The Saratoga Springs Design Review Board on Sept. 10 determined that a garage/carriage house at 195 Lake Avenue is architecturally or historically significant, triggering the board’s demolition‑review process and requiring the owner to document alternatives to demolition.

Erin Murphy, the property owner, described the project background: she purchased the house to create a secondary dwelling in the accessory structure and received a zoning-board approval with a condition to move the new secondary dwelling 10 feet from the property line. After the board discussed age, integrity and context, Chair and board members reviewed documentation in the packet and public comments. Several board members, citing the building’s intact vernacular Craftsman details and its role in the neighborhood’s transition from horse‑drawn carriages to automobiles, concluded the structure contributes historically to the city’s fabric.

Because the structure was determined to be significant, the applicant must now submit good‑faith documentation exploring alternatives (relocation, salvage, adaptive reuse), attempts to find a purchaser willing to preserve the structure, evidence the structure cannot be adapted for the proposed use without demolition, and acceptable post‑demolition plans if demolition is still sought. Board members and the preservation foundation encouraged the applicant to coordinate with the planning office and the foundation on adaptive‑reuse approaches; several members suggested moving or reconfiguring the structure or looking to precedents where accessory structures were adaptively reused. The board held no demolition vote — the determination of significance is the first step in that multi-stage process.

Chair noted the high level of public interest (more than 40 letters) and said the board would expect full documentation from the applicant should demolition be requested.