A.
Introduction and background. The State of New Jersey Environmental Protection
Commissioner, acting as the State of New Jersey historic preservation
officer, has included a portion of Rockleigh Borough, which he has
designated as the Rockleigh Historic District, in the State Register of
Historic Places, because it was one of the few remaining Dutch
settlements in northeast New Jersey which exhibits rural 18th and 19th
Century characteristics. The United States Department the Interior, for
he same reasons, has also designated within Rockleigh Borough the same
areas as a National Historic District. Rockleigh Borough has included
within the H Zone, Historic district, the Rockleigh Historic District,
as designated by the Environmental Protection Commission and the
National Historic District. It is the intention of Rockleigh Borough in
the creation of the H Zone, Historic District, to preserve for the
people of Rockleigh Borough and the people of the state of New Jersey
and of the United States these properties and areas as being worthy of
preservation for their historic, cultural, architectural, and archeological
distinction.
Rockleigh Borough, in the adoption of the Master Plan for the borough,
has given recognition to the significant number and proportion of
historic homes and historic sites within the borough, as provided in
N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. It is the purpose and intent of the borough to
give consideration to the character of this district through protection
of landmarks, historic homes, historic sites and districts with
historical and cultural significance; to stabilize and improve property values;
to promote present and future civic prides in our heritage from the
past; to guide the most appropriate use and development of all lands, whether
in this historic district in Rockleigh Borough or throughout the State
of New Jersey; to promote a desirable visual environment, the
conservation of open space and valuable natural resources....
B.
Planning Board historic review and approval and Historic Preservation
Commission. In furtherance of the purpose and intent expressed in §88-12A.
the Mayor and Council does hereby require historic review approval from
the Planning Board as a conditions precedent to the erection, construction,
alteration, repair, remodeling, conversion, removal or destruction of any
building or structure within the H Historic Zone and to the erection or
construction of any building or structure in the HF Historic area Fringe
e Zone of Rockleigh Borough....
C. The
Historic Preservation Commission....
(7)
The Historic Preservation Commission shall have the responsibility to:
(a)
Prepare a survey of Historic Sites of the municipality pursuant to
criteria identified in the survey report.
(b)
Make recommendations to the Planning Board on the Historic
Preservation Plan element of the Master Plan and on the implications
for preservation of historic sites of any other Master Plan
elements.
(c)
Advise the Planning Board on the inclusion of historic sites in the
recommended capital improvement program.
(d)
Advise the Planning...on application for development...
(e) Provide
written reports...on the application of Zoning Ordnance provisions
concerning historic preservation; and
(f) Carry
out such other advisory, educational and informational functions as
will promote historic preservation in the municipality.
(8)
The Planning Board...shall make available to the Historic Preservation
Commission an informal copy of every application submitted...for
development in the Historic Zone of to the Historic area Fringe Zone
or on historic sites sites designated on the Zoning or Official Map or
in any component element of the Master Plan.... The Historic Preservation
may provide its advice which shall be conveyed through its delegation
of one (1) of its members or staff to testify orally at the hearing on
the application and to explain any written report which may have been
submitted.
(9)
All applications for the issuance of permits pertaining to historic
sites or property in historic districts shall be referred...to the
Historic Preservation Commission for a written report on the
applications of the Zoning Ordinance provisions concerning historic
preservation. The Historic Preservation Commission shall submit its
report to the Planning Board....
