The Village of Flower Hill continued its public hearing Tuesday night to designate Elderfields Preserve as a village landmark to October.
The board also unanimously voted to designate 7 West Shore Road, the Frederick M. Eastman Carriage House, as a designated landmark.
Mayor Randall Rosenbaum said he and members of the village board of trustees have not been able to take a look at documentation submitted by Nassau County Deputy Attorney Kevin Walsh to village attorney Jeff Blinkoff Tuesday morning
“Unfortunately for us here, we haven’t had time to look at it yet,” Rosenbaum said during the hearing. “I guess we are stuck to postpone this again.”
During the Aug. 7 meeting, Walsh told the board the bureau chief has to approve the language presented in the covenant for the village’s landmark proposal.
Walsh said Tuesday night the draft submitted to the village is simple and mirrors Flower Hill’s provisions in its code for landmarking.
The board also set a deadline for Sept. 25, one week before its Oct. 2 meeting, to finalize the draft submitted by Walsh if the village needs additional revisions.
The Elderfields Preserve, located in Flower Hill, is a four-acre parkland with a main house that includes the original 17th-century home on the property, one of the oldest structures on Long Island, according to the county parks department.
The county acquired the property in 1996 from Henry de V. Williams. The Art Guild of Port Washington currently occupies a space in the building for art studios, classes and shows.
Landmark designation status prevents structures from being altered, repaired, moved or demolished. If a building permit is filed for the property, the village would then assess the proposal to ensure no harm would be done to the property. If the village designates the Elderfields as a landmark, the management of the preserve will not change and the county will continue to own it.
Rosenbaum said the need to designate the carriage house, built in 1875, as a preserved landmark was to make sure the covenants that are already on the house can be enforced.
“Right now, the court of jurisdiction would be Roslyn Village,” Rosenbaum said. “Which doesn’t make sense to me because the property is not in Roslyn Village.”
Rosenbaum said the house is not only protected now but the village’s records can also ensure it.
The board also held its first hearing on a proposed local law to amend noise ordinances in the village.
Rosenbaum said the amendments are to make the code more enforceable based on what is reasonable.
“The way the code is currently written has to deal with decibel levels and sound pressure meter levels, which makes it difficult even with the right machinery to enforce,” he said.
During last month’s meeting, Rosenbaum said the village’s current noise ordinance makes it difficult for tickets to be distributed for noise violations. He added at the time that it was not the village’s goal to ticket individuals but rather to foster peace and quiet for residents.
The next Flower Hill Board of Trustees meeting will be on Monday, Oct. 7.
