Town Updates
Last November, Town Supervisor Jacqueline Annabi announced that to make Putnam Valley more business friendly, the board was creating a Neighborhood Business Committee.
In January, after receiving eight applications for the committee's seven seats, the Town Board appointed five residents and allocated the remaining two spots to Town Board member Stacey Tompkins and the town's planning consultant and wetlands inspector, Bruce Barber.
The committee has already made quick progress. After just one meeting, it has identified five areas where it would like to see zoning changes that would allow certain types of commercial business to locate in areas that were previously zoned only for residential use.
The five locations are at the corner of Oscawana Lake Road and Dunderberg Road; at the corner of Oscawana Lake Road and Cedar Drive; at the corners of Church, Oscawana Lake Road and Canopus Hollow Road; at the corners of Mill Street and Peekskill Hollow Road; and, at the Tompkins Corner hamlet- Peekskill Hollow Road-Wiccopee Road. The committee noted that all of these parcels were identified in the town's 2007 Comprehensive Plan.
Details about the kinds of businesses the committee suggested should be allowed to establish in those areas, as well as those that it believes should not be allowed, can be seen in their letter to the Town Board:
The committee also proposed that design guidelines be developed to ensure that any commercial businesses that do move into these residential areas "blend with the rural and the historical nature of the hamlets".
Town residents interested in engaging with the committee on this proposal can attend its next monthly meeting on Tuesday, February 25th at 6:30pm at Town Hall. A public hearing is required before any changes are made to the zoning code.
On Wednesday, February 26th, there will also be an important meeting to discuss possible changes to the Putnam Valley Central School District's capital improvement plan and related bond referendum. The district's superintendent, Dr. Jeremy Luft, has invited the public to come to the Middle School (142 Peekskill Hollow Road) at 6:30pm to share their thoughts about the $14 million bond proposal that was recently defeated. The school board is in the process of deciding whether to modify or reintroduce its proposal, and if so, when.
Finally, at this week's Town Board meeting, Supervisor Annabi announced that there would be a further delay in the release of the application for short-term rentals (STRs). The board is making a few amendments to the code that was passed at the end of 2023. The main changes are that applications would first be submitted to the Building Department (instead of to the Planning Board) and only after those applications are declared complete would residents go to the Planning Board to seek a special use permit. The fee for the Planning Board application would be set "from time to time" by the Town Board.
Additionally, two-family homes will no longer be permitted to apply for short-term rentals. In an email, Supervisor Annabi explained that they should not have been included in the original resolution because they are not permitted by Putnam Valley’s zoning code. "Any existing two-family units are considered pre-existing, non-conforming and, like multifamily properties, are not eligible for STR special use permits," Supervisor Annabi explained. The required public hearing for this new resolution has been scheduled for March 19th at 6pm at Town Hall.
The revisions to the STR town code are highlighted in red and can be viewed here:
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