No. Castle Planning Board Chairman Greene Resigns Abruptly
North Castle Planning Board Chairman Robert Greene has resigned from his seat effective immediately, town officials confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
Greene, appointed to a five-year term at the start of 2012, notified Supervisor Howard Arden over the weekend that he intended to leave the board.
A phone message left for Greene at his Armonk residence wasn’t returned on Tuesday.
Arden said he was “very surprised” at Greene’s sudden resignation, calling it a personal decision.
“Bob’s background was unmatched and it was great,” Arden said referring to his work in the construction and real estate industries. “He was such a great asset. I’m very sad about it.”
While there are unanswered questions regarding the turn of events, Arden said the controversial Brynwood Golf & Country Club application was at the center of Greene’s decision. Greene, a resident of Windmill Farms, home to some of the strongest critics of the Brynwood plan to build 88 luxury condominiums and redesign the clubhouse and golf course, felt strongly that the town should have voted against launching the state Environmental Quality Review Act process at its Sept. 27 meeting, Arden said.
The supervisor said Greene let him know how much he objected to the board’s 3-2 vote to begin SEQRA. Over the weekend, Arden said he asked Greene to recuse himself from the Brynwood discuss but stay on the board.
Planning Board Vice Chairman Arthur Adelman will be the next chairman of the board, Arden revealed. The town board is also expected to appoint a new member to the planning board as soon as possible to restore it to five members as several difficult applications loom, including the eventual site plan approval vote on CVS, consideration of Mariani Gardens to host parties and the review of the Brynwood application.
Finding a new board member who’s qualified to serve shouldn’t be a problem, Arden said.
“That’s not a problem in North Castle because we have a really deep talent pool to choose from,” he said.
While Greene was highly respected for his knowledge of construction and real estate, he also ran into controversies during his nine months on the board. The most glaring surrounded the CVS application. Last month he was accused by members of Concerned Citizens of Armonk, a group that has gone to court to stop the chain pharmacy from opening in Armonk, of a conflict of interest after an anonymous survey regarding CVS was released this summer and was traced back to his address in Florida. The episode occurred shortly after the planning board issued a negative declaration in late July paving the way for the town board to grant CVS a special use permit two nights later.
At about the same time Greene’s wife, Cassandra, sent out an town-wide email urging residents to write letters to officials in support of the store.
Town board members reached on Tuesday were surprised at Greene’s decision. Councilwoman Diane DiDonato-Roth said Greene was conflicted with the Brynwood application because he held such a strong opinion against the project but also didn’t want to recuse himself on such an important application.
Councilman Stephen D’Angelo said Greene was a much more proactive chairman than usual but there was little question of his knowledge of the issues.
“I thought he had been doing a good job and while I can’t say everything was running smoothly because in North Castle things doesn’t always run smoothly, he was doing well,” D’Angelo said.
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/
