Collegeville City Zoning Code

Preserve and protect buildings, structures, sites, and objects of historic value that exist within the Borough. Preservation of these historic resources is in the best interest of the health, prosperity, and welfare of Collegeville Borough by enhancing property values, improving aesthetics of the built and natural environment, and creating the potential for heritage tourism.

Implement the goals of Article I, Section 27, of the Pennsylvania Constitution which establishes the commonwealth's policy of encouraging the preservation of historic and aesthetic resources.

Implement the goals of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as presented in Section 105 of the Act,[1] and the purposes of Article VI, which authorizes the regulation, restriction, and prohibition of uses and structures at, along, or near places having unique historical, architectural, or patriotic interest or value, and which recognizes that zoning ordinances "shall provide for the protection of natural and historic features and resources."

For any property shown on the Historic Resources List, the requirements contained in this article shall:

All property on the associated parcel, including land and improvements shown and described on the Historic Resources List is considered part of the Historical Overlay and is governed by the provisions of this article.

As authorized by 35 P.S. § 7210.502, the Pennsylvania Construction Code, the Zoning Officer shall not be required to issue a building permit or demolition permit for any property on the Historic Resources List until all other applicable approvals required by this article have been obtained and appropriate documentation presented.

An applicant for conditional use approval from Borough Council or for a special exception or variance from the Zoning Hearing Board may, as part of the application submission or as part of the hearing record, waive or extend the time periods for a hearing and/or decision that are otherwise applicable under the terms of this chapter and the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.[1]

Is associated with an event that is significant to the history of Collegeville Borough, the commonwealth, or the nation.

Is representative of broad patterns of development, heritage, or culture of Collegeville Borough, the commonwealth, or the nation.

Is associated with persons or groups of people of significance to the history or culture of Collegeville Borough, the commonwealth, or the nation.

Embodies distinctive characteristics of style, type, period or method of construction of architecture.

Is or contains the work of a notable architect, artist, craftsperson, builder, or developer.

Has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.

Was built prior to 1900.

Nomination and evaluation by the Borough Council. Borough Council or a Borough resident or business owner shall review and make a recommendation to the Borough Zoning Officer who may then refer to Borough Council to have a hearing to determine whether a resource(s) meets two or more criteria for designation as an historic resource.

Review and adoption by the Borough Council. The Borough Council shall hold a public hearing to consider the nomination of a property using the same procedures specified in § 680-55 to determine if the resource should be added to the Historic Resources List.

Borough Council identified the initial list of historic resources in the Borough and listed on the Historic Resources List.

Prior to enacting this article which includes the properties listed on the Historic Resources List at Appendix B, Borough Council held public meetings for the purposes of receiving written and oral testimony from the public regarding the properties considered for inclusion on the Historic Resource List. Upon conclusion of the public meetings, Borough Council voted on each historic resource separately. The proposed list also received Planning Commission review as part of the enactment process of this ordinance.

Written documentation shall be made available to the public as to how each of the items on the initial Historic Resources List meet the required criteria as outlined in this article.

In-kind maintenance and repair. These provisions shall not be construed to prevent the ordinary maintenance or repair of any historic resource where such work does not otherwise require a permit and where the purpose and effect of such work are to correct any deterioration or decay of, or damage to, an historic resource and to restore the same to its condition prior to the occurrence of such deterioration, decay, or damage. The Zoning Officer shall interpret "in-kind" as being substantially similar, if not identical, to the design and fabric at the time of the application.

Emergency repairs. In case of emergency, such as storm or fire damage, the Zoning Officer may approve a building permit for temporary measures to stabilize or secure an historic resource. To qualify for this exception, the applicant must demonstrate that the work will be "reversible" (i.e., can be removed without altering or damaging the historic resource and will not further damage the historic resource). As applied to this section, "temporary" means not more than one year from the start of construction. The Zoning Officer may approve one extension of not more than of six months.

Nonhistoric outbuildings. The Zoning Officer may give consideration in the form of relief to otherwise applicable sections of this article for resources that do not contribute to the historical or architectural significance of the property, such that alterations to or demolition of these resources do not adversely impact the historic resource(s) on the property or historic resources on adjacent properties.

Recent interior and exterior photographs of historic resource proposed for demolition.

Floor plans of historic resource proposed for demolition.

Site plan showing all historic resources, buildings, and structures on the property.

Reasons for demolition.

Future use of the property.

Method of demolition.

Proposed disposition of materials.

Timeline for implementation of the proposed use of the property.

Economic feasibility of adaptively reusing the historic resource.

Potential public safety issues posed by the current condition of the historic resource.

Demonstration of financial hardship and/or no reasonable economic use, if applicable. The applicant may be required to prepare a financial analysis, which may include, but not be limited to, amount paid for the property, date of purchase and party from whom it was purchased, and most recent assessed value of the land and improvements. For depreciable properties, a pro forma financial statement shall be prepared by an accountant or broker of record. Applicant may be required to demonstrate there are no assets available for the repair or maintenance of the property.

A determination by a professional structural engineer approved by the Zoning Officer specializing in historic structures that the building is structurally unsound and cannot be stabilized.

Borough Council decision. Within 60 days of receipt of a complete application for demolition the Borough Council shall, at a public meeting, adhere to the following procedures:

Action by Zoning Officer. The Zoning Officer will be directed to issue, delay or deny issuance of the demolition permit.

A demolition permit of an historic resource may be issued only when one or more of the following conditions have been met:

In the event that a demolition permit is issued, Borough Council may require the property owner or responsible party to produce, at its own expense, written and photographic documentation of the resource prior to the commencement of demolition activities.