Lake Success amends law for fences around homes to be demolished

Joe Nikic

The Village of Lake Success Board of Trustees unanimously voted to adopt an addition to a local law to prevent residents with a demolition or building permit from keeping a construction fence up for more than 30 days if no work was being done on the property.

“This is a bill to rectify the situation where if a building permit is given for demolition, they have 30 days to demolish the house and put a fence up,” Trustee Adam Hoffman said. “If they don’t do the demolition, they have to take the fence down and they can’t put up a fence without pulling a demolition permit.”

Trustee David Milner said he thought the addition to the law was a “terrific start” but did not think it went far enough to enough to prevent uncertainty with construction or demolition projects.

“I don’t believe that this law goes far enough to address the issues I think most of the residents in the village have, and that is having vacant land that is in a state of disrepair where a house had existed before and not knowing whether or not they have broken the foundation or not,” he said. “I would like to see the adoption of a requirement that a demolition permit not be issued without firm plans with what’s going to happen with a piece of property.”

Village Attorney Peter Mineo said that would relate to a different section of the village code and would require another public hearing.

The board said they would look at the issue a future public hearing.

Mineo said the new adopted law was retroactive to residents who already have existing demolition permits.

“If somebody has already obtained a permit for construction and they’re not doing anything, they just put a fence as a form of cheap security, they have 30 days from the effective date of the adoption of this local law to either start the demolition or remove the fence,” he said.

Also at the meeting, the board unanimously approved the 2016 fees and rules and regulations for the village’s Fitness Center.

Fees will remain at $50 per resident for the year and $150 per family for the year.

Share this Article