicant.
(e) The following are special considerations regarding valuable historic resources and demolition:
(1) In the case of an application for construction, repair, or alteration, removal, or demolition affecting the exterior appearance of a structure or its appurtenances which the Commission deems so valuable to the Town, State or Nation that the loss thereof will be a great loss to the Town, State or Nation, the Commission shall endeavor to work out with the owner an economically feasible plan for the preservation of such structure.
(2) Unless the Commission is satisfied that the intention of such structure constitutes a hazard to public safety, which hazard cannot be eliminated by economic means available to the owner, including the sale of the structure to any purchaser willing to preserve such structure, the Commission shall file with the Inspector its rejection of such application.
(3) Unless the Commission votes to issue a Certificate of Appropriateness for such construction, alteration, and repair, removal and demolition, the Commission shall file with the Inspector its rejection of such application.
(4) In the absence of change in such structure arising from casualty, no new applications for the same or similar work shall be filed within one year after such rejection.
(5) In the case of any structure deemed to be valuable for the period of architecture it represents and important to the neighborhood within which it exists, the Commission may file with the Inspector its Certificate of Appropriateness for such application if any of the circumstances under which a Certificate of Appropriateness might have been given under the proceeding paragraph are in existence, or if:
(a) Preservation of such structure is a deterrent to a major improvement program which will be of substantial benefit to the community;
(b) Preservation of such structure would cause undue or unreasonable financial hardship to the owner, taking into account the financial resources available to the owner including sale of the structure to any purchaser willing to preserve such structure;
(c) The preservation of such structure would not be in the best interest of the majority of the community;
(d) When considering an application to demolish or remove a structure of historic or architectural value, the Commission shall assist the owner in identifying and evaluating alternative to demolition, including sale of the structure on its present site. In addition to any other criteria, the Commission also shall consider whether there is a reasonable likelihood that some person or group other than the current owner is willing to purchase, move and preserve such structure and whether the owner has made continuing bona fide and reasonable efforts to sell the structure to any such purchaser willing to move and preserve such structure.