• 02/17/2026
• meeting of the Croton on Hudson
• zoning board of appeals.
• Before we start,
• case of emergency, there's two exits, one in the front
• or at the back, one in the front.
• Tonight, we only have one item on the agenda,
• 52 Mount Airy Road.
• We're gonna hear from the applicant first.
• And then after the applicant,
• is through, we're gonna open up to the public,
• public hearing for public who would like to speak.
• And,
• Doug?
Yeah. I'm Doug Olcott. I'm a zoning board member, and I'm I'm here to just publicly
• acknowledge that I am gonna have to recuse myself from this,
• from the this proceeding
• on this particular case, due to a conflict that I have.
• Bye, Doug.
• before we start, applicant, can you, state your name
• and who what company you're with?
Sure. Good evening. For the record, Corey Salome from Zarin and Steinmetz here tonight on behalf of the applicant. Here with me is Andrew Cortese who You're the attorney. I'm the attorney. Okay. I have Andrew Cortese who's the the applicant. Okay. Mike Mastrojakomo,
• who's our project engineer, and my colleague, Jacqueline Cohen. Okay. And if it's alright with the board, I'm gonna have Jacqueline, pass out a letter that we were gonna submit, not for you guys to read now, but there's an exhibit that I think would be helpful for you to look at while I speak.
• Okay. Would be okay.
• So
• as she's handing it out, I'll just briefly,
• give you an overview. So the property is at 52 Mount Airy Road,
• approximately
• 1.14
• acres or 49,000
• square feet. It's located in the R 25
Located in the R 25 zoning district, which permits single family homes as of right, has a minimum lot size of 25,000
• square feet. And currently, the property is improved with a single family home.
• So the applicant is proposing to subdivide the lot into two separate parcels.
• Lot a will contain the existing home and will be 24,718
• square feet. Lot b will be, you know, if we get approved, improved with a new single family home, that lot is 24,718.6
• square feet.
• So both lots are deficient from the required 25,000 square feet by it's a 1% deficiency, about 281
• square feet.
• So
• as you know, when reviewing applications,
• it's a benefit to the applicant versus the detriment to the health, safety, and welfare of the neighborhood. And, typically, I would just rely on my letter not go through all this, but because I just handed in, I'm just gonna quickly go through the factors. And if you turn the exhibit that looks like this,
• I think it'll be instructive.
• So the first, criteria that you use is change of character,
• and whether it be a detriment. And in this instance,
• the the character of the area is residential.
• That's what we're proposing.
• And as you look at the the lots, we've got them highlighted.
• What you see in green
• is
• significantly less
• in size than what our, proposed lots are gonna be. What you see in blue are just a little bit less. So for instance, we're proposing 24,718
• square feet. The lots just to the north of us, there's two of them, point four acres, roughly 17,400
• square feet.
• Just to the south of our lots, we've got point five four acres, which is 23,522
• square feet. Point five, twenty one thousand seven eighty. Point two,
• 8,712.
• Point three, 13,000. So the point is the lot sizes and configurations are similar to what's going on,
• in this general vicinity.
• Are there any feasible alternatives?
• They're not. The area variance, is it substantial?
• It's 1% variance. I'd respectfully submit that's not substantial.
• Impact on the physical or environmental conditions,
• We've designed the subdivision with the topography
• in mind with a special focus on storm water. So it could be a net zero runoff,
• you know, after construction.
• And whether it's self created,
• to the extent your board considers itself created, that's not a determining factor.
• So, you know, with that, it's pretty straightforward application. More than happy to answer any questions,
• that your board may have.
• we will have a lot of questions.
• Getting the one thing you said about
• the impact of the on the neighborhood Mhmm. Adverse impact on the neighborhood.
• You kinda glassed over that. No. On the on the character? The first the first Not the first one. And, I mean, that that the first one, you I mean, you you could the character of the neighborhood is more than lot size. Yep. And and it's more than the use.
Well, I mean, courts have routinely determined that the character of the neighborhood is, like, is it residential or is it commercial
Right. Generally speaking. So But there's also been other others where they haven't. So
• that's not the one I wanna talk about. I wanna talk about number four. Sure.
• The adverse impact impact on their fiscal environment.
• And I know we have a lot of neighbors here who seem to think there is an impact on the environment, and they've submitted letters. And you have those letters, and we all have those letters. So I I think that's something you need to address in detail,
• not simply glass over that we're gonna take care of things. Well, I mean, we've got I mean, we're preparing a SWIP, storm water pollution prevention plan that'll that'll be approved. Let's talk about let's start with the trees. What are you one of the issues is
• you're taking down a lot of trees,
• and
• there's concern that that's impact
adverse impact on the neighborhood. So would you like to comment on that? Sure. I mean, we we certainly mean as with any construction for a single family home, trees have to come down. It's expensive to take trees down. We're gonna take down the minimum,
• Collect this. I'm Andrew Cortez the applicant.
• I guess the question, why do you need to take all those down?
• design engineer for the project. The reason we are we need to take these down
• is in order to grade out the site, in order to set the house to have as less disturbance to the neighbors as possible.
• If you look at the grading plan over on
• you can even use the erosion control plan on C 102.
• You'll see in order to terrace this
• and create an area for the house, which will also stabilize the slope that holds up the existing house
• and also
• try to slow down any land runoff
• so we can capture it
• and put every everything that we need to do into the stormwater system as per the sweat.
• So in order to do that, we have to take down trees.
• Now I also
• marked down maybe a few extra trees. Maybe there's some trees that we don't have to take down, which my client would rather not. That would it's money he saves and try to keep a little bit more,
• you know, natural,
• landscaping.
• We also have a landscaping plan we've prepared. I brought it with me just to just
• briefly show you what we're looking at what we're looking at doing.
• It's not like we're just taking down the trees and leaving it bare.
• Yes. Full I site survey? Mine might. Be in the application. It'd be nice for us to look at that has the grades, gradients, you know, the existing slopes,
• existing elevations throughout because it's kinda hard
• to look at this because
you've kind of downplayed the existing house on the site. Well, no. I didn't downplay anything. If you look at the C 100,
• that is the existing topography.
• House. It's it's like a different shade. Right. Usually, what I do is I show existing as halftone and proposed
• as dark. That way, then you could see the difference between the two.
• We I can get you a copy of the my office prepared the survey. Would you agree with that? That it's hard to I actually
• What what is the existing elevation
• at the top of I I kinda look at it. I have to call it the knoll, the top of the knoll or the top of the hill. What what is the existing elevation? What do you mean top of which knoll? You know, the top of the
• Lot B.
• The height of Lot B. I'm curious what the what the elevation elevation there is?
• yeah. I'm sorry. I was talking to myself when you when I gotta stand up. So if I'm looking at this top corner here, this is this is Lot B. So if I'm looking here,
• this elevation is two eighty. I'm sorry.
• Okay. And that and we're not touching the screen. So anything here,
• no grading is being proposed.
• K.
• We try to keep as minimal as possible.
See, that's why it'd be helpful to have a full survey of everything with all the with all the grades. It's hard to I can I can my because my office, we prepared the survey in order to prepare it? So I could just print out the survey and and submit it. That's not a problem. And and does the survey have the
• changes that have made to the existing house?
• Is this, like, because I can't really tell on here if that's the with the driveway and the It's not. Right? And the addition We'd have to update the survey to show the the new driveway that we have the permit to to store. So I think it would be a good idea to update that as well so you could see what the contours is of the existing driveway. Yeah. That would be that would be helpful. Sure. I have a question about the existing driveway. I mean, about the new driveway and the existing driveway. Was any thought given or any consideration given
That because of the grade differential, you can't have this driveway at it's a much higher grade than drop back down. We'd be filling in this whole area, and I'd be putting in walls
• in excess of 20 feet high. And I I don't think the neighbors will want us to see a 20 foot high retaining wall.
That that would be So the the elevation is substantially higher than than the lower driveway entrance. Yeah. And how much Yeah. That go ahead. Yeah. No. Thank you. And
• you planning to remove
• Phil from the property? And if so,
how many cubic yards do you think we're gonna have to move? What we try to do move around. What we're trying two different questions. Right. So we're trying not to chuck off material. We're trying not to bring in material. I mean, construction material,
• item four for bedding, gravel for drainage, stuff like that, we're gonna have to import.
• However, we're trying to balance out the grading of the site
• to be
• a balance. You know, x amount of yards cut is x amount of yards filled. Try not to have to import anything.
Or was that As the engineer for the project and Oh, is that I mean, that's That's well, that's what we do is we try to look at Right. The topography, the what kind of material is there, you know, what do we have Mhmm. And try to balance out how much excavation, how much disturbance
• that goes into the SWIFT, that goes into the erosion control joint. And and we try to design it to be as friendly to the neighbors and the neighborhood and and the environmental as possible. So we can do a cut and fill analysis if you would like, you know, to just let you know what the net is. I'm just asking if if you had that already or No. We didn't. No. We didn't get it. We we used the the the topography
of the existing conditions to try to get the house in there with the driveway with minimum impact to to the lot with the exception of, you know, this little spot right here. Right. So here, we try to grade it out, and we try to create terraces that would create landscape areas That's weird. And make it, you know, presentable for everybody. That's where the elevation grading would I'm sorry. I did if I interrupted. Sorry. I was just gonna say that's where the the the most impact is or the change in elevation at that location is. And then if you see we're filling in here,
so as we take this material, we'll move it in order to create the driveway and the area around the house.
• would there be required to do this project? No blasting. No blasting. No blasting. We don't anticipate blasting.
• So you just you'd be using shovel,
• hammers and
What what we tried to what we've had Shovels? We're gonna have to do some, you know, probing before we start excavation of the foundation.
• But, you know, if we find a lot of rock, we're gonna have to design the basement to be terraced so then we're not just taking out or hammering a lot of rock or moving anything around. We don't wanna do that either, by the way.
• building
• as it's being constructed,
• right now, the of the existing unit or of what it was previously to the second story addition?
• The existing building you're talking about? Yeah. On lot a, there, the plan shows a one story wing that I believe has become a two story
• unit.
• It just moved the,
• living area from the 1st Floor to the 2nd Floor. So there's no gain on it. Okay. So it was like a half a story, and we just made it to the second the 2nd Floor as a bedroom. That section in the back was just a
half a room that really had no use Mhmm. To access it, egress code. I mean, it it was against every code possible, so we just lifted that whole area up. So there was no change in FAR. Gotcha. Thank you. We try to keep the existing buildings, you know, the same as it was as much as we could.
• the impacts.
• Talked about the trees you're taking down. You you say you need to take down 26. Have you looked at any options to take down less than 26?
To be honest with you, we didn't. Mike, have you? I did look at at it. And like I said, I was trying to be a little conservative.
• So I I marked down a few extra trees
• just because
• in the years I've been doing this, there's always something that,
• you know, trees It's gonna be disturbing a lot of roots. You Well, that's the whole thing in order to get the drainage in, in order to divert the the water from going out to neighbor's properties. Right. You're you're gonna be touching things. I'd rather say we're tuck taking down 26, and then as we're in construction,
• hopefully, we could save, you know, a handful of trees if if possible.
• I've always found it better to be a little bit more conservative
• than to have to come back and say, hey. I didn't realize we had to take down more trees.
And and we don't you know, for our perspective, we don't wanna bear either. We wanna you know, we understand we took down big trees. We're gonna install landscaping and maybe a little taller trees to try to,
• you know, get better coverage and and to regrow in that area.
Yeah. I I think that's a a a good point. I mean, I'd be curious to see what you want what's your proposed art,
• for landscaping.
• So what we what we do is
• for screening around, we never just put a row of, you know, green dry and arborvitae, which a lot of people just do. We try to create a a mixture of some holly and some and some, spruces,
• which are a little bit more natural in in this area, I think it'll blend in better. And then we have some some nice shrubbery going up and down the the driveways that'll kinda fill in and and make it look nice. And then we're looking at some other trees to plant around.
• You know?
• We gotta discuss that and and finalize the lease keeping plans so we can submit it.
• Getting getting back to you're talking about the drain drainage or retaining walls. How hard are the retaining walls? So the retaining walls, I always try to hold between four and six feet, no more than that because in order to build it, it's it's easier construction. And were they built out of? That
• we really haven't gone through.
• Usually, we use a a unit a segmental block like a Uniloc, but a nice textured one, you know, that looks nice. And because that way, we get the geo grid. It's more better for the environment, like, something natural like that.
• I'd I'd rather stay away from, like, a concrete retaining wall, which creates more disturbance because you need more excavation to do those.
• We we could also do stone, you know, stone retaining wall, how we how we did on the previous the house next door also. Because there's a lot of retaining wall here. Yes. Well, in order because this is a very it's a steep site that, you know, in order to to make this great change work, in order to put the house in and to put the driveway,
• we had to create those terraces.
• under under which section of the code this steepest falls? There's three different I I haven't done the steep slope analysis yet.
• typically what we want. We go to planning board. That's when we do that whole thing, but I I can prepare that and and show that.
Yeah. I think that would be helpful. I I think that, obviously, concern is is this steep slope in this site.
• like, a square for the house.
• laid out for this property. So it's it's gonna be a, a modern farmhouse.
• particularly
• the height of it, what it's going to be? I know you showed the floor floor.
• We we always reach top of the top of the peak. We'll be very helpful. Down. We give the midpoints, eaves. We give we give all that information on the architecture. So we'll we'll provide And any renderings that you have on on that would be very helpful. Sure.
Sewage, you're you're connecting to the We're connecting down with two private lines down to the existing sewer.
• And
• this area is kinda, like, the worst spot to put a septic in, but this is where it is, and this is where it's been.
• So a lot of those this work we're gonna pick up and and resewer
the existing house. So you're gonna connect to the old house to to the sewer too? Correct. Yes. Correct. And I just wanna make a point. In that area where the fill is or that slope is is is where the septic is, and that's probably where they filled in order to put the septic system in Yeah. In the tank and everything.
• So that that hump was created there. Would I would assume. I'm just Those are leaching those are leaching tanks. They're not Yeah. Fields. Yeah.
• traffic studies?
• And, you know, you're putting adding a driveway on a busy road with, typically, you know, limited visibility
• and and
• Well you know, a a street. We've we've got one document in there that there's been 24 accidents on the street. I mean, it's, it's obviously a concern.
It's a concern. We do have 200 foot distance, site distance going up and down the road for both driveways,
• which is what we're required to Mhmm. Design with.
• We've placed the driveways
• perpendicular to the asphalt, which you're supposed to do. That way, then you could have the full pipelines going up and down.
• So but as far as a full traffic study, we haven't done anything.
We've I mean, we'd have to do a traffic count. I mean, I'd I'd have to look at would you think? Wait. I mean, just what would you think you would need to do? Honestly,
• for a two lot subdivision, I've never done a traffic study. You
• know, this is a small a minor subdivision and typical in all towns,
• and, typically, a traffic study is never required.
And I just did a five lot subdivision, and the traffic study wasn't required for that. Right. Okay. And can I just make one point? Also, on the existing house, you know, we we did a lot of improvements
• to get the radius and and to so the position of the driveway when you're you come out, you could see both ways. We even knocked down the garage. The existing garage, it was there. We made sure when we came in, we we had a good radius so so people wouldn't, you know, have issues coming out of the driveway. We don't we so we feel You're farther up hill. Right? Yes. I am. Yeah. So that's that's more of a problem than
But I gotcha. Yeah. Alright. Well, the the the existing driveway had more of an issue because it was up the hill. It closer to the curve going up. But now the way we we position that to be more perpendicular,
• you have clear Sight line. Right. Right.
• So you're not I mean, you must have said Well, okay. I mean, when we'd I mean, he he brought up an alternative to use you you to use the same use the same driveway. I mean, it must be a He did that exercise. We looked at all that. We can't do that with the with the grades. So what we tried to do is we tried to stay within the grades with that with not changing too much of the grading
• on this existing lot in order to fit the driveway. We've created multiple iterations to look at profiles of the driveway to see what percentage slope would be the best between ice, snow, weather conditions,
• sight lines, breaking distance. You know, those are all the options that we go through when we're doing engineering designs. Right. We we had the first go around was coming off the existing, driveway,
• lower
• than the footprint of the basement.
• So The elevation of the existing Higher. The existing driveway is higher. This exactly. This is higher, so we would have to lift the house higher out of the ground
• in order to get the driveway in. Right. Basically. So it would be, you know, sticking out higher out of the ground.
• of the hill
• just as you're driving by Lot A? Sorry. Lot B.
• As you're driving by Lot B Uh-huh. Right here. And you're looking to the right
• where the proposed driveway is,
• what's the existing grade? On this side. On that on that on that hill that goes up from the road.
• I'm I'm I'm
I'm not gonna be able do any quick calculations or anything. Curious what the existing grade is and what the grade would need to be for the driveway.
• Because
• because you're you're proposing modifications
• to the hill
• for the driveway. Correct? I'm down here proposing
• not here. Here, building a retaining wall to to catch this grade.
• It's not my glasses aren't that good. I'm trying to look at what you're pointing at. So here's the here's the proposed driveway. Right. I'm just to the left of it. This grade, I am not touching. These trees, this grade is staying the way it that was my question, but I'll be happy if you wanna if you wanna address that. That wasn't my question. My question was,
• leg of the property
• that goes up from Mount Airy Road South Mount Airy Road. I'm curious what the
• current grade is and what it's gonna have to be to
• for the finished driveway.
you just show me so that I can Yeah. So so you go on. I'm just pointing to the as you're driving up Mount Airy Road and as you're making a right into the new driveway,
• before you build the driveway, before you do anything to the property, I'm curious what the grade is from the road up to
• up to the
• house site
• now
• in Rug Hill, undeveloped
• as compared to what it's gonna what that grade needs to be for So I'll just find the driveway. But over one week, I think. I'm
• just looking for some numbers. Yeah.
• This print is very light. That's why.
Now I now I understand when the printers printed this, printed it way too light. This is not the way I I have things printed.
• But let me look at those.
• and where
• the house is is about Elevation 250.
• It is existing.
That's that's the finished that's the the That's existing grade. Existing grade. Okay. Yeah. Right. So now what I'm doing is I'm proposing
the elevation of the garage floor, which is at basement level, to stay at the elevation of two fifty. So I held that two fifty as existing grade,
• and then we worked backwards from there. Okay. Thank you.
And when you put the at two fifty for what? For what reason as opposed to putting it lower?
Because I didn't wanna start disturbing and pushing down. Because when I started looking at the profile of the driveway
• and what what would be a good slope for breaking distance and all that, that two fifty kind of blended in nicely with the contours of the existing lot. No. But I'm talking about the house. You're
• at the same level elevation as the driveway.
• So you're going up to the 1st Story.
• Right. So you're walking up to the 1st Floor. Right. So my question is why you know, we talked about alternatives.
• Why didn't you go down
• grade.
• That corner is at the existing grade is 260.
• That's the reason why we made 1st Floor is two sixty. That way, we could create a little area around the house without creating too many walls and disturbing too much. And we're trying to work with the existing topography and blend everything in,
• so then it it would be nice, you know, nicely set in the natural conditions.
• of the house, is it it's
• the ground floor elevation is two fifty.
• The
• Bottom floor. Yeah. The bottom floor. Yeah. Basement. Bottom floor. Yes. That's
• why it'd be helpful to to have some
• more information on on the proposed house. Yeah. Just Typically,
• You can see the gray.
• 29,
• 26, 22 trees,
• I I look at one of the photos that was
• included by
• looks like one of the neighbors of of the property.
• Yeah. What's your definition of a tree?
Because there's a lot of saplings there that also seem to The fact that Well, anything that's four feet, you know, they call it breast height.
• The diameter there and anything that's, like,
• I mean, and this is the picture. You have it too.
• But then there's a lot of ones that are saplings that are three inches, four inches. And then when you're taking pictures and they kinda line up perfectly, it'll look like a 12 inch tree, but it's actually a bunch of little three inch trees.
• So you know?
• So I have on on the demolition plan on on the site demo plan on c 100.
• The trees that I am proposing to cut down, they're labeled. You know, some of them are five inch,
• some of them are 20 inch, some of them are six inch, some of them are eight inch. What don't you
what's the lowest you include Eight inch. For trees? I got five inch. Five. So anything under five that's shown on here, you Those are small trees we never look those small trees. Right.
• on cutting trees, what what the minimum
• helper is? I believe
• it's four inch on steep slopes.
• I don't have the latest codes here in the book. Okay.
• I believe it's four inch
• because we've recently updated the tree code.
• Okay.
• You know,
• just it's probably a pretty small issue, but
• with regard to the front and side yard
• setbacks.
• I was looking at page c one zero one of the submission.
• And
• under the proposed lot a and lot b
• columns
• on the spreadsheet
• following me?
There's a I apologize. There's a few typos here. I don't know what happened when I was hoping that that These are yes. These are I don't know. Sometimes AutoCAD,
• unfortunately,
• when when you run the the modeling,
• it picks up
• because this is all done in three d. So it'll take that distance and twist it and then compute a shorter distance. So I'll I'll make sure this is updated correctly. Thank you. I apologize for that.
• You know, just
• looking at this, I think it's pretty obvious we're gonna have to do a site visit here.
• I think we're gonna obviously wait till the snow melts
• before we get on the site.
• One thing I think would be helpful
• on our site visit is to identify which trees you you are proposing to cut down. Yeah. Okay.
Yeah. We could put Yeah. Just ribbon. Yeah. A little ribbon on it so we're not painting anything. We'll We'll put put a a little little ribbon. Ribbon. Right. And even mark where the driveway is going and where the house is going, we'll just put some Yeah. Just look at set some flagging down and say, this is the center line of the driveway.
• Okay.
• any kind of a sketch
• from different
• perspectives of what the existing
• property looks like and then what the developed property would look like with the house.
• But I know I understand you said before that you haven't fully
• designed
• the lot b house, and I and I understand that. So
• I understand that maybe you don't have a sketch, but I'm curious if you do.
Like, what do mean? Like, three d rendering of Yeah. Before and after? Yeah. I mean, I'm particularly interested
Yeah. We we can have we can have a rendering prepared. We can even integrate the landscaping in it so you can see the height of the overall house and the impact on it. Okay.
• Anything else?
• Whoever
• wants to speak, we ask you when you come up to the table to state your name and address, and then write down your name and address on that sheet of paper that's on the on the desk.
• So I don't know who wants to go first.
• I am Claire Hilbert,
• and I live at 60 Mount Airy.
• And,
• I'm going to read,
• this letter on behalf of the neighbor who lives at 48 Mount Airy.
• Stuart Greenbaum
• and his wife Karen had had prepared for the last meeting, and he and he has to be, out of state
• right now for,
• family matters and asked if I could read it. So I'll read it. Okay?
• It's to the zoning board of appeals from Stuart and Karen Goldman,
• 48 Mount Airy Road South, Croton On Hudson,
• regarding 52 Mount Airy South
• request for area variances.
• Stuart and Karen are
• are
• I speak on behalf of them before you this evening to express our their opposition to the proposed subdivision to grant two
• lot
• with area variances from the village zoning code section two thirty dash 33
• A
• located in R A Dash 25
• Residence District designated
• on the tax maps of the village of Croton On Hudson as section
• 68.17
• block Lot 3.
• Following are
• the green bounds of objections.
• Minimum lot requirement is 25,000
• square feet.
• Oh, that's number one.
• And both lots fall short of this requirement with 24,718.6
• square feet and 24,718.5
• feet respectively.
• Number two, approval of these variances opens up the possibility
• of positioning
• the proposed driveway access to the single family house,
• which runs up runs on top of and along
• the number the 48 Mount Airy Property line. It requires deforestation
• and destruction of protected steep slopes and a huge natural stone structure which overlooks that property.
• There would surely be flooding and drainage issues as well.
• The Number 48
• Home was built in 1838
• upon a rock formation appropriate for that time.
• As such, external vibrations cause tremors in the house and sometimes rattle doors and dishes.
• Removing the embedded natural stone formation,
• which would be needed to build the driveway, would require hand or explosive demolition,
• which would adversely affect our stone foundation and destabilize
• the the house at Number 48.
• Furthermore, the location of the proposed driveway poses a threat to public safety as follows.
• Motorists traveling south on Mount Airy Road with a hairpin turn just before the Greenbaum's house
• have
• limited line of sight to a motorist making a left turn from the proposed driveway going south.
• They may not be able to stop in time to avoid a collision.
• Many motorists regularly exceed the speed limit at this location.
• A motorist from the proposed driveway also has limited line of sight looking north to see if it's safe to turn south. A speeding motorist going south will suddenly appear on the road when the driveway motorist thought the road was clear.
• This has regular regularly happened to Stuart and Karen during the forty years they have lived at 48
• Mount Airy Road South.
• Plenty of close calls
• from his driveway.
• The location on this proposed driveway is an accident waiting to happen, and they did happen.
• Over the years and especially in bad weather and slippery conditions, motorists have lost control and left the roadway, finding themselves in the right side trench in the woods.
• Some have ended up crashing through the wooden fence into his front yard,
• which is on his side of Mount Airy.
• The location of the proposed driveway at the end of the hairpin turn
• will add to the possibility of more accidents when driveway egress and ingress occurs.
• Number three,
• if the development project as presented is allowed to proceed with the approval of the two variances,
• our quality of life will be compromised by substituting a long paved driveway and huge concrete walls holding back steep slopes in place of the current scenic views we now currently enjoy along our property line.
• In addition, an important wildlife habitat will be destroyed.
• This ugly change overlooking
• this property will certainly affect
• property values in a negative way.
• Stewart and Karen request the zoning board of appeals to do a site visit of the proposed subdivision and the projected plans for the long driveway impacting public safety on Mount Airy Road South.
• Number four,
• the balancing tests
• and its five criteria for granting the requested variances set forth in town law two sixty seven dash b three b
• reiterated
• in zoning code 10 b two b must take into consideration the five balancing tests as follows.
• In making its determination, the zoning board of appeals shall take into consideration the benefit up to the applicant if the variance is granted as weighted against the detriment to the health, safety, and welfare of the neighborhood
• or community by such grant. In making such determination,
• the board shall also consider,
• one, whether an undesirable change will be produced in the character of the neighborhood or a detriment to nearby properties will be created.
• And by the granting
• of the area variance.
• It will it will most certainly be a detriment to property owners near to the project and be out of character to the neighborhood.
• Two, whether the benefits sought by the applicant can be achieved by this by some method feasible for the applicant to pursue other than an area variance.
• Three, whether the requested area variance is substantial.
• Four, whether the proposed variance
• will have an adverse effect or impact on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood or district.
• And five, whether the alleged difficulty was self created, which consideration shall be relevant to the
• decision of the board of appeals, but shall not necessarily preclude the granting of the area variant variance.
• The difficulties inherent in this proposal were self created by the applicant. The issue is whether the benefit from financial speculation
• outweighs the interests interests of all property owners.
• It is clear that this proposal is purely for profit with no regard for the interests of property owners or the village of Croton.
• The applicant is not a resident or taxpayer attempting to solve a problem with the use of his own home. He is renovating the existing house for sale, and he seeks to subdivide the property with smaller than required lots in a poorly contrived
• flag lot type configuration,
• which is totally out of character with the neighborhood,
• simply to make a greater profit, albeit he is decreasing the value of the existing house.
• In so doing,
• his subdivision also renders the lot for the existing house unnecessarily
• nonconforming,
• which mister Greenbaum is advised normally causes a subdivision application to be rejected.
• It is evident from the size and location of the existing house and its driveway and the physical constraints of the property
• that the applicant's predecessor never intended this property to be subdivided with another house for which it is not suitable.
• That approach was appropriate and should be honored.
• Furthermore, a Croton private citizen, Steve Christie, whose letter of concerns
• are forwarded to the five zoning board members and is familiar with zoning issues rights,
• and I quote, the zoning board turned down a similar application at 45 Sunset Drive about nine years ago where a neighbor was trying to subdivide a property to accommodate a new second home on a new home site.
• It was disallowed because further down the street was differing
• different zoning district was a different zoning district,
• and the zoning board rejected it as spot zoning.
• Furthermore,
• turning a square shaped parcel into two inverted l shapes in order to
• be a workaround is not why these zoning codes were enacted in the first place, end quote.
• The creation of this poorly conceived new house lot will clearly have a significant negative impact on the neighborhood and most particularly on the Greenbaum home.
• It is very substantial in the context of the situation,
• not just in mathematical terms.
• It will obviously have adverse physical and environmental impacts, and it is unquestionably a self created hardship.
• Thus,
• Stuart and Karen respectfully submit that the application
• fails not only the balancing test, but four of its five criteria.
• The only criteria the applicant can meet is that he needs variances to do what he wants to do with good reason,
• and those variances should be denied.
• Moreover, as the board knows, as a quasi judicial board, it must follow its past precedent precedent
• unless it can significantly distinguish the prior case from this one. It denied variances to subdivide
• the property once before. Nothing has changed to warrant a change in that decision.
• The variances should be denied again.
• Lastly,
• as impacted property owners have reported,
• this applicant has already cut down mature trees in
• in the property fronting their homes.
• Have tree cutting permits been made to do
• the additional cuts? Are there steep slope permits in place? Has a new survey been submitted
• since the names of property owners on the application's drawings are outdated and incorrect.
• Such activity is presumptuous and destructive while assuming this applicant's belief that the variances will be granted.
• Stewart hopes this will not be the case. In sum, please consider all the aforementioned points of opposition that the granting of these variances will have on the green bound property.
• The destruction of protective very steep slopes and natural rock formations,
• the negative impact of the destroyed scenic view that will diminish
• everyone's property values,
• the the elimination of wildlife habitat,
• and the impact of construction that compromised the fragile foundation of his house, and the placement that the proposed driver will have on public safety.
• Stuart and Karen request that the hearing remain open for more public comments on this application.
• Says respectfully submitted, Stuart and Karen Greenbaum.
• Okay.
• So
• I was,
• wondering if since I'm sitting here, should I mention my own comments or should Okay. Okay.
• I was just wondering, I know we're talking about
• potentially 30 trees,
• new
• trees to be cut down. I was wondering
• I don't know what number of trees have already been removed, but
• that's a concern that's crossing my mind is
• the extensive habitat,
• destruction.
• And,
• I do know that there is bedrock
• involved because I've seen it from the 48 House,
• that if that driveway would go through.
• So I I think that maybe that wasn't seen by some people. I don't know.
• And then I wanted to say on a very personal note, I've been living in my husband and I, we've lived in our house and this community for twenty two of the most significant years of my life in any one community
• and have cherished the neighborhood and and our neighbors immensely.
• I must respectfully say that the potential of disappointment among us all should these harsh alterations of the habitat
• and the feel of our beloved community take place
• would be heartbreaking for myself and many longtime residents who have helped make this church community what it has become today.
• Also, who's to say if the number of trees down is potentially under the projected amount
• going forward that it couldn't go the other way and and be even more than the amount stated
• once the work would get underway.
• I've heard of cases before where developers
• are known to, you know, take the trees down and then oops, sorry, it's done. And I I just wanted to mention that's a concern I have.
• And that was all. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
• My name is David Steele. I live at 56 Mount Airy Road, which abuts the property.
• your name down? Oh, yeah. Sure.
I'm not gonna read from a I think you've received a lot of letters from neighbors. I do wanna go on the record to say that our first, hearing,
• we had about 20 neighbors here,
• and the applicant,
• wanted to move it. We moved it. This date is a school vacation week, and nearly all of our neighbors are unable to be here because they're away on vacation with their almost everybody comes from a family, has children.
• We have a community letter that was signed by, I believe, 30 households.
• I will say that anybody impacted by this variance is vehemently against it, like, at at all village
• households and community members.
• I'm not gonna read from a a prepared thing. I was gonna say, I think one thing that hasn't been taken into consideration
• here is there's already been over 25
• very
• large, probably a 100 year old trees taken down.
• So this is kind of death by a thousand cuts. The this we're not talking about 29 trees. We're talking about
• up to 60 trees because half of them have already been removed. This was done without any warning.
• I think people who live in our neighborhood, we chose to live there. It's a rustic wooded area. It's very old homes. My home is from 1790.
• The original house on the property we're discussing, I believe, is 1860.
• Most of the houses are mid eighteen hundreds or older.
• We chose to live there because we enjoy living in the woods.
• The trees add value to our property. It may be a personal take, but that's why we live there. We chose to not live in subdivisions.
• On the map, if you look here,
• the new property
• will basically remove every remaining tree that was on that property. About half of them have been removed. This will remove the rest,
• and we'll
• put a paved driveway in its place. That is unlike the look of anything on Mount Airy Road. Mount Airy Road Road is a historic part of this village.
• It's rustic.
• It's not a subdivision. It's not
• suburbia. It doesn't it's just not the character,
• and it's not why we live there.
• And, I think I could speak for the neighbors who aren't able to attend today that, we are all kind of heartbroken, to be honest, about the the loss of habitat that's already happened,
• the loss of birds that are on all our share you know, the trees are kind of our shared environment.
• And it may not be on our your property, but we don't live in a subdivision that has that's the area where we live, there's very few boundaries between that properties. The properties just kinda spill into each other, and the trees become part of all all of our shared natural environment.
• So that's all I wanna say to that.
• Thank you. Thank
• I am gonna read from prepared letter because it has the weight of 45 signatures behind it, and these are folks who are,
• who are off on vacation because of the rescheduling.
• Can you please state your name and address? Oh, yeah. I'm sorry. My name is Deborah Schupak, and I live am at 16 King Street.
• And I'm reading from a letter,
• signed by 45
• residents
• of King Street, Mount Airy, and the trails, all of which feel this as Dave and Claire had have said with a really heavy heart.
• It is a big deal.
• So I will read from this letter, which you do already have, but to put it in read it into the record, we are a group of neighboring residents of Croton On Hudson riding together to strongly oppose
• the requested variants
• to allow a subdivision and intensified development at 52 Mount Airy Road,
• a steeply sloped and heavily wooded property
• located uphill from or near our homes.
• Many of us chose to move to Croton because of its deep commitment to protecting nature, wildlife habitat, and the environmental character that defines this community.
• We believe strongly in those values, but this issue is not only about preserving trees and open space.
• It is also about protecting people,
• homes, and village infrastructure from very real risks of flooding,
• erosion, and mudslides.
• Some of us on King Street have experienced and documented flooding
• that has not been remediated. There is no video evidence showing the severity of runoff,
• sorry. There is video evidence showing the severity of runoff during heavy rain events even before trees at 52 Mount Airy were cut down.
• Further clearing of trees and disturbance of steep slopes uphill
• would significantly
• exacerbate these conditions,
• increasing the risk of destructive water and debris flows into residential areas below.
• We respectfully ask that the zoning board consider the following points
• organized according to the five criteria
• used in evaluating variance requests.
• One,
• undesirable change to neighborhood character
• and environmental conditions.
• The proposed subdivision
• would permanently
• and irreversibly
• alter the character of an established wooded hillside
• that plays a critical role in stormwater absorption,
• stope slope stabilization,
• and wildlife habitat.
• Tree removal on this slope is not merely an aesthetic concern.
• Root systems provide essential structural support
• that reduces erosion and the likelihood of mudslides.
• Because this property sits uphill from the upper Village,
• the cumulative effect of additional tree loss and grading would extend well beyond adjacent homes and could ultimately place lower lying areas,
• including the Upper Village center,
• at increased risk.
• Number two, feasible alternatives to the requested variants exist.
• Denial of this variance would not deprive the property owner of all reasonable use of the land.
• Development consistent with the existing zoning,
• such as maintaining the parcel as a single lot without further subdivision
• for extensive clearing, remains a viable alternative
• that would avoid placing neighboring properties
• and public infrastructure at risk.
• Variances are intended to provide relief when no reasonable alternative
• alternatives
• exist. This is not the case here.
• Three, substantiality
• of the variance requested.
• Although the applicant
• notes that it's not substantial and and gives some square footage numbers, the relief sought is substantial.
• It would permit intensified
• development on land with known and significant environmental
• constraints.
• The requested variance goes far beyond minor flexibility
• and would enable a scale of disturbance that fundamentally alters the site's natural
• function
• and hydrology.
• Number four,
• adverse impacts on physical and environmental
• conditions.
• The proposed development would have significant
• and lasting adverse impacts,
• including storm water runoff,
• accelerated soil erosion, and a heightened risk of flooding and mudslides
• downhill.
• These impacts are well documented outcomes of hillside development,
• particularly
• as extreme
• rainfall events
• become more frequent.
• We are also concerned that additional trees appear to have already been removed
• and that a retaining wall has been constructed
• behind the existing house visible from neighboring properties.
• It is unclear whether all required permits were obtained,
• particularly if the circumference of removed trees exceeded thresholds
• requiring additional approval.
• Given Croton On Hudson's steep slope protections,
• which exist specifically to prevent erosion,
• slope failure, and downstream flooding,
• we respectfully request clarification
• regarding oversight enforcement
• and how cumulative impacts the downhill neighbors are being assessed.
• Number five, self created hardship. Any hardship claim by the applicant arises from the decision to pursue
• intensified development on a steeply sloped parcel with well known constraints.
• These conditions existed at the time of purchase
• and do not justify a variance that would transfer environmental
• and safety risks onto neighboring residents
• and the broader community.
• Our our
• collective request,
• we do respectfully but firmly
• ask the zoning board of appeals to deny the requested variance for subdivision
• and intensified
• development on this property.
• The request is not intended to prevent all use of the land, rather it is to prevent overdevelopment
• that would destabilize
• steep slopes,
• increase flooding risk,
• undermine existing environmental
• protections,
• and endanger nearby homes and public areas.
• Croton has long recognized that protecting natural systems also protects residents.
• Decisions made uphill have serious downhill consequences.
• Once trees are removed and slopes are disturbed, the risks cannot be undone.
• We thank you for your service to the village
• and for your careful consideration of the long term safety,
• environmental health,
• and resilience of our community.
• And we,
• have have signed from 45,
• friends and neighbors
• in the, impacted area.
• Thank you so much.
• Go
• ahead. It's
• So I no other questions or no other
• comments.
• We're gonna keep the public,
• hearing open,
• and we're gonna try to get a site visit in in the next couple weeks. We don't know when.
• We'll coordinate with other members of the board when we can do it.
• And,
• next month, the hearing will be open, and the people who were not here
• tonight
• can come, and they can,
• provide comments.
• And if we if we ask the applicant some for some information on the house and also on the survey,
• we would appreciate that before the next meeting. Sure. Of course. Should we coordinate with Ron for days on-site visit?
• next Tuesday. Okay. That's not the time. Can
• Okay. So
• we'll schedule something. I think the only thing left is Right.
• Wait. Till the snow, and we make it snow this weekend.
• Yeah. We're supposed I mean, there's
• are we
• can we south?
What? The storm's gonna be south now? That's what they're saying. We might get a little. Okay.
• That works for me. Look at what we're
• gotta let let it dry a little bit. It's gonna be really bloody.
• And I gotta I I have a problem.
• Because you're not here in April, and I realized I'm not here. Is
• is there a way to change that meeting?
• like, other weeks of April and and let you know my availability for that. Or or other times. I just happen to have our show tickets before.
• does anyone look at the minutes? I looked at the minutes. I didn't really have any differences.
• All
• in favor. Oh,
• adjourned. Meeting adjourned. Thank
• you. Alright.