The Village of Plandome Heights board of trustees Monday opened discussion about possible changes to its building code regarding the size of structures added to one’s property.
Village Attorney Chris Prior said the code specifies that 25 percent of a property’s area cannot be consumed by structures such as the house, a shed, or any other built structure, including a walkway or driveway.
But the board acknowledged that the code is written ambiguously, particularly in the wake of an ongoing extension project at 132 Bourndale Road North that some residents said violates the code.
“If you don’t count the driveways and walkways on this extension, they would meet the lot coverage, and when you do count them they don’t meet the lot coverage, and they were approved without meeting the lot coverage,” Village of Plandome Heights Mayor Ken Risicia said of the Bourndale Drive North home.
Prior said that two other villages he represents, Roslyn Estates and Baxter Estates in Port Washington, each have a 25 percent coverage rule in their village codes that exclude paved surfaces from the building area, the inverse of the provision in Plandome Heights.
Riscica said that after looking into the matter, he found that many homes in the village exceed the maximum lot coverage – including his own, due to the size of his driveway.
Riscica said that the zoning board and building inspector were looking into the Bourndale Road North home situation and, if deemed necessary, the building inspector would write a memo and make a recommendation to the board to change the law, likely before the June trustees meeting. Riscica would then authorize a public hearing because it is a change to the law.
“Code provisions are not designed to throw an entire village out of conforming to code,” Prior said.
Trustee Aida Ferman brought forth some complaints from the Plandome Heights Women’s Club about the condition of a house at 164 Plandome Court.
Village Clerk Marianne Lobaccaro said the house is in pre-foreclosure and the roof has collapsed.
Lobaccaro said the bank in ownership of the property, Financial Freedom Bank, based in Austin, Texas, has declined to go forward on an offer someone made for the property because it feels it can eventually sell it for a higher price if the current house is torn down and then rebuilt.
Freedom Financial, Lobaccaro said, had become aware of a different home on Plandome Court described as “move-in ready” that is seeking offers close to $1.3 million and thinks it can receive a similar offer for the house at 164 Plandome Court.
“It’s very disturbing that the bank wouldn’t let the sale go through,” said Riscica.
Lobaccaro said she is in contact with the attorneys for the bank, Financial Freedom in Austin, Texas, having sent a letter on May 1 describing the condition of the home. They claim they forwarded that onto the remediation department of the bank.
“The point is it’s not gonna go away soon,” Riscica said. “Foreclosure is just going to make it go slower.”
Lobaccaro said that the village is also moving forward with the re-paving of Bayview Circle, of which the Manhasset-Lakeville Water District is providing funding in the aftermath of their replacing a water main on that street.
Riscica announced in his mayor’s report that approximately 40 new posts and new signs were erected throughout the village on May 2.
“When you walk on Webster [Avenue], you know you’re walking in the village,” Riscica said of the new signs.
Riscica said that Plandome Road now had 18 No Parking signs, “and there isn’t another one from here to Port Washington.”
Riscica said that three signs in the village recently vandalized will be redesigned with preventative measures in mind.
The signs currently used, Riscica said, are made from polyvinal chloride material that is easy for people to pull down.
He said the board will director the contractor working on the redesign project to build the signs with a solid wood base, raise them six to nine inches higher and set them in concrete. The signs themselves will then be bracketed to the wood base.
