Old Westbury village trustees on Monday approved a negative declaration in accordance with the state Environmental Quality Review Act on a proposed local law to set a 25-foot height limit on accessory structures placed on residential properties.
The declaration, trustees said, states that residents following the proposed law would not have an adverse impact on the environment.
Trustees also said the board has received the required approval from the Nassau County Planning Commission to continue discussing the law as proposed.
The board tabled a decision on whether to approve the law, citing a desire to continue discussions with residents. The hearing will continue during the board’s July 21 meeting.
“Having uniform height restrictions for accessory buildings and accessory structures is consistent with principles of good land-use plan,” Old Westbury Mayor Fred Carillo said.
The new local law was proposed in response a 33-foot-high statue at real estate mogul Aby Rosen’s property depicting a naked pregnant woman that is split in half to expose her skull, muscle tissue and part of a fetus.
The statue, called “The Virgin Mother” by British artist Damien Hirst, has been the subject of numerous complaints from residents because it nearly matches the village’s 35-foot-high maximum building height.
Rosen has filed a planning board application seeking approval of the statue as well as the 2008 Tom Sachs sculpture “Wind-Up Hello Kitty” and the 1996 Keith Haring sculpture “Untitled: Figure Balancing on Dog.” If approved, it would then go through the village’s architectural review board.
The village’s code currently has restrictions against building heights exceeding 35 feet and accessory structures taller than 25 feet but does not identify statues in either provision.
Representatives speaking on behalf of Rosen during a June 2 planning board hearing attempted to convince the board that the proposed statues reflected an avant-garde nature that the property has maintained since it was built in 1938 for A. Conger Goodyear.
Rosen’s attorney, Peter McKinnon, said the 5.5-acre property has a conservation easement subjecting it to the village’s rules against various structures.
Rosen has agreed to turn the statue so that the unexposed side of the statue faces neighboring residences.
A planning board decision would be issued after village officials tour the property. The planning board next meets on July 7.
