Questions on Why the VBE Board is Allowing the Demolition of Landmarked Baxter House

Concerned citizens living in the village of Baxter Estates and in the town of Port Washington are asking why the VBE Board has decided to ask the owner of the Baxter House to submit an application for demolition of the centuries old and landmarked namesake of the Village.

A number of issues make this request on the part of the Village trustees a troubling one:

1) The Village Code does not allow the Building Inspector to bypass the Landmark Preservation Commission and order demolition.

2) The Landmark Preservation Commission (LPC) just two days earlier issued a written resolution finding that the owner violated the Historic Preservation Law by allowing the house to fall into its current state of decay. After spending in excess of $100,000 in legal fees to defend the house, and after finally obtaining a directive from the Landmark Commission with the power to initiate remedial measures, the Village decided to demolish it. Citizens question this logic.

(Specifically: At the March 2 Board meeting, the Village indicated that the Building Inspector would be acting to enforce Local Law 1 of 2016 the following week. While the Inspector did not issue any violations, he did write to LPC asking for confirmation of his belief that the state of the house violated the provisions of Local Law 1. The Commission ultimately met on April 24 and confirmed the Inspector's findings, and on Tuesday, May 9 met again to issue a written resolution.)

3) The Village is ordering the owner to demolish a home that the Village claims suffered from neglect at the hands of said owner, thus rewarding her for disregarding the rules that set out by the Board that the rest of VBE residents live by (and trust the Board to help enforce).

For more information please go to, Facebook/ Save the Baxter House.