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General News: Zoning Dispute in the Village Square
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| Ray Yannone read his letter to the board of trustees Tuesday evening. |
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| Planning board chair Mary Aspin. |
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| Zoning board chair Horst Hoffmann and member Peter Osinski study the zoning map. |
January 23, 2008
Local businessman Ray Yannone has been busy this month attending planning board, zoning board and trustee meetings, asking what can be done about his neighbor, the River Bank Restaurant. Yannone is concerned because, he says, both the restaurant and a planned expansion are outside the village’s central business zone.
On Tuesday evening he appeared in front of the village of Cornwall-on-Hudson board of trustees, which had just received a letter from the planning board asking it to review the boundaries of the business zone. None of the trustees had been briefed on the issues at stakes and no determination was made.
Yannone, however, presented a five-page letter to the mayor, charging that the village has a business that is operating in violation of current zoning laws and no action has been taken to correct the situation since he first raised it two months ago. On January 14, the zoning board had discussed the issue, then referred it to the planning board, which then turned to the village board for action.
The whole issue of the River Bank Restaurant’s location surfaced late last year when Tony Missere, the restaurant’s owner, applied to expand his eatery into an adjoining building at 9 River Avenue. Missere had a letter from former village code enforcer Bob Gilmore stating that the adjoining building was in the central business zone, even if the zoning map showed it to be outside the line. Gilmore based his decision on the building’s distance from the center of Hudson Street.
A close examination of the zoning map ensued and it showed the original restaurant to be outside the business district. It is unclear how the restaurant received a Certificate of Occupancy based on the zoning map.
All of these questions are bugging Yannone, whose Storm King Theatre building sits next door to the restaurant. He wants to know why a local surveyor moved the zoning line on a map that Missere submitted with his application to the planning board. And he wants to know what the village is going to do about it.
Yannone asked the board not to decide on the zoning question until all the facts are brought out. “Take a clear look,” he told the board, “enforce the laws that are here. It should be a level playing field for all involved.”
Missere, who appeared in front of the planning and zoning boards last week, said through his lawyer Michael O’Connor, that he had followed the correct procedures when planning his expansion into 9 River Avenue. “We wanted a clarification,” O’Connor told the planning board. “We relied on the code enforcer’s determination and you can’t go back and change it.”
After listening to the presentation by Ray Yannone, mayor Joseph Gross said that they would review the files and find out what happened. Trustee Pete Miller’s response was sharper, suggesting that some laws may have been broken. “If your allegations and suspicions are correct, “ he said, “it appears there may be criminal activity.”
Download a copy of the Cornwall-on-Hudson official zoning map here.
Comments:
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The residents of Cornwall on Hudson are watching carefully how this issue plays out. There are laws and codes in place that ALL residents must abide; the arrogance of giving away public property (parking spaces), moving lines on surveys and the ole homeboy do as you please mentality is appalling. To add insult to injury, Mr. Gilmore who is at the heart of the matter now wants a trustee seat. . . We are counting on Mayor Gross and his team to do the right thing.
posted by cpcreative on 01/24/08 at 8:52 AM
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This is another exampel og Bob Gilmor's behind closed doors deales He has messed up the village and should be stopped
posted by billandmarge on 01/24/08 at 11:15 AM
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The 'Code Enforcer' did his job and approved the land use. I don't think he did so wrong - this was a bank before, right? Most banks I know of are a business.
I feel this is more about parking space and restaurant competition than about zoning and some making statements should feel their conflict of interest.
posted by w2eny on 01/24/08 at 12:54 PM
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It is to my understanding that Mr. Yannone has only had personal involvement in one of the businesses that occupied his building and that was a long time ago. This is an issue about parking, of course. That is what brought the current zoning issue into light along with the parking issue as well. This is not a competitive conflict.
posted by ey on 01/25/08 at 8:58 AM
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This goes back to the Molton administration and the we can do whatever we want attitude of the "king and his court jesters. The king (Molton) has been dethroned and now it is time for jesters Hahn and Gilmore to exit. I agree with Trustee Miller that there is the suspicion of criminal activity in all this. I hope this is actively looked into.
posted by j. cornish on 01/25/08 at 3:27 PM
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As I recall, just before Mr. Moulton left office he called an emergency meeting - which ended up being about approvals for the River Bank of one sort or another. This mess is a perfect example of how Moulton and his supporters took liberties with the laws and with the trust of the citizens of Cornwall. If there was criminal activity, it will be hard to prosecute - Moulton had a dedicated legal servant covering his arse.
posted by cpmomcat on 01/29/08 at 9:39 PM
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