=== HEADLINE === Planning Board demands parking flexibility as zoning overhaul advances === SUMMARY === Croton's Planning Board reviewed a sweeping 27-page zoning code cleanup, pushing back on language that restricts their ability to reduce parking requirements and requesting a broader study of the village's outdated parking codes. === EXECUTIVE BRIEF === • Opened public hearing for Temple Israel Northern Westchester portico entry (applicant absent; hearing kept open, continued to next meeting) • Board member recused from Temple Israel application due to membership and involvement in design • Reviewed Local Law 3 zoning code amendments and will send recommendations to Village Board of Trustees • Key recommendations: add "or decrease" to parking requirement flexibility language; seek clarification on Metro North special permit requirements; fix numbering typo on page 12 • Separately requested a comprehensive review of village-wide parking codes for future developments • Reviewed and completed environmental and coastal assessment forms for Local Law 3 === ARTICLE === Nobody showed up to comment on a 27-page overhaul of Croton's zoning code Monday night, but the Planning Board had plenty to say on its own — particularly about parking, chickens, and whether Metro North actually needs the village's permission to build anything. The irony wasn't lost on the room. The public hearing for Temple Israel Northern Westchester's portico entry also drew zero public speakers — largely because the applicant didn't show up either. One board member recused himself, disclosing he's both a member of the temple and involved in the design. The hearing was kept open and pushed to the next meeting. But the main event was Local Law 3, a village-wide cleanup of zoning inconsistencies triggered by last year's shift of special permit authority from the Board of Trustees to the Planning Board. Board member Joshua, who had clearly done his homework, walked through the document line by line and landed hardest on parking. The proposed law gives the Planning Board power to increase parking requirements but not decrease them. Joshua called that handcuffing. "I believe our parking codes are dated," he said, pointing to Maple Commons as an example — a parking lot that sits mostly empty. "Young people are using Zipcars. They're getting by on one car. They're using mass transit. The old adage of two parents, two kids, two cars, I think, is dated." Village attorney Jeff noted that other municipalities sometimes cap parking reductions at 20 percent before requiring a variance. Joshua said he'd take that flexibility — and separately wants the board to launch a full parking code study before several large developments come down the pipeline. On chickens, the board learned that Croton's previous code allowed any resident to keep up to 25 fowl regardless of property size. The new law scales that number to lot size and requires coops be set back 15 feet from property lines — a change Village Building Department staff said will be far easier to enforce. "There's fecal matter associated with chickens, and you probably don't want that right on your property line," Joshua noted dryly. The board also flagged a section referencing Metro North special permits, questioning whether the railroad — which built a large station building years ago without apparent Planning Board involvement — is actually subject to village zoning at all, given state immunity rules. Other changes include allowing larger solar and battery storage systems on RA-60 lots, moving sidewalk dining from special permit status to a simpler resolution process (which has been the practice since 1993 anyway), and requiring four hours of professional training for Zoning Board of Appeals members — something they apparently already did, but was never codified. The board will send its recommendations, including the parking flexibility request, back to the Village Board of Trustees. **What to watch for:** The Temple Israel portico public hearing continues at the next Planning Board meeting. The Village Board will ultimately decide whether to adopt Local Law 3 and any Planning Board recommendations. A separate parking code review, if initiated, would involve additional public hearings.