Planning Board to Hear More on Neighbor-Opposed Subdivision

It was not a normal application when the planning board first saw its site plans on the dais earlier this winter. Then-owner of 975 East Ridgewood Ave. Barbara Lewis had a deal in place to –for instance, bulldozing the old 1860s building and replacing it with two large homes on a corner lot.

Neighbors said, "Not too fast over there!" and complained through their attorney Harold Cook's testimony that the Lewis was potentially profiting off neglecting the home. They also said the proposed homes were far too large for a single lot and some have murmurered that village zoning law should be more strictly abided by.

Jennee's representatives, meanwhile, said that the homes are around the size of other homes, have been reduced in size from earlier plans (neighbors say that isn't true because garage space is calculated into usable total space calculations), and the homes look bigger because of the elevation point. Jennee's team also said replacing the downtrodden home with two modern ones would improve the character of the neighborhood.

In recent weeks, the argument has spilled over here at Patch, as some continued to opine that the homes were still too large for the roughly one-half acre lot and now, as Jennee outright from Lewis as opposed to waiting for the board to take action on variances, some in our threads have said he should be able to renovate the home currently on the tract instead of dividing the lot for two homes.

The Jennee representatives had earlier been trying to convince the board that the home was in such poor shape, it was "a tear down". But with a buy far below an expected price for Lewis ($385,000; she was looking for $500,000 or more), the status of the application is unclear. Will Jennee still try to subdivide? Will he use the savings from the sale to renovate a home that could be very marketable if upgraded?

Planning board members previously disagreed with one another on whether the buyer/seller agreement should weigh in their decision or they should only focus on the variance-based request and not surrounding circumstances.

The planning board will meet at 7:30 p.m. at the Sydney Stoldt Court Room in Village Hall.