Planning Board Approves Plan to Demolish Historic House

A developer can proceed with a plan to demolish a historic house after receiving approval from members of the Paramus Planning Board, who said they had no other legal recourse at their Thursday meeting.

"I think legally, there's nothing I can do to stop it," said Gary Pucci, a member of the board. "I think if we deny this application, they can appeal, and the Borough will wind up paying, and me as a taxpayer in this town, I'll be paying to fight a losing battle."

The Planning Board voted unanimously to allow developer Quattro 4 to demolish the Zabriskie-Wessels-Board Slave House at 273 Dunkerhook Road, ending a year-long battle to save the historic house. The decision was a blow to a group of preservationists who had fought for months to stop the demolition of the house.

The Planning Board's decision hinged on the language of the Borough code, which only gives the board power to delay demolition of historic properties for a period of six months, during which alternatives to destruction are sought. Mark Sokolich, the attorney for Quattro IV, said the Planning Board more than fulfilled that obligation.

"414 days have expired from the date of filing to this evening," he said. "From the first public notice on June 5 of 2010, 327 days have transpired. Forget six months. 327 days have transpired."

Opponents of the house's destruction were already talking about appealing the decision to the Mayor and Council. They'll have 45 days until the developers are allowed to raze the house and move ahead with plans to build two modern homes on the property.

Ted Manvell, a history teacher who lives down the road from the Zabriskie house, said building the two houses would adversely affect his quality of life, which he cited as grounds for a possible appeal.

The Board approved the application despite a request from a representative of the Passaic River Coalition for more time to get funds together to buy and preserve the house. Laurie Howard, a representative of the group, said they had only heard of the house two days before the meeting.

"The goal of our coalition is to reach out to municipalities in situations like this one to come up with a creative solution," she said.

However, after having considered the application for almost a year, members of the Planning Board were reluctant to delay any further.

"I have no reservations as to this board doing everything we had to do," said Planning Board member Richard Conte.