Clarkstown, NY Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

The Town Board created the seven-member Architectural Historic Review Board under § 5-2, including a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson, with members trained in art, architecture, tree preservation, landscaping or historical preservation serving staggered seven-year terms. Section 5-3 gives the AHRB authority to adopt criteria for identifying historic, architectural and cultural landmarks within the Town (§ 5-3E) and to give the Town Board advisory recommendations for designating historic landmarks, sites, roads and districts for potential elevation to regional, state or national prominence (§ 5-3F), plus recommendations on using state, federal or private grant funds to preserve those landmarks (§ 5-3G).

Once a property is designated, § 5-4A requires the Building Inspector to refer any building or sign permit application affecting a historically designated residential structure, or any site within a designated historical area, to the AHRB before a permit can issue; the Board has 45 days to act, and inaction within that window counts as automatic approval. Under § 5-5, ordinary maintenance that does not change design, material, color or outward appearance needs no AHRB review, but an owner may not let a designated historic site or a property within a historic district fall into disrepair that damages exterior architectural features, listing deterioration of walls, columns, roofs, soffits, siding and chimneys as examples.

Decisions can be appealed to the Zoning Board of Appeals within 30 days under § 5-6. This authority runs only in the Town of Clarkstown outside the incorporated areas; it does not reach the Villages of Nyack, Upper Nyack or South Nyack, each of which runs its own separate historic-preservation code.