The city council finds that bizarre, garish or otherwise inappropriate exterior design and appearance of buildings, structures and improvements erected in business, commercial, research and development and industrial areas adversely affects the desirability of immediately adjacent and neighboring properties; impairs the benefits of occupancy as to existing properties in such areas; jeopardizes the economic stability and taxable value of businesses, land and buildings in such areas, and in the City of Poquoson as a whole; prevents the optimum use of real estate in the city; induces physical degeneration of property with attendant deterioration of conditions bearing directly on the public health, safety, morals and general welfare of the citizens; deprives the city of tax revenue and destroys the proper balance between the taxable value of real property and the cost of municipal services.

Therefore, in order to encourage the construction of attractive buildings, to protect and promote the general welfare and to prevent deterioration of the appearance of the city which would tend to create hazards to public health, safety and morals, destroy opportunity for the development of business and industry, and thereby deteriorate taxable land values and commerce below levels necessary to finance acceptable levels of municipal services, it is the purpose of this article to provide for the designation of architectural control districts within land areas zoned for business, commercial, research and development and industrial areas to establish a board of architectural review to regulate the exterior appearance of buildings, structures and improvements proposed for erection or alteration in such districts and to set standards and procedures to be followed by such board and, on appeal from its decision, by the city council.

(Ord. No. 967, § 1, 10-15-1996)

All land areas located within the Village Commercial Zoning District, the General Commercial Zoning District, the Research and Development/Office Zoning District and nonresidential structures located within 300 feet of the western and eastern right-of-way lines of Wythe Creek Road extending from Hampton's Corporate Limits northward to Yorktown Road are hereby designated as an architectural control district.

(Ord. No. 967, § 1, 10-15-1996; Ord. No. 1060, § 1, 3-13-2000)

(a)

Established; composition; qualifications, appointment and terms of office of members; jurisdiction generally. There is hereby established a board of architectural review to consist of five members appointed by majority vote of the city council for terms not to exceed three years. At least one member of the board shall be an architect duly licensed in Virginia and at least one shall be a member of the Virginia State Bar. All members of the board shall be residents of the city except that one architect member may or may not be a resident of the city. In the event that the one architect member shall not be a resident of the city, his appointment shall be limited to a term of one year. No members of the board shall be appointed to more than two consecutive terms, except that the designated member of the State Bar and designated architect member registered as an architect in Virginia may be appointed to the board without limitation. The time involved in serving out the unexpired term of another shall not be considered in computing the number of consecutive terms served. Members of the city council and the planning commission shall not be eligible to serve on the board.

Any member of the board shall be disqualified to act upon a matter before the board with respect to any business before the board which would involve a conflict of interest under the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act, Code of Virginia, §§ 2.1-639.1—2.1-639.24.

The board shall elect a chairman to preside at meetings, vice-chairman to act in his absence and a secretary who shall be responsible for keeping a written record of all board proceedings and all notices, petitions, records, pleadings and appeals pertinent thereto. The board shall have exclusive original jurisdiction to hear and decide all cases arising under this article, but shall have no power to modify or waive any requirement imposed by any other provision of law.

(b)

Meetings. The board of architectural review shall hold a regular meeting at least once each month at a time which it shall fix by resolution. Special meetings may be held at other times; provided, that all members of the board are notified at least 24 hours in advance of the time and place of same.

No application pending before the board shall be voted upon at any special meeting unless notice of intention to do so shall appear in a newspaper of general circulation, published in the city, at least seven days prior to such a special meeting.

Minutes shall be kept of all meetings of the board of architectural review.

(c)

Quorum. A quorum shall consist of three members of the board of architectural review. In the event a quorum is not obtained at any regular meeting, a special meeting shall be scheduled to be within 15 calendar days thereafter.

(d)

Conduct of meetings.

(1)

All meetings of the board of architectural review shall be conducted by the chairman, or in his absence, by the vice-chairman.

(2)

All members of the board shall be entitled to vote. An affirmative vote of three of the five members of the board shall be required to pass a measure under consideration by the board.

(3)

All meetings of the board shall be open to the public and all decisions shall be by public vote of the ayes and nays recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

(4)

In matters of procedure, Robert's Rules of Order[, Newly Revised] shall govern if the board has not adopted a specific procedure.

(Ord. No. 967, § 1, 10-15-1996)

No structure, building, sign or other improvement or other major landscape feature surrounding such building, structure, sign or improvement located on any land within an architectural control district shall be erected, reconstructed, altered or restored until the plans for such shall have been approved by the board of architectural review; provided, that the provisions of this article shall not apply to routine maintenance activities as opposed to the reconstruction, alteration or restoration activities. Repainting a structure, building or sign which results in a complete change of color of the structure, building or sign or a substantial portion thereof shall be deeded an alteration and not regular maintenance.

The board may, after hearing the evidence in any case properly before it involving reconstruction or alteration only, waive the requirements of this article upon a written finding that the application involves reconstruction or alteration only and will not materially affect the exterior appearance of the structure involved. Such decisions of waiver shall constitute a final decision of the board and shall be appealable.

(Ord. No. 967, § 1, 10-15-1996)

(a)

Application for approval by the board for the construction, reconstruction, alteration or restoration of any building within an architectural control district shall be submitted to the zoning administrator of the city accomplished by:

(1)

An architectural rendering and plans of all buildings and structures showing style of architecture prepared by a registered architect. All colors, materials and finishes shall be shown by notation or by use of accepted architectural symbols;

(2)

A site plan; and

(3)

A vicinity map and rendering or photographs of all development on immediately adjacent properties.

The applicant may submit such additional material in writing, and graphically, as he desires. For purposes of this chapter, no site plan shall be required where there is proposed no change in any external dimension of the location of any existing structure. The board may waive such other of the above requirements as it may deem proper in the determination of any particular application provided that it makes a written finding on the record that provision of the required items is not required in order for the board to fulfill its duties and render a decision in the matter before it.

(b)

Upon filing of an application, the zoning administrator, after determining that the requirements of subsection (a) of this section have been satisfied, shall within 20 days thereafter, forward the application, together with his recommendations on the same, to the board of architectural review.

(c)

Upon receipt of any such application, the application shall be placed on the agenda for consideration at the first regular meeting of the board of architectural review to be held not less than ten days after receipt of the application by the board.

(Ord. No. 967, § 1, 10-15-1996)

During the consideration of an application filed pursuant to this article, the board shall hear the testimony of any party desiring to be heard in support of or in opposition to the application. Such testimony shall be strictly confined to the question of whether the proposed construction, reconstruction, alteration or restoration satisfies or does not satisfy the criteria for the same set out in this article. The board shall hear any oral testimony that the zoning administrator desires to present.

(Ord. No. 967, § 1, 10-15-1996)

The board shall use the following standards and criteria in considering applications filed under this article:

(1)

Whether or not the proposed architectural design is suitable for a good suburban community in terms of external architectural features, including signs subject to public view, general design and arrangement, texture, color, line, mass, dimension, material and lighting.

(2)

Whether or not the proposed structure, building or improvement is compatible with existing well-designed structures, acceptable to the board, in the vicinity and in the city as a whole.

(3)

Whether or not, and to what extent, the proposed structure, building or improvement would promote the general welfare and protect the public health, safety, and morals by tending to maintain or augment the city's tax base as a whole, generating business activity, maintaining and creating employment opportunity, preserving historical sites and structures and making the city a more attractive and desirable place in which to live.

(4)

Whether or not proposed freestanding buildings use the same or architecturally harmonious materials, colors, textures, and treatments for all exterior walls; and in the case of partially freestanding buildings, whether or not the same, or architecturally harmonious materials, colors, textures and treatments are used on all portions of all exterior walls exposed to public view.

(5)

Whether or not the combination of architectural elements proposed for a structure, building or improvement, in terms of design, line, mass, dimension, color, material, texture, lighting, landscaping and roof line and height conform to accepted architectural principles for permanent buildings (as contrasted with engineering standards designed to satisfy safety requirements only) and exhibit external characteristics of demonstrated architecture and aesthetic durability.

(6)

Whether or not, in terms of design, materials, textures, colors, lighting, landscaping, dimension, lines, mass or roof line and height, the proposed structure, building or improvement is designed to serve primarily as an advertisement or commercial display, exhibits exterior characteristics likely to deteriorate rapidly, would be of temporary or shortterm architectural or aesthetic acceptability, would be plainly offensive to human sensibilities or would otherwise constitute a reasonable foreseeable detriment to the community.

(Ord. No. 967, § 1, 10-15-1996)

The board of architectural review shall not utilize the provisions of this article to dictate or impose a specific architectural style within an architectural design district.

(Ord. No. 967, § 1, 10-15-1996)

(a)

The board shall vote and publish its decision in writing on any matter properly before it no later than the next regular meeting after the conclusion of hearing evidence on the matter, unless such time is extended by mutual agreement between the board and the applicant.

(b)

In all final decisions rendered pursuant to this section, the board shall briefly state its findings in writing and, in the case of disapproval, it may make recommendations to the applicant with respect to the design, texture, material, color, lines, mass, dimension or lighting of the structure involved. If an application is disapproved, with recommendations, an applicant may request the board to reconsider the matter provided an application for rehearing is filed with the board within 90 days of the decision together with evidence that the applicant has substantially complied with the board's recommendations.

(c)

Approval by the board of any application shall be evidenced by issuance of a certificate, signed by the chairman and attested by the secretary, designating the docket number, name of applicant, date of approval, identification of property involved and a brief description of the construction approved.

(Ord. No. 967, § 1, 10-15-1996)

Any person or entity who intentionally deviates substantially from the approved architectural renderings, plans, site plan or other submittals to the board shall be guilty of a class II misdemeanor.

(Ord. No. 967, § 1, 10-15-1996)

Whenever the board shall, in a final decision, approve or disapprove the waiver of jurisdiction over any application filed pursuant to this chapter, the applicant or any other person with justifiable cause shall be entitled to appeal such decision and be heard thereon before the city council; provided, that there is filed with the city clerk, on or before 14 days after the decision of the board, by the appellant, a notice in writing of such appeal and a fee of $300.00 to cover the cost of advertising for a public hearing before the city council. Such notice of appeal [shall] be accompanied by a written petition which states the factual and legal basis for the appeal. Upon the filing of notice of appeal as provided herein, the city clerk shall thereupon schedule a public hearing before the city council, not more than 30 days after the filing of such notice. The city clerk shall likewise cause to be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation within the city, at least seven days before such proposed hearing an advertisement stating the time, date and place of the public hearing before the council; the location of the property involved; the name of the applicant; the nature of the structure or improvement for which approval is sought and a general summary of the factual and legal basis for the appeal.

(Ord. No. 967, § 1, 10-15-1996)

A final decision of the board of architectural review shall be stayed during any appeal to the city council pending the decision of the city council. The city council shall conduct a full and impartial public hearing on the matter before rendering any decision. The city council shall determine if the design criteria stated in section 11.3-7 of this article have been fairly applied to the application under consideration and whether or not the board has properly exercised its discretion. Upon a written finding by the city council that the board has abused its discretion, it may reverse or modify the decision of the board, in whole or in part. If the city council determines that the board has acted within its discretion it shall affirm the decision of the board.

(Ord. No. 967, § 1, 10-15-1996)

Any person aggrieved by the decision of the city council may present to the Circuit Court of York County and the City of Poquoson a petition which clearly specifies the factual contentions and legal arguments upon which [the] aggrieved party relies. Such petition shall be properly filed with the court within 30 days after the final decision of the council is rendered. The filing of the petition shall stay the city council's decision pending the outcome of the appeal to the court. The court may reverse or modify the decision of the city council, in whole or in part, if it finds that the decision of the city council is contrary to law or that its decision is arbitrary and constitutes an abuse of discretion.

(Ord. No. 967, § 1, 10-15-1996)

The following uses shall be exempt from the requirements of this article:

(1)

The exterior portion of storage yards, not to include principal or accessory structures located on the same property or within said storage yard. The exterior portion of a storage yard shall be defined as the exterior area within the limits of required screening.

(Ord. No. 1459, § 1, 4-22-2013)