The Village of Roslyn has its various historic districts, plus an historic district board, which wields no small amount of clout in local politics. Now, citizens in Roslyn Heights, a village under the jurisdiction of the Town of North Hempstead, are looking to create their own historic district.

An upswing in residential construction in Roslyn Heights has been cited as a reason why some residents want to draw up an historic district. In such a district, construction is severely limited and additions to existing homes must pass extra scrutiny. Since Roslyn is home to some of the oldest residential structures on Long Island, an historic district was deemed necessary to save those homes from demolition.

The proposed historic district in Roslyn Heights includes the area between Mineola Avenue, Warner Avenue and the train depot station. It would also include homes on Garden, Elm, and Willow Streets, Jefferson Avenue and Carlyle Place.

Roslyn Heights residents who are spearheading the historic district idea could not be reached for comment. Joel Snodgrass, a Long Island architect who is working for such residents said he "represents a group of people concerned about preserving the neighborhood." An application to designate sections of the above streets in Roslyn Heights as historic has been filed with the Town of North Hempstead.

There has been some opposition to the idea. Last week, the Roslyn News ran a letter from a Heights resident, Linda Woods, expressing her reservations about any historic district status in the village.

To elaborate further, Ms. Woods claimed there have been no open meetings on the application. She added that those residents who support an historic district are doing so out of "a matter of taste."

Proponents of the district, Ms. Woods said, believe that new houses being constructed in Roslyn Heights are in bad taste. According to Ms. Woods, they believe the new houses are "distasteful," they don't want the Heights to end up "looking like Queens" and in general, they believe too much construction is already occurring in the Heights.

Ms. Woods' other concerns have to do with what constitutes an "historic" structure. For now, she claims, there are no standards except different architectural designs. Ms. Woods also said that no homeowner will be allowed to take their house off the "historic" list even if they wish that to happen. Finally, Ms. Woods said that while such a district would put building restrictions on homeowners, the TONH is "giving no guidelines for restrictions."

Tom Seligman, former president of the Roslyn Heights Civic Association, said that while he understands the desire for an historic district, one isn't necessary for the village. Instead, the Town of North Hempstead needs to "fully and vigorously" enforce all of the existing zoning laws and building codes.

Rather than an historic district, the town should create a neighborhood preservation district for the village, Mr. Seligman added. There are neighborhoods in Roslyn Heights which may not be historic, but ones worth protecting. "We need creative ways of doing that," Mr. Seligman said.

He added that when residential builders construct new homes, they should be able to make the outside of the home "look like any particular style" they want for as little money as possible. Mr. Seligman said historic district ordinances usually do not protect people who want to voluntarily restore their homes.

Mr. Seligman's other objections have to do with both the process and merits of any proposed historic district. The former civic association president said he would like to see a more open discussion of the matter. "When you don't have open discussion, it tends to polarize people," he said. "But after you have an open discussion, people may disagree with the final decision, but at least they were involved in the process."

Furthermore, Mr. Seligman counseled the TONH to be more careful when handing out building variances for homeowners. In the past, the town "granted variances too readily, often without a valid reason." This included variances for both commercial and residential properties.

On the housing side, Mr. Seligman maintained the TONH often granted variances for builders to do things that zoning laws clearly did not permit. "The variance process is only there to address severe hardships and issues no one could anticipate," he said. Mr. Seligman acknowledged that support for an historic district is, in part, a response to a permissive granting of variances, something that has been going on "for a long time."