Code Violation Increases Proposed
by Kathy Savolt -
At the October 26, 2026 meeting of the Board of Trustees (BOT), the four members present (Trustee Ellen Silver was absent) voted unanimously to schedule a Public Hearing on a local law to increase fines for various code violations.
Proposed Local Law T-2026 (see HERE) covers all matters of code violations including garbage and rubbish, property maintenance, motels, laundries, and excavations to name a few. The complete list is in Section C (2).
The proposed fine schedule allows fines of up to $500/day and/or imprisonment for up to one year, or both, for the first conviction. For the second conviction, the maximum monetary fine cap increases to $750/day and for the third or more, the cap is $1,000/day. It is customary to present penalties in this manner to give judges leeway during court proceedings.
Quality of Life Issues
The purpose of these changes is to change behavior, address the rat problem and increase quality of life for residents. It is just one more step in addressing these issues. Relatedly, in September 2025, the BOT revised the code to require trash to be placed in covered receptacles (see previous article HERE).
However, not everyone is complying with this change. At the end of this meeting, resident Josh Lanza informed the BOT that he had recently become aware that some landlords in Washingtonville were avoiding this new requirement by instructing their tenants to put their trash in back of the building and not on the street, presumably to avoid the cost of providing a secure bin.
The Public Hearing is scheduled for the November 9th Legislative Session. The purpose of the hearing is to allow the public to weigh in on the proposed changes.
