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Attend Architectural Review Board Hearing
Dear Editor,
The Cold Spring Architectural Review Board is currently reviewing an application for a large (5000+ square feet) single family home to be built next to the Philipstown Town Hall on Main Street. The lot is currently vacant; the existing home having already been demolished.
The proposed house is colossal. It is wider than the Town Hall and dwarfs any existing house in the neighborhood. Yet indications are that the board will grant a Certificate of Appropriateness unless there is a public outcry. The public hearing is scheduled for December 20 and details were in last week’s paper. The plans should be available for review at the Cold Spring Village Clerk’s office. I hope residents will look at the plans and attend the hearing to let the board know how they feel. The ARB’s own design standards are quite clear that new construction should reinforce the character and not overwhelm the scale of the existing neighborhood, but the board has a history of neglecting their own rules.
Please don’t think that someone else will make the point and that you will be simply repeating something the board has already heard. The board needs to hear the point repeatedly from as many people as possible to know there is a consensus that this kind of massive construction does not belong in such a prominent spot in our historic community.
Peter Henderson
Cold Spring
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