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19770510 1977-19ORDINANCE No. 1977- 19 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING AND REENACTING SECTION 13 OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA IT IS HEREBY ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of ?airfax, Virginia, that section 13 of the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Fairfax, Virginia be, and the same hereby is, amended and reenacted to read in its entirety as follows: SECTION 13 OLD AND HISTORIC FAIRFAX DISTRICTS 13.01 Purpose of Chapter. In order to promote the general welfare through the preser- vation and protection of historic places and areas of historic interest in the City, to encourage the construction of attractive buildings, to protect and promote the general welfare and to preven deterioration of the appearance of the City which would tend to create hazards to public health, safety and morals, destroy oppor- tunity 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 section (1) to provide for the designation of old and historic districts within the City; (2) to charge the Board of Architectural Review (hereinafter referred to as BAR) with the responsibility of regulating exterior architectural features and appearance, including signs, of structures, buildings or improve- ments, or significant landscape features surrounding such building structure or improvement to be moved, razed, demolished, erected, reconstructed, substantially altered or restored in any old and historic district; and (3) to set standards and procedures to be followed by the BAR, and on appeal from its decision, by the City Council. 1977-19 -2 13.02 Designation of Old and Historic Fairfax District. There is hereby created in the City of Fairfax, Virginia an old and historic district to be known as "Old and Historic Fairfax District", which shall consist of two parcels of land more particularly described as follows: Parcel 1: Beginning at a point N.16°15'E. 150 feet and N.73°45'W., 150.00 feet from the Northwest corner of the intersection of North Street and West Street; thence along the following courses and dis- tances: S.73°45 E.,1490.00 feet; S 16°15 W., 1292.00 feet; N 73°45 W., 1110.00 feet; N 16°15 E.,628.00 feet; N 73°45 W., 380.00 feet; N 16°15 E., 664.00 feet; to the point of beginning. And being more generally described as the original Town of Providence, as resurveyed and rededicated in Liber 0-3, Page 208 in the land records of Fairfax County, Virginia, together with and including a 150- foot wide border around the boundaries of said Town. Parcel 2: Beginning at a point being the Northeast corner of the Truro Church property; thence S.25°37'00'' W., 358.07 feet along the East boundary line of the Truro Church property to a point on the South right-of- way line of Truro Lane; thence N.65°45'03"W., 15.00 feet to a point on the East boundary line of the Truro Church property; thence S.26°43'57"W., 220.08 feet along the East boundary line to the Southeast corner of the Truro Church property; thence N.57°39'47"W., 306.34 feet along the North right-of-way line of Route 236 to the Southwest corner of the Truro Church property; thence N.23°10'57"E., 177.21 feet along the West boun- dary line of the Truro Church property to a point on the West boundary line of the Truro Church property; thence N.33°08~'40"E., 374.37 feet along the West boundary line of the Truro Church property to the Northwest corner of the Truro Church property; thence S.63°14'55"E., 282.05 feet along the North boundary line of the Truro Church property to a point of beginning. It shall be within the province and power of the City Council to enlarge, contract or alter the boundaries of said district in such manner as it shall deem fit or to create addition~ old and historic districts within the City corporate limits at such time as the Council deems such action to be in the public interest by promoting the general welfare of the community through the preservation of old and historic places, or areas of historic interest in the City. 1977-19 -3 13.03 Approval of erections~ reconstructions and alterations in old and historic districts--required; waiver of requirement~ statement of guidelines. No structure, building or improvement, including signs, or significant landscape features surrounding such building, structur, or improvement located on any land within the said Old and Histori, Fairfax District shall be erected, reconstructed, substantially altered or restored until the plans for such shall have been approved by the BAR as to exterior architectural features, includin signs, which are subject to public view from a public street, way or place; provided that the provisions of this section shall not apply to the regular maintenance of the same as opposed to the reconstruction, alteration or restoration. For the purposes of this section the repainting of a structure or building which results in the complete change of color of the said structure or building or a substantial portion thereof shall be deemed an alteration and not regular maintenance. The BAR may, after hearing the evidence in any case properl before it involving reconstruction or restoration only, waive part or all of the requirements of this section upon a written finding that the application involves reconstruction or restoration only and will not materially affect the exterior appearance of the structure involved. Such decision of waiver shall constitute a final decision of the BAR within the meaning of subsections 13.08 and 13.09 of this section and shall be appealable. The BAR is hereby directed as soon as may be practicable after the effective date hereof, and from time to time thereafter as shall be necessary, to formulate and publish a statement of guidelines describing the required procedures, exhibits, visual displays and other data required relative to applications for approval by the BAR. The said statement of guidelines and any amendments thereto shall be subject to the approval of the City Council; provided, however, that any such statement or amendment thereto shall be deemed to have been approved by the City Council unless the City Council disapproves the same within 60 days of the adoption thereof by the BAR. 1977-19 13.04 -4 Approval of moving, razing or demolition of buildings which existed in 1900 or prior thereto. No building or structure which existed within the Old and Historic Fairfax District in 1900 or prior thereto, except as provided in subsection 13.17 of this section, shall be moved, raze~ or demolished without first obtaining a permit approved by the BAR, or the City Council on appeal, and the BAR and Council shall be empowered to refuse such permit for any building or strucuure which the BAR, or the City Council on appeal, deems, in its sole discretion, to be of such architectural or historic public interes that the removal thereof in the opinion of the BAR or the City Council, would be detrimental to the public interest of the City. 13.05 Application. (a) Any application for approval or request for permit for the moving, razing, demolition, construction, reconstruction, alte ation, or restoration of any building, structure, improvement or landscape features within the Old and Historic Fairfax District shall be submitted to the City Planning Director to determine whether the proposed action lies within the scope of this section in accordance with subsections 13.03 and 13.04. In the event of a disagreement between the applicant and the City Planning Director, the applicant may request the City Planning Director to schedule an informal hearing before the BAR at its next regular meeting. Such hearing shall be for the purpose of determining whether the applicant's proposal falls within the scope of this section and the applicant shall not be required to present plans, renderings or maps at that time. The decision of the BAR shall not constitute a final decision within the meaning of subsections 13.08 and 13.09 of this section and shall not be appealable. (b) If the City Planning Director (or, on appeal, the BAR) determines that a proposed action lies within the scope of this section, the applicant shall submit, in addition to his applica- tion or request for permit, such exhibits, visual displays and other data as the City Planning Director (or the BAR) shall deem 1977-19 -5 necessary for determination of the application or request for permit. The applicant may submit such additional material in writing, and graphically, as he desires. Each application or request for permit shall be assigned a docket number by the City Planning Director. (c) Upon receipt of any application or request for permit, the City Planning Director shall present the application or reques for permit together with the materials submitted in support thereo to the BAR at its next regularly scheduled meeting, after the City Planning Director determines that the requirements of (a) and (b) of this subsection have been satisfied. At such meeting, the chairman of the BAR shall thereupon place the application or request for permit on the agenda for a hearing to consider the approval of such application or request for permit. The hearing may be held at the same meeting of the BAR at which the presenta- tion of the City Planning Director is made, but in no event shall' such hearing be held more than 45 days after satisfaction of the requirements of (a) and (b) of this subsection. 13.06 Request for Permit -- special requirements. No request for a permit to move, raze or demolish a buildin or structure which existed in the Old and Historic Fairfax Distric in the year 1900 or prior thereto shall be considered by the BAR unless and until the secretary to the BAR has caused to be preparec an advertisement stating the time, date and place of the proposed hearing before the BAR, the location of the property involved and the nature of the request; and further has caused such advertise- ment to be published once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper published or having general circulation within the City, the last publication appearing not less than six (6) days nor more than twenty-one (21) days before the proposed hearing. Requests for such permits shall be made to the City Planning Director, together with a fee of fifty ($50.00) dollars to cover the costs of advertising for the BAR hearing. 1977-19 -6 13.07 Hearing. During the consideration of an application or request for permit filed under this section, the BAR shall hear the testimony of any party desiring to be heard in support of or in opposition to the application or request for permit. Such testimony shall be strictly confined to the question of whether the proposed moving, razing, demolition, construction, reconstruction, alteration or restoration satisfies or does not satisfy the criteria for the same set out in this section. The BAR shall hear any oral testi- mony that the City Planning Director desires to present. 13.08 Decisions; Certificates of Approval. (a) The BAR shall vote in open hearing and publish its decision in writing on any matter properly before it not later than the next regular meeting after the conclusion of the hearing on the application or request for permit, unless time is extended by mutual agreement between the BAR and the applicant. (b) In all final decisions rendered pursuant to this sec- tion, the BAR shall briefly state its findings in writing, and in the case of disapproval, it may make recommendations to the appli- cant with respect to the design, texture, material, color, line, mass, dimension or lighting of the alteration or improvement involved. The requirements of this section shall be deemed to have been satisfied i f s u ch findings and recommendations, if any, are set forth in the regularly maintained mintues of the BAR. In case of disapproval, accompanied by such recommendations as the BAR may desire to make relative thereto, the application may again be heard before the BAR, if within ninety (90) days of the decisio] to disapprove by the BAR, the applicant has accepted all recommen- dations of the BAR and has amended his application in accordance therewith. (c) In case of disapproval of the moving, razing or demo- lishment of a building which existed within the Old and Historic Fairfax District in 1900 or prior thereto, the BAR shall state its reasons therefor in writing in detail. If there be an appeal, , , 1977-19 -7 the BAR shall forthwith forward such statement of its reasons to the Council. (d) The BAR shall not reconsider any decision made by it, nor shall it hear, for a period of one year after any such decisio~ any further applications concerning the same or substantially the same subject matter as contained in any application upon which it has decided, except in cases where an applicant amends his application within ninety days of such decision as hereinabove provided in (b) of this subsection. (e) Approval by the BAR of any application or request for permit filed hereunder shall be evidenced by issuance of a certi- ficate of approval 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 action approved. The applicant shall be entitl~ to receive the original of the certificate, and the secretary shall forward a copy of the certificate to the Director of Public Services. 13.09 Appeals. Whenever the BAR shall, in a final decision, approve or disapprove, or waive jurisdiction over any application or request for permit 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; pro- vided that the appellant files with the City Clerk, on or before fourteen (14) days after the decision of the BAR, a notice in writing of such appeal and a fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) to cove the cost of advertising for the Council hearing, and provided further, that whenever such notice of appeal is filed by a party other than the applicant, such notice shall be accompanied by a petition for such appeal in writing, signed by twenty (20) elector. of the City. Upon the filing of the notice of appeal and fee as provided herein, the City Clerk shall thereupon schedule a public hearing before the City Council not more than thirty (30) days 1977-19 -8 after the filing of such notice; provided that no such hearing shall be had unless and until the City Clerk has caused to be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation with the City, at least six (6) days before such proposed hearing, an advertisement stating the time, date and place of the hearing before the Council, the location of the property involved, the name of the applicant and the nature of the action for which appro- val is sought. 13.10 Hearing before City Council. On any appeal to the City Council the final decision of the BAR shall be stayed pending the decision of the City Council; provided, however, that the applicant is prohibited from taking any action for which approval is sought during the pendency of such appeal. The Council shall conduct a full and impartial public hearing on the matter before rendering any decision. The same procedure and standards shall be applied by the Council as are established for the BAR. , The Council may affirm, reverse or modify the decision of the BAR, in whole or in part. The decision of the Council shall be final, subject to the provisions of subsection 13.1 13.11 Appeals to Circuit Court of Fairfax County, Virginia. In the event the City Council shall disapprove an applicatio or request for permit, the applicant shall have the right to appeal to the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, Virginia, for review of the final decision of the City Council, by filing a petition at law setting forth the manner in which the applicant alleges that the decision of the City Council is improper; provided, however, that such petition is filed within thirty (30) days after the final decision is rendered by the City Council. The filing of a petition in compliance herewith shall stay the Council's decision pending the outcome of any such appeal; provided, however, that the appli- cant is prohibited from taking any action for which approval is sought during the pendency of such appeal. 1977-19 -9 13.12 Board of Architectural Review Established. For the purpose of making effective the provisions of this section, there is hereby created a Board to be known as the Board of Architectural Review, to be composed of seven members who shall be appointed by the Council. One appointee shall be selected from a list of nominations which shall be solicited from the Chamber of Commerce, such list to be composed of businessmen in the City, not necessarily members of the Chamber of Commerce. At least one appointee shall be an architect licensed in Virginia and one membel shall be appointed from among the membership of the Planning Commission. Members shall be appointed by the City Council for staggered terms of three years. The term of the Planning Commissi¢ member shall be further limited by his term on the Commission. Any member of the BAR may be removed from office for cause by a two-thirds vote of the City Council. Any appointment to fill a vacancy shall be only for the unexpired portion of the term. Members of the BAR at the time of the effective date hereof shall continue to serve until the expiration of their appointed term of office. 13.13 Chairman. The BAR shall elect its chairman from its appointed member- ship and the City Planning Director shall be its secretary. 13.14 Meetings. The chairman shall conduct the meetings of the BAR. The secretary shall be responsible for keeping the minutes of the meetings and a permanent record of all resolutions, motions, trans- actions and determinations, which minutes and records shall be kept available and open to public inspection. Ail members of the BAR shall be entitled to vote and the decisions of the BAR shall be det ermined by a majority of the membership. A quorum of four members present is required before the BAR may take any official action. 13.15 Design Criteria. The BAR, and on appeal the City Council, shall use the following standards and criteria in considering applications and requests for permits filed under this section: 1977-19 -10 (a) that the proposed structure, building or improvement would promote the public health, safety and welfare. (b) that the proposed structure, building or improvement would encourage the stabilization, conservation and protection of the use and value of adjacent, contiguous and neighboring building~ structures, areas and open spaces. (c) that 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 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. (d) that the proposed architectural design is suitable for a good community in terms of external architectural features, general design and arrangement, texture, color, line, mass, dimen- sion, material and lighting. (e) that the proposed design, material, texture, color, light, landscaping, dimension, line, mass, roof line and/or height of the proposed structure, building or improvement harmonize and blend pleasantly and aesthetically with surrounding and adjacent buildings and area. (f) that proposed free-standing buildings use the same or architecturally harmonious materials, color, texture and treatment for all exterior walls; and, in the case of partially free-standinl buildings, that the same or architecturally harmonious materials, color, texture and treatment are used on all portions of all exterior walls exposed to public view. (g) that 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 principl for permanent buildings as contrasted with engineering standards 1977-19 -11 designed to satisfy safety requirements only, and exhibit external characteristics of demonstrated architectural and aesthetic durability. (h) that the site plan, the orientation and location of the proposed structure, building or improvement, and the relation- ship of one to the other and to open spaces and topography, is harmonious with surrounding and adjacent buildings and area. (i) that, in terms of design, material, texture, color, lighting, landscaping, dimension, line, mass or roof line and height, the proposed structure, building or improvement is not designed to serve primarily as an advertisement or commercial display, does not exhibit exterior characteristics likely to deteriorate rapidly, would not be of temporary or short-term architectural or aesthetic acceptability, would not be plainly offensive to human sensibilities or would not otherwise constitute a reasonably foreseeable detriment to the community. (j) that the design of any proposed sign, as well as its exterior lighting, is harmonious with the proposed structure, building or improvement and with surrounding and adjacent buildings and area. (k) the effect of the proposed structure, building or improvement on pedestrian and vehicular traffic. (1) the extent to which said preservation and protection will promote the general welfare by maintaining and increasing real estate values, generating business and employment, attracting new residents, as well as tourists, students, writers, historians, artists and artisans, encouraging study and interest in American or Virginia history, stimulating interest and study in architecture and design, educating citizens in American or Virginia culture and heritage, and making the City a more attractive and desirable place in which to live. The BAR, and on appeal the City Council, shall not consider interior arrangement or features not subject to any public view and shall not make any requirement except for the purpose of 1977-19 -12 preventing development obviously incongruous to the old and his- toric aspect of the area. 13.16 Criteria to Permit Demolition. The BAR, or the Council on appeal, shall grant the owner of any building or structure which existed within the Old and Historic Fairfax District in the year 1900 or prior thereto a permit to move, raze or demolish the said building or structure unless: (a) The building or structure is of such architectural or historic public interest that its removal would be to the detri- ment of the public interest; and, (b) (1) The building or structure is of such interest that it can be made into an historic shrine; or (2) The building or structure is of such old and unusual or uncommon design, texture and material that it could not be reproduced or could be reproduced only with great difficulty; or (3) Retention of the building or structure would help preserve and protect an historic place or area of historic interest in the City; or (4) Retention of the building or structure would protect the general welfare by maintaining and increasing real estate values, generating business and employment, attracting new residents, as well as tourists, students, writers, historians, artists and artisans, encouraging study and interest in American or Virginia history, stimu- lating interest and study in architecture and design, educating citizens in American or Virginia culture and heritage,or making the City a more attractive and desirable place in which to live. 13.17 Unsafe Structures. Nothing in this section shall be construed to be in conflict with any provision of the City Code which permits the ra~ing of unsafe structures. 1977-19 -13 13.18 Restrictions Upon Use. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as authorizing the BAR to restrict or prohibit a use to which a parcel may be put if such use is permitted under existing zoning regulations or to restrict or limit an applicant from taking full advantage of maximum permissible utilization of building speci- fications. 13.19 Compliance with Ordinance. Any persons failing to comply with the provisions of this ordinance shall be punished as provided in section 8 of this Zoning Ordinance. This ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its adoption. Adopted: May 10, 1977 Attest: City [le~k