Silverdale City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIII
Architectural Preservation Overlay Zoning District
§ 340-126 Repealer.
§ 340-127 Purpose.
The Silverdale Borough Council declares that the preservation of buildings in the Borough having architectural and cultural importance is a significant public objective consistent with Silverdale's Comprehensive Plan. This article is designed to establish criteria for the identification of buildings having architectural and cultural value and to prevent the demolition or partial demolition of such buildings. Buildings and structures are evaluated upon the application of procedures and standards which are intended to assess the impact that the demolition of such structures would have upon the architectural and cultural values within the Borough.
§ 340-128 Definitions.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Any construction having a minimum of three enclosed walls and a roof and includes outbuildings located on the same property as the building and includes as well any contributing structure or contributing building.
A building that retains architectural and cultural significance and contributes to the architectural and cultural qualities of the district.
The razing, destruction or dismantling of the perimeter walls and/or its roof of a structure. Demolition includes the removal of a building from its site.
The Silverdale Borough Architectural Preservation Inventory, a list of buildings in Silverdale Borough having architectural and cultural significance, identified by the inventory and approved by the Silverdale Borough Council.
A building.
§ 340-129 Establishment of Overlay District.
A.
A separate zoning district entitled "The Architectural Preservation Overlay District" is hereby created and shall overlie all zoning districts but shall apply only to those lots containing a building or contributing building identified in the inventory. The Overlay District shall be recorded on the Borough Zoning Map.
B.
All of the zoning, subdivision and land development and Uniform Construction Code regulations pertaining to the underlying zoning districts throughout the Borough shall remain in full force and effect, except that the demolition of buildings in the Overlay District shall only occur in compliance with this article.
§ 340-130 Inventory of buildings for preservation. [1]
Criteria and procedures for identifying buildings for inclusion in the Silverdale Borough Architectural Preservation Inventory:
A.
Any building satisfying at least one of the following criteria may be included on the inventory:
(1)
Any building designated by the Secretary of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark.
(2)
Any building listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
(3)
All buildings classified as "certified historic structures" by the Secretary of the Interior.
(4)
A building that is a contributing building that is listed on, or eligible for, the National Register of Historic Places.
(5)
Any building constructed prior to and including 1950 that:
(a)
Is associated in some significant way with the cultural or architectural development of the Borough, county, region, state or nation;
(b)
Is associated in some significant way with an event or person of importance to the history or culture or architecture of the Borough, county, region, state or nation;
(c)
Contains a feature or features associated with distinctive architectural styles or building types or engineering specimens found in Silverdale Borough;
(d)
Is the work of a designer, architect or engineer whose work significantly influenced the economic, architectural or cultural development of the Borough, county, region, state or nation;
(e)
Contains elements of design detail, materials or craftsmanship representing a significant innovation; or
(f)
Owing to its unique location or some singular physical characteristic, represents an established and familiar landmark identifying a neighborhood or business district.
B.
The Borough Council shall apply the criteria set forth in § 340-130A above to assess the buildings in the Borough for inclusion in the inventory. In its deliberations the Council shall consider that any decision to include or exclude a building in or from the inventory implicates both important private property rights and the public policy of the Borough that the architectural and cultural heritage of the Borough is to be preserved.
C.
At the conclusion of its deliberations, the Council shall prepare and present a report to the Borough Planning Commission identifying those buildings proposed to be included in the inventory, along with a summary of the Council's findings pertaining to the various buildings proposed for the inventory.
D.
The Borough Planning Commission shall review the report of the Council and provide the Planning Commission's recommendations regarding the proposed inventory. The deliberations of the Planning Commission shall be guided by all of the criteria set forth above in § 340-130A.
E.
Upon receipt of the report of the Planning Commission regarding the building proposed for inclusion in the inventory, The Borough Council may, by ordinance only, determine which buildings to include in the inventory, approving none or some or all of the recommendations of the Planning Commission, utilizing the criteria set forth above in § 340-130A. Thereafter, the inventory listed in the ordinance by the Borough Council shall be the Silverdale Borough Architectural Preservation Inventory.
F.
At the time that the Borough Council determines the Architectural Preservation Inventory, the Borough shall also prepare and publish an Architectural Preservation Overlay District Map, reflecting the geographic location of the buildings included in the inventory to be incorporated into the Silverdale Borough Zoning Ordinance.
G.
From time to time the Borough Council may review the inventory and, utilizing the same deliberative process and criteria described above, present a report to the Borough Planning Commission, which in turn shall report to the Borough Council the result of its review of the Council recommendations. The Borough Council may amend the inventory by striking buildings from the inventory or by adding buildings to the inventory, by ordinance only, upon deliberations utilizing the criteria set forth above in this § 340-130A.
[1]
Editor’s Note: The current Architectural Preservation Inventory list, as adopted 10-5-2015 by Ord. No. 316, is on file in the Borough offices.
§ 340-131 Demolition.
No building included in the Silverdale Borough Architectural Preservation Inventory shall be demolished except in accordance with the provisions set forth hereafter.
A.
An application to demolish or partially demolish a building on the inventory shall be deemed to be a conditional use application subject to all of the provisions of the Silverdale Borough Zoning Ordinance. Wherever the Zoning Ordinance refers to a proposed "use" or "development" or to any proposed objective of an applicant, for the purposes of this article the word "demolition" shall be substituted therefor.
(1)
Public notice shall be given and written notice shall be given to the applicant, the Zoning Officer, and to all persons who own property adjoining or across a public street from the property. In addition, the Council may direct that a copy of the public notice be given to other Borough residents and organizations who or which have requested a copy of the notice.
B.
In addition to the general conditions for conditional uses identified in the Silverdale Borough Zoning Ordinance, the following specific conditions and considerations shall apply to all applications to demolish a building contained in the inventory:
(1)
Inclusion of a building in the inventory shall be conclusive proof that the building satisfied the criteria established at § 340-130A above at the time the building was included in the inventory.
(2)
In the absence of clear and convincing evidence of pertinent significant change in circumstances relating to a building or its immediate environs having occurred since the time a building was included in the inventory, the Borough Council shall not reconsider whether or not the building is properly included in the inventory.
(3)
While the Borough Council shall consider all the reasons presented to justify demolition of a building in the inventory, including but not limited to structural or financial considerations, the Council shall not permit demolition of a building where that building continues to be reasonably serviceable for any purpose permitted in its zoning district. A building may remain "reasonably serviceable" though a need for substantial maintenance, repair or renovation is indicated.
(4)
Before granting any permit to demolish a building in the inventory, the Borough Council shall ascertain that such demolition will not diminish in a significant way the cultural or architectural heritage of the neighborhood or Borough.
(5)
Before granting any permit to demolish a building in the inventory, the Borough Council may consider the feasibility of permitting an applicant to establish additional or different uses in an architecturally significant structure, even where such uses may not be consistent with current zoning restriction, to encourage an owner to retain rather than demolish a structure. While such uses may not be consistent with underlying zoning regulations, additional or different uses should be compatible with existing zoning regulations. The Borough Council may permit such additional or different uses as a conditional use.
C.
Where the Borough Council does decide to permit demolition of a building, the Borough Council may determine that such demolition is only appropriate upon the imposition of conditions, without which conditions the demolition must not occur. Such conditions include but are not limited to:
(1)
Imposition of a ninety-day waiting period prior to demolition to permit the applicant to review alternatives to demolition.
(2)
The applicant may be required to adequately record and document the historical and architectural features of the building, including but not limited to photographs, floor plans, video recording, a site plan, a historic narrative or a written architectural description of the building. The Borough Council may also require that the recording and documentation of the building be accomplished by a qualified historic preservation consultant. The applicant may be required to provide a sufficient number of copies of any of the materials required to be prepared in this subsection to the Borough. The Borough Council may also require, in appropriate circumstances, an applicant to employ the services of a professional historic preservation consultant to perform an Historic American Building Survey (HABS) to document the historic building to be demolished.
(3)
The applicant may be required to move the building to another location in the Borough that has an acceptable setting and environment, provided that practical considerations, such as structural soundness and an appropriate travel route, do not make the move unfeasible.
(4)
The applicant may be required to remove distinctive exterior architectural or historical features from the building and to donate them to the Borough for use within the Borough.
(5)
The applicant may be required to design any new building replacing the demolished building in a fashion designed to preserve the historic, architectural and/or cultural values existing in the neighborhood. The applicant may also be required to follow other architectural standards as required by the Borough Council.
(6)
The Borough Council may require an applicant to install appropriate landscaping features on properties following demolition of a building where the applicant has no immediate plan to construct a new building (such as properties proposed to be vacant lots, parking lots, open spaces or parks). The Borough Council may require landscaping features that are consistent with the historic, cultural and/or architectural values in the surrounding area.
(7)
The Borough Council may impose any other reasonable conditions and safeguards to promote the objectives of this article.
§ 340-132 Maintenance/improvement.
Owners of buildings included in the inventory shall have the right to maintain and/or improve the building or structure. The permit application requirement and process for maintaining or improving a building shall be applied to buildings in the inventory in a manner consistent with buildings not included in the inventory. Additions, expansions and enclosures to a building in the inventory shall be allowed with the proper permitting applications and approvals.
§ 340-132.1 Enforcement.
No building contained on the inventory shall be demolished in the absence of approval of the Borough Council in accordance with the provisions of this article. Any violation of this article shall be subject to up to $1,000 per day fine and, in addition, shall permit the Borough to apply for injunctive relief to enjoin the violation or further violation of this article to restore the condition of a building improperly demolished. Each day that a violation of this article continues after notice shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.