The owner of the home located on the north side of the intersection of 11th St. and Carteret has proposed moving his house -- not moving from his house, but actually moving the house itself -- from the middle of his property forward and slightly closer to the corner to allow his property to be subdivided. According to Superintendent of Building Mike Filippon of the Village of Garden City, the relocating of the house and subdivision of the property from one to three parcels is all conforming with the zoning codes for the Village, and thus is considered an "as of right" subdivision. This, as Filippon explained, is not a discretionary decision and the homeowner does not need a variance or special relief from the zoning code, as this all conforms. No special approvals are needed.

The house currently sits on approximately two and one half acres of land. In order to keep the original house with the subdivisions and have it conform to the zoning, the house will have to be relocated on the exisiting plot of land. The house will be moved south and west on the parcel onto a division of approximately one acre of land. On the east side of the house a separate parcel will be created of approximately 35,000 square feet and another parcel of approximately 22,000 square feet will be created behind the house. The zoning minimum for that area, R-20, is 20,000 square feet, so the three new parcels will all comply with zoning when the house is moved and eventually two new houses are built on each new lot (as long as the houses are constructed within te zoning code). The maximum coverage for a house's footprint on its property in R-20 is 20 percent and the construction must adhere to regulations about the setbacks from all sides.

In order to change the property on county tax rolls from one parcel to three, the property owner must obtain evidence from the Village known as a "waiver of subdivision," according to Filippon, but this is not a matter of approval on the part of the Village. The filing requirements are presented to the Planning Commission of the Village to fill out the waiver for the county's records, and while they can introduce conditions regarding issues such as drainage or grading, the process was termed "esssentially pro forma" by Filippon because the homeowner "has a right to do this because of the underlining zoning codes." While the county will receive the waiver and change the tax rolls to reflect the subdivision, the Village clerk will not change the rolls within the Village until the house is actually moved and the property complies with Village zoning for three parcels.

In order to move the house, Filippon explained, it will be lifted off of its foundation and shifted out of the way as the exisiting basement is completely removed. Once the old foundation and basement structure is gone, a new basement and foundation will be constructed at the new site, which happens to overlap with where the house is now. So, in order to create a new foundation, which overlaps the location of the current one, the current one has to be completely gutted. As Filippon stated, "This is quite a major undertaking." The homeowner also has the option of demolishing the current house and having three new homes built, but has opted to maintain the house that has been a part of the community for some time.

When the Historical Society chose to move its house and the Chamber of Commerce's Toll Lodge were moved, these structures were transported over the Village's major roadways to arrive at their present locations. Filippon noted that these two are the only buildings that have been moved since his tenure in the Village, but that they do demonstrate that it is possible. "This house is only being moved slightly south -- not such a distance from where it is now and it doesn't have to ever go on the streets. When the Historical Society House was moved it had to travel on major roadways and on hills -- it was a little tricky. This is on the same property, but it will have to be completely removed from its foundation" Filippon noted.

He added, "In Times Square they moved the whole theater, and we saw two buildings moved here, so it is physically possible to do." Moving the house will certainly be quite costly, but perhaps the homeowner feels that it will be worth the expense once two houses are built and those two parcels can be put on the market. Some concern about the work involved in the quiet section of the Village, right near the Garden City Golf Club, has arisen amongst residents because of the scale of the work proposed for the site, but again, all of the work proposed is within the homeowner's right as it complies with the Village's zoning.