New Castle Approves Watershed Protection District; Gets Key Revisions
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New Castle approved legislation to accept regulations for the Indian Brook Croton Gorge Watershed Protection Overlay District that impacts areas of the town’s West End after it received assurances it wouldn’t cause hardship for residents.
The town became the last of the five municipalities to approve the action last Tuesday, following the Town of Cortlandt earlier this year and the Village of Croton-on-Hudson and the town and village of Ossining over the summer to take steps to further protect Ossining’s primary drinking water source. The water also serves as a backup supply for New Castle.
Westchester County had obtained a grant from the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) so communities that fall into the same watershed develop and follow consistent goals. The steps taken were derived from a conservation action plan that was released by the state more than 15 years ago.
“Everyone understands the importance of drinking water and that’s what we’re trying to do here,” said New Castle Supervisor Victoria Tipp.
Tipp said that many of the regulations that are part of the plan have already been in place in New Castle. During the hearings, the town’s West End residents stressed that the town and property owners have always taken their environmental responsibilities seriously and shouldn’t be saddled with onerous restrictions.
Town officials reached out to the DEC to propose revisions to the language of the law, which the agency did not oppose. The request for the changes stemmed from comments made by residents in three separate public hearing sessions in the spring and summer. There are 102 properties affected in New Castle, the most of any of the five municipalities.
Some of the key revisions proposed by New Castle and accepted by the DEC was allowing for an owner to commence work to maintain an existing structure that is within 150 feet of wetlands, watercourses or waterbodies; allowing the removal of invasive or non-native species in the wetlands buffer; and for a property owner to use salt to de-ice their driveway in the winter.
“This is really something the community felt strongly about,” the town’s Director of Planning Sabrina Charney Hull said about being able to use salt on one’s property. She said it can be used to maintain safety.
Another important change was restoring the East of Hudson watershed requirement of septic systems needing to be pumped at least once every five years, she said. The overlay district sought to reduce the mandatory time between septic system service to once every three years.
Tipp said there was concern raised in the community about whether a property owner can subdivide their property. The best course of action, according to Hull, would be for the owner to speak to land use professionals to learn what they can and can’t do on a particular parcel, such as adding another well or septic system.
“So, in no way does this legislation prohibit anybody from looking at their property for a subdivision,” Hull said. “It is very consistent with our existing code. We do not have prohibitive codes; we have permissive codes, which means you can do things, but you may have to do other things to do what you want to do, particularly when it comes to environmental protection.”
While the five municipalities are in close proximity to each other, New Castle has the largest amount of land within the overlay district and the largest zoning, she added.
Town Board members complimented the public for offering valuable comments and insight that allowed the town to make improvements to the legislation that were accepted by the state.
“I know when we started residents were really upset, but we were patient and we took to heart all the comments we were receiving,” Councilwoman Ally Chemtob said. “We did a lot of work. I really appreciate it and I’m glad we were really able to edit this and take into account some of the feedback that we were hearing.”
Tipp added that is why public hearings are valuable and why it’s critical for the public to participate and the board to listen to feedback.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
