[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Woodbury 8-12-2008 by L.L. No. 6-2008. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
The Village Board hereby finds that excessive
uniformity, dissimilarity, inappropriateness or poor quality of design
in the exterior appearance of buildings erected in any neighborhood
adversely affects the desirability of the immediate area and neighboring
areas for residential and business purposes or other use and, by so
doing, impairs the benefits of occupancy of existing 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 thereof and destroys
a proper relationship between the taxable value of real property in
such 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 buildings erected and thus
to promote and protect the health, safety, comfort and general welfare
of the community, to promote the public convenience and prosperity,
to conserve the value of buildings and to encourage the most appropriate
use of land within the Village.
The Planning Board of the Village of Woodbury
is hereby designated as the Architectural Review Board and may adopt
such rules not inconsistent with this chapter.[1]
The Planning Board, in reviewing subdivisions,
planned unit developments, multiple-family dwellings and site plans,
shall require the developer or owner of the project to submit its
plans for development of the land, including the type of buildings
to be constructed, the location of the buildings on the proposed site
and the type of architecture. After reviewing the plans of the development
and making an on-site inspection, the Planning Board shall submit
its recommendations for the development to the developer or owner
of the project, which architectural recommendations may be made a
condition of the Planning Board's final approval for a given development.
The Planning Board shall review plans and specifications for the following buildings and alterations as defined in Chapter 310, Zoning, of the Code of the Village of Woodbury:
A.
Buildings and alterations in subdivisions consisting
of five lots or more as defined by the New York State Public Health
Law § 1115.
In cases where the Planning Board's review and approval are required, the Planning Board may approve, conditionally approve subject to special modifications or disapprove any application for which a building permit has been applied, provided that such disapproval is based on the fact that the building for which the permit was applied would, if erected, be so detrimental to the desirability, property values or development of the surrounding area as to provoke one or more of the harmful effects as set forth in § 8-1 hereof by reason of:
A.
Excessive similarity to any other structure existing
or for which a permit has been issued or to any other structure included
in the same permit application, facing upon the same street and within
300 feet of the proposed site, in respect to one or more of the following
features of exterior design and appearance:
(1)
Apparently identical facade.
(2)
Substantially identical size and arrangement of either
doors, windows, porticoes or other openings or breaks in the facade
facing the street, including reverse arrangement.
(3)
Other significant identical features of design, provided that a finding of excessive similarity shall state not only that such excessive similarity exists but further that it is of such a nature as to be expected to provoke beyond reasonable doubt one or more of the harmful effects set forth in § 8-1 above.
B.
Excessive dissimilarity or inappropriateness in relation
to any other structure existing or for which a permit has been issued
or to any other structure included in the same permit application,
facing upon the same street and within 300 feet of the proposed site,
in respect to one or more of the following features:
(1)
Cubical contents.
(2)
Gross floor area.
(3)
Height of building or height of roof.
(4)
Other significant design features, such as material or quality of architectural design, provided that a finding of excessive dissimilarity or inappropriateness shall state not only that such excessive dissimilarity or inappropriateness exists but further that it is of such a nature as to be expected to provoke beyond reasonable doubt one or more of the harmful effects set forth in § 8-1 hereof and that the finding is not based on personal preference as to taste or choice or architectural style.
In cases where the Planning Board's review and
approval is required hereby, the Code Enforcement Officer shall not
issue a building permit until the Planning Board has approved the
plans and specifications for a building or alteration. The applicant
for a building permit shall submit to the Code Enforcement Officer
such plans and specifications as he may require for the purposes hereof.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall not issue
a certificate of occupancy upon completion of the building or alteration
unless he finds that such building or alteration is completed in conformance
with the plans and specifications which he approved prior to issuing
a building permit.
In approving or disapproving plans and specifications
for a building or alteration, the Planning Board shall consider the
purposes above stated to promote architectural beauty and harmony
of building design, to prevent the monotony of residential housing
in rows of buildings which are identical or unduly similar in design
or location in relationship to streets and to prevent buildings from
being improperly designed and located in relation to land contours,
lot lines and street lines.
The Planning Board may waive or vary any requirements
of this chapter where the layout of the neighborhood, lot pattern,
topography, observation of natural features used and the siting of
individual structures is such to avoid monotony of appearance despite
similarity of buildings.
