The Town of Bedford has published a draft survey, prepared by Steward Preservation Services, of private properties that have been deemed historically significant, as well as a new set of procedures to consider owners’ requests to demolish these structures or make significant exterior alterations.
The list filters such properties into three distinct categories. The first category, entitled “Individually Significant Properties,” includes properties determined to be individually significant, historically, architecturally or culturally. There are seven criteria used to make that determination, including whether the property was developed before 1900 and whether the property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The second category, entitled “Contributing Properties,” includes properties not of such historic, architectural and/or cultural significance to be designated Individually Significant, but that nevertheless make a distinctive contribution to the overall historic and visual character of the Town of Bedford by virtue of the historic nature of the road or neighborhood where such properties are located.
The third and final category, entitled “Other Historic Resources,” includes properties of lesser architectural or historic significance, or where historic features and fabric have been substantially compromised, but which nonetheless contribute to the historic character of the Town.
A property owner who believes their property has been incorrectly categorized may submit a Historic Resource Review Request. The new procedures include an expedited approval process for minor alterations that do not involve any “demolition or removal of historic fabric” and where the “massing and scale of any proposed addition will not impact the historic character of the building.”
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Bedford, New York 10506-0022
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