Protecting Our Historic District

Palisades residents, turning out by the dozens, filled the room at three Historic Areas Board of Review (HABR) meetings in September, October and November to contest the building of a 12,000 sq ft house in the Palisades Historic District. The property is located on a 2-acre land-locked lot behind the cemetery. The main concern of the community was the proposed size, which was three times the average size of the historic homes surrounding the area. In addition, the design of the home was not “in harmony” or compatibility with the surrounding his-toric homes. There was great concern that the approval of this 12,000 sq. ft. house would set a precedent for future new construction in the Historic District. Three times, the architectural plan was denied by HABR.

To seek relief from these denials, in December the owner went before the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) hoping for an overturn of the decisions by HABR. ZBA did not overturn the decisions and directed the owner to go back to HABR. This decision by ZBA was well-received by the community because it demonstrated that ZBA was giving power of approval to HABR.

The owner was scheduled to appear before HABR in January submitting a re-design of 9,000 sq ft. On the morning of the meeting, they withdrew their application. At press time, there has been no further action by the owner. The residents that turned out to the meetings spoke passionately about how the Historic District needs to be protected and felt that a home of that size and design is not in harmony or consistent with the homes in this area of the Historic District.