[Ord. 1067, 1/18/2005, § 1]
Pursuant to the authority contained in the Act of June 13, 1961,
P.L. 282, No. 167, as amended, 53 P.S. § 8001 et seq., as
amended, there is hereby created a Historic District within the Borough
of Mechanicsburg.
[Ord. 1067, 1/18/2005, § 1]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Mechanicsburg
Historic Preservation Ordinance."
[Ord. 1067, 1/18/2005, § 1]
Article I, Section 27, of the Pennsylvania Constitution states:
"The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation
of the natural, scenic, historic and aesthetic values of the environment.
Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property
of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustees
of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them
for the benefit of all the people." The Council, in furtherance of
that right, establishes the Historic District for the following purposes:
A.Â
To promote, protect, enhance, perpetuate, and preserve the Historic
District for the educational, cultural, economic and general welfare
of the public through the preservation, protection and regulation
of buildings and structures, of historic and/or architectural interest
or importance within the Borough of Mechanicsburg.
B.Â
To safeguard the heritage of the Borough by preserving and regulating
a Historic District which reflects elements of its cultural, social,
economic, political, and architectural history.
C.Â
To preserve and enhance the environmental quality of the Borough's
neighborhoods.
D.Â
To strengthen the Borough's economic base by the stimulation
of the tourist industry.
E.Â
To establish and improve the Borough's property values.
F.Â
To foster economic development within the Borough.
G.Â
To foster civic pride in the beauty and accomplishments of the Borough's
past.
H.Â
To preserve and protect the cultural, historical and architectural
assets and resources of Mechanicsburg for which the citizens and officials
have determined to be of local, state or national, historical and/or
architectural significance.
I.Â
To provide for new buildings and alterations that will be harmonious
with existing historically and architecturally significant buildings
and streetscapes.
[Ord. 1067, 1/18/2005, § 1]
1.Â
For the purpose of this chapter:
A.Â
All words used in the present tense include the future tense.
B.Â
All words in the plural number include the singular number and all
words in the singular number include the plural number, unless the
natural construction of the word clearly indicates otherwise.
C.Â
The word "shall" is mandatory.
D.Â
The word "used" includes designated, intended, built, or arranged
to be used.
E.Â
The male gender includes female gender.
F.Â
The words "building" and "structure" shall be construed as if followed
by the phrase "or part thereof."
2.Â
ALTERATION
APPLICATION
A.Â
B.Â
C.Â
D.Â
E.Â
F.Â
G.Â
H.Â
BOROUGH
BOROUGH COUNCIL
BUILDING
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
CODE
CONSTRUCTION
COUNCIL
DEMOLITION
DEMOLITION BY NEGLECT
ERECTION
HARB
HISTORIC DISTRICT
HISTORICAL ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD (HARB)
PERMIT
PERMIT OFFICER
RECONSTRUCTION
REPAIRS
SIGN
STREET
STRUCTURE
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have
the definitions assigned:
Any act or process requiring a certificate of appropriateness,
building permit or zoning permit in the Historic District and any
other act or process not requiring such certificate or permit but
specifically listed in this Code or other Borough ordinance as a reviewable
action, including without limitation, the construction, replacement,
reconstruction, alteration, demolition, relocation or other change
in exterior appearance not constituting repairs (see definition of
"repairs") of any building, structure or portion thereof which is
visible from a street or public way.
A properly and fully completed application for a permit,
including building permit, zoning permit, demolition permit, sign
permit or related permit, and certificate of appropriateness which
conform to the submission criteria established by the Borough to include,
but not be limited to, the following activities in the Historic District:
Construct, reconstruct, restore, enlarge, alter or demolish
a building or structure.
Change the occupancy of a building or structure requiring greater
strength, exitway or sanitary provisions.
Change to another use.
Install or alter any equipment which is regulated by the Building,
Zoning and/or Subdivision and Land Development chapters[1] or any other Borough ordinance.
Replace roofs.
Build decks.
Construct patios.
Construct or place accessory buildings or structures on property.
The Borough of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
The Borough Council of the Borough of Mechanicsburg.
Any enclosed or open structure intended for occupancy and/or
use for human or animal habitation, or for storage of personal property,
and which is permanently affixed to the land, including manufactured
homes, mobile homes, covered porches, bay windows and chimneys.
The approval statement signed by the Council President which
certifies the historical appropriateness of work for which an application
is required under this chapter for the erection, construction, alteration,
reconstruction, restoration or demolition of all or any portion of
any building, structure, object, monument, or other resource within
the district and authorizes the issuance of a permit for the request.
The Code of Ordinances of the Borough of Mechanicsburg.
Any or all work necessary for the erection of any building
or structure or portion thereof.
The Borough Council of the Borough of Mechanicsburg.
The dismantling or tearing down and removal of all or any
portion of any building or structure and all operations incidental
thereto, including the neglect of routine maintenance and repairs
which can lead to deterioration, decay, and/or constitutes a public
safety concern.
The absence of routine maintenance and repair which facilitates
structural weakness, decay or deterioration in a building or structure
to the extent necessitating its demolition.
The result of construction such as all or any portion of
a building, structure, monument, sign, or object on the ground or
on a structure or building.
The Historical Architectural Review Board.
The area described in § 10A-201 of this chapter and as depicted on the Historic District Map of the Borough of Mechanicsburg established under the provisions of this chapter.
The Board that advises the Council on any requests for authorization
to erect, construct, alter, reconstruct, repair, restore, or demolish
any buildings or structures, within the Historic District.
A permit, when issued on behalf of the Borough by the Permit
Officer, which grants approval for the construction, erection, alteration,
reconstruction, restoration or demolition of all or a part of any
building, structure, object, monument, sign or other resource within
the Borough or for land uses within the Borough.
An employee or official of the Borough, whether the Codes
Administrator, Building Official, Building Permit Officer, Zoning
Officer or other authorized person, severally or in combination, authorized
by the Borough to issue permits.
The act or process of reproducing by new construction the
exact form and detail of a vanished building or structure as it appeared
at a specific period of time, but not necessarily of original material.
Any or all work involving the replacement of existing work
with like-kind, equivalent material for the purpose of maintenance,
but not including any addition, change or modification in construction.
Any display, structure, device or object which incorporates
lettering, logos, colors, lights, or illuminated inert gas tubes visible
to the public from a building or structure, which either conveys a
visual message to the public, or intends to advertise, direct, invite,
announce, or draw attention to goods, products, services, activities,
or facilities, excluding window displays, merchandise and temporary
signs.
A public right-of-way constructed to municipal standards
which affords primary vehicular traffic or pedestrian access to abutting
properties, which includes avenue, boulevard, road, highway, freeway,
parkway, public way and viaduct, but shall not include an alley.
Anything constructed or erected, having a permanent or semipermanent
location on another structure or in or upon the ground, including
without limitation buildings, sheds, manufactured homes, garages,
fences, gazebos, freestanding signs, billboards, antennas, satellite
sending or receiving dishes, vending machines, decks, and swimming
pools.
