[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of North Hills 11-23-1981 by L.L. No. 13-1981 (Ch. 8 of the 1982
Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
It is the purpose of this chapter to preserve and
promote the character and appearance and conserve the property values
of the Village of North Hills, the attractiveness of whose residential
areas is the mainstay of the community, by providing procedures for
an architectural review of structures henceforth erected, reconstructed
or altered in the Village, and thereby:
(1)
To encourage good qualities of exterior building design
and good appearances and to relate such design and appearances to
the sites and surroundings of structures.
(2)
To permit originality and resourcefulness in building
design and appearances which are appropriate to the sites and surroundings.
(3)
To prevent such design and appearances as are unnecessarily
offensive to visual sensibilities.
B.
The Board of Trustees hereby finds that structures
which are visually offensive or inappropriate by reason of poor quality
of exterior design, monotonous similarity or striking visual discord
in relation to their sites or surroundings mar the appearances of
their areas, impair the use, enjoyment and desirability and reduce
the values of properties, are detrimental to the characters of neighborhoods,
prevent the most appropriate development and utilization of land and
therefore adversely affect the functioning, economic stability, prosperity,
health, safety and general welfare of the entire community.
[Amended 5-27-1987 by L.L. No. 3-1987]
A.
There is hereby created a Board of Architectural Review,
which shall consist of five members. All members of the Board shall
be residents of the Village and shall be specially qualified by reason
of training or experience in architecture, land development, community
planning, real estate, landscape architecture, engineering, building
construction or other relevant business or profession, or by reason
of civic interest and sound judgment to judge the effects of a proposed
building upon the desirability, property values and development of
surrounding areas. The members of the Board shall be appointed by
the Mayor, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees, and one
of those members shall be designated as Chair and one as Deputy Chair
in the same manner. The term of office of each member shall be three
official years, except that the initial appointments of one member
shall be for one official year, two members for two official years
and two members for three official years. Vacancies shall be filled
for the unexpired term of any member whose place has become vacant
in the same manner as provided for appointments of members. The members
designated as Chair and Deputy Chair shall be so designated for a
term of one official year. The Board of Architectural Review shall
appoint a Secretary, who shall keep or cause to be kept in the Village
office a comprehensive record of all meetings of the Board as well
as a record of all transactions handled by said Board and shall prepare
and file with the Board of Trustees on or before September 1 of each
year a complete report of the business handled by the Board during
the preceding year ending May 31.
[Amended 10-15-2014 by L.L. No. 6-2014]
B.
Alternate members. Subject to the approval of the
Board of Trustees, the Mayor may appoint not more than three alternate
members of the Architectural Review Board to serve in order of seniority
in place of any members of the Architectural Review Board or senior
alternate members who are unable for any reason to attend any particular
meeting of the Board. The alternate members of the Board shall have
all of the powers and duties of regular members at such times as the
alternate members are serving. Such alternate members shall be appointed
for terms of one official year each.
[Added 3-20-1996 by L.L. No. 5-1996]
[Amended 10-15-2014 by L.L. No. 6-2014]
Meetings of the Board of Architectural Review shall be held at the call of the Chair and at such other times as the Board shall determine. The Board may hold a public hearing when it deems the same to be in the public interest. A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each question or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and shall also maintain records of its examinations and other official actions, such records to be kept in the Village office. The Board may from time to time adopt, amend and repeal rules and regulations, not inconsistent with law or the provisions of this chapter, governing its procedure and the transactions of its business and for the purpose of carrying into effect the standards outlined in § 12-5 hereof. The adoption, amendment or repeal of such rules or regulations shall be taken only after a public hearing and shall be subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees.
A.
As soon as practicable and in any event within three
business days after determining that an application for a building
permit for the construction, reconstruction or alteration of any building
or structure complies with all provisions of the Code of the Village
of North Hills other than this chapter, the Code Enforcement Officer
shall transmit to each member of the Board of Architectural Review
a copy of any such application which comes within either of the following
categories:
B.
Applications must be accompanied by plans showing
all elevations of new structures and all affected elevations in the
case of additions or alterations. When required by the Code Enforcement
Officer or by the Board of Architectural Review, a site plan shall
be submitted showing both existing and proposed contours at five-foot
intervals, all existing trees with a trunk diameter of four inches
or more at a point three feet above the ground level and whether such
trees shall remain or be removed and/or other topographical features.
C.
Any person who wishes to have a review by the Architectural
Review Board of any proposed construction of, addition to or reconstruction
or alteration of any building or structure may submit an application
to the Architectural Review Board for such review. The Architectural
Review Board may thereafter process and act upon the said application
in the same manner as any other referral under this chapter.
[Added 4-24-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985]
D.
Exceptions. The provisions of this chapter shall not
apply to any permit for construction, alteration or improvement of
a building or structure performed under the direction and approval
of the Board of Trustees on property or buildings owned or leased
by the Village.
[Added 10-28-1998 by L.L. No. 6-1998]
A.
Recommendation of any building permit shall be by
a vote of at least a majority of the members of the Board of Architectural
Review.
B.
In considering an application for a permit, the Board
shall take into account natural features of the site and surroundings,
exterior design and appearances of existing structures and the character
of the district and its peculiar suitability for particular purposes,
with a view to conserving the values of property and encouraging the
most appropriate use of land.
C.
The Board may recommend approval of any application
referred to it upon finding that the building or structure for which
the permit was requested, if erected or altered in accordance with
the submitted plan, would be in harmony with the purpose of this chapter;
would not be visually offensive or inappropriate by reason of poor
quality of exterior design, monotonous similarity or striking visual
discord in relation to the sites or surroundings; would not mar the
appearance of the area; would not impair the use, enjoyment and desirability
and reduce the values of properties in the area; would not be detrimental
to the character of the neighborhood; would not prevent the most appropriate
development and utilization of the site or of adjacent lands; and
would not adversely affect the functioning, economic stability, prosperity,
health, safety and general welfare of the entire community.
D.
In recommending approval of any application, the Board
may impose appropriate conditions and safeguards designed to prevent
harmful effects.
E.
The Board may disapprove any application for a permit,
provided that the Board has afforded the applicant an opportunity
to confer upon suggestions for change of the plan, and provided that
the Board finds and states that the structure for which the permit
was requested would, if erected or altered as indicated, provoke one
or more of the harmful effects described in this chapter by reason
of:
(1)
Monotonous similarity to any other structure or structures
located or proposed to be located on the same street or a corner thereof
and within 250 feet of the site of the structure for which a building
permit is requested, in respect to one or more of the following features
of exterior design and appearance:
(a)
Substantially identical facade, disregarding color.
(b)
Substantially identical size and arrangement of either
doors, windows, porticoes, porches or garages or other openings, or
breaks or extensions in the facade, including reverse arrangements.
(c)
Other substantially identical features, such as but
not limited to setbacks from street lines, heights, widths and lengths
of elements of the building design, and exterior materials and treatments.
(2)
Striking dissimilarity, visual discord or inappropriateness
with respect to other structures located or proposed to be located
on the same street or a corner thereof and within 250 feet of the
site of the structure for which a building permit is requested, in
respect to one or more of the following features of exterior design
and appearance:
(a)
Facade, disregarding color.
(b)
Size and arrangement of doors, windows, porticoes,
porches or garages or other openings, breaks or extensions in the
facade.
(c)
Other significant design features, such as but not
limited to heights, widths and lengths of elements of design, exterior
materials and treatments, roof structures, exposed mechanical equipment,
service and storage areas, retaining walls, landscaping, signs, lightposts,
parking areas and fences, service and loading areas.
(3)
Visual offensiveness or other poor qualities of exterior
design, including, with respect to signs, considerations of the harmony
or discord of colors or incompatibility of the proposed structure
with the terrain on which it is to be located, including but not limited
to excessive divergences of the height or levels of any part of the
structure from the grade of the terrain.
[Amended 10-27-1982 by L.L. No. 16-1982]
A.
The
Board of Architectural Review shall advise with respect to public
buildings and such other matters as the Board of Trustees, the Board
of Appeals, or the Planning Board may refer to it.
[Amended 9-18-2019 by L.L. No. 3-2019]
B.
The members of the Board of Architectural Review shall
be notified by the Village Clerk of all scheduled hearings and meetings
of the Planning Board with respect to preliminary and/or final site
plan applications and shall have the right to attend and be heard
on such applications.
[Amended 1-19-2005 by L.L. No. 1-2005]
The Code Enforcement Officer shall refuse any building permit application disapproved as provided in § 12-5 hereof. If the Board of Architectural Review shall fail to approve or disapprove any application referred to it under § 12-4 hereof within 90 days of the date of referral of such application to it, the application is referred to the Board of Trustees.
[Amended 3-23-1988 by L.L. No. 3-1988]
Any applicant aggrieved by the action of the
Board of Architectural Review in disapproving a building permit application
and/or of the Code Enforcement Officer in denying such permit because
of such disapproval by the Board of Architectural Review may appeal
in writing to the Board of Trustees. Such appeal shall be filed within
30 days after the date of the determination appealed from. The Board
of Trustees shall consider such appeal at a meeting at which the applicant
is entitled to notice and to appear and be heard. The Board of Trustees
shall make its determination on the appeal within 75 days after the
date of filing of the appeal. Any determination made by the Board
of Trustees pursuant to this section may be reviewed by a proceeding
instituted in the manner provided by Article 78 of the Civil Practice
Law and Rules, commenced within 30 days after the date of the determination
by the Board of Trustees.
This chapter shall take effect immediately upon
filing pursuant to the Municipal Home Rule Law and shall be applicable
to all applications for building permits which are pending on the
effective date hereof or which are filed after the effective date
hereof.
[Added 8-9-1994 by L.L. No. 2-1994]
A.
Where a site located in an R-3 District has received authorization for incentive zoning or bonuses, as provided in § 215-12 of this Code, the following provisions shall be applicable notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter:
(1)
Notwithstanding any provision of this Code which may
otherwise require review of such changes in plans by the Architectural
Review Board or the Planning Board or otherwise limit or restrict
the location of dwellings having particular designs, where the Architectural
Review Board has approved the design and appearance of a particular
model home to be constructed in the project, dwellings conforming
to such approval and dwellings which do not contain substantial changes
to the design, appearance and materials of an approved model may be
located on any building lot within the site with a building permit
issued by the Building Department and without the requirement for
any further approval from the Architectural Review Board or any other
board or agency of the Village, and modifications and amendments to
such approved design and appearance may be approved by the Building
Department, provided that, in the reasonable judgment of the Code
Enforcement Officer, such modifications and amendments do not substantially
change the appearance of the proposed structure or are substantially
in conformity with the overall project design and appearance as intended
by the Architectural Review Board. For the purposes of this subsection,
where the architectural style, design and/or materials of a proposed
building are substantially the same as those elements of an approved
model or models, the design of the proposed building shall be deemed
not to contain substantial changes in the design, appearance or materials.
Variations in size, configuration and finish of a home and change
in the number of windows shall not constitute a substantial change
in a design. Where the approval of the Code Enforcement Officer is
required by this subsection, the determination of the Code Enforcement
Officer with respect to any request for such approval shall be made
within seven business days after submission of a request for such
approval. In the event that the applicant is aggrieved by any determination
of the Code Enforcement Officer pursuant to this subsection or in
the event that the Code Enforcement Officer fails to issue a determination
within the time provided in this subsection, such determination, or
such failure to issue a determination, may be appealed to the Architectural
Review Board, which Board shall have the same power with respect to
such request for review as such Board would have with respect to an
original application to such Board.
