The Town of Southeast, NY
Arch Review Board

Putnam County, New York

TOWN OF SOUTHEAST INITIATES ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD

Contact: Lois Zutell, Supervisor
(845) 279-4313

Southeast, New York. - The Town of Southeast's newly formed Architectural Review Board (ARB) is expected to have an impact on development in Southeast as it gets underway this year. Created in 2000, the Architectural Review Board is a five-member board created to ensure high standards for the visual environment of the Town of Southeast. The Town Board created the ARB so that Southeast might have prescriptive guidelines and recommendations from a Town agency that will "inhibit development deleterious to the visual environment and thus prevent loss of tax revenue to the Town of Southeast, which it would otherwise receive." The ARB will prevent destruction of the proper balance between the taxable value of real property and the cost of town services provided therefore. "How something is built is just as important as the underlying use of the property being approved," states Councilman Honeck.

The ARB in its capacity as an advisory board, will provide counsel to the Planning Board and Zoning Board as it reviews and makes determinations on projects brought up for evaluation. All commercial projects will be reviewed by the ARB and the Town Board will request recommendations for any municipal project that includes the renovation, construction or landscaping of any Town property. The ARB will provide advice to the Zoning Board for commercial projects, which may affect the visual environment, as well as comment on plans for new residential structures in existing residential subdivisions with five lots or more.

Comprehensive legislation regulating the jurisdiction, review procedures, decision process, authority, and appeals for the Architectural Review Board were adopted at the August 10, 2000 Regular Meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Southeast. The ARB will provide written decisions outlining its recommendations, making the following findings: approved, approved with conditions, action reserved or disapproved.

All ARB decisions shall be made with consideration to avoiding the imposition of undue financial hardship on any applicant. However, this new regulatory policy is intended to enhance the aesthetic value of the town's streetscapes in residential as well as commercial districts, and thus encourages consideration for increased effort in design and construction plans of all applicants. In addition, the ARB may, on its own initiative, issue reports that address the enhancement of the Town's visual environment.

Members to the Architectural Review Board serve a term of three years and must be residents of the Town of Southeast. The Chairperson, designated by the Town Board is (re)appointed by every new Town Board. At least one member of the ARB must be an architect registered in the State of New York. The remaining members are chosen based on qualifications of professional, formal or informal training in the fields of landscape architecture, interior or exterior design, municipal planning, municipal government, or other professionally or aesthetically related disciplines or civic interest.

All seats on the ARB have been filled and the Southeast Town Board looks forward to incorporating the newly established Architectural Review Board as part of the regular planning and zoning processes.

For further information, contact Town of Southeast Supervisor, Lois Zutell, at (845) 279-4313, or visit the Town web site at townofsoutheast-ny.com.

 

 

 

 

[Welcome] [Town Departments] [Demographics] [Emergency Services] [Town Meetings] [Press Releases] [School System] [Places of Interest]

Town Hall, 1 Main Street, Brewster, NY 10509