Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The North Salem Planning Board held a work session on June 17, 2026, at 7:00 PM via Zoom and in person. The board discussed proposed revisions to the Town's tree ordinance (Chapter 189) and a new special permit for land conservation organizations. The meeting also included discussions on technology improvements and scheduling future meetings.
The board reviewed a proposal to require a clearance form for all tree removals, allowing the Building Inspector to quickly confirm whether a permit is needed. The Chair explained that the Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) had reviewed the latest draft and was comfortable with the approach. Board members expressed support for the concept but raised concerns about adding administrative burden to the building department. Suggestions included automating the process via an online form that could pre-qualify homeowners, reducing the need for manual review. The Chair noted that discussions with the Town's IT department are planned to explore digital solutions. The board agreed that the clearance form should be integrated into the code in multiple sections (applicability, regulated activities, and excluded activities) to ensure homeowners encounter the requirement. Will was tasked with drafting the form and revising the ordinance language for clarity. The Chair also committed to speaking with the Building Inspector and the new assistant, Jennifer, to gauge their comfort with the additional workflow.
The board discussed a draft local law to allow land conservation organizations (e.g., North Salem Open Land Foundation, Bedford Audubon Society, Westchester Land Trust) to apply for a special permit to locate limited office, storage, educational, and caretaker facilities on parcels of 50 acres or more within residential districts. The primary purpose must remain land conservation. Permitted accessory uses include an office, caretaker dwelling, nature center, barns, and occasional special events (up to 200 people). The Chair recused herself from this discussion. Will presented the draft, which borrows language from existing recreation-use provisions. Board members considered the potential impacts on neighboring properties and stressed the importance of clear standards for traffic, parking, and compatibility. The draft will be refined before being forwarded to the Town Board for a public hearing.
Okay. All right. I'm going to open the North Southern Planning Board work session of June 17th, 2026, and welcome our two new members, Peter Zambelletti and Chris Stenkowitz. Oh, you're in trouble now. All right. Forget your Wednesday nights. All right. We have been working on revisions to the tree ordinance for a few months. It came about from a lot of work that the CAC conservation advisory council was doing. And conversations with the planning board about a lot of people were doing tree work without coming in to the planning board for permits. And the thought, and they did some wonderful educational pieces and put it out there through newsletters and on the website. And it helped because people are calling in first before they cut, but there's still a lot of people who weren't calling in, and after the fact, it's not as easy to prove what you've taken down, we're dead and diseased or whatever. So the thought was if we would make an administrative permit for the lesser number of trees coming, fewer number of trees coming down, not great soil disturbance, not on a lot of steep slopes and things like that, and have a two-level thing, which is what we did for the wetlands. We have a two-step process. If it's pretty minor, the building inspector along with the town's wetlands consultant can hand or handle minor wetland permits, and the larger ones that meet certain criteria must get bumped over to the planning board, or if in the opinion of the building inspector it should, it gets bumped to the planning board. So using that reasoning, we're we're doing the same thing with the tree ordinance, trying to identify what the building inspector should be comfortable handling as an administrative permit versus sending people to the planning board. And when you come to the planning board, admittedly, it it's a longer process. I'm sorry, I should add that the latest edition of this did go back to the CAC for their review, and they are comfortable with where we are now. But I don't know, I'm now introducing a new concept, and I think it would be very helpful, and that is to say to people if you want to take down any tree, you must contact the building inspector. And it's a simple form, it's I'm calling it a clearance form, but through that conversation, which could happen, you know, over a day or two of giving him the basic information of why you think you don't need a permit. If he confirms it, then you can go ahead and take down your three or four trees and your four or five dead trees and not have to go through a permit process. But it's um it it will certainly help in those circumstances where on a Monday morning you get the phone call, you know, my neighbor was taking down all these trees, and shouldn't he have had a permit? And uh and it happens a lot on the weekends. So I guess the first thing to say is how do the rest of you feel about making everybody come in and at least have that conversation, do a clearance form with the building inspector, and have him say, Yeah, you're right, you don't need a permit, go ahead and do the work. Anybody? My my initial reaction is I I mean I I understand where it's coming from, and on one level I I like the idea. Um I am concerned a bit with a in the best case scenario, everyone's gonna follow it, in which case I worry that our overtaxed building department might be further taxed with that sort of ministerial type type of activity. And B, we actually know that people aren't going to follow that. And so the question then really is if if they cut down a tree or two and otherwise is permitted here, what sort of um penalty is given because they haven't actually asked first. Well, they would get a notice of violation and they would be told they have to come in and file for a permit. And that filing for a permit after the fact, as you know, because we get stuck with most of them, it's a lot of work to try to rebuild, you know, what was there. I would imagine that a lot of these phone calls are I'm only taking down two trees.