At a Town of Oyster Bay Meeting held Tuesday, May 23, the town board reviewed the application made by the Oyster Bay Landmarks Commission for the designation of an area of special historic significance known as the Ketcham/Underhill Farmhouse located at 555 Jericho Turnpike. The decision of the Board was reserved.

The Town Board reserved their decision for a later date giving community members who could not attend the meeting the chance to voice their opinions in writing. After two weeks time, the board will close the record and begin deliberations. There is no deadline set for a decision by the board.

The Landmark Preservation Commission was formed in 1974 to recommend sites and structures for preservation within the Town which have historical, architectural or antiquarian significance. According to an ordinance, the Landmark Commission must be composed of a lawyer, an architect, and an architectural historian and the other members are appointed from the general population and do not require any specific qualifications.

The landmark commission considers the historical and aesthetic merits of a property when an application is submitted and after the commission hears testimony and evaluates the situation, they vote to recommend to the town board whether or not it should be a landmark. The commission voted in March to recommend to the board that the Ketcham/Underhill Farmhouse be designated a landmark. Although two applications were submitted, the commission approved only one - the property and barn, at the same location, were not included in their recommendation.

John Collins is a member of the landmark commission and also an architectural historian. "I was disappointed with the commission's decision," said Collins during a prior interview. "I do not know why [the commission] did not feel that the barn was worth preservation." Collins was the dissenting vote on the motion to make the barn, property and house all a landmark.

The chairman of the Landmark Commission made the presentation to the Board during the recent meeting. The commission submitted the application to the board recommending that the house be considered a landmark and then had to justify it during their presentation.

Members of the community voiced their opinion at the meeting expressing their concern over the dismissal of the barn and property included in the original application. The board now has the right to overturn any recommendation made by the Landmark Commission.

Linda Weiss and Lisa Lauricella have been acting as co-spokespeople for the people committed to designate this area a landmark. They spoke at the meeting regarding the importance of landmarking the house, property and barn, contrary to what the Landmark Commission recommended.

Residents interested in voicing their opinions regarding this matter should write to the Town Board at Town Hall East; 54 Audrey Avenue; Oyster Bay, NY 11771. The record will close on June 6.