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ARTICLE 14. HISTORIC DISTRICT
14.1 Purpose and Intent – It is the purpose of this Article to safeguard the heritage of the Town as it is represented in structures of historical and architectural value; to preserve a district in the Town which reflects elements of its cultural, social, economic and political history; to conserve property values in such district; to foster civic beauty; and to promote the use of a Historic District for the education, pleasure, and welfare of the citizens of our Town.
14.2 Qualifications for District Designation – The Historic District established herewith and from time to time amended in the manner prescribed by New Hampshire law has one (1) or more or any combination of the following characteristics and qualifications, without limitations as to the cultural or chronological period.
14.2.1 Heritage – Structure or sites at which events occur or have occurred that contribute to and are identified with or significantly represent or exemplify the broad cultural, political, economic, military, social, or sociological history of Gilford and the nation, including sites and buildings at which visitors may gain insight or see examples either of particular items or of larger patterns in the North American heritage.
14.2.2 Persons – Structure, structures or sites importantly associated with historic personages.
14.2.3 Concepts – Structures or sites importantly associated with historic examples of great idea or ideal.
14.2.4 Architecture – Structures or structural remains and sites having examples of architectural types or specimens valuable for study of a period, style, or method of building construction, of community organization and living, or of landscaping; or a single notable structure or a single site representing the work of the master builder, master designer, architect, or landscape architect.
14.2.5 Other Buildings – Structures contributing to visual continuity of the District.
14.3 Boundaries
14.3.1 Village District – The Town Meeting action on March 6, 1973, established within the Town of Gilford the following Historic District to be known as the “Gilford Village Historic District” as provided for under the provisions of RSA 674:45 through 50, with boundaries as follows:
Beginning at a point on the easterly side of Belknap Mountain Road at the property line between Pine Grove Cemetery and Town of Gilford, and running easterly along line of said Pine Grove Cemetery to the easterly corner of said cemetery; thence turning and running northerly along a line drawn between the northeast corner of Pine Grove Cemetery and the southeast corner of the Inglis property; thence turning and running northeasterly along the southeast property line of Bacon to the southeasterly corner of the Haskell property; thence turning and running easterly along a line drawn from the southeast corner of Haskell property to a point determined on the boundary line between the Pitou property and the Morin property when said boundary line turns from southerly to southeasterly;
thence turning and running northeasterly on a line drawn from said turning point to the southerly corner of the Richardson property; thence turning and running northeasterly along the southeast property line of Richardson and Pitou; said line to be extended to the point at which it intersects the Allen property; thence turning and running southeasterly along said Allen property to the southeast corner of same; thence turning and running northerly to the northeast corner of the Allen property; thence turning and running northwesterly across Potter Hill Road to the northerly corner of the Allen property which lies on the westerly side of Potter Hill Road; thence turning and running southwesterly along the Allen property to the intersection of the Watson property; thence turning and running northwesterly along said Watson property to the northwest corner of the Watson property; thence turning and running southwesterly along the Watson property to the intersection of Potter Hill Road;
thence turning and running westerly along the right-of-way on the northerly side of Potter Hill Road to the southeast corner of the Wilkinson property; thence turning and running northerly along the side of the Wilkinson property line to its intersection with the Gunstock River; thence turning and running northwesterly along a line drawn between said intersection of the Wilkinson property and the Gunstock River to a point on the northerly side of Route 11A, being the easterly-most point of the Peterson property; thence turning and running westerly and northwesterly along said Peterson property to a point determined to be the southerly-most corner of the John Weeks property; thence turning and running northwesterly along the northerly property line of Gilbert, Emilio and Norman Weeks to the intersection of said line with the westerly side of Gunstock Hill Road; thence turning and running southwesterly along said Gunstock Hill Road to the intersection of the easterly side of Watson
Road; thence turning and running westerly across Watson Road to the northeast corner of the Smart property; thence running along the Smart property line to a determined point where said property line turns from westerly to southerly; thence turning and running southwesterly along a line drawn from the aforementioned determined point and a point being the northwest corner of the McAllister property; thence continuing southwesterly along the northern-most boundary of the McAllister property to its intersection with Gunstock Hill Road; thence running across Gunstock Hill Road to a point being the northwest boundary of the Davis property; thence running along the northerly boundary of the Davis property to its intersection with the Hoose property; thence turning and running southerly, then southeasterly along the southerly property line of Hoose, Taylor and Gienty to the intersection of said line with the Pilliod property; thence turning and running southwesterly to the southwest
corner of said Pilliod property; thence turning and running southeasterly along the Pilliod property to the intersection of Route 11A, thence turning and running easterly along a line drawn between the southeasterly corner of the Pilliod property and the northwesterly corner of the Hoyt property; thence turning and running southerly along the southwest boundaries of Hoyt, Millham, Jensen, Carrigan and Copithorne; thence continuing southerly along a line drawn between the southern-most corner of the Copithorne property to the western-most corner of the Grey property; thence continuing in the southerly direction along the Grey property line to the intersection of the Dolloff property; thence turning and running first southwesterly and then southeasterly, then northeasterly along said Dolloff property to the intersection of the Watson property; thence turning and running southeasterly along the southern-most boundary of Watson, Nevers and Torp to the intersection of said line with
Belknap Mountain Road; thence turning and running along the westerly boundary and the right-of-way for Belknap Mountain Road to a point directly opposite the point of beginning of this description; thence turning and running southeasterly across Belknap Mountain Road to the point of beginning.
The boundaries of this District, as described herein, are those shown on the Official Gilford Village Historic District Map, which is on file and available to the public at the Planning Board office.
14.4 Historic District and Heritage Commission
14.4.1 Appointment – Members of the Historic District and Heritage Commission shall be appointed by the Board of Selectmen, and shall initiate appropriations each year for the activities of the Commission.
14.4.2 Membership – The membership of such commission shall consist of not less than five (5) nor more than seven (7) members and three (3) alternates. All members shall be residents of the Town, and one (1) shall be a member of the Board of Selectmen and one (1) shall be a member of the Planning Board. In determining the qualifications of a member of said Commission, the appointing authority shall take into consideration his demonstrated interest and ability to understand, appreciate, and promote the purpose of the district. The members of said commission shall be appointed for three (3) year terms except the initial appointments shall be staggered so that subsequent appointments shall not recur at the same time. Members of said commission shall serve without
compensation. In the event of a vacancy on the commission, interim appointments may be made by the appointing authority to complete the unexpired term of such position.
14.4.3 Officers – Such commission shall elect annually a chairman, vice-chairman, and secretary from among its own membership.
14.4.4 Votes – The decisions of the commission shall be by vote of a majority of the whole number of commission members.
14.4.5 Regulations – Said commission, for its purposes, shall adopt and may, from time to time, amend rules and regulations not inconsistent with the intention of this ordinance and of the state enabling legislation.
14.4.6 Appropriations and Employment of Consultants – The Historic District and Heritage Commission may receive and hold funds appropriated by the legislative body, employ clerical and technical consultants, and may accept money gifts or gifts of service or grants, and may hold or expend the same for all or any of the purposes stated in the Purpose and Intent of this Article.
14.5 Authority Granted – The Historic District and Heritage Commission shall have the following authority:
14.5.1 When Acting as a Historic District Commission – The Historic District and Heritage Commission, pursuant to RSA 674:46-a Powers and Duties of the Historic District Commission, shall be empowered to regulate the construction, alteration, repair, moving, demolition of structures and landscaping within the Historic District. Such authority is intended to include, but not be limited to, regulatory review and action on new paint, roof materials, fences, height of foundations, window size, exterior lighting, landscaping, and any other items which may affect the external appearance of structures and their surroundings.
14.5.2 When Acting as a Heritage Commission – The Historic District and Heritage Commission, pursuant to RSA 674:44-a Heritage Commission, shall have the powers enumerated in RSA 674:44-b Powers, including the authority to identify and designate, subject to the written consent of the owner of property, specific structures as being historic buildings. The Commission shall keep and maintain a list of structures designated as historic buildings, together with a detailed description of the basis for the designation.
14.6 Uses Permitted – Uses permitted in the Historic District shall be those set forth in the Gilford Zoning Ordinance provisions of the district except that within Historic Districts, no buildings or structures shall be erected, reconstructed, altered, restored, moved, or demolished unless a certificate of approval shall have been issued therefore by the Gilford Village Historic District Commission.
14.7 Certificates of Approval – No building permit shall be issued for any purpose or for any construction, alteration, repair, moving, or demolition of any structure within the Historic District, or of building(s) until a corresponding certificate of approval or appropriateness has been issued by the Gilford Village Historic District Commission. This provision covers such items as, but not limited to, paint, roof materials, fences, foundations, signs, windows, and such other items as may affect the exterior appearance of said structure even though a permit may not be required under the Zoning Ordinance of the Town of Gilford. Application for Certificate of Approval will be obtained from the Director of Public Works or his designee when obtaining a building permit;
or in cases where no building permit is required, the application shall be obtained from the Historic District Secretary.
14.8 Application Procedure – Written application for the certificate of approval shall be submitted to the Gilford Village Historic District Commission stating the location, use, nature, and where pertinent, the materials, color, and texture of the matter or item for which such certificate is sought. Any site plan, building plans, elevations, samples, photographs, sketches, or other information reasonable required by the Commission to determine the “appropriateness” in question shall be made available to the Commission by the applicant. The Commission may, if deemed necessary, hold a public hearing prior to acting on the application for approval in the following manner: within ten (10) days after the filing of the application for approval, the
Commission shall determine the estates considered to be materially affected by such application and shall send notice by mail of a public hearing to be held for the purpose of hearing reasons why the application should or should not be approved. Notice of such public hearing shall be sent not less than ten (10) days prior to the hearing date.
14.9 Evaluation Criteria
14.9.1 Appropriateness – The Historic District Commission in considering each such application shall consider the appropriateness of proposed features, building, structures, and appurtenant fixtures, location on the lot, and the removal or demolition of any building or structure or appurtenant fixtures in the District, wherever such features, buildings, structures, and appurtenant fixtures are subject to the public view.
14.9.2 Evaluation of Intent – The Historic District Commission in considering the appropriateness of any features, fixtures, and usages mentioned in any such application shall keep in mind the purpose of this article.
14.9.3 Architectural Features – The Historic District Commission shall consider, among other things, the historic and architectural style, the general design, arrangement, textures, materials, and color of the building or structure or appurtenant fixtures in question, the relation of such features to similar features of the buildings in the immediate surroundings, and the position of such building or the immediate surroundings, and the position of such building or structure in relation to the street or public way and to other buildings or structures.
14.9.4 Recommendation – In determining appropriateness, the Commission shall request reports and recommendations regarding the feasibility of the applicant’s proposal from the Planning Board, Fire Chief, Building Official, Health Officer, and such other administrative officials who may possess information pertinent to the application. It shall be the duty of the Commission to seek advice from such professional, educational, cultural, or other groups of persons as may be deemed necessary for the determination of a reasonable decision. The Commission shall have the power to engage such technical assistance and consultants as may be deemed necessary to carry out the purposes of the district.
14.9.5 Evaluation Limitation – The Commission shall not make any recommendations or requirements except for the purpose of historic preservation and of preventing developments, constructions, or changes incongruous with the Historic District, its buildings, sites, and surroundings.
14.10 Granting of Approval Certificates
14.10.1 Review Period – Within a period of forty-five (45) consecutive calendar days after the filing of such application or within such further time as the applicant may in writing allow, the Commission shall determine whether the action or usage proposed will be appropriate in its opinion in the Historic District in accordance with the purposes of this section, and shall file a certificate of approval or disapproval with the Gilford building official or the duly delegated authority. Failure to file said certificate by the Commission within the specified period of time shall be deemed to constitute approval.
14.10.2 Hardship Approvals – Notwithstanding that the action or usage proposed may be deemed inappropriate, owing to conditions especially affecting the lot, building, or structure involved, but not affecting the Historic District generally, the Commission may find that failure to issue a certificate of appropriateness will involve a peculiar and unusual hardship (physical, financial, or otherwise) to the applicant, and that such certificate may be issued without substantial derogation from the intent and purposes of historic preservation in Gilford as stated above. If the Commission determines that a proposed activity is not appropriate, owing to conditions as aforesaid but that failure to issue a certificate caused substantial hardship, the Commission shall forthwith approve
such applications and shall issue to the applicant a certificate of appropriateness in which the Commission may impose conditions.
14.10.3 Denial – If the Commission determines a certificate of approval should not be issued, it shall place upon its records the reasons for such determination and may include recommendations respecting the proposed construction, reconstruction, alteration, moving, or demolition.
14.10.4 Notification – Whatever its findings, the Commission shall forthwith notify the applicant and the building official of its determination and shall furnish the applicant in writing the reasons therefore and of its recommendation, if any, as appearing in the records of said Commission.
14.11 Historic District Appeals – Appeals may be taken to the Gilford Board of Adjustment by any owner or tenant of property wholly or partly within a Historic District, and by any other person, agency or group if aggrieved by a ruling of the Historic District Commission. The Board of Adjustment shall hear and act upon such appeals within the periods of time prescribed by New Hampshire Statute (RSA 674:33).
14.12 Repeal – The Gilford Village Historic District ordinance as approved at the March 6, 1973 Gilford Town Meeting, and all subsequent amendments and revisions, are hereby repealed. All regulations, bylaws, rulings, or other actions taken previously by the Historic District Commission are not repealed by this action.
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