Thou shalt not use vinyl siding.
Or lavender. Or pink. And absolutely, positively, no DayGlo.
These are just a few of the commandments likely to be written in stone when the village of Ocean Beach forms an architectural review board to ensure that new building projects in the commercial district meet local standards of good taste.
It’s too early to know who will sit on the board and what its exact guidelines will be, but village officials are saying it’s been a long time coming. With the businesses in the area continuing to seek construction permits because of turnover and renovations, the village is moving quickly: a public hearing is scheduled for July 16, and the board of trustees may be prepared to approve a new code at its very next meeting. It hopes to have a rough draft of the laws, as well as a mission statement to guide their implementation, at the hearing, according to Mayor Natalie Rogers.
If officials like how it works after a year, the residential district will face similar requirements.
“There’s a number of ways of doing it and we just haven’t firmed it up yet,” Rogers said.
The review board will consider the aesthetic and the practical—everything from building material and color to scale and size, keeping in mind the context of the building’s location and “what’s right for the village,” said Joel Silverberg, the head of the Ocean Beach planning committee. That group has been acting as a de facto body, assessing proposed projects and making recommendations—three permits have been approved just recently—but according to Silverberg there needs to be a separate entity to advise the board of trustees, which would then issue permits.
But exactly how that board will function has not been determined, and village officials are keeping mum on the subject, except to say that there will be five members, ideally from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Building applicants have had to convince the planning board that their projects are in the best interest of Ocean Beach, and according to Silverberg that will most likely be how things work going forward.
While the planning committee denies permits all the time, village lawmakers say they are not in the business of acting as style police.
“The whole purpose is to get a more cohesive look to the village so that things that may be out of character we can deal with,” Rogers said, adding, “If it’s not too costly most owners are happy to help, even though [up until now] they [have not been] required to.”
And ideally the drafting of the guidelines will involve the public as much as possible, said Trustee Joe Loeffler, who hopes for a high turnout at the public hearing, expected to be held at the newly renovated community house. “We need to have feedback from the public. The more open our government can be, the better.”
But can taste be mandated? Should it?
No, said real estate agent and long-time resident Dana Wallace. “I’m in touch with the old Fire Island, but times change, and people have different tastes.” he said, adding, “I wonder if it’s the government’s role to regulate such matters.”
Part of the appeal of the village, he said, is the variety of architectural styles on display—from the two-story modern wonders on the beach to the modest cottages on Bungalow Walk—due in part to the diversity of the those who come here. Ocean Beach has “people of very different lifestyles living within 100 feet of each other.”
Seeking to allay public fears of a cookie-cutter future, Loeffler said that’s the last thing he wants. “Look at Nantucket—a majestic place, beautiful—where everything is gray and white.”