The Meeting Record
May 27, 2026 · Trustees Take Up Signage Overhaul, Pigeon Regulations, and...
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Packet documents (16)
Every attachment from the meeting packet, grouped by agenda item. Summaries are AI-generated from the document text — the original PDF is always the authoritative version.
Consider re-adopting a home rule request to authorize the Village of Croton-on-Hudson to establish a school speed zone camera demonstration program.
Resolution #114-2026, dated May 20, 2026, is a home rule request asking the State Legislature to authorize the Village of Croton-on-Hudson to establish a school speed zone camera demonstration program. It cites bill A11322, introduced in the State Assembly by Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg, and companion bill S10058, introduced in the State Senate by Peter Harckham, and directs that a copy of the request be sent to both legislators. No vote count is recorded in this copy.
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Resolution #115-2026, dated May 27, 2026, is a home rule request asking the State Legislature to authorize the Village of Croton-on-Hudson to establish a school speed zone camera demonstration program. It cites amended bill A11322-A, introduced in the State Assembly by Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg, and companion bill S10058-B, introduced in the State Senate by Peter Harckham, and directs that a copy of the request be sent to both legislators. No vote count is recorded in this copy.
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Consider referring various correspondence received on the leaf blower law to the Conservation Advisory Council for their review.
Redacted emails to the Mayor and Board of Trustees opposing a full year-round ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. A Cleveland Drive resident writes that an electric blower cannot handle his fall cleanup, says he could support a roughly nine-month ban, and calls it unfair if the school district, the Village, the golf course and larger properties go unregulated. Daniel Bennett argues the outcome appears predetermined and that the Conservation Advisory Committee has no authority over his property, and David Becker urges keeping the current seasonal restrictions, arguing electric blowers are still loud and not pollution-free.
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A compilation of resident emails sent to Village Manager Bryan Healy and the Board of Trustees in April and May 2026 urging a year-round ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, citing noise, air pollution and health risks to landscape workers. It includes a message from the group Quiet Clean Croton quoting Maplewood, New Jersey Mayor Nancy Adams on that town's full ban, effective January 1, 2023, and letters noting that Dobbs Ferry, Mamaroneck, Rye, Irvington, Larchmont and White Plains have full-time bans and arguing battery-powered alternatives are widely available and effective.
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Continued review of Local Law Introductory No. 7 of 2026 related to signage.
The Coastal Assessment Form for Local Law Introductory No. 7 of 2026, which describes the proposed action as amending Chapter 179, Property Maintenance, and Chapter 230, Zoning, to update provisions on commercial and noncommercial signage, including placement, size, attachment, illumination, movement and material quality, drafted in coordination with Village staff and the Village Attorney. The form's individual checkbox responses are not legible in the extracted text.
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The draft text of Local Law Introductory No. 7 of 2026, rewriting the Village's sign law by amending Chapter 179, Property Maintenance, and Chapter 230, Zoning. It would require owners of commercial buildings vacant more than 30 days to remove all signage and cover storefront windows with frosted translucent film, and it consolidates new definitions into Section 230-44, including a billboard defined as at least 12 feet by 24 feet, monument and pole signs, and temporary signs limited to 45 days, covering banners, balloons, flags and pennants. Stated purposes include minimizing adverse effects of signs, enhancing the visual environment, improving traffic safety and enabling fair, consistent enforcement.
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A May 22, 2026 memo from planner Valerie Monastra of Nelson Pope Voorhis transmitting the firm's April 10, 2026 sign code review of Local Law 7-2026 to the Village Board ahead of the May 27, 2026 work session. The review recommends defining commercial signs, clarifying how window decals count toward sign area, listing permitted sign types by zoning district, sizing signs by ratio to the building or window with 48 square feet as an absolute ceiling, and adding permit submission requirements and review standards. It also flags inconsistent approval authority among the Village Engineer, Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals, notes the draft repeals the nonconforming sign provision without replacement language, and proposes allowing signs on trees only with non-penetrating rope or cord.
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A May 20, 2026 Planning Board memo to Mayor Brian Pugh and the Board of Trustees with comments on draft sign law Local Law Introductory No. 7 of 2026, reviewed at the board's April 14 and May 12, 2026 meetings with input from Village Attorney Jeannette Koster and planner Bill Brady of Nelson, Pope & Voorhis. The board asks for clearer definitions of commercial signs and sign area, clearer maximum sizes, a spelled-out approval process including a 30-day deadline for Visual Environment Board responses, clarity on temporary sign duration, grandfathering of existing signs, maintenance requirements, a bar on inflatable tube-men balloons, tree-safe attachment rules and fines for noncompliance, and suggests consulting Briarcliff Manor's code on nonconforming signs.
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Resolution #61-2026, dated March 25, 2026, refers draft Local Law Introductory No. 7 of 2026, the Environmental Assessment Form and the Coastal Assessment Form to the Advisory Board for the Visual Environment for review and comment, and directs Village staff to make other circulations. The resolution recites that the Village Manager has been working with the Village Attorney to develop sign law language conforming to the latest guidance from the courts and the New York Conference of Mayors. The motion and vote fields are blank in this copy.
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Part 1 of the Short Environmental Assessment Form for Local Law Introductory No. 7 of 2026, dated 3/20/2026 and covering all zoning districts in the Village. It describes the proposed action as amending Chapter 179, Property Maintenance, and Chapter 230, Zoning, to update provisions on commercial and noncommercial signage, including placement, size, attachment, illumination, movement and material quality, drafted in coordination with Village staff and the Village Attorney. The form's individual yes-or-no responses are not legible in the extracted text.
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A March 12, 2026 memo on the proposed signage law says the writer has worked with the Village Attorney for months on a substantial rewrite of the Village Code's sign provisions at the Village Board's direction. Under the draft, noncommercial signage would generally be governed only as to size, placement and attachment, following guidance from the New York Conference of Mayors and court decisions on First Amendment rights. Sign applications that are part of a Planning Board site plan or change-of-use application would no longer also require an appearance before the Visual Environment Board.
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A recommendation to the Board of Trustees from the Advisory Board on the Visual Environment following its May 12, 2026 review of draft sign law Local Law Introductory No. 07 of 2026 and the accompanying environmental and coastal assessment forms. The VEB had no comments on the sign law itself, but said all signage in and around the Village, including in Village parks, should receive VEB review before installation, expressed concern that Village signs have been installed without such review, citing the sign at Croton Landing, and worried the Planning Board might approve signs without VEB review under an unclear process.
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An April 16, 2026 memo reporting that the Waterfront Advisory Committee, at its April 6, 2026 meeting, reviewed the Village Board's referral of draft sign law Local Law Introductory No. 7 of 2026 for consistency with the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program. After reviewing the 44 LWRP policies, the committee recommended a finding of consistency and determined that none of the policies were applicable; it found no changes necessary to the Short Environmental Assessment Form and said the proposed changes will make the sign code clearer and easier to understand.
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Discussion on NY Forward Grant Application for 2026.
A May 22, 2026 memo from planner Valerie Monastra, AICP, to Mayor Pugh and the Board of Trustees on a possible 2026 NY Forward grant application. The program, launched in 2022 for smaller walkable communities, has each Regional Economic Development Council award $4.5 million to two communities to develop a Strategic Investment Plan. The memo lists candidate projects: Croton Station parking lot upgrades, streetscaping along Riverside Avenue and Benedict Blvd., bike lanes from Oneida Avenue to Croton Point Avenue, Historic Hudson Valley Phase 2 upgrades, development at 425 South Riverside Ave. and the Save-Mor Pharmacy site, and a Small Project Fund, with a proposed boundary map attached and discussion planned for the May 27, 2026 work session.
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Discussion on proposed changes to animal/fowl provisions in the Zoning Code.
Proposed revisions to the Village's farm animal zoning provisions based on public feedback, shown as marked-up code language. Keeping farm animals would remain prohibited except for fowl, with roosters excluded, and poultry or game birds would be counted against the limit only once more than nine months old. A lot-size table would cap the number of fowl permitted, with setbacks revised so fowl may not be penned or housed within 15 feet of any lot line on properties under an acre and 50 feet on properties over one acre. Fowl must be kept in an enclosure or fenced area at all times, kept clean, dry and odor-free, with adequate ventilation, sun and shade, and protection from pests and predators.
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Discussion on proposed moratorium on cannabis dispensaries in the Village.
The draft text of Local Law Introductory No. 9 of 2026, which would add a Cannabis Moratorium article to Chapter 99 of the Village Code, suspending acceptance, processing and approval of land use applications for cannabis dispensaries while the Board of Trustees develops zoning regulations addressing hours, parking, traffic, odor, noise and distance requirements. The moratorium would run six months, extendable by resolution for up to four additional months, and would not apply to projects already under construction, projects with final approvals, or transfers of ownership of an existing cannabis business. Applicants claiming extraordinary hardship could seek a variance from the Board of Trustees with a $500 fee per tax parcel and a public hearing within 45 days of a complete application.
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