Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The North Salem Planning Board met on July 8, 2026 at 7:00 PM in-person and via Zoom. The board carried over a public hearing, approved an extension for a subdivision, discussed a short-term rental proposal, approved a cell tower permit renewal, reviewed the tree ordinance, and debated special permits for land conservation.
Grant Road LLC Public Hearing (658 Grant Rd.) – Carried over to the August 5, 2026 meeting.
Gilport Development Corp. (Oak Ridge/Overlook Rd.) – The board granted a 19th 90-day extension of final subdivision plat approval (to October 23, 2026) and a corresponding reapproval of the freshwater wetland permit. The motion passed unanimously.
Peirce – 3 Cottage Lane – The board reviewed reports from the planning consultant and town engineer. The applicant, Mr. Peirce, indicated the requested items were mostly already on the plans and said he would provide a response in a few days. No vote was taken.
AT&T Mobility (101 Bloomer Rd.) – The board considered a draft resolution of approval for a conditional use tower permit renewal. AT&T representative Martin McGee confirmed they would provide an as-built survey and address other conditions. The resolution was approved unanimously.
Dozza – 26 Bloomer Rd. (Short-Term Rental Proposal) – Owner Anderson Dozza (represented by Jack Flan Otaniel) discussed a proposal to use the single-family home partly as a short-term rental. The board noted the home already had 43 reviews on its rental website and may have exceeded the 90-day annual limit. The applicant asked about grandfathering and penalties. The board directed them to provide a full site plan, proof of a four-bedroom septic approval from the Westchester County Department of Health, and to contact the building inspector regarding continued reservations. The matter was continued pending resubmission.
Chapter 189 – Tree Ordinance (Work Session) – The board discussed adding language about the Northern long-eared bat habitat, dead/diseased tree exclusions, and a new clearance form. They agreed to set a threshold of 10 trees (dead, diseased, or hazardous) over which removal would require planning board review instead of an administrative permit. The arborist must specify the disease and treatment options. A draft clearance form will be prepared for the next work session.
Special Permits – Land Conservation (Work Session) – The board debated whether to limit accessory uses (offices, caretaker apartments, meeting spaces) on large conservation parcels to pre-existing structures only. The new director of the North Salem Open Land Foundation, Joyce Leets, clarified that their organization only intends to use existing structures. The board will revisit the proposal at the next work session to consider restricting the special permit to structures in existence at the time of application.
Let's check your um sound. Do you hear us? And let's make sure we can hear you. I hear you well. And we hear you well. Thank you. All right. We're going to start the North Salem Planning Board meeting for July 8th. The first item on the agenda is to just announce that we will carry over the public hearing for Grant Road LLC to the August meeting. The second item on the agenda is another extension request from Gilport Development. And we have Mr. Mandelbaum with us tonight. And I will read the resolution. Just for everyone's edification, I generally ask the planner if there have been any significant changes in any regulation that involves this application that would affect skipping an extension. And to my knowledge, there hasn't been any change in any state or local uh regulation. So we'll entertain this extension. Resolve at the North Salem Planning Board hereby grants Guildport Development LLC a 19th 90 day extension of their final subdivision plat approval from July 25th, 2026 to October 23rd. Per written request from Stephen Brabell of McCall at Goburger and Stout. Whereas the wetland approval has also expired, and there were no known changes to the wetlands regulations. Resolved with the North Salem Planning Board hereby grants Gilport Development LLC a reapproval of their freshwater wetland permit to expire October 23rd, 2026 to be concurrent with the extended subdivision approval. I will make that motion. Do I have a second? A second. Thank you, Ed. All in favor? Aye. And the chair votes aye. You're all set, Mr. Vandelbaum. Okay. Thank you. I'll uh see the second medication next week. All right. Thank you. Good evening. Take care, folks. The next item on the agenda is the Pierce application for three cottage lane. We have a report from our planning consultant and from our town engineer and representing the Pierces tonight. Um Mr. Dennis and you're Mr. Pierce. Yes. How are you? Fine, thank you. Let's I'm going to put the plans up in one minute. All right, now people on Zoom can see the same thing. I have your second page up, which shows the parcel, its location and its general yards. So you have reports from our planning consultant and our town engineer.