[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Ocean Beach 9-10-2005 by L.L. No. 2-2005. 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 Ocean Beach, the attractiveness of whose residential
and business areas is the mainstay of the community, by providing
procedures for an architectural review of structures and buildings
henceforth erected, reconstructed or altered that are within a covered
property within 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.
C.
For the purposes of this chapter, a "covered property"
shall include all properties located within the Village's Business
District C and all properties situated outside of the Village's Business
District C which are used for a commercial purpose or in furtherance
of a commercial use. For the purpose of this chapter only, a single-family
residential rental property shall not be considered a commercial purpose
or in furtherance of a commercial use.
There is hereby created an Architectural Review
Board (hereinafter referred to as "the Board"), which shall be comprised
of and be identical to the members of the Village of Ocean Beach's
Planning Board.
A.
Meetings of the Architectural Review Board shall be
held at the call of the Chairman 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.
B.
A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum
for the transaction of business.
C.
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.
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 of a covered property complies with all provisions of
the Code of the Village of Ocean Beach other than this chapter, the
Building Inspector shall transmit to each member of the Architectural
Review Board 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 Building Inspector
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. Plans shall
include grade elevations, finish floor elevations and overall height
of all structures on site.
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.
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, leased or
maintained by the Village.
E.
Exclusions. The provisions of this chapter shall not
apply to the in-kind replacement of windows and doors of the same
material, color and size; repairs; and minor alterations, as determined
by the Building Inspector.
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 the 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 the adjacent lands;
and would not adversely affect the functioning, economic stability,
prosperity, health, safety and general welfare of the entire community.
Design features, including facade appearance, 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, light posts, and fences
are all subject to review.
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 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)
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, light
posts, 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.
F.
Appendix A, attached hereto and incorporated into
this chapter, shall be guidelines for review of submissions.[1] These are only guides and will be changed from time to
time as needed by the Architectural Review Board.
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is included at the end of this chapter.
G.
The Architectural Review Board's final action will
be in the form of a written recommendation to the Village of Ocean
Beach's Board of Trustees indicating whether the application is recommended
for approval, disapproval or approval with special conditions. Any
recommendation from the Architectural Review Board does not imply
or guarantee like action by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees
will make a final independent assessment of the application.
A.
The Architectural Review Board shall advise with respect
to public buildings and such other matters as the Board of Trustees,
the Zoning Board of Appeals or the Planning Board may refer to it,
however, such advice will continue to be subject to final approval
or disapproval by the Village of Ocean Beach's Board of Trustees.
B.
The members of the Architectural Review Board shall
be notified by the Village Clerk of all scheduled hearings and meetings
of the Planning Board with respect to preliminary and/for final site
plan applications and shall have the right to attend and be heard
on such applications,
The Building Inspector shall refuse any building permit application disapproved as provided in § 4-5 hereof. If the Architectural Review Board shall fail to approve or disapprove any application referred to it under § 4-4 hereof within 60 days of the date of referral of such application to it, approval of such application shall be deemed to have been recommended unless the applicant shall have agreed in writing to an extension of time.
A.
All final actions by way of recommendations from the
Architectural Review Board shall be forwarded to the Village of Ocean
Beach Board of Trustees for final review and action. The Board of
Trustees shall consider such application and recommendation at a meeting
at which the applicant is entitled to notice and to appear and be
heard. The Board of Trustees shall make its final determination within
75 days after the matter has been reviewed at a meeting.
B.
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 for any covered property
in the Village which are pending on the effective date hereof or which
are filed after the effective date hereof.
