The Village of Croton-on-Hudson spent months trying to block a cannabis dispensary from opening at 370 South Riverside Avenue, only to be overruled by the state, Village Manager Bryan Healy disclosed at an April 15 Board of Trustees work session. Healy provided a detailed timeline of the village's interactions with the applicant, Vincent Silvestri, who first contacted the village in May 2025. At that time, village officials told Silvestri they did not believe a dispensary could open at that location due to state distance requirements. But when a building permit application was submitted in October 2025, the applicant produced a municipal notification form stamped May 8, 2025 — a form Healy said he never received. "Despite a diligent search, I have not located the physical copy of this form in our offices," [source][34:43] Healy told the board. He said the form was likely submitted during the May 2025 meeting but never transmitted to his office. "If it had been, it would have been put on a village board agenda for community notification as has been done with previous applications." [source][34:43] The village attorney contacted the state Office of Cannabis Management to protest the location, citing its proximity to a day care center. "We provided evidence that the day care center serves a wide variety of students, including those who are school aged," [source][35:10] Healy said. But the state was not persuaded. "OCM reaffirmed their decision that the location met the appropriate distance requirements in November 2025." [source][35:10] After the protest failed, Healy said he and the village attorney worked with the applicant to find an alternative location, but no agreement was reached. The application was ultimately sent to the Planning Board, which approved the change of use on April 14. The village engineer will now review the building permit for code compliance. Trustee Maria Slippen said she appreciated the timeline but worried it would not reach enough residents. "I don't know how like, how is there some way we can get that information out to the public in some way beyond the handful of people who are watching on TV and in the room." [source][36:10] Deputy Mayor Len Simon suggested creating a project page on the village website so residents can easily access application materials. Trustee Nora Nicholson also flagged a statement by the applicant's attorney, Mickey Weiss, at the Planning Board meeting that she said incorrectly implied the village had already issued parking permits to the business. "That obviously seemed odd to me because they haven't gotten the change of use that wasn't approved yet," [source][37:21] Nicholson said. Healy clarified that he had advised Weiss that businesses can purchase up to two permits in the South Harmon lot as a condition of land use board approval, but no permits had been sold. The cannabis discussion preceded a lengthy review of the proposed 2026-2027 fee schedule and budget, which covered changes across multiple departments. The most significant fee change targets the train station parking lot, where the hourly rate would increase from $1.00 to $1.50 — the first increase in 16 years. Healy said the village avoided raising the rate to $2.00 because that felt too high, and noted that the vast majority of the roughly 15,000 monthly transactions are now paid by credit card or app, with less than $2,000 in cash collected each month. Simon quipped of the modest increase: "And we'll do our next increase in 2044." [source][43:31] Trustee Stacey Nachtaler asked whether the village could offer a weekday parking waiver for senior residents. Healy cautioned it would be difficult to implement fairly, noting that the fire department and other volunteer groups have made similar requests that were denied. Simon asked Healy to research whether any neighboring communities offer senior parking discounts. On building permits, the board confirmed that accessory dwelling unit (ADU) permit fees are reduced by 50 percent as required by the village's ADU local law. Nicholson asked whether commercial and multifamily permit fees could be raised to help offset resident program costs. The current rate is $20 per $1,000 of valuation for residential permits and $22 for commercial. Healy suggested $25 per $1,000 for commercial permits, and the board reached a tentative consensus pending a check of comparable communities. Simon also raised the long-debated ADU parkland recreation fee, currently set at $12,000, which he said was causing "great heartburn to the planning board." [source][58:35] After discussion among trustees, the board agreed to lower it to a flat $1,000 — significantly below the previous formula but still a meaningful contribution, Simon noted, without becoming a burden at closing. In the recreation budget, Nachtaler proposed adding $5,000 for teen and youth programming, potentially funding trips or a pilot program with the Cortlandt Town teen center. Healy and Slippen noted that similar efforts in the past had low attendance, but Nachtaler said the investment was needed. Recreation Director Mark indicated his department would need additional staffing to support new programming. The board preliminarily agreed to the $5,000 addition. The senior kayak winter storage rate will increase from $80 to $120 to align seasonal pricing. Senior programming overall saw a budget increase of more than 10 percent, reflecting expanded activities ranging from shopping trips to museum visits. On the administration side, Healy highlighted increases in insurance and electricity costs. The contingency fund was increased to approximately $240,000, which Healy described as the ideal level for the village. The previous year's contingency was set at $160,000. The village no longer pays the MTA payroll tax, thanks to legislation passed last year, and expects modest savings from a part-time parking enforcement change at the train station. Health insurance costs continue to rise, though dental and life insurance remained stable or decreased. The board will continue its budget review at a second work session the following evening, with final fee and budget decisions expected at upcoming meetings.