Muttontown Mayor Richard Murcott has invited Site and Architectural Review Chairman Donald T. Rave, to speak about his board at the Monday, May 13 meeting. He wants to find out what they consider when they look at the plans of a new house and whether they get involved in the artistic look of a new house.

He gave an example of the issue in a telephone interview. He said, "A lot of people think a neighborhood should have a certain look. There is an area off Route 107 that encompasses Mid Lane, Edge Lane, Knollwood Lane, called Syosset Downs. The houses there were all built right after World War II and were mainly small houses built on two-acre lots. Today people are buying the property for $800,000 to $900,000 and building relatively large houses on them."

The mayor sees both sides of the question. On one hand some people want to maintain the area as it is but on the other hand, there are people who are remarkably improving the area, including, he said, the assessed valuation of the village. "In 10 to 15 years the area will be very different," he said, "And it's hard for me to say it isn't right."

The decision to have Mr. Rave attend the meeting resulted after the last board meeting. "We have a crowd," said Mayor Richard Murcottt as he entered the Muttontown Village hearing room on April 8, and spied about 10 residents attending. They included Ken Hollit, Mr. and Mrs. Len Gero, Peter Kandell, several people from Pen-More and a few other new residents. "We normally listen to guests first," said the mayor.

That opened the meeting to residents' concerns about maintaining the ambiance of Muttontown both in respect to keeping the woodsy horse country feel and "keeping up appearances." It appears that one homeowner's project is their neighbor's worst nightmare and one homeowner's giant mansion dwarfs his neighbor's castle.

A new Muttontown resident said he grew up in the area, went to Jericho schools and moved back five years ago. "The last time I was here you were talking about cell towers and the room was packed."

He came back this time because he was concerned with people building in the area of Kirby Lane. "My concern is when I moved in I did a lot of landscaping and construction and did so within the boundaries of the village rules. Now someone on Howard has moved in and doesn't have a lawn, there is no grass, there is dirt and debris on the property. I've called the village hall and gotten no satisfactory response. Can we enforce village rules?"

The mayor said they were aware of the house and that it has a "laundry list of complaints" against what is a relatively small house. The mayor said he was aware of development issues in the village. He has a neighbor who has taken down a small house and built a very large one on the site. The board has been trying to address those problems in the village and he said, "My concern is the destruction of large 50-year old houses and the construction of larger homes that are built on the site." Houses that blended into the village streetscape are being taken down and replaced by very large homes, changing the look of a neighborhood.

Mayor Murcott said the village has a review board, but they oversee such things as garage doors being too close to the street. He said, "It is very hard for a village to tell people what they can put on their property or how to handle unkempt property."

The new resident said he had property in the Hamptons where he said everything is tightly controlled. "This is an equestrian area. We like the rural feeling and want to keep it, or else we will become like 'Anywhere USA' and go downhill." He asked, "What is the board doing in that direction?"

Len Gero also asked what the village was doing to preserve the equestrian values of the village. Trustee Laura Shapiro said she and Trustee Russell Crocker have been working on the equestrian trails. Mr. Crocker said they welcomed any suggestions. Trustee Bert Spitz added, "We are trying to give the equestrian feeling back to Muttontown. We are making sure of that in the new developments."

Mrs. Gero told the board that they were concerned with what is happening in The Hollows. She said large trees have been taken down and people have lights on their tennis courts that are a disturbance. The mayor asked if they called the building department to report the problem and she said, no. Mr. Gero explained the awkwardness of such issues, saying, they didn't want to report on their neighbors. Village Attorney Peter MacKinnon said the village will send out their building inspector to see if the lights are shining on their property.

Highway Commissioner Raz Taruro said he looked into the tree problem and the trees are being replaced.

Road Commissioner Tafuro said he regularly drives around Muttontown on Sundays to see what is happening. "I saw a fellow in The Hollows who took down 13 trees. He will replace them." The mayor commented that when people take down trees, they are 50 to 100 years old and are replaced by smaller, younger trees, which again changes the character of the area.

"There are a few houses that did that," said Mr. Gero.

Resident Peter Kandel questioned the board about what the village could do to maintain the character of the area, citing places like Cape May and Martha 's Vineyard.

William Floyd-Jones explained "There needs to be that high degree of will in the village to go against people's taste. People's proclivities are their own."

To change that there needs to be a commitment to preservation by the community.

A listener asked if they needed a petition or a survey of residents to get their opinions.

Peter MacKinnon said, "You are talking about an architectural site review board. We have zoning that administers setbacks and mass of structure. The next step is what an architectural review board can do: decide what is compatible to the community."

Areas of Muttontown already have different styles, from Colonial to modern to traditional houses, so it becomes hard to find a common thread. The Hollows have homes of similar style, in that area a Victorian house would be jarring visually.

Another resident spoke about a neighbor who raised their property 10 feet, "All of a sudden we are in row houses." He said people can see their pool slide from Route 106. The building inspector said they are planning to screen the area with landscaping.

Trustee Shapiro explained more of the problem when she said that at Pen-More there were regulations about the houses to be built but some are "astronomical" she said.

That was when Mayor Murcott told the residents that he would invite Mr. Rave to speak to the board at the next meeting.

Trustee William Floyd-Jones asked if the village wanted to maintain the architectural style of an area could the village adopt some sort of zoning regulations within a certain area and Village Attorney Peter MacKinnon said, "Yes. There could be an ordinance for small groups of homes, if there is a rational basis to do that in a geographical area." Mr. Rave could make such a proposal to the board, he said.

"If the neighbors are interested," added Mr. Floyd-Jones.

Vivian Van Wagner, village clerk/treasurer said, "There was a board in Pen-More and people didn't pay attention."

The mayor said, "At Pen-More the lots were selling for $400,000 and now are going for a million each. The same with The Hollows where they are now from $800,000 to a million."

The next board meeting should be very interesting.