OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Yorktown Town Board Meeting: Field Home RFP, Section 8 Funding, and Zoning Amendments - September 9, 2025

Town Board — Tuesday, September 9, 2025
BodyYorktown, New York
SessionTown Board
DateTuesday, September 9, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:04:49

Transcript — Verbatim
0:10

Good evening and welcome to the September 9th, 2025 uh board meeting.

0:15

Uh if we could all rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:26

Mike, would you lead us today?

0:30

Of the United States of America.

0:32

And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

0:42

If we have a moment of silence, is remember the young lady uh killed in South Carolina senselessly, uh, all those victims of uh of uh these senseless crimes.

0:57

Uh we also uh as we uh uh think about that, think about our first responders that put themselves out there every day, and our military that are out there fighting to protect our rights and freedoms.

1:16

Thank you.

1:23

Introductions to my right.

1:25

Good evening, Diana Kwas, town clerk.

1:28

Good evening, Luciana Howitt, Councilwoman.

1:30

Supervisor Red Lakterman, Sir Joe Spazito, Deputy Supervisor.

1:34

Good evening, Patrick Murphy, town council.

1:37

Good evening, Susan Siegel, Councilwomen.

1:39

Good evening, Adam Rodriguez, town attorney.

1:42

All right.

1:43

And today we have Beardsley Architects and Engineers with a presentation to discuss where we are on our field home RFP.

1:52

And I just want to let everyone know out there that the teen center is open on Friday.

1:57

And I did post it on my personal page, and I know it's on the town page.

2:00

So register your kids, there'll be pizza and games and community fun.

2:05

Thank you for reminding us about that.

2:07

Uh and also at the end of the agenda today, uh, for the for the um discussions, we will be talking about the recreation fee law.

2:18

So go right ahead.

2:20

Thank you.

2:20

Uh good evening.

2:21

My name is Pete Veal.

2:22

Um with Beardsley Architects and Engineers.

2:25

Um, and tonight we want to uh present to you our progress on the uh the historic field home project.

2:33

Uh as you can see from this schedule, we're probably about two-thirds of the way in.

2:37

Um we will be presenting to you at the end of this schedule uh in uh probably mid-Octoberish uh to give you the final um our our conclusions and recommendations.

2:48

The the uh objective tonight was just to give you a bit of a sense of the direction we're going, kind of a progress check.

2:55

Uh I also understand I have about 15 minutes or so, so I'm gonna flip through a lot of slides very quickly that were the result of planning efforts for the from the past month or so with uh John Tageter and his team.

3:09

So um just looking at the um at the site, uh again the the program here is to redevelop uh adaptive reuse of of the building as uh both a uh historic uh hotel um and a event center.

3:26

So uh looking at the site itself, you can see this is the front with the um the pediment and the large columns, and that naturally wants to be the um the main entrance to the hotel.

3:39

So we would situate um hotel parking down here.

3:43

We need about 40 some odd spaces, uh, and the main entrance would be there.

3:49

The event center we would foresee in the chapel area, which is over where uh I'm showing the the cursor, and so we would see event parking over here as well, and um the events people coming to from this side.

4:05

It's conceivable that uh there may be a full-blown event going while the hotel is being um occupied by other users, or there could be both.

4:14

The idea is is flexibility.

4:17

So one of the first things that we uh came across, one of our constraints, I'll cover this very quickly because I think we solved it, was the uh the southern side, which is close to the assisted living.

4:31

If we had a 20-foot uh fire lane here, uh and we're specting the existing property line here, you can see it starts to get very tight up against the um the uh the building.

4:45

And here's what that kind of looks like in three dimensions.

4:49

You can see it just gets uh very tight, and it's not a very happy experience for pedestrians or arrival.

4:57

So uh again, this is what it looks like.

5:00

So, what we've decided to do here is actually turn this into a single lane, 12-foot uh controlled access, so there would be bollards or a gate so that that we control the the people who or the vehicles that come in here.

5:16

Uh it's only 12 feet.

5:18

Uh it would be with decorative pavers so that it it has a nice appeal, and there could be drop-off there for an event, or there could be handicap parking.

5:27

But again, it's an effort to kind of make this a little more uh amenable to uh to visitors.

5:33

This is what that would look like in 3D.

5:35

Here you can see it's a little more generous.

5:38

Um it makes a little better sense for the arrival of people to both the events and the hotel.

5:45

So the the second constraint we had was was more uh of an issue, uh, and this one you may be aware of uh with respect to our proposal for the property line adjustment.

5:56

Uh this is what we were dealing with back in July.

6:00

Uh this yellow line is what was proposed at the time.

6:04

You can see it's it's angling down, and um there again, there's that 20-foot fire lane, uh, and it gets very tight up against there.

6:14

And you can see here what that looks like in 3D as well.

6:19

Um very tight.

6:21

So what we proposed was to change the property line uh from the yellow, straighten it out and move it up so that it gives us a little more space here.

6:34

We know that they need 40 feet from any of their structures to a secondary internal road, and so that's what we're proposing here.

6:43

Now John and his team did take this to Toll Brothers, and apparently they uh were amenable to that um change in geometry and location.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning Regulations████████████████████20%
Parks and Recreation████████████████████20%
Historic Preservation██████████████████18%
Engineering And Infrastructure████████8%
Affordable Housing████████8%
Budget Equity Analysis████████8%
Economic Development████4%
Procedural███3%
Environmental Protection███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Yorktown Town Board Meeting - September 9, 2025

The Yorktown Town Board held a regular meeting on September 9, 2025, beginning at 12:30 PM. Key topics included a progress presentation on the historic Field Home redevelopment, a funding shortfall in the Section 8 rental housing program, a proposed zoning amendment for beverage container redemption centers, a use variance request for a battery energy storage system, and a new local law regarding recreation fees for residential site plans.

Consent Calendar

  • Authorized the Supervisor to sign the Ingersoll Rand Service Agreement (TS220854) for five years at a total cost of $56,509.60.
  • Released erosion control bonds to ARQ Architecture PC ($500), Pietro and Gladys De Siso ($1,500), and Luigi and Gretchen Morphia ($500).
  • Approved a budget transfer of $74,076.87 from Highway salaries to Highway outside services for construction (Peter A. Chameleon Sons construction).
  • Appointed Michael Butteroni to Laborer in the Parks Department and David Wong to Deputy Town Controller.
  • Authorized the Supervisor to execute a settlement agreement with employee ID 003927.
  • Approved a heating service agreement with DP Wolf for the library.
  • Awarded the bid for printing the Parks and Recreation semi-annual program to Graphic Image Inc. (extension).
  • Authorized the scrapping or auction of a 2009 Ford F-350 from the Refuse and Recycling Department.

Discussion Items

  • Field Home RFP Presentation (Beardsley Architects & Engineers): Pete Veal presented a two‑thirds complete study for the adaptive reuse of the historic Field Home as a boutique hotel and event center. Key issues included a proposed property line adjustment with Toll Brothers to allow a 12‑foot controlled access road (versus a 20‑foot fire lane) and preserving a green buffer. Beardsley recommended adding up to 12 new guest rooms in small structures to improve financial viability (cash‑on‑cash return from 25% to 36%) and a 2,000‑sq‑ft multifunction room. The building condition assessment found the structure sound but requiring new mechanical, electrical, and sprinkler systems. The final report with costs and a market feasibility analysis is expected in mid‑October.
  • Section 8 Rental Housing Program Funding: Sandrine Sang, director of the town’s rental housing program, reported that rising health insurance costs and “port‑out” vouchers (22 vouchers in 2025 from 12 in 2021) have created a deficit. The 2024 deficit was $29,159 and the projected 2025 deficit is approximately $30,000. Options discussed included absorbing the shortfall from the town’s fund balance or outsourcing program administration to a third party. The board agreed to transfer funds to cover the deficits and will consider moving the health insurance cost to the Supervisor’s budget for 2026.
  • Zoning Code Amendment – Beverage Container Redemption Centers: Town Attorney John presented a definition for “beverage container redemption center” and proposed adding it to the C‑4 (heavy commercial) zone. Councilmember Spazito opposed the use, citing concerns about tractor‑trailer truck traffic and visual blight. Others noted that site‑plan review can address access issues. The board voted to refer the amendment to the Planning Board for comment, with one dissenting vote.
  • ZBA Referral – Tier Two Battery Energy Storage System: The board discussed a memorandum recommending denial of a use variance for a battery storage facility at 3666 Old Yorktown Road, citing potential public health hazards and safety risks near the Taconic State Parkway. The memo noted that the town recently removed such uses from the zoning code. The board voted unanimously to send the memo to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
  • Proposed Local Law – Recreation Fees for Site Plans: Councilmember Howitt presented a draft law that would require multifamily residential site plans (including RSP zones, transitional zones, etc.) to provide recreation land or pay fees in lieu. Councilmember Siegel raised concerns about ambiguities (e.g., subdivision vs. site plan language, missing inclusion of RSP‑2 and C‑2R zones, and outdated on‑site playground requirements). After debate, the board voted to refer the law to the Planning Board and other agencies for comment, with a request to clean up technical language.
  • Hilltop Hanover Farms Presentation: Adam Chopper, farm director, highlighted the farm’s 60‑acre operation, including 50,000 lbs of produce grown (14,000 lbs donated) in 2024, a native plant nursery (25,000 plants), and educational programs serving 3,000 schoolchildren. Upcoming events include a native plant sale, fall harvest dinner, and a 5K race. No formal action was taken.

Key Outcomes

  • Beardsley Architects will return in mid‑October with a final design, cost estimates, and market analysis for the Field Home. The property line negotiation with Toll Brothers is ongoing.
  • Section 8 deficit: The board directed the Controller to transfer funds from the town’s fund balance to cover the 2024 ($29,159) and 2025 (est. $30,000) deficits. The 2026 budget will incorporate the health insurance cost in the Supervisor’s line (if the program continues).
  • Bottle/can redemption center amendment: Referred to Planning Board for comment (1 nay).
  • Battery storage use variance: Town Board’s opposition memo sent to ZBA (unanimous).
  • Recreation fee local law: Referred to Planning Board, Parks Commission, and other agencies (unanimous).
  • All consent calendar items approved by voice vote.

The meeting adjourned at approximately 4:30 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening and welcome to the September 9th, 2025 uh board meeting. Uh if we could all rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. Mike, would you lead us today? Of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. If we have a moment of silence, is remember the young lady uh killed in South Carolina senselessly, uh, all those victims of uh of uh these senseless crimes. Uh we also uh as we uh uh think about that, think about our first responders that put themselves out there every day, and our military that are out there fighting to protect our rights and freedoms. Thank you. Introductions to my right. Good evening, Diana Kwas, town clerk. Good evening, Luciana Howitt, Councilwoman. Supervisor Red Lakterman, Sir Joe Spazito, Deputy Supervisor. Good evening, Patrick Murphy, town council. Good evening, Susan Siegel, Councilwomen. Good evening, Adam Rodriguez, town attorney. All right. And today we have Beardsley Architects and Engineers with a presentation to discuss where we are on our field home RFP. And I just want to let everyone know out there that the teen center is open on Friday. And I did post it on my personal page, and I know it's on the town page. So register your kids, there'll be pizza and games and community fun. Thank you for reminding us about that. Uh and also at the end of the agenda today, uh, for the for the um discussions, we will be talking about the recreation fee law. So go right ahead. Thank you. Uh good evening. My name is Pete Veal. Um with Beardsley Architects and Engineers. Um, and tonight we want to uh present to you our progress on the uh the historic field home project. Uh as you can see from this schedule, we're probably about two-thirds of the way in. Um we will be presenting to you at the end of this schedule uh in uh probably mid-Octoberish uh to give you the final um our our conclusions and recommendations. The the uh objective tonight was just to give you a bit of a sense of the direction we're going, kind of a progress check. Uh I also understand I have about 15 minutes or so, so I'm gonna flip through a lot of slides very quickly that were the result of planning efforts for the from the past month or so with uh John Tageter and his team. So um just looking at the um at the site, uh again the the program here is to redevelop uh adaptive reuse of of the building as uh both a uh historic uh hotel um and a event center. So uh looking at the site itself, you can see this is the front with the um the pediment and the large columns, and that naturally wants to be the um the main entrance to the hotel. So we would situate um hotel parking down here. We need about 40 some odd spaces, uh, and the main entrance would be there. The event center we would foresee in the chapel area, which is over where uh I'm showing the the cursor, and so we would see event parking over here as well, and um the events people coming to from this side. It's conceivable that uh there may be a full-blown event going while the hotel is being um occupied by other users, or there could be both. The idea is is flexibility. So one of the first things that we uh came across, one of our constraints, I'll cover this very quickly because I think we solved it, was the uh the southern side, which is close to the assisted living. If we had a 20-foot uh fire lane here, uh and we're specting the existing property line here, you can see it starts to get very tight up against the um the uh the building. And here's what that kind of looks like in three dimensions. You can see it just gets uh very tight, and it's not a very happy experience for pedestrians or arrival. So uh again, this is what it looks like. So, what we've decided to do here is actually turn this into a single lane, 12-foot uh controlled access, so there would be bollards or a gate so that that we control the the people who or the vehicles that come in here. Uh it's only 12 feet. Uh it would be with decorative pavers so that it it has a nice appeal, and there could be drop-off there for an event, or there could be handicap parking. But again, it's an effort to kind of make this a little more uh amenable to uh to visitors. This is what that would look like in 3D. Here you can see it's a little more generous.

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