Tenafly City Zoning Code
§ 35-807.9
Applications for Certificate of Appropriateness.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 807H]
a.
Application Procedure.
1.
Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness shall be made on forms determined by the Historic Preservation Commission and available from the Zoning Officer of the Borough of Tenafly. Completed applications shall be delivered to the Zoning Officer at the Municipal Center, 100 Riveredge Road, Tenafly, New Jersey 07670.
2.
The Zoning Official shall make a determination whether a Certificate of Appropriateness is required pursuant to the criteria established herein.
3.
If the Zoning Official determines that a Certificate of Appropriateness is required, the Zoning Official shall make a determination whether the application is a minor application or a major application.
4.
If the Zoning Official determines that the application is a minor application, the Zoning Official will notify the Chairman of the Historic Preservation Commission of the application and the determination that the application is a minor application, and the Zoning Official shall request that the notice and public hearing requirements be waived, and that the Certificate of Appropriateness be issued forthwith. If the Chairman of the Historic Preservation Commission agrees that the application is a minor application, the Chairman will advise the Construction Official within 10 days of the application, and the Zoning Official will issue the Certificate of Appropriateness forthwith. If the Chairman of the Historic Preservation Commission determines that the application is a major application, the Chairman shall so notify the Zoning Official of this determination in writing within 10 days. The applicant shall be notified in writing by the Zoning Official of the determination that the application has been deemed to be a major application within 10 days after the Zoning Official has been notified by the Chairman. The determination of the Chairman may not be appealed by the Zoning Official. The applicant may appeal the Chairman's determination by requesting a review of the determination by the Historic Preservation Commission at its next regularly scheduled meeting. A simple majority vote of the Commissioners present at the meeting will determine whether the application is a major or minor application, and the Zoning Official will be notified in writing by the Secretary of the Historic Preservation Commission of its determination within 10 days of the meeting. The Chairman of the Historic Preservation Commission will report to the Historic Preservation Commission all of the Certificates of Appropriateness granted for minor applications at the next meeting immediately following said grant of the Certificate of Appropriateness.
5.
If the Zoning Official determines that the application is a major application, or if the Chairman of the Historic Preservation Commission or the Historic Preservation Commission determines that the application is a major application, the applicant shall apply for a Certificate of Appropriateness pursuant to subsection 35-807.9b of this Ordinance. The applicant may appeal the Zoning Official's determination to the Chairman of the Historic Preservation Commission, as per subsection 35-807.9a4.
b.
Application Information and Supporting Documents. Applications for a Certificate of Appropriateness shall include the following:
1.
All forms completed by the applicant.
2.
A certificate that all property owners within 200 feet of the lot line of the landmark property in question have been sent legal notice of the application by certified mail with a return receipt requested not less than 10 days before it is to be heard.
3.
Proof of publication of a notice of the application in the official newspaper not less than 10 days before it is to be heard.
4.
Such exhibits as set forth in the application.
c.
Time Frame of Decision by Commission.
1.
The Historic Preservation Commission which shall reach a decision on the application within 45 days after the Secretary has declared an application to be complete; otherwise the application shall be deemed to have been approved. Nothing herein shall prohibit an extension of time by mutual agreement of the applicant and the Historic Preservation Commission which may advise the applicant and make recommendations in regard to the appropriateness of proposed action, and may grant approval upon such conditions as it deems appropriate within the intent and purpose of this section.
2.
If an application is approved, the Historic Preservation Commission shall forthwith issue a Certificate of Appropriateness. If the Historic Preservation Commission disapproves an application, the Historic Preservation Commission shall state its reasons in writing in resolution form within 10 days of such decision. In case of disapproval, the Historic Preservation Commission shall notify the applicant, in writing, of such resolution of disapproval, and reasons therefore, and provide the applicant with a certified copy thereof. A summary of the Historic Preservation Commission's action shall be published in the official newspaper within 10 days of such action.
3.
The Secretary of the Historic Preservation Commission shall forward a copy of the Commission's written action on an application to the Zoning Officer, the Construction Code Official and the Borough Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment (if either body is also reviewing the application) within 10 days of the Commission's decision.
d.
Appeal to Commission of Hardship. In the event that the applicant alleges that compliance with the requirements of this section would be an unreasonable hardship and that the nature of his application is such that the change sought neither justifies the time and expense of the plenary proceeding nor will impact negatively on the public good nor specifically on the historic qualities sought to be preserved; the Historic Preservation Commission, by a 2/3 affirmative vote of its full authorized membership, may grant such relief from the requirements of this Section 35-807 as it deems consistent with the public good and the purpose of this chapter.
e.
Request for Certificate of Appropriateness for Alteration Creating Negligible Impact. An applicant may allege that a Certificate of Appropriateness should be granted without his fulfilling all of the application requirements set forth herein because the addition or alteration contemplated will not be visible from any place to which the public normally has access and that the addition or alternation cannot adversely affect the public interest and cannot affect an architecturally significant elevation. In that event the Historic Preservation Commission, by a majority vote of its full authorized membership, upon finding that the applicant's claim is accurate, may forthwith grant a Certificate of Appropriateness on that basis.