West Orange City Zoning Code

Encourage the continued use of historic landmarks and facilitate their appropriate reuse;

Maintain and develop an appropriate and harmonious setting for the historic and architecturally significant buildings, structures, sites, objects, or districts within the Township;

Foster beautification and both private and public reinvestment;

Manage change by preventing alteration or new construction not in keeping with a historic character of Landmarks or Districts;

Discourage the unnecessary demolition of historic resources;

Recognize the importance of historic properties by using property owners and tenants to maintain their properties in keeping with the requirements and standards of this section;

Encourage the proper maintenance and preservation of historic settings and landscapes.

For purposes of this section, regulated activities on a Historic Landmark or within a Historic District shall include the following:

In no instance shall the following be considered regulated activities:

No person or other legal entity shall hereafter engage or cause other persons to engage in any regulated activity on an historic site or within an Historic District as defined herein unless and until such person or entity shall have applied for and received a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission. A Certificate of Appropriateness issued by the Historic Preservation Commission shall be required before any permit can be issued by the Construction Official/Zoning Officer. Specifically exempted from this requirement are properties or structures in Type II Historic Districts which are zoned R-1 through R-6 or RT and which are less than 50 years of age.

It shall be the duty and responsibility of the Construction Official/Zoning Officer to refer to the Commission all applications for issuance of permits or Certificates of Appropriateness pertaining to regulated activities on a Landmark or within an Historic District, for a written report on the application of the zoning regulations provisions concerning historic preservation to any of those aspects of the change proposed, which aspects were not determined by approval of an application for development, by a municipal agency, pursuant to the "Municipal Land Use Law," P.L. 1975 c. 291. The Commission shall submit its report to the Administrative Officer within 45 days of its referral to the Commission. If within the forty-five-day period the Commission recommends against the issuance of a Certificate of Appropriateness or permit, or recommends conditions to its issuance, the Administrative Officer shall cause the Construction Official/Zoning Officer to deny issuance of the permit or Certificate of Appropriateness, or to include the conditions. If the Commission recommends approval, a Certificate of Appropriateness shall be issued. Failure to report within the forty-five-day period shall be deemed to constitute a report in favor of issuance of the permit or Certificate of Appropriateness, and without the recommendation of conditions.

Applications for development which are in a designated Historic District or Landmark and which require approval by the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be referred by the Administrative Officer directly to the appropriate Board. The Board shall forward a copy of the complete application for the Historic Preservation Commission at least 15 days prior to the hearing. Failure to make the informational copy available shall not invalidate any hearing or proceeding. The Commission may provide its advice, which shall be conveyed through its delegation of one of its members or staff to testify orally at the hearing on the application, and to explain any written report which may have been submitted.

Applications for Certificates of Appropriateness for other actions of the Board shall be made on forms available in the office of the Historic Preservation Officer, the Construction Official/Zoning Officer, or the Township Planner. Applications shall be made by legal or equitable owners of the property. Completed applications shall be delivered or mailed to the Commission in Township Hall.

The contents of the application shall consist of the following:

The Commission shall review complete applications for Certificates of Appropriateness at a public meeting. In addition to complying with requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act, and except in the event of an emergency, at least 15 days prior to such meeting, the Commission shall give notice of the time, date, place and subject of the meeting, which notice shall be given in writing to the applicant.

The applicant shall give at least 10 days' written notice of the time, date, place and subject of the meeting in writing to each property owner of record within 200 feet of the subject property; provided, however that exempted from this requirement are properties or structures which are zoned R-1 through R-6 or RT.

In the case of an application for a permit to demolish or move a Historic Landmark or a structure or improvement in a Historic District, the applicant shall, in addition to the above and at least 10 days before the meeting, give notice of the time, date, location and purpose of the hearing to the agencies listed below by certified mail, return receipt requested, by regular mail, and by published notice in an official newspaper of the municipality; and shall present an affidavit attesting to such notification prior to commencement of the meeting:

At the meeting wherein the Historic Preservation Commission intends to vote upon an application, individuals interested in the application shall be permitted to comment in person only upon the application under consideration.

The Commission shall reach a decision on a complete application within 45 days of submission of the application or referral of same by the Construction Official/Zoning Officer. Nothing herein shall prohibit an extension of time by mutual agreement of the applicant and the Commission. The Commission may advise the applicant and make recommendations in regard to the appropriateness of the proposed action, and may grant approval upon such conditions as it deems appropriate within the intent and purposes of this section. An applicant shall not be required to appear or to be represented at the meeting for consideration of the application for a Certificate of Appropriateness.

If an application is approved, the Commission shall forthwith issue a Certificate of Appropriateness. If the Commission disapproves an application, the Commission shall state its reasons in writing within 10 days of such decision. In case of disapproval, the Commission shall notify the applicant in writing of such disapproval and provide the applicant with a copy of the reasons.

When a Certificate of Appropriateness has been issued, the Construction Official/Zoning Officer shall, from time to time, inspect the work approved by such Certificate and shall regularly report to the Commission the results of such inspections, listing all work inspected and reporting any work not in accordance with such Certificate or violating any ordinance of the Township. The Commission shall also make inspections of work approved by such Certificate whenever it considers such to be desirable.

A Certificate of Appropriateness shall be valid for a period of two years from date of issue unless reasonable extensions are granted by the Commission. If a permit is also required for the action approved and is obtained prior to expiration of such two-year period, then the Certificate of Appropriateness shall be valid for the life of the permit and any extensions thereof.

Secretary of Interior's Standards. In carrying out all its duties and responsibilities, the Commission shall be guided by the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings which are given as follows:

Visual Compatibility Factors. In assessing the design of any proposed additions or new construction, the following Visual Compatibility Factors shall be considered in conjunction with the Secretary of Interior's Standards set forth above, by the Historic Preservation Commission.

Subdivision. Notwithstanding the zoning regulations in this chapter applicable to proposed subdivisions, a designated historic property shall be subdivided only when:

Demolition.

Moved Structures. In regard to an application to move a Historic Landmark or any building or structure in an Historic District to a new location, the following matters shall be considered:

Effect of Certificate of Appropriateness. Issuance of a Certificate of Appropriateness shall be deemed to be final approval pursuant to this section. Such approval shall neither cause nor prevent the filing of any collateral application or other proceeding required by any other municipal ordinance to be made prior to undertaking the action requested vis-a-vis the Landmark or structure in the Historic District.

Denial of a Certificate of Appropriateness. Denial of a Certificate of Appropriateness shall be deemed to preclude the applicant from undertaking the activity applied for.

The granting or denial of a Certificate of Appropriateness may be appealed to the Zoning Board of Adjustment in the same manner as if the appeal were taken pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70(a). The appellant shall pay all costs of the transcript. Nothing herein shall be deemed to limit the right of judicial review of the municipal action after an appeal is concluded by the municipal Zoning Board of Adjustment.

Right to Sell During Appeal. Any appeal which may be taken to court from the decision of any municipal agency, whether instituted by the owner or any other proper party, shall not affect the right of the owner to make a bona fide offer to sell.

Reconsideration of Denial of Certificate of Appropriateness. The Commission may refuse to reconsider for a period of one year any disapproval of an application, except in cases where an applicant reapplies within 90 days of such disapproval, with his application amended to comply with any recommendations which the Commission may have made in its written reasons for disapproval. The Commission may, however, reconsider at any time denial of a Certificate of Appropriateness for demolition if a significant change in circumstances has occurred.

Penalty.

Injunctive Relief. In the event that any action, which would permanently change adversely the Landmark or District, such as demolition or removal, is about to occur without a Certificate of Appropriateness having been issued, the Zoning Officer is hereby authorized to apply to the Superior Court of New Jersey for such injunctive relief as is necessary to prevent the destruction of any Landmark.

Recognizing the need for preventive maintenance to ensure the continued useful life of Landmarks and structures in Historic Districts, the Mayor and Township Council hereby declare that code enforcement vis-a-vis Landmarks and structures in Historic Districts is a high municipal priority.

In the event that any Landmark or improvement in an Historic District deteriorates to the point that, in the best estimate of the Building Department's Division of Inspections, the cost of correcting the outstanding code violations equals more than 25% of the cost of replacing the entire improvement on which the violations occur, the Division shall serve personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested, a notice on the owner of the property, listing the violations, the estimate for their abatement, and the replacement cost of the improvement, and stating that if the owner does not take all necessary remedial action within 90 days or such extensions as the Division shall for good cause grant, the Township Construction Official/Zoning Officer may, at the expiration of 90 days, enter upon the property and abate such violations itself and cause the cost thereof to become a lien on the property.

Upon receipt of such notice, the owner may, within 10 days after such receipt, notify the Division of Inspections of his/her wish to have a hearing as to the allegations and estimates set forth in the Division's notice. Such hearing shall be conducted by the Construction Official/Zoning Officer and shall, so far as possible, be a formal adversary proceeding in which the Division of Inspections shall establish the matters alleged in the notice by a preponderance of the evidence.

If the owner does not request a hearing the procedures set forth in Subsection 2 above shall be binding. If a hearing is requested, the Construction Official/Zoning Officer will, within 10 days following the hearing, serve on the owner an opinion in writing setting forth his conclusions and the reasons therefor. Such opinion shall be deemed to be first notice pursuant to Subsection 2 above.

Thereafter, if the owner does not comply, the Division may enter onto the premises and, by use of municipal labor or outside contractors or both, perform such work as is necessary to abate all violations.

The head of the Division shall then certify to the Mayor and Township Council the cost of such work, plus all administrative, clerical and legal costs and overhead attributable thereto, and shall present the same to the Mayor and Township Council.

The Township Council may, by resolution, vote to cause the sum so certified to become a lien upon the Landmark or property, payable with the next quarter's real estate property taxes, and if not then paid, bearing interest at the same rate as delinquent taxes.