Yorktown expands recreation fee requirements to more development zones

YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, N.Y.—Yorktown has updated its code to require recreation fees for developments beyond single-family housing.

The changes now apply the fee to the RSP-2 senior zone, transitional zones such as the Hallocks Square project, and the mixed-use CR-2 zone that includes the Nantucket Sound development at Route 118 and Kear Street.

“The town code was amended to provide the town greater flexibility and clarity in addressing recreation impacts that new developments in town can have, especially in the context of site plan approval and transitional zone review,” Town Attorney Adam Rodriguez told Yorktown News.

The town will next address “money-in-lieu of parkland” payments, he said, for developments that are too small or lack suitable land to meet recreation requirements.

“In such a case, the funds paid to the town will be used to support town park purposes and ideally keep taxes lower,” Rodriguez said.

The Planning Board will determine how the fee is paid.

Fees collected are deposited into a restricted Trust and Agency account, which can be used for specific park improvements, such as playground upgrades, but not for routine maintenance.

The effort involved the entire Town Board, Rodriguez noted, but he said it was “truly championed by Councilwoman Luciana Haughwout.”

Haughwout lost reelection for her seat by 115 votes to Democrat Ilan Gilbert, a former town supervisor and town judge who will join the board next year. The issue and her work on it had been a focus of her time in office—parks were one of the reasons she first ran.

“Updating our recreation fees has been a passion of mine because it directly shapes the future of Yorktown’s parks and shared spaces,” Haughwout told Yorktown News. “These amendments finally move us closer to what New York State already allows and ensure that new development contributes fairly to our community.”

While she won’t sit on the Town Board next term, Haughwout said she will continue her advocacy for “stronger alignment with state law and for policies that protect our residents.”

She called the board’s decision to amend the code “an important step forward” and said it will benefit “generations who will rely on these parks to play, gather and grow.”

Recreation Commission Chairman Matt Talbert said the changes still didn’t clearly address the issue and raised concerns about needing more money in the town’s Trust and Agency account. He spoke with Yorktown News but declined to comment further.

The Nov. 18 vote to adopt the amendments passed by 4-1. Councilman Sergio Esposito supported moving forward and said the amendments were not perfect but could be revised later if needed.

Councilwoman Susan Siegel voted no, citing a need for clarification in certain sections.

“I believed some revisions in the proposed law were needed. I preferred not to vote for a law before those issues were at least considered. The Board waited over a year before proposing amendments to the recreation fee law,” Siegel wrote in an email to Yorktown News.

“Why the haste now?” she added. “Why couldn’t Board members have taken another month or two to consider possible additional revisions to the law? Like requiring the Planning Board to seek input from the Town Board before it decided what public land or recreational facilities it requires as part of a developer’s recreation fee. The Town Board, not the Planning Board, is ultimately responsible for the maintenance of town-owned land and public recreational facilities.”