Pittsford Town City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXXI
Design Review
§ 185-204 Findings and purpose.
The Town Board hereby finds that excessive uniformity, dissimilarity, or inappropriateness with respect to existing neighborhood character and/or context or poor quality of design in the exterior appearance of buildings erected in any area in the Town adversely affects the desirability of the immediate area and the neighboring areas for residential and business purpose or other purposes and, by so doing, impairs neighborhood character, impairs the benefits of occupancy of existing property in such areas, impairs the stability and value of both improved and unimproved real property in such areas with attendant deterioration of conditions affecting the health, safety and general welfare of the community and destroys a proper relationship between the taxable value of real property in such areas and the cost of the municipal services provided therefor. It is the purpose of this article to prevent these and other harmful effects of such exterior appearance of buildings erected or altered in any area in the Town and thus to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the community, conserve the value of buildings and encourage the most appropriate use of land with the Town.
§ 185-205 Design review required.
A.
No person shall carry out any new construction or alteration involving exterior elements of a building, sign or other structure without first obtaining design review approval from the Design Review and Historic Preservation Board, except that review under the provisions of this Article shall not be required with respect to any such new construction or alteration for which a certificate of appropriateness is required pursuant to Article XXX of this chapter; or with respect to exterior alterations of residential or agricultural structures that do not require a building permit; or for accessory structures that are in full conformance with the requirements of § 185-113 of this chapter. The Design Review and Historic Preservation Board may approve, approve conditionally subject to specified modifications or disapprove any application for design review. Any disapproval shall be based on a finding that the building, sign or other structure for which design review approval was applied, would, if erected or altered, result in one or more of the harmful effects set forth in § 185-204 of this article.
B.
As to buildings and other structures, the Design Review and Historic Preservation Board may disapprove such application if it finds one or more of the harmful effects set forth in § 185-204 of this article, by reason of:
(1)
Excessive similarity to any other nearby structure with respect to one or more of the following features of exterior design and appearance:
(a)
Apparently identical front or side elevations.
(b)
Substantially identical size and arrangement of either doors, windows, porticos or other openings or breaks in the elevation facing the street, including reverse arrangement.
(c)
Other significant identical features of design, such as but not limited to material, roofline and height or other design elements, provided that a finding of excessive similarity shall state not only that such excessive similarity exists, but also that it is of such a nature as to be reasonably expected to provoke one or more of the harmful effects set forth in this article.
(2)
Excessive dissimilarity to any other nearby structure with respect to one or more of the following features:
(a)
Height of building or height of roof.
(b)
Other significant design features such as material or quality of architectural design, provided that a finding of excessive dissimilarity exists, but that it is of such a nature as to be reasonably expected to provoke one or more of the harmful effects set forth in this section, and that the finding is not based on personal preference as to taste or choice of architectural style.
(3)
Inappropriateness in relation to the established neighborhood character and/or context of other structures in residential, commercial and industrial districts in respect to significant design features, such as material or quality or architectural design, provided that a finding of inappropriateness shall state not only that such inappropriateness exists, but also that it is of such nature as to be reasonably expected to provoke one or more of the harmful effects set forth in this section, and that the finding is not based on personal preference as to taste or choice of architectural style.
C.
As to signs, the Design Review and Historic Preservation Board may disapprove such application if it finds one or more of the harmful effects set forth in § 184-204 of this article, by reason of noncompliance with any of the following design guidelines:
(1)
Signs shall be designed to be compatible with the surroundings and appropriate to the architectural character of the buildings on which they are placed. Sign panels and graphics shall be related with, and not cover, architectural features and should be in proportion to them.
(2)
Signs shall be appropriate to the types of activities they represent.
(3)
Layout shall be orderly and graphics should be of simple shape, such as rectangle, circle or oval.
(4)
Illumination shall be appropriate to the character of the sign and surroundings.
(5)
Groups of related signs shall express uniformity and create a sense of harmonious appearance.
(6)
All signage shall be professional in appearance and construction and shall not visually detract from the character of the area or have a negative effect upon the quality and value of surrounding properties.
§ 185-206 Time for decision.
The Design Review and Historic Preservation Board shall approve, approve conditionally or disapprove any application for design review within 90 days of the date of filing such application.
§ 185-207 Appeals.
Any person aggrieved by the action of the Design Review and Historic Preservation Board in disapproving a building permit application and of the Code Enforcement Officer in denying such permit because of such disapproval may take an appeal therefrom to the Zoning Board of Appeals.