Historic district has new code
By Willie Kiernan
If you want to change your eight-pane window to one big picture window, and you live in a certain district, watch out, there are new rules. If your hundred year old porch is rotting and wish it would disappear, be careful what you wish for.
On January 2, the Cazenovia Village Board of Trustees adopted a local law amending the village of Cazenovia zoning regulations to implement regulations applicable to the village’s existing Historic Preservation Overlay District and establishing the Historic Preservation/Architectural Review Advisory Committee (Historic Preservation Committee or HPC) to advise the village planning board on applications for exterior work on properties within the historic district.
The revised village code review criterion reads as follows:
No person shall carry out any exterior alteration, restoration, reconstruction, demolition, new construction, or moving of a landmark or property within an historic district, including buildings and exterior building features and site features such as sidewalks and fences, or portions thereof, without first obtaining a certificate of compatibility or hardship relief from the Village Planning Board. Painting or repainting and ordinary maintenance and repair of existing buildings, building features and site features are exempt from the requirements of this section, as are changes involving only building mounted mailboxes and flagpoles, and any modifications or changes involving only living vegetation and/or seasonal changes such as air conditioners, fans and/or seasonal decorations.
Exterior changes to properties within the Historic District require a building permit from the village which includes a coordinated review/approval by the planning board and Historic Preservation Committee prior to commencement of work (including siding and window replacements). The planning board meets regularly on the second Monday of each month and the Historic Preservation Committee meets regularly on the fourth Monday of each month.
The designated district is outlined on a map in the village office. All residents living within this district will receive a notice in the mail about the new code.
“I think that the new advisory board is very appropriate for this community to maintain the historic integrity,” said Paul Brooks, village trustee. “I’ve been seeking regulations for years now and I’m pleased that we finally have local laws governing the work that can be done on properties in the historic district.”
The HPC committee members that were appointed at the April 2 village board meeting are: Ted Bartlett (chairman) senior associate Crawford & Sterns, Architects and Preservation Planners, Gene Gissin, professional photographer and owner of the historic Cazenovia Depot, Dan Kuper, owner and manager of the historic Lincklaen House, Betsy Moore, associate professor, interior design at Cazenovia College and Scott Shannon, associate professor, Landscape Architecture SUNY/ ESF.
“We are very fortunate to have such talented and dedicated community members willing to dedicate their time to serve on the Historic Preservation Committee,” wrote Mayor Tom Dougherty, in the Mayor’s Notebook, on the village web site.
According to Brooks, the committee is not just there to tell you what you can’t do; it’s there to help you find that replacement window with the appropriate historic character so that you can comply with the new village code.
Questions about the new code can be directed to Laura Herbert Abernathy, village clerk at 655-3041 and/or Bill Carr, village zoning enforcement officer at 440-7371.
