It is hereby declared as a matter of public policy that the
protection, enhancement and perpetration of landmarks and historic
districts is necessary to promote the economic, cultural, educational,
and general welfare of the public. Inasmuch as the identity of a people
is founded on its past, and inasmuch as East Aurora has many significant
historic, architectural and cultural resources which constitute its
heritage, this chapter is intended to:
A. Protect and enhance the landmarks and historic districts which represent
distinctive elements of East Aurora's historic, architectural
and cultural heritage;
B. Foster civic pride in the accomplishments of the past;
C. Protect and enhance East Aurora's attractiveness to visitors
and support and stimulus to the economy thereby provided; and
D. Ensure the harmonious, orderly, and efficient growth and development
of the Village of East Aurora.
There is hereby created a commission to be known as the "East
Aurora Historic Preservation Commission."
A. The Commission shall consist of at least seven members to be appointed,
to the extent available in the community, by the Mayor as follows:
at least one shall be an architect; at least one shall be an historian;
at least one shall be an attorney; at least one shall be a resident
of an historic district; one shall be a licensed real estate professional,
to the extent available, and the remaining members shall have demonstrated
significant interest in and commitment to the field of historic preservation
evidenced either by involvement in a local historic preservation group,
employment or volunteer activity in the field of historic preservation,
or other serious interest in the field; and all members shall have
a known interest in historic preservation and architectural development
within the Village of East Aurora.
B. Commission members shall serve for terms of four years and can serve
an unlimited number of terms.
C. Commission members are required to attend one training event per
year.
D. The Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Commission shall be elected
by and from among the members of the Commission.
E. The Commission requires an independent secretary at its meetings.
F. The powers of the Commission shall include:
(1) Promulgation of rules and regulations as necessary for the conduct
of its business.
(2) Adoption of criteria for the identification of significant historic,
architectural, and cultural landmarks and for the delineation of historic
districts.
(3) Conduct of surveys of significant historic, architectural, and cultural
landmarks and historic districts within the Village.
(4) Designation of identified structures or resources as landmarks and
historic districts.
(5) Acceptance on behalf of the Village of the donation of facade easements
and development rights; the making of recommendations to the Village
Board of Trustees concerning the acquisition of facade easements or
other interests in real property as necessary to carry out the purposes
of this chapter.
(6) Increasing public awareness of the value of historic, cultural and
architectural preservation by developing and participating in public
education programs.
(7) Making recommendations to the Village Board of Trustees concerning
the utilization of state, federal or private funds to promote the
preservation of landmarks and historic districts within the Village
of East Aurora.
(8) Recommending acquisition of a landmark structure by the Village of
East Aurora where its preservation is essential to the purposes of
this chapter and where private preservation is not feasible.
(9) Approval or disapproval of applications for certificates of appropriateness
pursuant to this chapter.
G. The Commission shall meet as least monthly, but meetings may be held
at any time on the written request of any two of the Commission members
or on the call of the Chairman or the Mayor.
H. A quorum for the transaction of business shall consist of four of
the Commission's members, but not less than a majority of the
full authorized membership may grant or deny a certificate of appropriateness.
I. Upon request by the Commission, the Village Attorney and Village
Code Enforcement Officer (CEO) are required to provide the Commission
with timely copies of all correspondence, notices of violations, and
any other records.
The Commission shall delineate individual landmarks or historic
districts in the following manner:
A. Initiation of proposed designation. Designation of an individual
historic landmark or historic district may be proposed by the Commission,
by the owner of the property, or by any resident of the Village of
East Aurora.
B. Public hearing; general notice.
(1) Within a reasonable time after receipt of a full application or other
matter referred to it, the Commission shall schedule a public hearing
on all proposed resource, individual landmark or historic district
designations. Public notice of any such hearing shall be given by
publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the Village
at least 15 days prior to the public hearing date.
(2) The Commission shall require submission of written comments on the
application prior to designation of any landmark or historic district.
(3) The Commission, property owners, and any interested parties may present
testimony or documentary evidence at the hearing which will become
part of a record regarding the historic, architectural, or cultural
importance of the proposed resource, individual landmark or historic
district.
C. Notice of public hearing; multiple properties proposed for designation.
(1) Ten properties or less: Notice of public hearing for a proposed designation
involving no more than 10 properties shall be sent by certified mail,
return receipt requested, or courier service with proof of delivery
or personal service with proof of delivery to the owners of properties
located within the area of the proposed historic district at least
15 days prior to the date of the public hearing. Such notice shall
include a description of the properties proposed for designation and
state the time and place where any public hearing to consider such
designation will be held by the Commission.
(2) More than 10 properties: Where the proposed designation of an historic
district includes more than 10 properties and the Commission deems
individual notice infeasible, notice may instead be published at least
once in newspaper of general circulation in the Village 15 days prior
to the date of the public hearing. The notice shall specify the time
and place of the public hearing, a brief description of the proposed
designation, and the location where the proposal may be reviewed prior
to the hearing.
(3) The notice provisions are in addition to the general notice requirements under Subsection
B of this section.
D. Work moratorium. Once the Commission has issued notice of a proposed
designation, it may recommend to the municipal governing board that
a moratorium be put in place, prohibiting any work relating to the
individual landmark or district proposed for designation as long as
the proposed designation is under active consideration by the Commission
and until the Commission has made its decision on designation.
E. Commission record. The Commission shall compile a public record in
support of its delineation of a resource, landmark or historic district.
In addition to testimony or documentary evidence received at any public
hearing, the record may also contain reports, public comments, expert
testimony, or other evidence offered outside of the hearing, but submitted
for the Commission's consideration by the date of the hearing.
At a minimum, the record of the delineation shall contain the application,
Commission and/or staff reports, any comments made on the application
at the public hearing, and the Commission's recommendation to
the Village Board of Trustees to approve, approve with modifications,
or deny the application requesting designation.
F. Village decision. Within 62 days after the close of the public hearing,
the Village Board of Trustees shall by resolution undertake a designation
in whole or in part, or shall disapprove in entirety, setting forth
in writing the reasons for the decision. Notice of the Village Board
designation shall be sent by the Commission to the applicants and
owners of a designated property by certified mail, return receipt
requested, or in the case of an approved historic district, notice
shall be sent by the Commission to the applicants and owners of all
properties within the approved district by certified mail, return
receipt requested.
G. The Commission may agree with the applicant, in writing, to extend
the time period within which a recommendation will be made.
H. The Commission shall forward notice of each property designated as
an individual landmark and the boundaries of each designated historic
district to the Building Department and Planning Commission, and both
the Village Clerk and County Clerk for recordation.
I. Failure to send notice. Failure to send any notice by mail to any
property owners where the address of such owner is not a matter of
property tax records shall not invalidate any proceedings in connection
with the proposed designation.
J. Amendment or rescission. The Commission may amend or rescind any
designation of an individual landmark or historic district in the
same manner and procedure as followed for designation.
No person shall carry out any exterior alteration, restoration,
reconstruction, demolition, new construction or moving of a landmark
or property within an historic district, nor shall any person make
any material change in the appearance of such a property, including,
but not limited to, its light fixtures, signs, sidewalks, fences,
steps, paving or other exterior elements visible from a public street
or alley which affects the appearance and cohesiveness of the historic
district, without first obtaining a certificate of appropriateness
from the Historic Preservation Commission. When making its determination,
the Commission may consider whether or not the proposed changes or
renovations can be seen from a public right-of-way.
Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Historic Preservation
Commission relating to hardship or a certificate of appropriateness
may, within 15 days of the decision, file a written application with
the Village Board of Trustees for review of the decision.