Council Places Three-Month Moratorium on Vanderbeck House Demolition

A proposed land swap between Fair Lawn and a developer that would have placed the historic Vanderbeck House under borough ownership won't be happening, but officials have at least three months to work with the developer to find an alternative way to preserve the building.

The Fair Lawn Council voted to place a three-month moratorium on demolition of the house after a closed session discussion during their meeting Tuesday night, according to Mayor John Cosgrove.

Bob Milanese of Barrister Builders, the developer looking at the Vanderbeck property for a future assisted living facility, previously told Patch that the land swap seemed unlikely because the state would require he give the town at least five times as much property as he received due to the town's land being protected by the Green Acres program.

Cosgrove said he would be working with Milanese during the moratorium to see how the Vanderbeck House could be preserved, possibly by incorporating it into the plans for the future facility.

"I'll have to see what we come up with," Cosgrove said.

Borough officials had previously said they did not believe they could legally place a demolition moratorium on the building, but Milanese had agreed to not fight it in this case, according to Cosgrove.

Milanese could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

Meanwhile, efforts to repair the neighboring historic Naugle House are continuing. The Fair Lawn Council voted during their meeting to apply for a $25,000 matching historic preservation grant from the county which would pay for the preparation of construction documents for the project.