Village of Larchmont Board of Trustees Meeting – September 28, 2026

This summary is based on the raw transcript; no agenda or minutes were provided. The meeting included a public hearing and unanimous passage of a revised tree-work notice law, department reports, Flint Park Day Camp results, board appointments, contract approvals, and public comments on a DEC stop-work order at Flint Park and fall leaf-pile collection.

Consent Calendar / Prior Approvals

• The board acknowledged prior work-session approvals from August 17, 2026: an amendment to EV charger rules and fees, and approval of regular minutes from April 27, May 18, June 22, and July 27, 2026.
• The board acknowledged prior work-session approvals from September 14, 2026: appointment of the deputy village treasurer, scheduling of the tree-law public hearing, sponsorship for the Larchmont Day Fall Festival, authorization of an MOU with the Larchmont Professional Firefighters Association regarding seniority, and authorization to apply for a Justice Court assistance grant to digitize court records.
• The board approved the September 14, 2026 work session minutes by voice vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Public hearing on tree-work notice law: A resident who gave only his first name, John, questioned whether the board would vote immediately after the hearing, saying public comment should be able to influence legislation rather than be a procedural box. He agreed that quick action is desirable for genuine hazards but raised five concerns: (1) the new 10-day and emergency provisions may conflict with the prior 30-day provision in Section 263-17; (2) written notice should identify the specific hazard or obstruction and corrective action, and the law should define qualifying hazards more clearly; (3) the authority deciding expedited or emergency action should be specified and documented; (4) homeowners should get itemized costs and an appeals process for unreasonable charges; and (5) 10 days is too short and 14 days would be more reasonable because people may be on vacation. He said these changes would improve clarity, accountability, and fairness.
• Tree-law board response: Trustee Jim, the Parks and Trees liaison, said he and staff had spent significant time reviewing the law, compared other municipalities' tree laws, and limited the shortened 10-day notice to hazard and obstruction situations. The village attorney noted that 30 days remains the default except for specified safety hazards and imminent threats. The board then voted unanimously to pass the law.
• Flint Park DEC stop-work order: A resident named Kristen said the community had not been adequately informed about the DEC notice of violation for Flint Park Fields A and B. She said the former incinerator landfill cap may have been cracked during excavation, construction started without a DEC permit, toxic soil had been brought to the surface, lead levels measured 600 parts per million compared with New York State's 400 ppm allowance, the EPA's 200 ppm allowance, and California's 80 ppm allowance, and the project is three and a half acres and over $3 million. She urged the board to explain cap replacement, revised construction plans, costs, and schedule, and to hold a public hearing. Trustee Jim responded that the village is in daily contact with DEC, that a cleaner cap was planned from the start, and that some issues are permitting-related, but the matter is being rigorously addressed.
• Live-music venue concern: An unnamed resident, speaking as a parent and resident, said his nephew's bedroom is next to a live music venue, a child cannot file a complaint or measure decibels, and the testing requested of the family is not an abstract matter. He said he was not looking to hurt anyone's business but asked the board to see the issue from the child's perspective.
• Zoning code comment: Helen Motch of Minster Motch, PLLC, representing Jules Savecchio and family, said the zoning code permits private events with amplified music at a dining and entertainment establishment, but amplified music events advertised on social media are not private events and therefore are not a permitted use. She asked the board not to ignore the plain meaning of the zoning code.
• Leaf pile collection: Michael Godfrey of 16 Ocean asked about fall leaf-pile policies, expressed strong support for shrinking the collection window from November 1 to November 15, and raised concerns about leaves covering drains and causing flooding. He also asked for leaf piles to be moved farther up to the Monroe exit to preserve two travel lanes. A trustee responded that the DPW general foreman was not comfortable making a decision this early because it is a wet year and leaf density is unknown, but a mid-November decision may be possible. Michael said he would follow up about the sanitation commission's organics pickup ending October 31 and noted the commission is meeting Wednesday at 3 p.m.

Discussion Items

• Mayor's announcements: The mayor announced Larchmont's bronze certification in the Climate Smart Community Program, saying the program requires 300 points and the village is already at 194 points from the work completed. She thanked volunteers, especially Mark Manley, for managing the library roof solar panel project, noted that a public dashboard link is in the newsletter, and said data had been sent to Representative Latimer's office, which is working with Senator Schumer's office. She also reminded residents that the Route 1 survey closes on Wednesday and will help the board draft comments to the Department of Transportation.
• Police report: The police chief reported that in the early morning hours of August 19, 2026, over 17 vehicles were entered and rummaged through; no vehicles were reported stolen. Residents were urged to lock cars and doors and remove valuables. He announced two part-time park rangers, Tony Dedovanovic and Brian O'Connor, and two new crossing guards, Kate Long and Gabby Cruz. Department events included participation in Paulie's Push on September 8, 2026, a senior scam-prevention presentation on September 17, 2026, and National Coffee with a Cop Day on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Stan's Cafe.
• Fire report: The fire chief reported a September 5, 2026 fire at a residential property in the Manor caused by sunlight concentrated through a glass object onto paper-based materials; he said this was the third such incident in his tenure. Earlier on the meeting day at about 2:30 p.m., firefighters responded to a vehicle striking a building; the wall was load-bearing and unstable, and approximately 20 firefighters worked over three hours to shore it, with specialized assistance requested from Newark. Utilities were secured and the affected area was posted unsafe for occupancy. Since the last meeting, the department handled more than 150 calls, including a lithium-ion battery fire involving a cell phone, a porch grill fire, marine responses on Long Island Sound, and a carbon monoxide alarm linked to a malfunctioning sump pump. The department also completed annual NFPA hose testing and observed the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
• Recreation director's report: Recreation Director Rusty reported on Flint Park Day Camp: 199 campers; net surplus of $103,355; personnel expenses of $147,199, nearly $6,000 under budget; $7,200 in tuition assistance and employee discounts; about $1,400 in processing fees; and $69,718 spent at local businesses, about 77% of spending. New after-camp programming included slime science, performing arts, Minecraft coding, and Lego structures. A snack program baked into registration cost families $8 for the summer and ended the daily ice-cream-truck cash issue; Frozen Fridays featured donated ice cream, with police serving on the last day. He recommended a two-week residents-only enrollment period followed by non-resident applications. He also promoted the expanded Halloween and Ragamuffin event, including a map of business attractions, window painting, a haunted house, and trolleys to Manor Beach; police estimated 1,100 to 1,400 people crossed the intersection at last year's event.
• Camper testimony: A young camper, who did not give a last name, said his favorite parts of camp were the pool, snacks, slime, and the playground.
• Trustee reports and appointments: Trustee Matthew, as Parks and Trees Committee liaison, moved to appoint Logan Morrow to the committee; the board approved. Trustee Fanella promoted Flint Park permits and upcoming events including the Larchmont Arts Festival on October 17, 2026, from noon to 5 p.m., and Halloween events. Trustee Parray moved to appoint Eric Marks as a Planning Board member and Brad, also called Brett in the transcript, Jureller as a Planning Board alternate; both votes passed. Marks was described as a Larchmont native, former Little League president, retired management consultant with real estate experience; Jureller was described as a real estate professional with local renovation experience and a new-resident perspective.

Key Outcomes

• Tree-work notice law passed: After the public hearing and discussion, the board voted unanimously to pass the local law reducing the notice period for village-performed tree work in specified safety-hazard or obstruction situations, with immediate action allowed for imminent threats. The default 30-day notice remains for other cases.
• Engineering contract extension approved: The board approved a $30,000 increase to the professional services agreement with Catason, also called Canison in the transcript, Engineering for general village engineering needs.
• Ragamuffin sponsorship approved: The board accepted an $8,000 sponsorship from Ann Androx Treehouse as lead sponsor for the Ragamuffin parade and Halloween event.
• Appointments approved: Logan Morrow to the Parks and Trees Committee; Eric Marks to the Planning Board; Brad/Brett Jureller as Planning Board alternate; all by voice vote.
• Minutes and prior approvals acknowledged: September 14, 2026 work session minutes approved; prior work-session approvals were read into the record, including EV charger rules, prior minutes, deputy village treasurer, Fall Festival sponsorship, the firefighters' MOU, and the Justice Court grant application.
• Next steps: The board continues daily coordination with DEC on the Flint Park stop-work order and plans to communicate with the community; the leaf-pile collection decision may be revisited around mid-November, with follow-up on sanitation commission pickup changes; the Route 1 survey closes Wednesday to inform a letter to the Department of Transportation.