More than a week after the Village of Baxter Estates ordered the owner of the historic Baxter House to demolish her home, some residents are continuing to say the village does not have the authority to do so.
On May 10, Joseph Saladino, the village’s building inspector, ordered the home’s owner, Sabrina Wu, to demolish the home, which was heavily damaged in a fire in February, capping years of controversy.
In a letter to the village, the Save the Baxter House group said the village code does not allow the building inspector to bypass the Landmarks Preservation Commission and order demolition.
The home’s exterior was landmarked in 2005, a move Wu opposed.
The letter cited Chapter 80-3 of the village code, which covers “conditions requiring immediate action” for unsafe buildings and properties, and said it does not mention demolition.
It also refers to Chapter 80-7, which says if the building inspector thinks a structure is unsafe, the village must take the matter to the Supreme Court.
Village Trustee Chris Ficalora called the group’s claim false, citing a section of the village’s historic preservation law, “Alterations, improvements and new construction in historic sites or within historic districts.”
Ficalora said the section pertains to this situation as it says, “This chapter shall not apply in any case where the Building Inspector or any authorized Village enforcement agency orders or directs the alteration of any improvement in an historic district or historic site for the purpose of remedying conditions determined to be unsafe or dangerous to the life, health, safety or property of any person.”
Saladino “has the legal jurisdiction to issue such a notice under the law when life-safety issues are present, without the approval of the Landmarks Preservation Commission,” Ficalora said.
“Pursuant to the authority in Baxter Estates Village code section 118-6(1), the building inspector/code enforcement officer hereby determines that the structures remaining on the above premises are unsafe and dangerous to the life, health, safety of the property of the persons who reside on the properties abutting the premises,” the demolition order said.
The community group’s letter also questioned why the village is now ordering Wu to demolish the home.
On April 24, the village’s Landmarks Preservation Commission said that the owner of the Baxter House had violated the historic preservation law by letting the home fall into disrepair.
The commission voted to authorize Saladino to issue violations under the historic preservation law to Wu.
“Citizens question this logic,” the letter said. “The Village is ordering the owner to demolish a home that the Village claims suffered from neglect at the hands of said owner, thus rewarding her for disregarding the rules that set out by the Board that the rest of (Baxter Estates) residents live by (and trust the Board to help enforce).
“The trustees and I are deeply saddened by what has transpired concerning the Baxter Home,” Mayor Nora Haagenson said last week. “The village has followed, and will continue to follow, the lengthy legal process to ensure the rights of the residents of the Village of Baxter Estates and the private property owner are upheld and respected. The village will endeavor to remove and secure selected architectural elements for preservation.”
Ficalora said the demolition will begin when Wu completes her paperwork and the permit is approved. The building inspector also sent a document with 16 specific requirements that the owner must adhere to before, during and after the demolition.
Wu has yet to submit post-demolition plans, Ficalora said.
“The Village asks for demolition of the house with no plan on what replaces it and no guarantee about what is built there,” the community group’s letter said.
Ficalora said under the historic preservation law Wu is required to build an exact replica of the home, but her lawyer, A. Thomas Levin, disputed that.
“Our position is that the village has no authority to do this,” Levin said.
In a letter sent to the village, Stephanie Hall, a resident of Port Washington, said “you took an oath to uphold the law and I (and many others in VBE as well as Port Washington) feel that you have not done that with the Baxter House.”
Levin said Wu is “pleased” with the village’s decision. Her contractors will “continue to compile the extensive paperwork to meet the village’s exacting requirements,” Levin said.
