Dear Neighbors:

June is a special month for many reasons. It’s when we begin our great summer season in earnest. And, of course, many organizations and causes mark June as their month to honor and celebrate their priorities. But here at home this year we can call June “Croton Public Hearings Month” – we have four of them scheduled and hope we’ll hear from everyone who is interested in these topics.
Two hearings will be held on June 6th. The first is on modifications on setting the fees for water service connections, property owners with unmetered private fire hydrants and the installation, regulation and fees for water meters.

Our second hearing that night will focus on the NYStretch Energy Code, which could yield, if adopted, significant energy and utility cost savings for homeowners, tenants, renters and building owners, as well as a reduced impact on our environment.

On June 21 we’ll have two more public hearings. The first would update certain fee provisions including those related to building permits, games of chance, filming in the Village, and sales of goods and merchandise.

Finally, that evening, we’ll also have a hearing on adopting New York State law to update and improve Village tax benefits for firefighters and adding our EMS volunteers to eligibility for those benefits.

Information and background materials for all of these hearings can be found in the agenda for our Board meeting held this past Monday night at https://play.champds.com/crotononhudsonny/event/770. All hearings will be at 7PM in the Georgianna Grant Meeting Room of the Stanley H. Kellerhouse Municipal Building.

Let us know what you think about these issues at the public hearings. On behalf of my Board colleagues and our Village staff, we look forward to seeing and hearing from you!

Len Simon, Trustee
Village of Croton-on-Hudson

Dear neighbor, Here is the 582nd installment of Decoding Village Agendas to keep Croton residents informed of the actions of the Village Board at their meetings.  I continue to add recipients to this email update on agendas so you may be receiving it for the first time. I enjoy getting your feedback and hope to continue to hear from you.  If you do not wish to receive these periodic email updates from me, please reply to this email and your name will be removed from the email list.

Ann Gallelli

Decoding Village Agendas – May  3,  2022

Work Session of the Village Board

7:00 pm

Georgianna Grant Room

Municipal Building

Note:  This meeting is on TUESDAY.

1.      Presentation of Affordable Housing Task Force Report.    The Task Force Committee was formed in January 2020.  This comprehensive report examines current status and zoning and makes recommendations for moving forward to achieve the goals defined in the 2003 Comprehensive Plan and its 2017 Update.  The complete plan is available from the Village Website from the Agenda of this meeting.

2.      LWRP Consistency Review and EAF Part II Review for Local Law Introductory 5 of 2022.  The Board will review the SEQRA forms and the LWRP Consistency forms to make a determination of compliance and consistency regarding the proposed amendment to our Zoning Code defining the permissible locations for cannabis shops in the Village.

3.      Discussion on the implementation of the NYStretch Energy Code for the Village of Croton-on-Hudson.  Adoption of NYSERDA’s  STRETCH Energy Code is voluntary for municipalities.  It requires stricter energy standards for any new construction. Among it’s benefits are “significant energy and utility cost savings for homeowners, tenants, renters and building owners; reduced building operational costs; reduced environmental impact; increased occupant comfort and health; and increased real estate value and community attractiveness.”  The Village’s Sustainability Committee is endorsing this code.

4.      Discussion on revising the Volunteer Firefighter/EMS Tax Exemption.  Manager Healy encourages the adoption of a NYS property tax exemption for EMS personnel.  Since 1980 Fire Department personnel have received a local exemption of $500 but not the EMS personnel. Adoption of the NYS exemption would include EMS personnel.  “The State’s exemption is based off a percentage of the assessed valuation of the property rather than a fixed amount. Based on a calculation of the current exemptions on the Village rolls, the amount of exempt property would roughly double (from 21,000 currently to 40,283).”

5.      Discussion on possible changes to the mailing requirements for public hearings.  This would require an applicant to assume the costs of Public Notice for permit applications.  Manager Healy is recommending this change due to the rise of postage costs, the number of notices required to be sent by the Village (as many as 50 per application), and the number of Public Hearings on special permits held each year (approximately 50).   The Building Dept. would pass the cost on to the applicant. Another alternative implemented by some County municipalities, require the Applicant to do the work and provide a notarized Affadavit of Mailing to the Village.

6.      Review of options for distribution of Archeological Mitigation Funds.   In its amended Special Permit Approval for Hudson National Golf Course in April 1999, HNGC provided a Trust fund of $10,000 to be dispersed by the Village as mitigation for “potential impacts” at the Prickly Pear Quarry site, near the Prickly Pear Hill Dam.  The money has never been utilized.  The Special Permit restricts it to the Historical Society, the Croton Free Library, the School District and/or the local chapter of the NYS Archeological Association.