Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Airmont moves closer to zoning code update, lifting building moratorium
Village officials are nearly ready to pull the trigger on approving an updated zoning code and lifting a thrice-extended building moratorium that some Hasidic Jewish residents find restrictive to their plans to expand their homes.
The final step in the process that began in October 2016 starts Tuesday night with a public hearing on the proposed zoning code changes before a subcommittee of the Comprehensive Master Plan Review Committee.
"We are in the home stretch," Mayor Philip Gigante said in an announcement to residents. "The comprehensive plan is complete and ready for adoption. The only thing left is amending and adoption of the zoning laws."
The updated zoning code being offered seems to offer more restrictions on the use of residential homes as houses of worship concerning the size of the dwellings, parking and other issues concerning gatherings in homes.
The mayor estimates the updated zoning code and lifting of the moratorium will be completed possibly on August 20 after the proposed changes are reviewed and the public can comment.
The Board of Trustees extended the moratorium for another three months into September for the third time on June 4.
A copy of the proposed zoning changes is available on the Airmont village website. Residents can send comments on the proposed update until noon June 13. The zoning committee will consider the comments for changes or inclusion into the proposals on June 14.
The next phase comes June 18 with a Board of Trustees public hearing to adopt the new comprehensive plan.
Village officials will then review the zoning proposal and send it to the Rockland County Planning Board for comments. Gigante said the village expects the non-binding county agency to act within 30 days, with the village committee discussing any county recommendations during the week of July 23.
"We will then schedule the public hearing to adopt the zoning changes," Gigante said. "We may schedule a special meeting earlier to adopt, but our goal is to have the hearing on August 20 to adopt the changes and lift the moratorium."
The end of the moratorium can't come too soon for many of Airmont's residents, including Hasidic Jewish homeowners.
The village's previous zoning code had been approved in 2011, after a second round of federal litigation against the village concerning allegations of discrimination against Orthodox Jewish residents by denying dormitory housing. The village formed in 1991 and faced two initial lawsuits by Orthodox Jewish congregations and federal prosecutors.
The moratorium includes a hotly contested requirement that families who want home-improvement projects greater than 500 square feet obtain a permit.
Members of the village's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community criticized the restriction and the moratorium as targeting them by preventing them from making kitchen, living and other improvements to their homes, which are needed to accommodate their larger families and religious practices.
Some religious community members claim the village official and inspectors target them with strict zoning enforcement and laws on street parking, parades, house gatherings for religious purposes, and construction.
Yehuda Zorger called the village enforcement one-sided against Hasidic Jewish residents. He and others have strongly opposed the moratorium and village enforcement at board meetings.
"They promised this moratorium would not be extended more than once," he said.
Zorger said Gigante promised to consider extending the 500-square-foot limit on construction without a permit to 1,000 square feet to accommodate residents.
"The mayor never put the proposal up for a vote," he said.
Orthodox and Hasidic Jews have bought properties in Airmont for several years, as well as Chestnut Ridge to avoid the high density housing in Monsey and New York City, including Brooklyn.
Even before the updated version, Rabbi Moishe Berger is claiming the village is violating his rights by requiring village permission to use his house for prayer sessions.
His synagogue on Rustic Drive faces violations for operating without permits, including a certificate of occupancy.
The Texas-based First Liberty Institute is representing the rabbi and has accused the village of discrimination, opening the door for another federal lawsuit.
"We are currently investigating a number of potentially illegal practices of the village," First Liberty general counsel Hiram Sasser said in a statement.
"Unfortunately, it appears that Airmont may have returned to its old ways of discrimination against the Orthodox Jewish community after the expiration of the consent decree entered against it as a result of the most recent Department of Justice litigation," Sasser said.
Gigante and the village attorney declined to response. Officials usually don't respond to legal threats but Gigante has said the village treats all residents the same.
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