Substitute House Bill No. 5485
Substitute House Bill No. 5485
PUBLIC ACT NO. 98-116
AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF VILLAGE
DISTRICTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
(NEW) (a) The zoning commission of each
municipality may establish village districts as
part of the zoning regulations adopted under
section 8-2 of the general statutes, as amended.
The regulations establishing village districts
shall protect the distinctive character, landscape
and historic structures of such areas and may
regulate, on and after the effective date of such
regulations, (1) alterations and improvements in
such areas and (2) substantial reconstruction and
rehabilitation of properties within the district
and in view of public roadways, including, but not
limited to, (A) the design and placement of
buildings, (B) the maintenance of public views,
(C) the design, paving materials and placement of
public roadways and (D) other elements that the
commission deems appropriate to maintain and
protect the character of the village district. In
adopting the regulations, the commission shall
consider the design, relationship and
compatibility of structures, planting, signs,
roadways, street hardware and other objects in
public view. Such regulations shall encourage the
conversion and preservation of existing buildings
and sights in a manner that maintains the
historic, natural and community character of the
district. The regulations concerning the exterior
of structures or sites shall be consistent with
the "Connecticut Historical Commission -The
Secretary of the Interior's Standards for
Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating
Historic Buildings", revised through 1990, as
amended. The regulations shall provide (i) that
proposed buildings or modifications to existing
buildings be harmoniously related to their
surroundings, to the terrain and to the use, scale
and architecture of existing buildings in the
vicinity that have a functional or visual
relationship to a proposed building or
modification, (ii) that all spaces and structures
visible to the public from public roadways be
designed to add to the visual amenities of the
area consistent with those of the village district
in and around the proposed building or
modification, (iii) that the color, size, height,
proportion of openings, roof treatments, building
materials and landscaping of commercial or
residential property and any proposed signs and
lighting be evaluated for compatibility with the
local architectural motif and the maintenance of
views, historic buildings, monuments and
landscaping, and (iv) that the removal or
disruption of historic traditional or significant
structures or architectural elements shall be
minimized.
(b) All development in the village district
shall be designed to achieve the following
compatibility objectives with other uses within
the immediate neighborhood of the proposed
development: (1) The arrangement and orientation
of any proposed building or site improvement shall
be similar in the immediate neighborhood; (2) the
building and layout of buildings and parking lots
shall reinforce existing buildings and streetscape
patterns and the placement of buildings and
parking lots shall assure there is no adverse
impact on the immediate neighborhood; (3) proposed
streets shall be connected to the existing
neighborhood road network, wherever possible; (4)
open spaces of the proposed development shall
reinforce open space patterns of the immediate
neighborhood, in form and siting; (5) locally
significant features of the site such as
distinctive buildings or vistas, shall be
integrated into the site design; (6) the landscape
design shall complement the neighborhood's
landscape patterns and reinforce functional
qualities; (7) the exterior signs, site lighting
and accessory structures shall support a uniform
architectural theme and present a harmonious
relationship with the surrounding neighborhood;
and (8) the scale, proportions, massing and
detailing of the proposed building shall be in
proportion to the scale, proportion, massing and
detailing in the neighborhood.
(c) All applications for new construction and
substantial reconstruction within the district and
in view from public roadways shall be subject to
review and recommendation by an architect or
architectural firm selected and contracted by the
commission and designated as the village district
architectural consultant for such application. The
village district architectural consultant shall
review an application and report to the commission
within thirty-five days of receipt of the
application. The report and recommendation of the
village district architectural consultant shall be
entered into the public hearing record and
considered by the commission in making their
decision. Failure of the village district
architectural consultant to report within the
specified time shall not alter or delay any other
time limit imposed by the regulations. The
commission may seek the recommendations of any
town or regional agency or outside specialist with
which it consults, including, but not limited to,
the municipality's historical society, the
Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation and
The University of Connecticut College of
Agriculture and Natural Resources. Any reports or
recommendations from such agencies or
organizations shall be entered into the public
hearing record.
(d) No decision of a commission under this
section shall be effective until a copy thereof,
certified by the commission, containing the name
of the owner of record, a description of the
premises to which it relates and specifying the
reasons for its decision, is recorded in the land
records of the town in which such premises are
located. The town clerk shall index the same in
the grantor's index under the name of the then
record owner and the record owner shall pay for
such recording.
(e) As used in this section "neighborhood"
means the existing buildings and land uses
adjacent to and extending from a proposed
development to a definable boundary such as a
primary collector or arterial boundary, a
significant change in character or land use or a
major natural feature.
Approved May 22, 1998