Historic Survey Could Help Village Revamp Preservation Laws

Scarsdale may be one step closer to having a clear definition of what makes a property of historic value.

According to Lucas Meyer, who chairs the Committee for Historic Preservation (CHP), 19 companies have submitted proposals to create a survey of historic properties in Scarsdale.

Meyer explained that three members of the Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation--himself, Noreen Fischer and Village Historian Eric Rothschild--will review the proposals and choose a company to work on the project next month.

The survey, Meyer said, is the first step to the village revamping the current historic preservation law, which he describes as "reactive."

"The law [Chapter 182 of the Village Code] is triggered only when an application for partial or complete demolition of a structure is applied for," Meyer said. "If an applicant wants to demolish more than 50 percent of the building, a demolition application is referred to the CHP."

Meyer said that the CHP then decides if the building meets the criteria for historic relevance set forth in the Village Code. Chapter 182 was created by the Board of Trustees in 1990 and last amended in 2007. Section 182.5 lays out the criteria that the CHP must assess in order to deem a property of historic value.

"If we believe the structure has historic merit, we make a recommendation to the Board of Architectural Review to not give the recommendation for certification of appropriateness for demolition," Meyer said.

Meyer estimates that 30 historical properties exist in Scarsdale.

"The idea now is to hire a consultant who will be objective and who will catalog the truly historic properties that we have in this village," he said.

Some homeowners though, are apprehensive about a possible historic designation to their homes because it would make it difficult to get approval for renovations and could decrease their property values.

"If a homeowner allows his house to be designated, they can't alter it and it would affect their home values," Meyer said. 

Tom Giordano, co-chair of the Scarsdale Town and Village Civic Club Education Forum's Neighborhood Character Committee (NCC), said that the research his group has conducted indicates the opposite.

"Some of research we found was that one of the benefits would be an increased property value," Giordano said." "Everybody feels exactly the opposite, but the research was saying that value would be added."

Rothschild said that some members of the community see a historical home designation as  a hindrance to their property rights.

"There's a lot of people who think it's the silliest idea ever," Rothschild said. "They say, 'It's my property, why should someone tell me what to do with it?'"

Giordano said that while the issue is polarizing, a compromise could be reached between the village and homeowners.

"There are two extremes in the way people think about it, but there's a middle ground that protects owners' rights while also being in the good course of preservation," Giordano said. "The idea of 'once something's preserved, you can't touch it' isn't really the goal here."

Giordano explained that the NCC was formed in 2008 as an ad hoc group that would assess desirable neighborhood traits, including the historic relevance of homes, and make recommendations to the village based upon their research.

Giordano noted that other desirable neighborhood characteristics include "the way it's laid out, what the space is, the amount of park land in the area and the type of architecture as well."

"It was meant to be broader than just looking at historic preservation," he said.

Giordano explained that the NCC recommended the survey as a first step because the number of houses deemed historic in the Village could affect the manner by which the village goes about changing the law.

"If there's only two or three historic properties, the amount of effort to create a new law might be less than if the survey finds there's 100 historic homes," Giordano said.

Currently, the National Register of Historic Places does not include any residential properties in Scarsdale. According to the register's database, Scarsdale's five properties of historical significance include: the Caleb Hyatt house (also known as the Cudner-Hyatt house,) the Scarsdale Railroad Station, the Scarsdale Woman's Club, the Scarsdale US Post Office and Wayside Cottage.