NORTH SALEM, N.Y. - Croton Falls now has a written guide that will help it preserve its past, enhance its present, and prepare for the future.
The North Salem Town Board officially adopted the document on Tuesday, Feb. 10. It will supplement the town’s existing 2011 Comprehensive Plan.
About six years ago, the Planning Board was charged with completing a plan that assesses and identifies how quality of life issues for Croton Falls residents and the business district are intertwined.
It includes a series of recommendations that involve policy and action steps that could impact infrastructure such as traffic, water, sewer, and other utilities, public spaces, and connections between businesses, residences, and the larger community. Spaces that offer cultural and recreational activities are also addressed.
Running on a somewhat parallel track during the lengthy process has been a proposal for a sewer district in the hamlet, which is located in the northwest corner of town.
The journey began with two well-attended public informational and engagement meetings in the fall of 2021.
The Planning Board also conducted town-wide and Croton Falls specific surveys that brought to light a variety of, the document reads, “concerns, priorities, thoughts, and ideas to consider regarding the future of the hamlet.”
Input was also sought from numerous town departments, boards, committees, local organizations, residents, business owners, and others with connections to the hamlet.
The Planning Board was assisted by its planning and environmental consultants and the town’s engineers.
A preliminary draft of the plan was presented at a third public forum in the spring of 2023 held in the town’s new Community Center at 3 Owens Road.
It provided “additional helpful insights as to the bright future of Croton Falls,” the final version said, noting that “the boundaries of the hamlet are well defined and self-limiting for outward growth.”
The hamlet is smaller and “less dense” than neighboring communities such as Katonah, a hamlet in the Town of Bedford, and the Village of Brewster in the Town of Southeast in Putnam County.
Merchants and services in Croton Falls are “locally oriented” basically because most primary shopping and service needs can be met in larger surrounding communities.
According to the plan, officials, residents, and business owners were “very clear about their vision for the hamlet.”
While determined that the hamlet’s “cultural history” – it was established in the early 1800s -- and “small, hometown character” be protected, they also “acknowledged the need to enhance and support” its economic stability and to “foster respectful growth.”
On that last note, the plan also confirms that existing land use classifications and densities in Croton Falls – as presently defined by local zoning ordinances and zoning map “are well suited to the needs and desires of the community.”
At the same time, it notes the potential for “minor enhancements” to the ordinance “to ensure it remains current and reflective of the needs of the community, new and changing land use trends, and advancements in technology."
Recommendations contained in the plan “range from simple ideas and steps to take, to more involved implementation follow-up” and also involve capital investments as well as the need, it said, for “more detailed study and evaluation.”
As the lead agency, the board also made a “negative declaration” – as required by the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) – stating that the Croton Falls Plan would not have a negative impact on the environment.
The plan also addresses Croton Falls’ relationship with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and the land the NYCDEP owns within the hamlet, its proximity to I-684 and Route 22, and the fact that Metro North has a commuter rail station in the center of the business district.
Nearly 98 percent of North Salem – and all of Croton Falls, which is nestled by the northern tip of the Muscoot Reservoir – is in the NYCDEP’s watershed.
SEWER SITUATION
The town has been working towards creating a public sewer system in Croton Falls.
If the proposed $16.3 million project is approved by voters, it would have a direct impact on the hamlet’s businesses that are currently dependent on septic tanks and/or fields -- which limit potential uses -- and also on any residences within the district’s boundaries.
In 2024, North Salem entered into an Intermunicipal Agreement (IMA) that will allow it to hook into the Heritage Hills sewage treatment plant in neighboring Somers.
The town has been pursuing outside funding for the infrastructure’s construction.
According to Supervisor Warren Lucas, it so far has secured $8 million from the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and a $6.8 million Water Quality Improvement Grant (WQIP), which is money given to Westchester by the NYCDEP.
It was also promised a $1.25 million federal grant through Congressman Mike Lawler’s (R-17) office, but that was rescinded under Elon Musk’s now disbanded Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE).
Lucas said that’s currently back under consideration in the U.S. Senate.
The creation of the Croton Falls plan, which addresses infrastructure issues in detail, had nothing to do with the town’s pursuit of grants for the proposed sewer district, Lucas said.
The plan was long overdue anyway. What the folks who hand out the grants really want to know is if there is a “need” for sewers in the hamlet, he explained.
Veolia, manager and operator of the Heritage Hills sewage treatment plant, is currently reviewing a report on the hook-up prepared by the town’s engineering consultants.
Once Veolia decides how much it’s going to charge North Salem for sending effluent to the plant, the town will be able to determine what the operating and maintenance costs per sewer district customer will be.
As far as the needs assessment goes, it’s a process, according to Lucas.
“We’re moving slowly. Everyone’s going to have a voice. My goal is to set one (sewer district) up, so if they want it, we can do it,” he said.
Planning Board Chair Cynthia Curtis also weighed in on the topic.
“The Town Board still has a lot of work to do,” she wrote in a recent email to Halston Media. “It’s not just about finding the money to build this; it’s more about what the future impacts will be.”
Curtis said the town first needs to “figure out the potential cost to all users.”
Once it gets closer to finalizing the sewer district plan, it should hold another public informational meeting and “revisit” whether everyone must connect and whether “the benefits will outweigh the costs to all who will be included in the proposed district,” she advised.
A needs assessment survey is underway and is nearly complete, according to the Croton Falls plan.
Curtis said there hasn’t yet been a formal assessment of the impact of expanded uses once a public sewer system is in place.
“Parking is critical. If potential patrons don't have a place to park, that is not a benefit to any business that plans on an expansion,” she wrote.
(Curtis noted that Croton Falls is served by a public water system.)
Cost is another concern.
“If residents find they cannot afford another special district tax, what are their options? The last thing we want to do is create an unaffordable situation for our residents,” she said, adding that she’d like to see the Town Board come up with a “financial plan” for the Croton Falls water district.
Curtis said that the water district owes the town’s General Fund more than $150,000, due to a loan it received years ago.
Eventually, a “map, plan, and report” will be prepared for the proposed sewer district and sent to the state for approval. That requires up to date and accurate information about per-user costs, Curtis said.
A public vote will also have to happen.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The plan includes copious recommendations at the end of each section.
(Spoiler alert, there are some overlaps.)
For instance, under zoning and land use it calls for the maintenance of existing zoning, the preservation of buildings and landscapes so that the hamlet’s historic image and character is protected, and the completion of the sewer district needs assessment survey.
It also advises supporting the continued use of the commuter lot for the farmers market, considering potential uses for the Old Train Depot site, retaining the green space, upgrading programing at the Community Center, working towards greater access and safety for pedestrians, partnering with the NYSDOT on the upkeep of Route 22, and reinforcing the “value and benefits” of having the full-service U.S. Post Office where it is now.
Among the things the “natural, visual, and historic character” section recommends are protecting the hamlet’s natural resources by minimizing forest clearing and steep slope disturbance, encouraging the adaptive use and renovation of historic buildings over new construction, expanding streetscape improvements, and enhancing the parking lots with seasonal planting and LED lighting.
Next up is transportation, one of the meatier sections.
Recommendations echo calls in the 2011 Comprehensive Plan for adequate funding of the Highway Department to help it maintain local roads in a fiscally and environmentally “responsible manner.”
The town should also work with the DOT on projects that support “greater connectivity, safe pedestrian access and speed reduction measures.”
Infrastructure improvements such as the addition of a southbound I-684 off ramp to Goldens Bridge (Exit 6) would help address rush hour congestion and reduce spillover commuter traffic onto Route 22.
Also mentioned were the bottleneck created in Katonah where the Saw Mill River Parkway and I-684 connect and the creation of a roundabout at the intersection of Route 202 and Croton Falls Road.
The plan recommends that the town addresses the drainage problem on West Cross Street, ensures safe exiting from East Cross Street onto Route 22, improves traffic flow within the business center through signage and pavement markings, and considers relocating metered spots in the business lot to the back row parking to provide more space for business parking.
Infrastructure challenges in Croton Falls are significant.
The top several recommendations are that the town increase its well capacity to create a back-up source as required by the county Department of Health, that it analyzes how the water district will “reasonably repay” its existing debt, that it determines when aging water lines will be repaired or replaced, and that it evaluate and identify the functional and financial feasibility of sewers in the business district and residential neighborhoods.
The plan also urges the town to address wireless infrastructure improvements by promoting the installation of high-speed broadband services, supporting tech improvements such as a 5G network where it won’t damage Croton Falls’ historic and rural character, and staying ahead of small cell deployment by revising zoning ordinances that address communication facilities.
The topics of sustainability, dark-sky compliant lighting, green energy, the electric grid, and EV charging stations also came up.
GOOD TO KNOW
To view the Croton Falls Plan in its entirety, visit the town's website.
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