Gray Williams and Nancy O’Neil at town hall
Monday, June 14, 2010
by Nancy O’Neil
New Castle is a town with many small committees, made up of volunteers, who do some of the special things that make our town such an interesting and pleasant place to live. Each of these committees makes an annual appearance before the town board to explain what they do and why they do it. Tuesday night, June 8, was the Landmark Advisory Committee’s turn.
Gray Williams, the town historian and president of the committee, made the presentation. He pointed out that the committee is strictly advisory and has no enforcement capability. The task of the committee is to identify houses in Chappaqua that could be considered landmarks by virtue of their historic role in Chappaqua’s past, their connection to a well-known person or their architectural distinction. Surviving a century or more in relatively intact condition can constitute a historic role, well-known can be strictly local and architectural distinction can include being part of an ensemble of houses of the same period or by the same builder.
When the Landmark Advisory Committee identifies a house that they believe qualifies for landmark status, the committee approaches the owner of the house for permission to begin the land marking process. If permission is granted, the committee conducts research on the history of the house and submits a report to the town. After reviewing the report, the town can designate the house a New Castle Landmark.
The town has no further connection with the designated house, unless a building permit for an addition or exterior remodeling has been issued. In that case, the Landmark Committee is asked to review the plans and, if it deems necessary, make appropriate comments. The owner makes his or her own decision to follow the advice or not.
After Gray’s presentation, Town Supervisor Barbara Gerrard graciously thanked the committee for its work. She pointed out the committee’s role in helping the community understand the importance of landmarks and appreciate the many (more than 30) that we have. Everyone went home smiling.
Members of the Landmark Advisory Committee are Gray Williams, Al Hutin, Nancy O’Neil, Shauna McManus and Jane Lindau.
Nancy O’Neil, her husband and six children moved to Chappaqua in 1965. All of her children went through the Chappaqua schools, graduating from Horace Greeley and have been respectable citizens ever since.
Copyright 2012 NewCastleNOW.org