Town Board - Regular Meeting

TOWN OF CLARKSTOWN TOWN BOARD REGULAR MEETING Town Hall Auditorium May 20, 2025 at 7:00 PM MINUTES

PRESENT: Supervisor George Hoehmann Councilman Mark Licker Councilman Michael Graziano Councilman Donald Franchino Councilman Robert Axelrod Town Clerk Lauren Wohl

ABSENT: The Supervisor George Hoehmann declared the Town Board meeting opened. Assemblage saluted the flag. The Town Clerk read the roll call.

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS ~ Clarkstown Women of Distinction POLICE DEPARTMENT MATTERS A member of Clarkstown Police Department Administration will report.

PUBLIC HEARING

PUBLIC HEARING #1: PH-1.

RESOLUTION No (260-2025) - Authorizing the Continuation of a Public Hearing on a Proposed Local Law Entitled, “A Local Law Amending Chapter 290 (Zoning) of the Town Code and the Zoning Map of the Town of Clarkstown to Establish the Hamlet Center - Congers (HC-C), Valley Cottage (HC-VC) and West Nyack (HC-WN) Zoning Districts”Adopted

PUBLIC COMMENTS REGARDING AGENDA ITEMS AND GENERAL

PUBLIC COMMENTS Tim Cunningham, 64 Schriever Lane, New City Mr. Cunningham has been alerted that the woods on the property across the street from him at 55 Schriever Lane is being proposed for a potential 17 multi-plex units. This area is not zoned for this. It is currently zoned R-15. It is currently being reviewed by the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC).

He would love not see this developed at all, but it is an R-15. Let it stay that way. There are water issues and drainage issues on the property. When the woods were developed, there was a problem with his home and water issues. Once the newer houses went in, he had to have a French Drain installed in his home. The Town or the County has not given enough time for the TOD to proceed with their development in Nanuet.

Let those types of areas get developed and see how far the Town can get with honoring those zoning commitments. Let's not re-zone this, for subsidized housing. If people cannot afford to purchase these properties on their own, how can they afford to maintain them? My school and town taxes are $18,000 per year. He knows when he retires, he will not be staying here.. He cannot afford it.

How are these people going to be able to buy subsidized housing, afford to live there, and then maintain it. The developers are looking for the best bang for their buck. It will look beautiful on day one and the following year, it does not look so good. This is not beneficial for our community. The Supervisor stated that this is not a rezoning and he stated that nothing is before the Town yet.

They have been going to the Technical Advisory Committee. He would like the Town Planner to explain what is happening here. Bob McLaughlin, 26 Schriever Lane Mr. McLaughlin was part of the Civic Association. He does not believe this is a good idea. He was notified that this was going to happen. When he looks around the Town, he notices that there are spaces in the Town that are being drawn away.

Most of what is being built in these spaces are apartments. Senior housing is great, but you cannot have every foot that is not being used crowded with people. Sooner or later one will have to wait an hour and a half to get a cup of coffee. Development must slow down. The Town has done a great job so far with developing up to this point, but we can not go berserk with the little land we have left.

The Supervisor asked Mr. Joe Simoes, Town Planner to address this property. The Supervisor stated that there is a lot of concern and there is no formal application that is ready to go before the Planning Board. They have been in front of the Technical Advisory Committee. They are not talking about a rezoning.

If you want to expand your home, you have to go before the Town, they give the go ahead, and then you go before the list for approvals with the Building Department. If someone owns a larger piece of property that they want to develop, this has to go before the Planning Board. They have been directly in touch with Rockland County, to apply for grants, looking for affordable housing components.

As of now, they are allowed to develop houses on the property. They are asking for average density - a legal mechanism where they say they can develop a certain number of houses, however, they can come in with a cluster, which neuters the rest of the property - preserving more of the property. As of now, they are only allowed to develop single family homes. This will go through the Planning Board.

If there is a petition to cluster it, the Town Board will have to vote on it and say, "Ok, you can cluster it, but the Planning Board will have to approve the layout. The Supervisor asked Al Moroni, Chief of Staff to take a list of all residents that are concerned - to leave contact information. The Developer is in contact directly with Rockland County.

This application has been before TAC for about one year - trying to decide what exactly can be built on the property. It is zoned R-15. You need 15,000 square feet for a single family home. It is 14.22 acres of land and 2.89 acres of wet lands. We would deduct out the wetlands. Theoretically, there are 12 acres of developable property. When the developer comes in, we have to see what they can actually build.

When you take out the roadways, the drainage, etc. it will be limited. The Developer thought they can come in and build 24 homes. They dropped it down 20 units. New Wetlands Laws came into effect earlier this year. This created a buffer around the wetlands. They are actually down to 17 units. Now it is a cluster subdivision.

You take the same number of homes and you cluster it down to one portion, and preserve the rest of it as open space. This is parkland associated to the Town. They now want 8 duplex houses - side by side - with a common wall, and one single family home. It has gone through a few meetings with TAC. The Planning Board will take a few months to get through. The Town would have to do a full Environmental Review.

The Planning Board will ask permission for the Town Board to Cluster the development down to one portion of the property. That would mean less roadways. Its always preferable to have a cluster. Having the building in one portion of the property is better. The rest is preserved as open space. Legally, there is a dead end road that they can extend into the property and connect into the development.

Under the cluster plan, this would remain as a dead end. This is an added benefit of clustering. The Supervisor stated that this would go to the Planning Board when they submit their plans. They are working with Rockland County as well. They are working with Rockland County Community Development, specifically, Alexandra Obremski. She is the Director of Community Development.

They are applying for funding because there is an affordability component. The Supervisor stated that there is the US Constitution. You have property rights. The Town cannot say you cannot put a shed on your property. If you own the property, you can develop it. They can develop 17 homes. Maybe less. In order to develop this, they will develop the entire property.

There is a format in NYS that allows for Cluster Subdivisions. You can develop these homes on this big piece of property, if you cluster them down - the rest of the property gets protected. There is a deed restriction that becomes Parkland. This becomes open space that can not be used by the property owners. That's why there is discussions about town homes and eight duplexes and one single house.

The decision point is if the Town Board agrees or disagrees with allowing the cluster. When the Planning Board requests it, the Town Board will have a Public Hearing, and at that point residents can come into a Public Hearing and address their concerns. We are several months from that. They have not applied yet. When they apply, there is a distribution of their entire set of materials to the Planning Board.

They would have to prove the number of houses that they can actually get. There would be an environmental review, where the distribution would be to include all of the involved agencies. This is ONLY if the Town Board approves the cluster plan. NYS DEC, County of Rockland Planning Department, Sewer District, Department of Health, Violia, Utilities....

they will need to provide all of the analysis and prove that it will meet the standard to do it. The Supervisor stated that it is important that the public know exactly what the process is. If it ever comes to the Town Board, after they go to the Planning Board - with their proposal, and they can approve they can build a certain number of houses, they would then ask for an average density (as Mr.

Cunningham stated) versus a cluster subdivision. That is when the Town Board will have a separate Public Hearing. Mr. Simoes stated: It will go to the Planning Board for the coordination of the Environmental Review. This review could be done by the Town Board or the Planning Board. This will determine if all of the Environmental Reviews are addressed with necessary mitigation.

We are generally talking about Storm Water. Our code requires us to have Storm Water Detention that is 10% over what is required under NYS and Federal Law. The Supervisor and the Town Planner stated that they have to reduce runoff on the property by 10 percent (minimum). They would be required to do a significant amount of drainage as part of this anyway. All of this has to be engineered.

The Planning Board would conduct the Environmental review and it would have to be satisfied. They would stop at that point once they believe everything was satisfied. They would issue a negative declaration - stating that they do not see any environmental issues with this project. Then it would be referred to the Town Board. They would have to ask permission to the Town Board - asking for a cluster.

This becomes a decision of the Town and the Planning Board. So do you want a standard plan - spread throughout the property (connecting the dead end), or do you want a Cluster and save most of the property. The Planning Board needs to be satisfied that the standard layout is developable. They cannot just skip right to the Cluster proposal. It has to be something that the Planning Board will approve.

The Town Planner recommends that the Town Board do the Clustering.... whatever number we end up with. The Supervisor stated that they still have to prove that they can do 17? Correct? Mr. Simoes stated that the main issue with the 17 units is that the DEC needs to approve it. The issue is the wetland and the adjacent 100 foot buffer. The NYS (Region 3 in Poughkeepsie) DEC is stating that it is acceptable.

We have confirmation that 17 units are acceptable? We normally do a distribution to them. We will send them the plans again. The applicant reached out to them separately. We will be sending them the same plans - now they have to respond to the Town and confirm that the plans are acceptable. The Supervisor along with Mr.

Simoes stated that another issue is the Affordable Component - this is a home ownership program - this is not rentals. These will not be transient rentals. The Developer is getting funding from the State for home ownership. It is a program that the state put out for a homeownership program (AHOP). It subsidizes the homes between $150,000 to $200,000. There are deed restrictions on the size of the homes.

He believes they are approximately 1200 square feet. They still have not formally applied. There is a deed restriction on expansion of the homes, and the resale - they would eventually have to go to someone else that would qualify. The program is geared to a person who makes 80% of the County median income. A family of four would have to make $125,000 - in order to purchase one of these homes.

They have to have a background check to see if they can afford utilities, taxes and everything else. This is where the Community Development Offices are involved. This is where the County is involved in the project. We have requested that representatives from the County come to the Planning Board Meeting to answer these questions. The Program is offered through Rockland County.

The Town's responsibility is strictly processing the subdivision. How it gets administered in terms of who it sold to, who qualifies....the Town has no jurisdiction. The Town cannot consider that in terms of an approval or disapproval. If the subdivision meets the requirements of our zoning in terms of R-15 District, and meets the requirements of doing a Cluster Development, that is the extent of our involvement.

We know it is part of this Rockland County Program. We ask the County representatives and the nonprofit agency who partners with them, to come and speak at our Planning Board Meetings and the Public Hearings and answer questions. The Supervisor stated that they have formally applied to TAC (Technical Advisory Committee). Mr. Simoes sated that they have cleared TAC in terms of applying for Planning Board.

All TAC is saying is that they have met all the requirements for our code. Sometimes they do not meet all requirements to the Code. The Advisory Committee advises the Planning Board and we are advisory to the applicants. They have met the requirements for a submission to the Planning Board. The Board needs to make an informed decision.

They will have all the information there - not missing anything - they can then apply to the Planning Board. Rockland County Planning Department may NOT be reviewing this project. The Supervisor asked, "Why?" Mr. Simoes stated that there may not be any County interest within 500 feet of the property. There is usually a 30-60 day time period before you get in front of the Planning Board.

The Supervisor stated that we will make sure all of you get connected, if you are interested. Regarding the affordability component, you can talk to Alexandra Obremski, the head of Community Development. You may also speak with Rockland County Legislature, Lon Hofstein. You may also contact the County Executive Office.

This is a property owner, that has a piece of property that they want to develop, they can put 17 homes on the property. Instead of scattering the 17 homes, they want to cluster it down. The rest of the property will be preserved. They met the technical requirements to apply and go to the Planning Board. There will be significant review. Other agencies will be involved and have comments.

Not until everything is satisfied, the Town Board will then hear the Public Hearing and decide whether or not they make this a Cluster or a regular R-15. This does not come before the Town Board until at least the Fall. The Supervisor stated that people have property rights. You can not tell them that they can not develop it. We can vote as to how the land is developed if it remains R-15. We are not rezoning it.

Whatever they can develop, they can then request the Planning Board to consider that a cluster subdivision. The affordability component needs to come from Rockland County. Its a homeownership program that the County and the State called AHOP - Affordable Homeownership Program. People need to get qualified for this program. They need to meet all income qualifications through Deed restrictions,.

We are familiar with it because the Town actually has had some of these come to us in the past. They need to prove that they can afford the house, taxes and expenses that come with it. The Subsidy goes to directly to the developer. They get direct grant funds from the State or the County which reduces their cost.

Presumably, these are $600,00 - $700,000 homes that are going to be subsidized - $1150,000 to $200,000 each. There is a deed restriction which means they cannot sell it to anyone outside the approved program. They cannot profit on it. They will have to be affordable. They cannot sublease them. They cannot be rentals. It is a homeownership program.

The developer is getting a subsidy and that is how they become affordable. It would have to be resold within this AHOP program. Rockland County is under a mandate by the Federal Government, dating back to the Obama Administration. They are supposed to build a certain number of affordable houses/units that have not been built yet. The Town has nothing to do with that. Steve Lasky, 63 Schriever Lane Mr.

Lasky's major concern are the water issues. In 1960, the Town put a drain 100 feet into his property and two of his neighbor's properties because of water problems. In addition, as people have removed trees, the water levels have kept on rising. About 5 years ago, he needed to have two wells dug in his yard to have the water go down, because he had a lake in his yard.

In April, there were ducks swimming in his backyard. He has piping all underneath his backyard going to that drainage that the Town put in because he had 8-10 inches of water through his whole backyard. His concern is if they cut down 50/60 trees for this development, everyone on Schriever Lane will have water issues and flooding down to Main Street.

The Engineers really need to look at this and make sure we are not opening a can of worms as this construction happens. Once the trees come down, the problem is there. The Supervisor stated that the Planning Board and our Engineers totally agree with everything Mr. Lasky is saying. Not only do they have to satisfy the professionals, they have to meet all of the standards.

More importantly, we passed a local law about three years ago - anyone that has to reduce runoff has to reduce it by at least 10%. They would need retention basins, underground storage, improvements on the street. This will all go through the Planning process with the team of Engineers. We will make sure this is brought forward. The big question here is can they develop it as a cluster or standard property?

Liz Margolis, 57 Schriever Lane Ms. Margolis asked, when the property value gets set at this new development, what can they sell for? Can they sell for more than that stated value? The Supervisor stated that his belief is that the money has to go back. They cannot profit off of it. Apparently, the program allows for increases and whoever meets that income criteria level of 80%.

The income level will continue to increase - as the years go by. Ms. Margolis stated that for people who have been there for many years, and have been investing in their home, with property value increasing significantly.... what is their incentive to continue to invest in their property, when they are going to be leveled out - if the property value across the board will be minimized?

What is their incentive to continue to make improvements or to even stay in their homes? The Supervisor stated that these are concerns that you need to bring to the County. It is not the Town's program. The Supervisor suggessted to contact Legislature Lon Hofstein, Alexandra Obremski (Community Development), and Ed Day. Eileen Hanna, 69 Schriever Lane She has lived on this street since 1959.

She understands the concept of the Cluster housing and the 17 structures. If that does not go through, under the current zoning, what is the maximum that can be built? The Supervisor stated 17 structures. In order to get to a "cluster," they will need to perfect a perfect plan before the Planning Board.

They are stating that they can get 17 single family homes, R-15 Zoning, which will be consistent with everyone else around them. The Supervisor stated that they would not consider a Zone Change on this property. It would be spot zoning. If they do a cluster, the benefit is that there would be protection for extra parkland in the future. This is regardless if they went for an AHOP or not.

Edgar Agron, 29 Sturbridge Ct., Nanuet He and his neighbor have concerns in his neighborhood regarding homes that are being rented to multi-families. Some of these homes are 3 or 4 families. There is about 15 homes that they are concerned with. He is certain that there is more. This is creating excess traffic, garbage, vehicles and noise.

The Supervisor stated that there are multiple houses in their neighborhood that are in court already. As taxpayers and good neighbors, this is unacceptable. Christmas decorations are getting stolen. What's next? He came from the Bronx and he does not expect this situation with the amount of taxes he is paying. The Supervisor stated that we have Code Enforcement.

When he started as Town Supervisor, we had one Code Enforcer. We now have five Code Enforcers. We will be adding another Code Enforcer. He or she will be Spanish speaking. We are the only Town that goes into State Supreme Court to receive injunctions with illegal housing. We do enforce search warrants when we suspect illegal multi-family housing or illegal houses of worship.

We have executed sixty search warrants on single family homes within the Town since he has been Supervisor. He does not need people to come to our Town Board Meetings, he needs people to talk to our Code Enforcement Officers. He asked Mr. Agron to give a list of addresses. He will immediately start investigations to see if houses are being misused. There are no multi-family houses designated for this area.

We will justify, through an investigation, issue violations, with five days to secure the violations. If not, we will take them to court. If we have to, we will go into the court across the street (our Justice Court), to get a Search Warrant, and then we will go into Rockland County Court (State Supreme Court), to get an injunction. Clarkstown is very aggressive with their Code Enforcement.

His office will take all of the addresses and investigate each one. Benny Fong, 6 Rockwell Rd., Nanuet He has been a resident of Nanuet since 1996. We moved up to the County for a better quality of life for his family. Outside Town visitors are coming to Tennyson Park and taking over the park. The Town residents do not get a chance to enjoy the park in their neighborhood.

There is an excessive amount of cars and no parking. They park on the grass. There is a "cab base" home around the corner from his home. They change shifts at 2-3:00 AM. The single family homes are being used as multifamily use right now. The Supervisor instructed Jeff Gillies from his office staff to get the names and addresses of the homes involved.

He will ask Ray Frances, Senior Code Enforcer and the Building Department's staff to take a look at these properties. Some of these properties are already in court. Steve Levine, Congers Mr. Levine is looking for information on Resolution #264-2025. He is happy to see the shed for the Police Facility is finally complete. When will the equipment be placed inside?

The other issue is the property at 139 Massachusetts Avenue in Congers. His primary concern is public health and safety. He has been asking for a letter from the Town. Due to the history of this property, Mr. Levine's attorneys advised him that whenever he has any comments or communications with Town Officials regarding this, it must be held in a public forum, in writing, or with witnesses around.

This is why he keeps asking for a written response to his letter. Again, it is due to the health and safety of the residents of Massachusetts Avenue. He communicated that former Town Supervisor Charles Holbrook and his Town Board appointed him to the Zoning Board of Appeals to assist the former Supervisor, and the former Town Attorney, to streamline our Zoning Board. He is concerned for the residents of Clarkstown.

The Supervisor responded: Regarding Resolution #262-2026 - the trees are coming from the Tree Bank and will be planted at 12 Parrott Rd., West Nyack. The Town did a road project at this area. One neighbor requested additional trees to buffer a bit more at the site. It is on a public road, near Felix Festa Middle School. The property on Massachusetts Avenue closed approximately 3 weeks ago.

The Town no longer owns the property. The Town Attorney stated that the property was remediated at the Town's expense. The property is now a single family home. Mr. Levine will have a new neighbor. The Supervisor also stated that all of the older police equipment was and is stored at other facilities. There is nothing being stored outside.

RESOLUTIONS

AGENDA ITEM #1: RESOLUTION No (261-2025) - Accepting the Town Board Meeting Minutes of May 6, 2025 — Adopted

AGENDA ITEM #2: RESOLUTION No (262-2025) - Amending the Budget — Adopted

AGENDA ITEM #3: RESOLUTION No (263-2025) - Authorizing the Purchase of Epoxy Pool Paint for the Department of Engineering and Facilities Management (DEFM) (Total cost not to exceed: $50,000.00)

AGENDA ITEM #4: RESOLUTION No (264-2025) - Authorizing the Transfer of Money from the Tree Bank Fund to Cover the Cost of Trees to Be Planted on Town-Owned Property ($1,515.50)

AGENDA ITEM #5: RESOLUTION No (265-2025) - Authorizing an Additional Vendor for Bid 9-2023 – West Nyack Phase II – West Nyack Hamlet Revitalization (Total amount not to exceed: $23,243.51)

AGENDA ITEM #6: RESOLUTION No (266-2025) - NYSRS - Standard Work Day and Reporting — Adopted

AGENDA ITEM #7: RESOLUTION No (267-2025) - Amending Resolution #256-2025 Appointing Louis Rodopoulos to the Position of Engineer II -- Department of Engineering and Facilities Management ($90,529/annual)

AGENDA ITEM #8: RESOLUTION No (268-2025) - Accepting the Resignation of Jean Woods - Clerk Typist Part Time - Supervisor's Office, Effective and Retroactive to May 5, 2025 — Adopted

AGENDA ITEM #9: RESOLUTION No (269-2025) - Accepting the Resignation of Richard Kloenne - Member - Traffic Advisory Board, Accepted Effective and Retroactive to May 13, 2025 — Adopted

AGENDA ITEM #10: RESOLUTION No (270-2025) - Appointing Anthony Culianos to the (Permanent) Position of Police Sergeant - Clarkstown Police Department, Effective May 28, 2025 ($188,778/annual)

AGENDA ITEM #11: RESOLUTION No (271-2025) - Declaration of Emergency Proclamation — Adopted

ADJOURNMENT At 8:52 PM the Supervisor made a motion to close and adjourn this Town Board Meeting. This was offered by Co. Graziano, seconded by Co. Licker. All were in favor. Respectfully Submitted, Lauren Marie Wohl, Town Clerk UPCOMING MEETING Next Town Board Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 3, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.