Historic District Commission Will Review

Two New Homes At The Flagpole

By Steve Bigham

The Borough’s Historic District Commission will conduct a public hearing on Tuesday, July 24, to hear a proposal by Newtown resident Jane Vouros to build two new homes at 29 Main Street (the old Yankee Drover lot).

The hearing will be at Town Hall South, 3 Main Street, at 7:30 pm.

The lot has remained vacant since 1980 when a massive fire destroyed the Yankee Drover Inn. Since then, it has been used as a parking lot for Newtown Meeting House. At one time, owners John and Jane Vouros had sought to rebuild the Drover.

Just feet away from the town’s historic flagpole, the land lies at the heart of both the Borough and the Town of Newtown.

Builder Kim Danziger plans to buy the land (contingent upon town and Borough approvals) and build a pair of large homes that, in his opinion, will fit in well with the rest of the historic district. He will present his plan next Tuesday night.

The Borough Historic District requires a certificate of appropriateness for any proposed changes or improvements within the historic district. The district is located along Main Street and down Church Hill Road to The Newtown Bee. It also includes a portion of Currituck Road and West Street. One of the two Danziger proposed homes will be constructed facing West Street.

The other home will be built, facing Main Street, at the corner of Main and West streets.

Mr Danziger said he has worked hard to design homes that provide the owners with all the modern amenities on the inside while maintaining that historic look on the outside. Mr Danziger understands that the home will be a centerpiece in town. He will need to satisfy both the future buyer and the people of Newtown.

“The most challenging part is building a home that’s going to satisfy the people of Newtown,” he explained.

The proposal must still go before the Planning & Zoning Commission, and other agencies, for approval. A variance will also be required in order to build the home close to the road.

“Originally, I wanted to build a Victorian, but then I realized there are no Victorians in Newtown. Then I drew up plans for a Colonial, but then I said ‘Wait a second, that won’t work either.’ Finally, I took pictures of every house on Main Street and then it started to develop. I took different details from each of the homes. When I designed it, I had pictures of every house on Main Street hanging on the wall,” Mr Danziger said.

Historic District Commission Chairperson Stephanie Gaston said her board would try to work with the applicant to come up with the most appropriate look to the two homes.

“In general, we just want a home that will fit in,” she explained. “It’s not a question as to ‘No, we don’t want a home there.’ We want to work with the builder to come up with a home that looks like it belongs there.”

“This is a prominent piece of property,” Mrs Gaston continued. “I’d say this is one of our most complicated issues we’ve had to handle. We’ll have to spend a long time on it.”

This is new territory for the Borough Historic District Commission as new homes are rarely built within the Borough. Three years ago, a new home was constructed at 15 Main Street. However, that land was out of the commission’s jurisdiction based on an agreement years prior when the previous owner opted out of the historic district.

Mr Danziger contacted Town Historian Dan Cruson to learn some of the history of the vintage Main Street homes. One thing he learned was that most of the homes were not originally constructed with porches. Most were all added on later.

“This house is on Main Street and that makes me think of Halloween and Labor Day, so it has to have a big porch,” Mr Danziger said.

In addition, the 4,600-square-foot house on Main Street will feature a carriage house connected to it in the rear. It will also provide some measure of privacy, something that is hard to provide when one lives in the heart of this bustling town.

“We’re going to have many, many questions,” Mrs Gaston said. “This is a pretty big application.”