Bloomsburg City Zoning Code

"Beginning at a point, said point being the northwesterly corner of the intersection of Fifth Street and Chestnut Avenue; thence in a northwesterly direction along the westerly side of Chestnut Avenue to a point, said point being the northwesterly corner of the intersection of Chestnut Avenue and Green Avenue; thence along the northerly side of Green Avenue to a point, said point being the northwesterly corner of the intersection of Green Avenue and Penn Street; thence northerly along the westerly side of Penn Street to a point, said point being the southwesterly corner of Penn Street and Lightstreet Road; thence southwesterly along the southerly side of Lightstreet Road to a point, said point being the northeasterly corner of the intersection of Lightstreet Road and Second Street; thence westerly across the intersection of Lightstreet Road and Second Street and along that portion of the property line of lot No. 48 fronting on Second Street to a point, said point being the common property line between lot No. 48 and lot No. 50 (tax map No. 05E-04); thence northerly along the common property line between lot No. 48 and lot No. 50 and the easterly side of lot No. 51 (tax map No. 05E-04) to a point, said point being the northeasterly corner of lot No. 51 (tax map No. 05E-04); thence westerly along the northerly side of lot Nos. 51, 52, and 55 (tax map No. 05E-04) and across Millville Road to a point on the easterly side of lot No. 6-A (tax map No. 05E-05); thence northerly along the westerly side of lot Nos. 6-A, 7, 10, and 11 (tax map No. 05E-05) to a point, said point being the southwesterly corner of the intersection of First Street and Millville Road; thence westerly along the southerly side of First Street to a point opposite the southeasterly corner of the property called Rosemont Cemetery; thence northerly across First Street and along the easterly boundary of Rosemont Cemetery abutting an alley and the rear property lines of lots fronting on Millville Road; thence generally northwesterly by various courses and distances along the rear and side property lines of lots fronting on Millville Road to a point, said point being the common property line between the most northwesterly boundary of Rosemont Cemetery and the Reading Railroad Company right-of-way; thence southwesterly along the common property line between Rosemont Cemetery and the Reading Company right-of-way to a point, said point being a northwesterly corner in the Reading Railroad Company line; thence southeasterly to a southwesterly corner of Rosemont Cemetery; thence northeasterly along the westerly boundary of the Rosemont Cemetery to a point; thence southerly along the westerly boundary of the Rosemont Cemetery to the northeasterly corner of lot No. 110 (tax map No. 05W-04); thence westerly along the northerly side of lot No. 110 (tax map No. 05W-04) to a point, said point being the southeasterly corner of lot No. 114 (tax map No. 05W-04); thence northerly along the easterly side of lot No. 114 (tax map No. 05W-04) to a point, said point being the northeasterly corner of lot of lot No. 114 (tax map No. 05W-04); thence southwesterly along the rear property lines of lots fronting on Williams Street and along the northerly side of Williams Street to its westerly terminus; thence westerly along the rear property lines of lot Nos. 129, 130, 131, and 132 (tax map No. 05W-04) to a point in the rear property line of lot No. 132, said point being opposite a line scaled 100 feet from the front line of properties fronting on West Street, thence southerly along a line scaled 100 feet from the front line of properties fronting on West Street to a point, said point being the intersection of this line with the northerly side of Fifth Street; thence easterly along the northerly side of Fifth Street and across Market Street to the northeasterly corner of the intersection of Market and Fifth Streets, thence southerly across Fifth Street and along the easterly side of Market Street to the northeasterly corner of the intersection of Market Street and Sterner Avenue; thence easterly along the northerly side of Sterner Avenue to the northwesterly corner of the intersection of Sterner Avenue and East Street; thence northwesterly along the westerly side of East Street and across Fifth Street to the northwesterly corner of the intersection of East Street and Fifth Street; thence across East Street and along the northerly side of Fifth Street to the northwesterly corner of the intersection of Fifth Street and Chestnut Avenue, being the place of beginning."

District boundary lines are intended to follow or be parallel to the right-of-way line of streets, streams and railroads and lot or property lines as they may exist on a recorded deed or plan of record in the Columbia County Recorder of Deeds Office at the time of the adoption of this Part, unless such district boundary lines are fixed by dimensions as shown on the "Bloomsburg Historic District" map and as described in subsection (1) above.

Where a district boundary is not fixed by dimensions and where it approximately follows lot lines and where it does not scale more than 10 feet therefrom, such lot lines shall be construed to be such boundaries unless specifically shown otherwise.

In unsubdivided land or where a district boundary divides a lot, the location of such boundary, unless the same is indicated by dimensions, shall be determined by the use of the scale appearing on the Map or by survey of a registered surveyor hired and paid for by the property owner questioning or contesting the boundary location.

The primary function of the HARB shall be to advise the Bloomsburg Town Council on issuing certificates of appropriateness pursuant to this Part.

The HARB shall apply the guidelines included in this Part and shall require plans, drawings or other information necessary to review and recommend the Certificate of Appropriateness.

The HARB shall adopt its own procedural regulations.

The Board should cooperate with the Bloomsburg Historic Preservation Society to conduct ongoing surveys to document the historical and architectural significance of buildings and sites in the historic district, maintain a register of structures and conduct public education programs.

The HARB shall advise owners of properties in the historic district on the physical and financial aspects of preservation, rehabilitation and reuse.

The HARB may call upon experts in historic preservation and in other technical fields for advice.

The HARB shall, when requested by Town Council, testify before Town Council, Boards and Commissions on any matter affecting buildings or sites of historic or architectural significance in the Town.

The HARB shall keep abreast of and advise on, when requested by the Bloomsburg Zoning Hearing Board or Bloomsburg Planning Commission, proposed zoning amendments, special exception uses, conditional uses and variances affecting structures and sites in the historic district.

The HARB may accept gifts, grants, and money for publishing educational materials, hiring consultants or for other activities appropriate to this Part.

Structures in the Historic District shall be classified by age and historic and architectural significance rather than by structural stability or condition of maintenance. These designations correspond respectively to the significant, contributing and intrusion classifications on the 1980 historic site survey and the 1988 site survey update.

For structures classified as contributing or supplemental, a certificate shall not be required for repairs. For structures classified as contributing or supplemental, a certificate shall be required for the following:

Structures classified as notable require certificates of appropriateness before the Code Enforcement Officer shall issue a building permit for exterior repair, alteration, addition or demolition.

All new construction shall require a certificate.

The Board of Historic Architectural Review shall base their recommendations for Certificates of Appropriateness on the Evaluation Criteria in Appendix A.[1]

Within 30 days from the effective date of this Part, every property owner within the Historic District shall be notified of the classification assigned to his or her property, along with a brief explanation of the classification system.

Any person aggrieved by the classification assigned to his or her property may, within 90 days from the effective date of this Part, file a written statement appealing the classification to Town Council. Town Council will hold a hearing on any such appeal at its next regularly scheduled meeting and reach a decision thereon either at the meeting or within 45 days thereafter, and send the appellant a written notice of the decision. Any further appeal shall be in the manner provided by § 27-1311(4) of this Part.

Issuing Building Permits. In accordance with the Town of Bloomsburg Floodplain Management Ordinance [Chapter 8], the Code Enforcement Officer shall issue building permits for all repairs, alterations, restorations, new construction, enlargements, demolitions or razing of any structure or part of any structure in the Historic District. The Code Enforcement Officer shall require certificates of appropriateness before issuing building permits for properties in the Historic District, in accordance with § 27-1310.

Applications for Permits. When the Code Enforcement Officer receives a building permit application for a property in the Historic District, procedures for the office, at that time, shall be followed. The Code Enforcement Officer shall also verify the classification of the property and the type of work to be done to determine whether a certificate of appropriateness shall be required. If a certificate is required, the Code Enforcement Officer shall:

Hazardous Structures. If a building presents a clear and present danger to the public or has been rendered unfit for habitation because of fire, explosion or similar cause, the terms of this Part may be temporarily waived to the extent that the applicant can render interim, short term repairs to ensure the property is safe and habitable under the terms of the Building Code [Chapter 5] of the Town of Bloomsburg. Any changes made to the building other than emergency repairs and any permanent alterations shall be subject to the requirements of § 27-1310.

Receipt of Application for Permit Requiring a Certificate of Appropriateness. The Code Enforcement Officer shall send the HARB every application for a building permit for which a certificate shall be required. The HARB shall review and make recommendations to the Town Council on granting a certificate. The complete process of application to and review by the Code Enforcement Officer and the HARB, shall not exceed 45 days.

Board Review and Recommendation. The HARB shall review and consider each application based on the evaluation criteria in Appendix A of this Chapter[1] and shall submit its recommendation to the Town Council in writing as set forth below. Each recommendation shall be submitted separately to the Town Council:

Notification of Applicant. The HARB shall notify the applicant in writing, on the forms furnished by the Town, of its recommendation within three days of its decision. In case the Board recommends disapproval, it shall indicate to the applicant the changes in the plans and specifications that would protect the distinctive historic character of the property and district. Where disapproval is recommended, an applicant will have a period five days from receipt of notification of the Board's recommendation within which to resubmit the application with the suggested changes. The applicant may request, in writing, an additional 15 days during which to make changes and resubmit the application. In each case, the HARB's written report of recommendations[3] shall be sent to the applicant within three days of the decision of the HARB, whether the decision is a recommendation of approval or disapproval and whether it is a decision on an original application or a resubmitted application. This notification shall be deemed to be given to the applicant on the date the written report of recommendation is mailed to the applicant if ordinary United States mail is utilized.

Report of Recommendation to Town Council: The HARB shall submit a copy of its written report of recommendation to Town Council for its consideration at its next meeting. In cases where the HARB has recommended disapproval of an original application for a certificate of appropriateness, the HARB shall not immediately submit its report to Council but, rather, shall withhold its report to Council for five days from the date the applicant is notified of the HARB's intent to recommend against granting the certificate. If the applicant does not resubmit the application, then the report recommending disapproval of the application shall be submitted to Council. If the applicant has made a written request for a fifteen-day extension to resubmit the application, pursuant to subsection (2)(C) of this section, then the report shall not be submitted to the Council until the expiration of that extended resubmission period. In any event, upon receipt of a resubmitted application, the HARB shall submit its written report of recommendation to Council upon reaching a decision.

Consideration of Reports from the HARB. At a regular or special meeting, the Town Council shall consider the HARB's written report of recommendation on a given application for a certificate of appropriateness and shall either approve the application and issue a certificate or disapprove the application and deny a certificate. In determining whether to certify the appropriateness of the application by the issuance of a certificate, the Town Council shall apply the evaluation criteria in Appendix A.[4] If a certificate is issued, such issuance will authorize the Code Enforcement Officer to issue a building permit for the work covered. If the certificate is denied, a building permit may not be issued.

Notification of Decision. The applicant shall be notified, in writing, of the Town Council's decision within three days of its decision. If the written notification is mailed, the date of the mailing shall be deemed the date of notification if ordinary United States mail is utilized. A copy of the decision shall also be provided to the Code Enforcement Officer. Should Council fail to notify the applicant of its decision within the specified time, it shall be assumed as a matter of law that Council has approved the issuance of a certificate, unless the applicant waives the time limit in writing.

Denial and Reconsideration by Town Council. When an application has been disapproved and a Certificate of Appropriateness denied, the applicant may submit a written request, on a form to be provided therefor, for a hearing for the purpose of reconsidering the application. The Town Council shall hold such a hearing at its next regularly scheduled meeting. The applicant shall be sent notice, not less than 10 days before the meeting, of the time and place of the meeting at which the hearing will be held. Council shall make a final decision and notify the applicant thereof, within 10 days of the hearing on reconsideration, in the same manner as provided in subsection (3)(B) of this section for notification of Council's original decision. The Code Enforcement Officer shall also be notified of the final decision.