In such connection, it is hereby found that within the Incorporated Village of the Branch there is an area, hereinafter designated as the Historic District, which contains a significant number of buildings, structures, streets, sites, places and objects that display the architecture, landscaping and related features of an early Long Island Village by reason of many of such buildings having been constructed during the period between 1700 and 1850 and being of construction and design typical of that period of American history. It is found that this area has:

It is further found that without the encouragement and assistance of the Village and the establishment of incentives that will serve to protect, enhance, rehabilitate and perpetuate specific buildings, structures, streets, sites, places and objects within the Historic District, many of such places important to the district as a whole and to its character and preservation may fall into such disrepair as to endanger such character of the district and cause such places to become a blight upon the community. The following regulations are hereby enacted in furtherance of the foregoing objects and purposes and to promote the general welfare of the community.

On the north side of Middle Country Road (Route No. 25), beginning at North Country Road (Route No. 25-A) and running to the east boundary of the Village, extending to a depth of 600 feet north from Middle Country Road (Route No. 25);

On the south side of Middle Country Road (Route No. 25), beginning at new Route No. 111 and running to the east boundary of the Village, extending to a depth of 400 feet south from Middle Country Road (Route No. 25); and

On the east side of new Route No. 111, beginning at the south boundary of Middle Country Road (Route No. 25) and running south a distance of 650 feet to a point, extending to a depth of 400 feet east from new Route No. 111.

Any use permitted in a residence district.

Office building.

Medical or other professional building.

Bank.

Stock or other investment brokerage firm.

Library or museum open to the public and operated on an exclusively nonprofit basis.

Any public purpose of the United States, the State of New York or the Incorporated Village of the Branch.

Funeral home, by special exception granted by the Village Board of Trustees.

Pharmacy, by special exception granted by the Village Board of Trustees; provided, however, that such pharmacy shall only sell prescription drugs and nonprescription medicinal products. The sale of any nonmedicinal nonprescription products, including but not limited to cosmetics, greeting cards, candy, fragrances, food, beauty products, magazines, books and newspapers, diapers and health food products shall be prohibited. The sale of soft drinks, water and juices shall be allowed provided said beverages are contained, in the selling area, in one refrigerated beverage case of not more than 50 cubic feet. Said pharmacy shall be restricted to operation within an area no larger than 1,200 square feet of billable space per lease agreement or 1,000 actual square feet, whichever is more.

No building or structure shall hereafter be erected, enlarged or altered in the Historic District unless at least the following number of off-street parking spaces shall be provided for use in connection with such building or structure:

All of the foregoing parking facilities shall be located on the premises on which the building or structure shall be situated, at the rear or sides thereof or underneath said building or structure; provided, however, that the Board of Trustees may, by special exception, permit parking facilities required in connection with the foregoing to be provided on any plot in the Village which is located within 300 feet of such building, if the Board shall determine that it is not practical to provide all of the parking facilities required on the same premises on which the building or structure shall be situated.

Each parking space shall have an area of not less than 200 square feet, and there shall be provided in addition thereto adequate areas for entering and leaving said parking facilities.

In order to protect property in any residential district which shall abut or adjoin property in the Historic District, there shall be provided on the property in the Historic District a landscaped buffer zone of at least 50 feet in depth adjoining such residential district, within which no building, accessory building or parking shall be allowed. Such landscaping shall consist of trees and shrubs at least six feet in height and shall be so located and of sufficient density as to effectively screen the Historic District from such residential district. Within the buffer zone and along the boundary line between the Historic District and the residential district, there shall be erected a continuous Dubois-type or stockade-type fence six feet in height, which fence shall be anchored by galvanized posts set in concrete and fastened with stainless steel straps.

Any site plan required to be submitted for approval pursuant to this article shall designate the trees and shrubs intended to be planted and the location thereof.

The aforesaid buffer zone and all trees and shrubs required to be planted and fences required to be erected therein shall be maintained by the owner of the property. This shall include but shall not be limited to, the replacement of trees and shrubs of whatever type which may die and/or otherwise become destroyed, the replacement of fences which shall fall into disrepair and the general maintenance of the buffer zone in a clean, healthful, sanitary and aesthetic condition.[1]

The owner of property containing a buffer zone shall replace any trees or shrubs and/or repair or replace any fences which the Building Inspector shall have determined require repair or replacement pursuant to this section within 10 days after an order requiring such owner to do so has been duly served upon such owner by the Building Inspector by ordinary mail addressed to his last known mailing address. In the event that the owner fails to do so, the Village Board may thereupon notify such owner in writing in the same manner as the aforesaid notice that, unless such work is completed within 15 days after such notice from the Village Board, the Village will accomplish the same and the entire cost thereof will be assessed by the Village upon the real property in question, and the expense so assessed shall constitute a lien and a charge upon such real property until paid or otherwise satisfied or discharged and shall be collected in the same manner and at the same time as other charges, taxes and assessments of the Village.

No building shall be hereafter erected in the Historic District whose external style of architecture shall be representative of a period subsequent to 1850.

Every application for a building permit to erect a new structure or building in the Historic District, or to alter any existing structure or building in any way so as to change the outside dimensions, front facade or appearance thereof, shall be referred to the Village Planning Board for review prior to the issuance or denial thereof. Said Board shall consider all such applications and, within 45 days after receipt of the same, shall report to the Building Inspector its approval, disapproval or approval subject to stated modifications of the application. The Board shall have the power, by majority vote, to disapprove such application upon its finding that the proposed structure or building, or proposed alteration of an existing structure or building, is not in harmony with, or is inconsistent in appearance with, or will cause a depreciation in the value of, neighboring or adjacent buildings or structures or of the Historic District in general. If the Board shall not approve the application, its report shall set forth the specific reasons for its disapproval, with particular reference to the standards set forth in this article. If such report shall not be submitted within 45 days after the receipt by the Board of such application, or such longer time as may be agreed upon between the applicant and the Board by majority vote of said Board at a meeting duly held, the Board shall forfeit its right further to suspend action on said application and its approval shall be deemed to have been given to the plans as submitted to it; provided, however, that the failure of said Board to so act shall in no way be deemed to be a waiver on the part of the Village of any of the provisions, requirements, standards, conditions and restrictions set forth in this article or any part thereof, all of which shall remain in full force and effect with respect to said application.

The Building Inspector shall issue a building permit upon his receipt from the Village Planning Board of an approving or conditionally approving report as set forth in the foregoing subsection, or upon the expiration of its time to render the same; provided, however, that all other provisions, requirements, standards, conditions and restrictions contained in this article or in any other provision of law applicable thereto are met. In the event of disapproval by the Board or of the failure of the applicant to otherwise comply with any or all provisions, requirements, standards, conditions or restrictions set forth in this or any other law, rule or regulation applicable to the application, the Building Inspector shall deny such application and shall notify the applicant of all of his reasons for such denial. In the event that a report of the Village Planning Board shall have been rendered to the Building Inspector, a copy thereof shall accompany the notice sent to that applicant by the Building Inspector.

In the review of building permit applications under these subsections, the Village Planning Board shall take into consideration the visual relationship between the property in question and existing structures and the character of the district as regards architectural style (particularly in relation to properties which are within view of existing structures of historic significance or of meritorious architectural quality), heights and masses of buildings and the location and arrangement thereof (including the screening from view of any feature deemed visually inappropriate in the district), and the maintenance of the visual character of the district as indicated by such matters as setbacks, heights, materials, mass, line, color and detail.

The Village Planning Board shall be governed in its decisions by the public policy and purposes hereinbefore described and by the special and peculiar character of the Historic District.

In accordance with the public policy of the State of New York concerning the conservation of natural resources and the reservation of lands, or moneys for the public acquisition of lands for park, playground and recreational purposes by land developers, as particularly expressed in the Constitution of the State of New York and the Village Law of the State of New York, and for the purpose of promoting the public good and orderly development of lands in the Historic District in accordance with the purposes of this article, it is hereby directed and declared to be the public policy of the Incorporated Village of the Branch that no building or structure shall hereafter be erected in the Historic District, and no existing building or structure shall hereafter be structurally altered, enlarged, modified, expanded or otherwise changed so as to increase the assessed valuation thereof by more than 50% of the assessed value of such building or structure at the time of the effective date of this chapter, unless the owner of such property shall first either set aside and donate to the Village 10% of the land to be so developed by way of fee title or pay to the Village a sum, to be determined by the Board of Trustees of the Village, equal to the market value of 10% of the land to be so developed. The land so donated to the Village shall be solely used and developed by the Village for park, playground, recreation or conservation purposes; or if moneys are donated in lieu of land, such funds shall constitute a trust fund for park, playground, recreation or conservation purposes, including acquisition and/or development.

The determination of whether to accept lands or trust fund moneys shall be in the sole discretion of the Board of Trustees. In making its determination, the Board shall consider such factors as:

Any land donated to the Village for park, playground, recreation or conservation purposes pursuant to this article may include all or any part of the buffer zone required to be maintained by the owner of premises in the Historic District, and may or may not be on the same lot proposed to be developed.

Statement of purposes. Certain nonprofit organizations and not-for-profit corporations located within the Historic District of the Village of the Branch, which corporations or organizations provide religious, charitable and community services or perpetuate the purposes for which the Historic District was formed, have a need to raise funds for their activities. Consistent with that need, such organizations or corporations shall be permitted to conduct certain fund-raising activities within the Historic District of the Village of the Branch without profit of any kind or nature going to any member, officer or director of said organization or corporation, provided that said fund-raising activities do not detract from the surrounding business and residential communities and, provided, further, that the applicant receives and obtains a special use permit from the Board of Trustees of the Village of the Branch to conduct said fund-raising activities.

Application for special use permit. The application for a special use permit to conduct the fund-raising activity shall be made to the Board of Trustees at least 90 days prior to the date on which the activity is proposed to begin. The application must include the following:

Applicant. Any applicant for a special use permit under this section of the Code of the Village of the Branch must be a nonprofit organization or a not-for-profit corporation and, further, must be the principal occupant of any property to be utilized for said fund-raising activity.

Frequency and duration of fund-raising activity. No special use permit shall be considered by the Board of Trustees of the Village of the Branch unless the following prerequisites are shown in the application for permit:

Standards for consideration of special use permit. In its determination to grant such permit, the Board of Trustees may consider the following:

Carnivals. Nothing herein contained shall allow the holding of a carnival, circus or other amusement-park-type operation, nor the establishment, on any basis, of rides or other activities usually connected with commercial carnivals.

Exceptions. Activities which are staffed solely by members of the organizations, run for no more than a twenty-four-hour basis, operating solely with volunteers, are excepted from the provisions of this section.

Battery-operated smoke detectors must be installed in common hallways adjacent to all sleeping areas in those portions of the building being used for residential purposes. Said smoke detectors shall be placed on walls approximately eight inches from the ceiling height.

An all-purpose (Type ABC) fire extinguisher of at least twelve-pound capacity shall be installed on each level.