At its most recent meeting, the Village of Roslyn board of trustees approved a temporary moratorium in the village's "HP-O" District, officially known as the Hillside Protection Overlay District.

The moratorium will be on "permits for new buildings, alterations and additions to existing buildings" in the HP-O district. It will be in effect immediately and last for six months. Once that time period is up, the BOT will revisit the issue to determine if the moratorium should be extended or terminated.

The HP-O District is located off Willis Avenue near The Pines section of Roslyn. It has long been an area noted for its grassy lawns and trees. The moratorium is aimed at residential development in the District, with the purpose of preserving the existing greenery of the area, especially its trees.

In recent years, other government bodies in Roslyn have enacted their own moratorium ordinances affecting both commercial and residential development. Such moratoriums have also reflected a desire to preserve trees and other greenery from the scourge of overdevelopment. In both East Hills and Roslyn Estates, building codes were aimed at subdivisions that might be constructed in those villages.

The East Hills code, which was passed this past spring, imposed a temporary moratorium on all residential subdivisions and approvals. According to village officials, the purpose of the moratorium was to "enable the village sufficient time to review, study, hold public hearings, and prepare and adopt a comprehensive plan concerning the creation of new residential subdivisions." While approving the new codes, village officials also noted that East Hills was never meant to be a place where subdivisions would proliferate.

Similarly, when the Village of Roslyn Estates amended its tree ordinance, it did so with an eye on that same threat posed by subdivisions. The draft of the Roslyn Estates tree law noted the trend on the North Shore of developers purchasing property for the sole purpose of subdividing the structure into greater numbers of parcels. Such subdivisions, the draft also observed, often result in the destruction of "vast numbers of trees."

Also at the September BOT meeting, the village heard a presentation by Michael Daly of Forest City Daly, the Manhattan-based firm, which has long been approved by the BOT and other village agencies to construct senior housing in land off Skillman Street in downtown Roslyn. It was Daly's first appearance in the village in over a year. The last time he visited Roslyn, it was to give a talk at a luncheon for local senior citizens. That luncheon served as the unveiling of the senior housing facility, dubbed "Bryant Landing" and what it has to offer prospective tenants.

The next Village of Roslyn board of trustees meeting will be held Tuesday, Oct. 21 beginning at 8 p.m.