“The village has agreed to review a Hasidic Jewish school’s expansion plans, after settling a federal civil rights lawsuit which claimed the village discriminated against and blocked the project.

Under the agreement reached in U.S. District Court, Central United Talmudical Academy of Monsey gets a promise that its updated expansion plans will be reviewed in a timely manner by the village land-use boards, while the village gets the school’s promise to follow village procedures.

Airmont also is relieved of a legal burden. The village still faces a federal lawsuit from a coalition of the congregations and civil action by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan. The village previously lost two cases involving discriminatory zoning blocking residential houses of worship and dormitory housing involving Hasidic and Orthodox Jews since the village’s 1991 incorporation. [Read more…]

The Rockland County Times
by Joel Grossbarth

“The newly elected mayor and trustees in Airmont had a tough first day in office following their close March 19 victory over the write-in campaign led by former mayor Phil Gigante.

The newly elected Mayor Nathan Bubel took the oath of office at noon and then presided over his first Board of Trustees meeting hours later. However, few could have foreseen what was coming. [Read more…]

June 12, 2018 “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. [Read more…]

“The Board of Trustees has extended the village’s building moratorium for another three months to allow a committee to finish its review of zoning regulations governing development, businesses and houses of worship.

The five-member board left the door open for extending the moratorium for an additional three months in June if needed by the Comprehensive Plan Update Committee. [Read more…]

“Mayor Philip Gigante has raised the possibility of lifting a restriction on minor home improvements, even as the Board of Trustees considers extending the community’s building moratorium.

The mayor floated the idea of removing the requirement that home-improvement projects greater than 500-square feet obtain a permit. He made the suggestion during a public hearing Tuesday on the moratorium, which drew dozens of residents to Village Hall on Cherry Lane.

More complex projects would continue to require review and permitting by the planning and zoning boards. [Read more…]

Airmont Board meets at the RCC Fieldhouse (Photo: Michael D’Onofrio/The Journal News)

“All building has been temporarily banned in the village, but the moratorium may have come too late to impact some developers.

The Village Board voted 3-2 to suspend all residential and non-residential subdivisions and developments for six months. The ban will allow officials time to update its comprehensive plan and make revisions to its planning and zoning regulations in order to curb overdevelopment and preserve the status-quo of the village’s character.

But there are a number of exemptions to the moratorium, which include applications that have been approved by the village and those currently seeking approval.

Mayor Philip  Gigante said the the village’s Planning and Zoning boards supported the moratorium, and there were too many contradictions in the current codes. [Read more…]