It’s currently home to nine historic districts and several landmarked buildings, but now a controversial plan is on the table to expand the historic districts of the Upper West Side.

“The Landmarks Preservation plan is to take a whole bunch of disparate districts and make them into one district between 107th and 70th streets, from the west side of Broadway to Riverside, because they all represent the integrity of architecture and culture of the west side,” says Richard Emery, co-founder of the West End Preservation Society.

The West End Preservation Society initiated the proposal. Emery says the plan, which would encompass close to 800 buildings, is a way to preserve the uniform prewar architecture and design of the Upper West Side, and would discourage inconsistent and out of context development.

The plan has been met with much opposition, especially from the Real Estate Board of New York.

“The proposed designation on the Upper West Side means we will not be able to building new housing, we will not create new jobs, we will not create new tax dollars,” says REBNY President Steven Spinola. “This is an effort to stop development from taking place and protects people’s views, or to limit the density and have people hold on to what they think is theirs.”

Spinola believes this measure will hurt the neighborhood and the city economically. And he adds granting landmark status to buildings with no historical or architectural significance only diminishes the value of that distinction.

Moreover, he claims the designation would also mean more obstacles and an added expense for homeowners in the district looking to make alterations.

Emery disagrees. He says while it may mean more steps in the process, he predicts the landmark status will only increase property values, and claims that REBNY has it all wrong.

“The development of the west side and the real estate values of the west side can only be preserved if the ambience and culture of the west side is preserved,” Emery says. “And if they want to develop consistent with that culture and ambience and that architectural style, they can do it.”

This has sparked quite a debate, and soon the community will get a chance to weigh in.

Early next year, the Landmarks Preservation Commission will hold three public hearings. The dates for those hearings have not yet been set, but NY1 will keep you posted.