[Amended 3-3-2020 by L.L. No. 2-2020]
A.
There is hereby established a Heritage Preservation Commission consisting
of five members serving five-year terms of office. All such members
shall have demonstrated interest, competence or a knowledge of historic
preservation, and, to the extent available within the Town, said members
shall be recruited from the disciplines of history, architectural
history, architecture, archeology, engineering, construction and other
historic-preservation-related professions. Every effort shall be made
to represent each ward of the former Village of Seneca Falls on the
Commission. One Commissioner will preferably be a representative of
the Central or Sackett District as a merchant or property owner.
B.
Appointments. Members of the Commission shall be appointed by the
Town Supervisor subject to approval of the Town Board. No person appointed
to the Commission can also serve as a member of the Town Board establishing
the Commission.
C.
The Chair shall be elected by the Commission membership at the start
of each official year.
D.
Attendance at meetings. Any Commission member missing three consecutive
meetings shall automatically forfeit his or her appointment. Further,
any member missing four meetings in a calendar year, except for major
illness, shall forfeit his or her appointment.
E.
Vacancies. Vacancies occurring in the Commission other than by expiration
of term of office shall be filled by appointment of the Town Supervisor,
subject to approval of the Town Board. Any such appointment shall
be for the unexpired portion of the term of the replaced member.
F.
Term limits. A member appointed to the Heritage Preservation Commission
may serve no more than two consecutive five-year terms. Two years
after his or her prior service, a former Heritage Preservation Commission
member may again be considered for appointment to the Heritage Preservation
Commission.
G.
The Town Board of the Town of Seneca Falls, New York, may, in any
year it deems necessary, appoint temporary ad hoc members to the Heritage
Preservation Commission to serve as provided in this section. The
number of temporary members so appointed pursuant to this section
in any year shall not exceed three. Each temporary member shall be
appointed for a one-year term of office. The Chair of the Heritage
Preservation Commission shall assign the temporary members as necessary
when absence of regular members of the Commission or a conflict of
interest of regular members of the Commission would otherwise prevent
a full complement of the Commission from considering any pending matter.
No more than two temporary members shall sit in determination on any
pending matter. The temporary members shall be designated on a rotating
basis in the manner provided in the general governing rules of the
Heritage Preservation Commission so that each temporary member shall
be afforded an equal opportunity to serve. Once designated to serve
on a particular matter before the Commission, the temporary member
shall have the same powers and duties as a regular member of the Commission
for the duration of the meeting at which they are appointed. Any determination
by the Commission consisting of temporary members shall have the same
weight and be entitled to the same authority as the act or deed of
the regular Heritage Preservation Commission, and all laws, statutes
and regulations shall apply and be applied with equal force and effect.
All provisions of this Town Code and New York State Law relating to
member training and continuing education, attendance, conflict of
interest, compensation, eligibility, vacancy in office, removal, and
service on other boards, shall also apply to alternate members.
[Amended 2-7-2023 by L.L. No. 1-2023]
A.
It shall be the duty of the Seneca Falls Heritage Preservation Commission
to exercise aesthetic judgment and maintain the desirable character
of the historic properties and prevent construction, reconstruction,
alteration or demolition out of harmony with existing properties insofar
as style, materials, color, line or detail are concerned; and thus
to prevent degeneration of property, safeguard public health, prevent
fire, promote safety and preserve the beauty and character of the
historic properties.
B.
In addition to the aforementioned powers, the Seneca Falls Heritage
Preservation Commission shall have power to:
(1)
Conduct surveys of buildings for the purpose of determining those
of historic and/or architectural significance and pertinent facts
about them.
(2)
Maintain an inventory of locally designated historic resources or
districts within the Town and publicize inventory.
(3)
Formulate, recommendations concerning the preparation of maps, brochures
and historical markers for selected historic and/or architectural
sites and buildings.
(4)
Cooperate with and advise the governing body, the Planning Board,
and other municipal agencies in matters involving historic properties.
(5)
Advise owners of historic properties on problems of preservation
and restoration.
(6)
Recommend to the Town Board the designation of landmarks and restoration.
(7)
Evaluate an application for a certificate of appropriateness, approve
with modifications, or deny any proposal for exterior changes to a
designated individual landmark or property within a designated historic
district resulting from any such application.
(8)
Evaluate an application for a certificate of economic hardship; approve,
approve with modifications, or deny any such application.
(9)
Evaluate an application for a certificate of appropriateness for
demolition, removal or relocation; approve, approve with modifications,
or deny any such application.
C.
Nothing contained in this article or in Chapter 173, Historic Preservation, shall be construed as authorizing the Seneca Falls Heritage Preservation Commission, in acting with respect to any designated property, to amend the existing zoning requirements or to grant any variance from those requirements.
D.
Except as provided in Subsection C of this section, the Commission may, in exercising or performing its powers, duties or functions under this article or Chapter 173, Historic Preservation, with respect to any improvement to a designated property, apply or impose, with respect to the construction, reconstruction, alteration, demolition or use of such improvement, determinations or conditions which are more restrictive than those prescribed or made by or pursuant to other provisions of law applicable to such activities, work or use.
Because of the irreversible nature of demolitions and the potential
loss to the community of significant historic structures, the following
shall apply to all applications for demolition:
B.
The decision of the Commission shall be based on the pertinent historical
significance, economic viability of alternate use to demolition, present
condition of the structure, public comment, future plans for the property,
the relationship of the affected parcel to its surrounding parcels
and other local factors within the Historic District.
