[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the City
of Coatesville 10-10-1989 by Ord. No. 845-89 as Ch. 26 of the 1989
Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
To protect the portions of the City of Coatesville
which recall the architectural and cultural heritage of our city and
state; to awaken in our people an interest in our historic past; and
to promote the general welfare, education and culture of our city,
there is hereby created a commission to be known and designated as
the "Historical Commission of the City of Coatesville, Pennsylvania."
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any structure designated by the Historical Commission, which
has also been approved and registered on the Pennsylvania Register
of Historic Places maintained by the Commonwealth Historical and Museum
Commission and the National Register of Historic Places maintained
by the United States Department of the Interior.
[Amended 9-9-1996 by Ord. No. 1033-96]
The Commission shall consist of seven (7) regular
members appointed by the City Council. In addition, the Mayor may
serve, ex officio, as a member of the Commission.
The term of office each of the seven (7) regular
members shall be three (3) years. The initial terms of the first seven
(7) members shall be as follows: Two (2) shall serve until the first
Monday of January 1965; two (2) until the first Monday of January
1966; and three (3) until the first Monday of January 1967. Their
successors shall serve for terms of three (3) years. An appointment
to fill a vacancy in office shall be only for the unexpired portion
of the term. Members shall serve without compensation.
No person shall be eligible to appointment who
is not a citizen of the United States and of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
At least four (4) members of the Commission must reside within the
city limits of Coatesville. Remaining members may reside within the
greater Coatesville area. The position of any member of the Commission
who thereafter moves his or her residence from the City of Coatesville
or its surrounding area shall be automatically considered vacant.
A.
The Commission shall hold meetings regularly, at least
once in each month or as matters before the Commission may require,
and shall designate the time and place thereof. The Commission may
adopt and alter rules and regulations governing its own organization
and procedure, consistent with the ordinances of the city and the
laws of the commonwealth.
B.
The Commission shall keep a record of its proceedings
and shall make annual report of its transactions and activities to
the City Council. All meetings, records and accounts of the Commission
shall be public.
C.
A majority of the Commission shall constitute a quorum
for the transaction of business. Action taken at any meeting shall
require the affirmative vote of a majority of the Commission.
D.
Attendance.
[Added 4-22-2013 by Ord. No. 1404-2013]
(1)
Any
member of the Historical Commission absent from three or more consecutive
regular meetings of the Historical Commission without an approved
leave of absence granted by the City Council after public hearing
and prior written notice thereof shall be removed from the Historical
Commission by the City Council of the City of Coatesville.
(2)
Any
member of the Historical Commission absent from 20% or more of the
regularly scheduled meetings of the Historical Commission within any
one-year period shall be notified in writing by the City Manager acting
on behalf of the City Council of the attendance requirements of this
subsection. Any member of the Historical Commission who is absent
from 20% or more of the regularly scheduled meetings within a one-year
period shall thereafter be removed for cause from such position by
the City Council with prior written notice after public hearing unless
such member resigns in writing or waives the public hearing in writing.
(3)
Any
member of the Historical Commission may be removed for cause as determined
by the City Council after public hearing and prior written notice
thereof.
(4)
The
provisions of this subsection shall not preclude the removal of any
member of the Historical Commission without cause by the City Council
when authorized by state law, City Charter or City ordinance.
A.
The functions of the Commission shall be to further
the interest of the people in all matters relating to the history
of the City of Coatesville and its environs. To that end, it may acquire
and maintain appropriate exhibits, issue bulletins and other publications,
cooperate in or sponsor commemorative, educational or research programs
and serve in an advisory capacity to the City Council in all such
matters.
B.
The Commission may, with the approval of the City
Council and in the name of the City of Coatesville, acquire, take
and hold, by purchase, gift, devise, bequest or otherwise, such real
and personal property as may be proper for carrying out the objects
and functions for which it is established, and any property, real
or personal, received in trust shall be held in the name of the city
but in conformity with the terms of the trust.
C.
The Commission may acquire, collect, own and exhibit,
in the name of the City of Coatesville, articles of historical interest
and other objects such as are usually incorporated in historical museums;
but any such articles received on loan or in trust shall be held in
conformity with such loan or trust agreement.
D.
When designated by the City Council to do so, the Commission shall carry out and enforce the powers and duties provided for in the Coatesville Zoning Ordinance, § 224-39F.
[Added 9-9-1996 by Ord. No. 1033-96[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided
for the renumbering of former Subsection D to Subsection E.
E.
The Commission shall have such other powers as are
herein prescribed or may be necessary hereunder for the proper discharge
of its duties.
The preservation and continued utilization of
districts, buildings or objects whose general character is important
historically or uniquely valuable for design or location are hereby
declared to be a public use, a form of municipal conservation, essential
to the public interest. The Commission is therefore charged with the
responsibility of developing and continuing an effective program of
landmark recognition and preservation. The Commission shall survey
and designate, in a suitable manner, areas, places, buildings, structures,
monuments, works of art and other objects having special historical,
architectural, community or aesthetic interest and value and worthy
of preservation.
The Commission shall have the power of review
and recommendation in any case involving the demolition of a landmark
structure or alteration that would be in such manner as to change
its essential character. The Commission shall have the opportunity
to study and review all plans and proposals involving the reconstruction,
alteration, restoration, demolition and razing of properly designated
landmarks as herein provided.
A.
The Building Inspector shall not issue a permit for
any reconstruction, alteration, restoration, demolition or razing
of a landmark structure until a copy of the application has been referred
to the Commission for its review as hereinafter provided.
B.
Upon receipt of an application for a building permit
for work to be done involving or affecting a landmark structure, the
Building Inspector shall act in accordance with the procedures presently
being following in that office, except as those procedures are necessarily
modified by the following requirements:
(1)
He or she shall forward to the office of the Commission
a copy of the application for a building permit, together with a copy
of the plot plan and the building plans and specifications filed by
the applicant.
(2)
He or she shall maintain in his or her office a record
of all such applications and of his or her handling of the same, which
shall be in addition to and appropriately cross-referenced to his
or her other records.
(3)
He or she shall require applicants to submit a sufficient
number of additional copies of material required to be attached to
an application for a building permit to ensure compliance with the
foregoing.
Upon receipt by the Commission of a notice that
an application for a building permit involving a landmark structure
has been filed, a report on said review, together with any recommendations,
shall be given to the City Council, in writing, within fifteen (15)
days from the date of said referral. If the Commission shall fail
to file such a report within the specified time and manner, it shall
be conclusively presumed that the Commission has approved the proposed
application.
In determining the counsel to be presented to
the Council of the City of Coatesville concerning the issuing of a
building permit for the erection, reconstruction, alteration, restoration,
demolition or razing of all or a part of a landmark structure, the
Commission shall consider and incorporate in its report the following
matters:
A.
The exact location of the area in which the work is
to be done.
B.
The exterior changes to be made or the exterior character
of the structure to be erected (outlining general design, architectural
features, arrangement, texture, material and color) and the relation
of such factors to the original structure and to other structures
in the area.
C.
A list of the surrounding structures, with their general
characteristics.
D.
The opinion of the Commission (including any dissent)
as to the appropriateness of the work proposed as it will preserve
and enhance or damage and destroy the historic or architectural aspect
and nature of the landmark structure in question.
E.
The specific counsel of the Commission to the Council
of the City of Coatesville as to the issuance of a building permit
for the work as proposed.
Upon receipt of an unfavorable written report
from the Commission, the Council of the City of Coatesville shall
consider the application and make a final determination thereon.