Town looks to remedy problem caused by new zoning code

Quotable

'It was in the master plan, and it made people go crazy.'”

– Carmel Supervisor Mike Cazzari

MAHOPAC, N.Y.—The Town Board adopted its revamped zoning code last March, a project that had been in the works for seven years, but it recently realized that the revised ordinance created some unintended consequences and is now looking to pass an amendment that would remedy the problem.

Under the new code, the permitted zoning in some areas throughout the town was changed. Consequently, some projects that were already before the Planning Board and going through the approval process when the new code was adopted were suddenly no longer permitted.

Now, the Town Board is seeking to revise the zoning code yet again to allow projects that were already on the books to move forward. A public hearing on the proposed amendment was held on June 18 and has been kept open; the hearing was scheduled to continue at the board’s July 2 meeting.

“We are proposing to grandfather these [existing] projects in,” said Supervisor Mike Cazzari. “Some of these developers have already spent millions of dollars. It would be a lawsuit just waiting to happen.”

Cazzari cited the housing development at the Centennial Golf Course, which proposed building 300 units on 144 acres, as an example of a project that wouldn’t have been allowed under the revised code.

The town used the Melville, N.Y.-based civil engineering firm Nelson + Pope as a consultant in revising the zoning code and the town's recently adopted Master Plan. Cazzari said some things were overlooked, but it took the Town Board a while to realize it.

“They missed some key areas and that left us open to lawsuits,” Cazzari said.

Cazzari said that during a public hearing on the new Master Pan, a property owner said he has been in the process of developing about 110 acres of land over the past 20 years and the revised zoning code would now prohibit what he was planning to do.

“We thought, ‘Wait… what did we miss?’ So, we started looking at it more closely. When you rush things, it can be a problem,” Cazzari said. “We found out a lot of things fell through the cracks. You wouldn’t think they would say you can’t have two boats or kayaks on a dock, but they did. It was in the Master Plan, and it made people go crazy.”

You can find a copy of the Master Plan at the Town of Carmel website.