Neighbors Prevail at Greacen Point Appeal Hearing

by Meg Yergin -

The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) announced it reached a consensus in support of the neighbors’ appeal of the building permit issued for 1011 Greacen Point Road at its January 8, 2025 meeting.

ZBA Cites Multiple Changes to Plans

ZBA Chair David Neufeld explained that the key to the ZBA’s findings is that the December 2024 building permit was issued for a prior set of plans.  The property owner has since revised those plans multiple times, both at the Planning Board (PB) during site plan review and several more times during the review of the appeal before the ZBA.  As the building permit is not based on the project’s current set of plans, it is vacated, Neufeld said.

The ZBA also considered whether the 8.92% Floor Area Ratio (FAR) variance it approved for the project on April 4, 2024 is still valid.  Neufeld said that the “FAR variance was very explicitly tied to plans and conditions that haven’t been met.”  He pointed out that the variance resolution requires that the home be constructed following the plans dated February 15, 2024 as prepared by Cardello Architects with no changes other than insubstantial changes during construction.  “The April 24 variance is not in effect because the plans have changed,” Neufeld stated.

ZBA Member Robin Kramer also pointed out that the April 2024 variance resolution states that the variance is null and void if a building permit was not obtained within 12 months or construction was not completed within 18 months.  The property owner did not request an extension for the variance from the ZBA ahead of the project missing those deadlines.  See HERE.

Decision Made Without Prejudice

Neufeld pointed out that the ZBA’s decision regarding the appeal was made “without prejudice” regarding the revisions made to the plans as well as any future variance requests the property owner may request.  This means that the fact that the Board determined that the 2024 FAR variance and the original building permit are no longer valid will have no bearing on the ZBA’s consideration of any future variance requests for the project. 

Neufeld described the project as “a work in progress” and recommended that the property owner finalize the project’s plans and then submit a new application to the ZBA for any variances that might be needed.  The Building Inspector must first provide a Letter of Determination for any new plans for the property owner to request area variances from the ZBA.

A Narrow Ruling

Neufeld noted that both the appellants and the property owners had discussed many other issues with the project during the appeal in addition to FAR.  These included structures in the side yards, the height of the building and the number of stories.  However, since the ZBA does not know what the final plans are, it would be speculative for the ZBA to rule on these items, Neufeld said.  Neufeld mentioned several times, though, that both the Code and ZBA precedent require that side yards are to be kept clear and unobstructed.

Next Steps

At the meeting, the ZBA did not take a formal vote but discussed the process for formulating the resolution to capture the consensus that was voiced.  Neufeld explained that the ZBA wants to ensure that the resolution provides a clear record of the ZBA’s decision and does not cause harm to either the appellant or the property owner.

The ZBA is required to rule on appeals within 62 days after closing the public hearing.  However, both the appellant and the property owner stated that they would not oppose the ZBA taking an extra day to formalize its vote at the next regularly scheduled ZBA meeting on February 5, 2026.

The property owner employed a stenographer to take notes at each of the appeal hearings which might indicate preparation for future litigation.  At the January 8, 2025 meeting, the property owner and his attorney Leo Napior were seen engaging with the appellants and their attorney, Robert Gaudioso.

Impact on Amended Site Plan Review

The Planning Board had paused its amended site plan review of the project as it waited for the outcome of the ZBA’s ruling on the neighbors’ appeal.  It is unclear what the ZBA’s decision will have on the course of that review. 

Projects go to the PB for site plan review only after a building permit application has been submitted and the BI determines that a site plan review is required in a Zoning Letter of Determination.  If the property owner must now submit a new building permit application because the original one has been vacated, it would seem this would kick off a new site plan review in addition to possible area variance requests to the ZBA.

Authority of the ZBA

The ZBA’s appeal authority is provided by NYS Village Law Section 7-712-B.  This law states that: 

“The board of appeals may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination appealed from and shall make such order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination as in its opinion ought to have been made in the matter by the administrative official charged with the enforcement of such local law and to that end shall have all the powers of the administrative official from whose order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination the appeal is taken.”

If any party wants to challenge the ZBA’s decision they would have to file a lawsuit in court.