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Boro to establish Historical Commission
(by Karen F. Mrnarevic - October 17, 2007)
Councilman Kenneth Hoffman is a lifelong resident of Emerson who has seen many changes in his hometown throughout the years. Like much of
Bergen
County , Emerson is the site of consistent new development. While the building of new houses and businesses is seen by some to be essential to the growth of the community, others believe there are drawbacks to developing without regard to preserving the historical character of the town.
The councilman plans to team with Emerson’s Borough Historian, Bill Wassmann, to organize a new Commission for Historical Preservation. Hoffman, who is up for reelection in November, believes that there is strong support among the community for the commission. “People seem to be very interested in local history and preserving the past,” he said. “We need to take action before more historical sites are lost.”
In the first steps in establishing the commission, Hoffman appealed to the Bergen County Historic Advisor for help. He then began to research nearby towns and their historical preservation commissions, and used them as a model on which to base Emerson’s ordinance. “Closter, in particular,” said Hoffman, “has a very well-engineered system for classifying and preserving historic structures and locations.”
Closter’s historical preservation ordinance not only identifies the standards for designating historical sites, but also informs on mandatory make-up of the commission. According to the ordinance, the commission is to be comprised of members knowledgeable in building design, construction and local history, as well citizens of the municipality. Currently, the prospective members of the commission include Hoffman, Wassmann, and Councilman Brian Todd.
Wassmann has been the borough historian for 27 years, and says he has been pushing for the establishment of a historical commission for nearly that long. “It is a shame that many of the town’s oldest private residences have already been destroyed,” he said. He wonders now if it may be too late to save many of the historical homes that have been remodeled or expanded. “We should have [put together a preservation commission] long ago,” he said.
Hoffman, who is confident that the council will approve the ordinance creating the Commission for Historical Preservation, said the commission’s first act would be to survey borough properties and to assess and identify Emerson’s historical sites and structures using criteria established by the National Register of Historic Places.
According to the National Park Service (NPS), which oversees the National Register of Historic Places, “under Federal law, owners of private property listed in the National Register are free to maintain, manage, or dispose of their property as they choose provided that there is no Federal involvement. Owners have no obligation to open their properties to the public, to restore them or even to maintain them, if they choose not to do so.” So merely having a site designated as historic has little legal bearing on what the property owner does with it.
However, the NPS says the enactment of a town ordinance provides the borough with the ability to establish and enforce preservation laws that apply to properties listed in the National Register.
Hoffman predicts there will be some resistance among private and commercial property owners to the proposed commission since the designation of a building or site as a landmark could present legal challenges for owners seeking to alter or redevelop properties. This is one of the reasons he feels that the autonomy of the commission is vital. The commission’s purpose is to preserve valuable historical resources without the interference of property owners and developers. Once the initial survey is complete and historical sites have been identified, Hoffman says that the owners and developers will be dealt with “on a case-by-case basis.”
So far, the borough of Emerson does not have any buildings or sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places. However, Hoffman suggested some possible properties to be listed are the Emerson Hotel and the Emerson Train Station, now the Cookie Cupboard.
Asked what a historical designation would mean to him, Shane Harnett, the owner of the Cookie Cupboard, seemed positive. Currently, the building is owned by NJ Transit, which, according to Harnett, has not made any structural improvements to the station since he bought the business two years ago. If the building were designated historic, Harnett hopes that the borough’s Historical Commission would be able to institute repairs on the windows, which have been painted shut for years, as well as the doors and floors of the structure.
“It would be great to be able to serve customers through the windows that overlook the tracks,” says Harnett, “That’s how they did it in the old days.” Harnett says he hasn’t been able to reach a NJ Transit official willing to take responsibility for making improvements to the property.
Regardless of any complications that historic status may bring to the Cookie Cupboard, Harnett says he would be very pleased with the designation. He says he has always tried to “preserve the nostalgic look and feel of the station,” installing display cases and appliances that are consistent with the era in which the Cookie Cupboard was established (circa 1963), and adding design touches that suggest the Victorian age. He believes that recognition of the building as a historical site would only enhance the community’s appreciation for it, and hopefully draw more people to the cause of revitalizing the borough as a whole.
“I love this little town,” Harnett said, adding that he hopes the Cookie Cupboard can be a cornerstone of Emerson’s renaissance.
The “Historical Preservation Ordinance of the Borough of Closter” can be found on the borough’s Web site, www.closterboro.com. Information on the National Register of Historic Places can be found on the National Park Service’s Web site, www.nps.com.
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