A. Building permit. Except as provided in Subsection F below, no building permit for the rehabilitation or alteration of the exterior of a Class I or Class II historic resource shall be issued by the Zoning Officer prior to review and comment on the application by the Schuylkill Township Historical Commission in accordance with the terms of this section.

B. Zoning Officer. The Zoning Officer shall provide the Historical Commission with a copy of the application, together with any plans or diagrams required by this chapter, within five days of receipt of a complete application.

C. Schuylkill Township Historical Commission. The completed building permit application must be received by the Historical Commission at least five days before the Commission considers such at its next regularly scheduled meeting or a special meeting. The Historical Commission or a subcommittee thereof shall review the plans for substantial compliance with the standards contained in § 370-61: Standards for rehabilitation and prepare a written report to the Zoning Officer, with a copy to be sent to the applicant. Where the plans are not in compliance with the standards in § 370-61: Standards for rehabilitation, the report shall make suggestions as to what specific changes in the plans would bring them into substantial compliance.

D. Issuance of building permit. Upon receipt of a written report from the Historical Commission indicating that the plans are in substantial compliance with § 370-61: Standards for rehabilitation, and provided that the plans satisfy all other requirements of the Township, the Zoning Officer shall issue the building permit.

E. Report of detrimental effect. If the Historical Commission's report indicates that the plans are not in substantial compliance with the standards in § 370-61: Standards for rehabilitation, the Zoning Officer shall consider the report and recommendations of the Historical Commission in acting on the building permit application. The Zoning Officer shall, at his/her discretion, approve or deny the application for the building permit or not issue the building permit until the plans have been revised by the applicant in accordance with the Commission's recommendations.

F. Exceptions.

(1) Emergency repairs. In cases of emergency, such as storm or fire damage, the Zoning Officer may approve a building permit for temporary measures to stabilize or secure a Class I or Class II historic resource without following the procedures required by this section. To qualify for this exception, the applicant must demonstrate that the work will be reversible (i.e., can be removed without altering or damaging the resource) and will not further damage the resource. As applied to this section, "temporary" means not more than one year from the start of construction. The Zoning Officer may approve one request for an extension of the one-year time period, for a maximum of six months.
(2) In-kind alterations. In cases where the applicant can document that a proposed rehabilitation or alteration is in kind, the Zoning Officer may approve a building permit for such work on a Class I or Class II historic resource without following the procedures required by this section. An in kind rehabilitation or alteration shall be work that the Zoning Officer can interpret as similar, if not identical, to the historic design and fabric of the structure at the time of the application, such as the replacement of a wood shingled roof with a new wood shingled roof. The Zoning Officer also shall weigh any proposed in-kind alteration against the criteria contained in § 370-61A(6) of this article, and shall consult with the Historical Commission in evaluating the proposed in-kind alteration as he/she sees fit.

See Building Permit Application Procedures for more information.
See Building Permit Application for more information.