Killingworth City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXXVIII
Preservation of Historic Buildings and Structures
§ 500-233 Definitions.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
A building or structure is considered historic if it meets at least one of the following criteria:
Any building or structure which, in whole or in part, is known or presumed to be at least 75 years old or which has been determined by the Historic Review Committee or other designated authority to be significant to the community based on one or more of the following criteria:
The building or structure is listed on the State or National Register of Historic Places, or is partially or completely within the boundaries of an area so listed; or
The building or structure has been determined by the State Historic Preservation Office and/or the National Park Service to be eligible for listing on the State or National Register of Historic Places; or
The building or structure has documented associations with one or more historic persons or events, or with the broad architectural, cultural, political, economic, or social history of the town, the state, or the nation; or
The building or structure has documented historical or architectural importance in terms of period, style, method of construction, specific use, or association with a recognized builder or architect, either by itself or in the context of a group of buildings.
The building or structure is listed as an historically significant building or site in the Killingworth Plan of Conservation and Development.
The building is one of approximately 150 historically significant houses and structures as inventoried in Killingworth's Survey of Architecturally Significant Buildings, prepared in cooperation with the Connecticut River Estuary Regional Planning Agency in 1980.
§ 500-234 Purposes and intent.
The purpose of this regulation is to further the preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, reconstruction and/or adaptive reuse of historic buildings or structures. The regulation may be applied in those circumstances where applicable zoning regulations have the practical effect of requiring demolition or discouraging the preservation or continued use of historic buildings. The provisions of this regulation are applied over the existing zoning regulations for the district.
§ 500-235 Application requirements.
A.
The continued use or occupancy of the building or structure would not be permitted under the existing regulations for the district and would require or incentivize the removal or demolition in order to establish a new use, building, or structure that would comply with the existing regulations.
B.
In addition to an application for an historic building or structure, the applicant must submit the following:
(1)
Information sufficient to demonstrate that the building or structure meets any one of the criteria set forth in the definition of "historic building or structure" in § 500-233A(1) through (6).
(2)
Any proposed plans for alteration to the historic building or structure or its use.
(3)
All applications shall be accompanied by a perpetual preservation easement pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes, § 47-42a-c, enforceable by the Planning and Zoning Commission with the advice of the Historic Review Committee, which shall provide, among other things, for the right of the holder of the easement to do all things necessary to preserve the structural and historic integrity of the historic building or structure and to charge the expense thereof to the owner upon the owner's failure to keep the exterior of the structure in good repair.
§ 500-236 Standards and requirements.
A.
When considering an application, the Planning and Zoning Commission shall consider and determine in each case whether:
(1)
The preservation of the historic building or structure is in the public interest and will promote the general health and welfare of the residents of the Town.
(2)
The proposal will permit the preservation and exterior historic integrity of the historic building or structure.
(3)
The proposal will be contextually consistent with the architectural design, scale and massing of the subject structure as well as with its immediate surroundings.
(4)
The proposal will be consistent with the current Town Plan of Conservation and Development.
B.
Any permit granted under this regulation shall prescribe the specific conditions to be observed and exterior architectural elements which are to be maintained for the historic building or structure.
C.
Once a permit has been granted, the historic building or structure shall not be altered unless such alteration is reviewed by the Commission, with referral to and due consideration of the recommendations of the Historic Review Committee.
§ 500-237 Permitted uses of historic building or structure.
A.
General principal uses requiring zoning administrative permit. The following general principal uses only when specifically authorized in the particular instance by a zoning administrative permit issued by the Zoning Enforcement Officer:
(1)
Customary home occupations, subject to the conditions in § 500-43A(3).
(2)
Family day-care home licensed by the State Department of Public Health.
B.
Principal uses requiring site plan approval. The following principal uses only when specifically authorized in the particular instance by site plan approval by the Commission subject to the conditions prescribed in or pursuant to Article XXVI of these regulations. An application for site plan review shall be prepared and submitted in the same manner as provided in Article XXVI for special exception applications.[2]
(1)
Bed-and-breakfast in which the resident owner grants or offers to grant for hire no more than four individual sleeping accommodations, with or without meals, intended primarily for the accommodation of transients for a period of less than 14 days, to persons who are not members of the family of the resident owner.
C.
Special principal uses requiring a special exception. The following special principal uses only when specifically authorized in the particular instance by special exception subject to the conditions prescribed in Article XXVI of these regulations.[3]