Historic Home's Owner Will Approach Mendham

Robert Dempsey’s visits to the Morris Township Planning Board ended this week, but he will be looking for a subdivision from Mendham Township in the spring.

Dempsey owns the Allgood House on Schoolhouse Lane in the Washington Valley Historic District.

At its meeting Monday, Jan. 9. the planning board finalized a resolution approving a subdivision along the Morris-Mendham line, giving the Allgood House a 41,697-square-foot lot in Morris and creating a 3-acre lot in Mendham.

Although everyone who attended planning board meetings favored saving the historic house, the subdivision was controversial because of differences about how best to accomplish that.

Dempsey contended he could not sell the house on a three-acre lot because the only interested buyers wanted to tear it down and build a “McMansion.” Residents said subdividing the lot wouldn’t make it any easier to sell the house although the larger lot would attract a buyer wanting to build a McMansion.

Adam Levinson, owner of an 1830 house, said he recently completed a sensitive addition, but added it is hard for a modern family to live in an historic house on a small lot.

Other objections to the subdivision came from neighbors in Mendham Township who said the only building envelope for the new lot would be very close to their house. In addition, runoff from the property was cited as a potential problem.