=== HEADLINE === ZBA pushes back on vague alternate member proposal === SUMMARY === Croton's Zoning Board of Appeals reviewed a draft law adding alternate members but raised concerns about unclear rules, while one resident called the idea "subversive." The board also voted to move meetings to the third Tuesday starting in December. === EXECUTIVE BRIEF === • Approved August 26, 2025 meeting minutes • Approved September 30, 2025 meeting minutes (with minor edits) • Agreed to shift regular meetings from the fourth Tuesday to the third Tuesday of each month, effective December 2025 • Directed staff to send a memo to the Board of Trustees requesting clarification on the role, participation rules, and impetus behind proposed Local Law Intro 14 of 2025 (alternate members for ZBA and Planning Board), without taking a formal position for or against the law === ARTICLE === {{photo:1101:379:Zoning Board of Appeals meeting}} Ed Riley of Truesdale Drive showed up to a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting with no applications on the agenda and delivered the most pointed public comment of the night — calling a proposed alternate member system "subversive" and "an attempt to pack the zoning board." {{quote:382}} "This is really a fifth wheel on a car," Riley told the board. "It may be the hot thing to do in some other towns, which is basically meant to dilute the vote or to undermine their zoning." {{quote:519}} The irony? Riley was the only member of the public in the room for a meeting that otherwise consisted entirely of administrative housekeeping. The proposal in question, Local Law Introductory Number 14 of 2025, comes from the Board of Trustees and would add an alternate member to both the ZBA and Planning Board. But the board itself couldn't figure out exactly what the alternate would actually do. "Is the board member expected to review all the materials, like a picture in the bullpen warming up?" asked one board member. "Because Jim will call in sick at the last second." {{quote:110}} The confusion centered on whether an alternate would sit at the dais every meeting, participate in deliberations without voting, or simply stay in the audience — or on the livestream — until needed as a fifth vote. The village engineer pushed back on Riley's claim that the alternate would be a full participant, but the chair cut off any back-and-forth. Board members also questioned the one-year term for alternates, noting the learning curve for zoning cases. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," said one member. "When you start talking the details and how it's gonna work, it gets really kinda complicated and really kinda messy." {{quote:743}} The board settled on sending a memo to the trustees requesting clarification on the alternate's role, what problem the law is trying to solve, and what pros and cons were originally discussed — without taking a position for or against the idea itself. On a lighter note, the board quickly agreed to move its regular meetings from the fourth Tuesday to the third Tuesday of each month, starting in December, to avoid scheduling conflicts. The next meeting falls on November 18 — the Tuesday before Thanksgiving — which the board decided to keep as scheduled. **What to watch for:** The Board of Trustees will ultimately decide whether to adopt the alternate member law. The ZBA's next meeting is Tuesday, November 18 at 7:30 p.m. Starting in December, meetings shift permanently to the third Tuesday of the month.