(Photo by Adam Sternberg)
Many villages don’t restrict residents from making aesthetic changes to their homes. On the other hand, the Village of Roslyn is famous for wanting to maintain its unique character and historic flavor. To that end, Roslyn contains two protection zones, officially known as historic districts, one for the village and the second for buildings and residences that meet the zones’ criteria.
At the February board of trustees meeting, an application was presented on behalf of an owner whose house lies within the older Main Street Historic District. The architect, John Amisano made the presentation.
The house is relatively small. It was built sometime in the early or mid-20th century. The style of the house is neocolonial, along with elements reminiscent of Victorian architecture such as a large front porch. It is close to a sister house, which appears to be nearly identical.
The house has two floors. The architct intends to add a new two story addition to the rear of the house. It will incorporate the existing first floor extension. It will also make the house more roomy, allowing living space for a relative who wants to live with the family.
The homeowners’ application reads, in part, that the “Applicant proposes to construct a second addition over the existing one story portion [of the back of the house].”
Amisano presented large oak tag rendering of the house as is and what changes he proposes to make. The board took the application under consideration.
The project will need the approval of “as is” or approval with alterations by the Historic District Board if it is to go any further. The historic districts have their own set of rules and regulations.
Board of trustees rules on this application include:
• The front facade of the house may not be changed.
• The cost of the renovation shall not exceed one half of the value of the house excluding land value. In this case, the residents paid approximately $300,000 for house and property.
In other news, the board proposed a Local Law setting a higher legally permissible rate from tax year to tax year. Village officials do not see any tax increase this year. New York State limits the legal increase to no more than two percent.
The board also approved several legal notice publications, including one for a Construction of Hillside Avenue Retaining Wall bid, another for a Construction of Old Northern Boulevard Parking Lot bid and the final one for a Construction of Skillman Street Parking Lot bid.
