To the Editor:

We were the last Notts to live at the Norman Vale Estate, between 1957 and 1978, and we are writing to convey the strongest support possible for Mr. Matthew Reuter, the current owner and steward of Norman Vale, our beloved family home from 1829 to 1978, located on Nott Road in Guilderland.

The estate was built between 1770 and 1780 by the Veeder family, and occupied by Peter Veeder, the first clerk of the town of Guilderland, until 1810. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

We, the Nott family, stand in solidarity with Mr. Reuter, and his continued efforts at preservation and mitigation at Norman Vale-Nott House (the official Federal name for the property).

Norman Vale is steeped in early New York state history, beginning with the Veeder family ownership, followed by Lieutenant Governor John Tayler (1813-1829). The Nott family lineage at Norman Vale began in the late 1820s when Lieutenant Governor Tayler’s granddaughter, Margaret Tayler Cooper, married Joel Benedict Nott, who was the fourth great-grandfather to Stephen and Deborah Nott.

The Norman Vale estate has been dismantled in recent years. We are shocked and appalled that the neighboring property owner/private developer (and previous owner of Norman Vale), Mr. Doug Bauer was able to subdivide the property, turn the home’s driveway into “Norman Vale Lane,” and build a large and imposing home in the side yard of Norman Vale (now 3 Norman Vale Lane).

It is very surprising that the Guilderland Planning Board approved this subdivision plan in 2021, especially in light of the very clear recommendations sent to the town of Guilderland and Mr. Bauer on Aug. 24, 2018 from the New York State Historic Preservation Office’s Site Restoration Coordinator’s office.

These recommendations included: “siting any new construction so that it maintains a clear separation between the historic building and new properties. Tree line buffers should be maintained or established to screen views to the new houses. In addition, design of the new construction should be sympathetic to the surroundings and the historic building. Avoid out of scale designs or tall structures, use natural cladding materials as much as possible, and employ appropriate colors.”

Most of these critical recommendations were not followed, and Norman Vale’s historic character and stately nature has suffered greatly as a result.

To say the house that sits at 3 Norman Vale Lane on a high berm is imposing on the historic character and rustic nature of the property is an understatement. It is a travesty, in our opinion, that a house so unbefitting and not keeping with the stately nature of Norman Vale was allowed to be built so close to this historic property.

Additionally, the front lawn was approved to be divided such that a 50-foot strip in front along Nott Road in front of the mansion actually belongs to the newly built property, and not to Norman Vale itself.

While all of this is maddening and egregious, it raises the question of who allowed this to take place? Is there no oversight in the town of Guilderland to question building a subdivision and approving buildings of this size and scale on the grounds of a stately and revered mansion on the National Registry of Historic Places?

The Altamont Enterprise has published information about Norman Vale before. On Oct. 25, 2018 you published the story “Police seize Historic Veeder Family Gravestones after Homeowner Removed them from cemetery,” in which it is reported that Mr. Bauer told the Enterprise that any new houses to be built will be small and will not block the view of the historic Home.

We are sorry that we were not aware of these plans years ago, when we possibly could have intervened to save the character and charm of the estate. While, sadly, it is too late to prevent the house at 3 Norman Vale Lane from being built, we fully support Mr. Reuter’s efforts to return the use, and ownership, of parcels of land in the Norman Vale frontage, side yard, and in back of the estate along the Hungerkill to Norman Vale.

To support a clear and distinct separation from the modern construction, we strongly support returning land and a portion of the lower driveway that belonged to the original estate, to Norman Vale and to all future owners of the historic home.

While this in no way alleviates the wrongs that have been done to the historic nature of the property, it would enable the owner to properly plant trees or a hedge along the Norman Vale side of the shared driveway which would allow some small amount of dignity to be returned to the property.

Additionally, we strongly support the need for the neighboring property owner to plant trees on his property in alignment with the 2018 New York State Office of Historic Preservation recommendations.

We hope the community of concerned citizens, neighbors, and those that respect and value history and preservation will support Mr. Reuter. We also ask the town of Guilderland to support additional protections for Norman Vale, including those highlighted above, to ensure that no additional actions can further adversely impact this historic home now or in the future.

We are thankful to Mr. Reuter’s neighbors on Nott Road who have been supportive of him.

One suggestion to ensure this does not occur again in Guilderland would be for the town to create a Historic Preservation or Resources Commission, echoing a direct recommendation from the New York State Office of Historic Preservation.

Thank you for your time, concern, and your efforts on the eve of the 250th anniversary of our American Revolution, to preserve sacred places of historical significance everywhere.

Dr. Lee Gaskins Nott Kass

Stephen H. Nott

Deborah M. Nott