_Editor’s note: This article previews a scheduled meeting based on the published agenda packet. After the meeting is held and video is released, coverage will be updated with the actual discussion and any votes taken._ The rules that will decide where — and how — a cannabis dispensary can operate in Croton-on-Hudson get their first public airing Wednesday, when the Board of Trustees takes up draft zoning regulations at its July 22 work session. The village adopted a six-month moratorium on dispensary applications on June 17 (Local Law No. 8 of 2026) to buy time to write these rules. The draft delivered for Wednesday's session by planning consultant Valerie Monastra proposes treating an adult-use cannabis retail dispensary as its own zoning use requiring a special permit, permitted in the same districts where typical retail is permitted — the revised use table attached to her memo lists it as a special permit use in the Central Commercial and General Commercial districts. The draft definitions would exclude on-site consumption regardless of state licensing. Monastra's memo also maps what the village cannot do under the state's Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act: it may not limit the number of dispensaries, restrict locations so much that the use is effectively prohibited, regulate licensing or operations, or restrict hours beyond state bounds (a dispensary cannot be forced below 70 operating hours a week unless the licensee agrees). State law already keeps dispensaries 200 feet from a house of worship and 500 feet from a school on the same road, and sets 1,000- and 2,000-foot spacing rules between licensees in municipalities of 20,000 or fewer people. What the village can regulate: parking, traffic, odor, noise, and the visual integrity of buildings in historic districts. Monastra plans to attend the session. The second heavyweight item is environmental review. As part of the 2026-2027 enacted state budget, New York amended the Environmental Conservation Law to create a new category of SEQR-exempt "qualified actions" — most notably housing construction outside New York City that connects to existing water and sewer systems, sits on a previously disturbed site, is no more than 20 percent non-residential, and does not exceed 100 dwelling units (300 in Census-defined urban areas). Monastra's memo tells the board the exemption "greatly affects" the village — but notes it does not override local zoning, and recommends code amendments so the village's boards "continue reviewing the impacts of the project on the environment, traffic, community services, etc." Her memo attaches a section-by-section map of where the village code already covers SEQR-style review and where it should be tightened, including adding review of impacts on schools, police, fire and EMS, fiscal impacts, nearby intersections, and sites near state or national historic registers. The board will also continue a review it began earlier: in February 2026, per Monastra's memo, the board decided to convert several special-permit uses to permitted uses — day-care centers in the Limited Office, Central Commercial and General Commercial districts, social clubs and nonprofits, retail stores in General Commercial, animal hospitals, and occasional retail sales in Light Industrial — and a draft local law delivering those amendments is in the packet. The same draft would retire the term "animal hospital" in favor of "animal-related uses, general," covering pet stores, grooming and veterinary clinics with no outdoor facilities, while defining intensive animal uses such as kennels and stables separately. Two shorter items round out the agenda. The board will discuss increasing the income limits for rent-regulated property occupied by certain senior citizens or persons with disabilities; the packet includes a letter from New York State Homes and Community Renewal on the topic (a scanned document) alongside the existing village code provision. And the board will consider authorizing the Village Manager to reject all bids received under Bid No. 22-2025 for trade labor services. Per the draft resolution, six bids came in by the January 22 deadline, three of them for the HVAC portion — but the scope of work has since changed, requiring a new bid. The work session is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 22, in the Georgianna Grant Meeting Room at the Stanley H. Kellerhouse Municipal Building.
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