The Mamaroneck, N.Y., club is claiming the Board of Trustees violated its rights as a landowner by refusing to consider a zoning change that would allow proposals for condo units on the golf course.
After two failed attempts to get the Mamaroneck Village Board of Trustees to consider a zoning change that would allow the Hampshire Country Club owners to build either 121 or 97 condominiums on a portion of its 116-acre property in Mamaroneck, N.Y., club owners have gone the legal route, the Lower Hudson Valley (N.Y.) Journal News reported.
Hampshire Country Club filed paperwork in state Supreme Court on August 13, claiming the village violated its rights as a landowner by refusing to consider a zoning change that would allow either of two proposals for condominium units on the longtime golf course, the Journal News reported.
The club is suing for $55 million and contending as well that the village has violated the New York State Open Meetings Law by discussing the project in executive session and has disregarded its own Comprehensive Plan that supports the growth in housing, the Journal News reported.
“This would preserve 100 acres of open space in perpetuity for the village. It’s the largest privately held tract of land in the village,” Hampshire’s Tom Nappi said.
The village says it has acted in the best interests of village residents and has not seen the newly filed lawsuit so cannot comment in detail, the Journal News reported.
“People have a right under the existing code to propose projects—and they can proceed or not proceed. They have options to go before a different land-use board. The Board of Trustees chose not to act on new zoning,” said Village Mayor Norman Rosenblum. “The village board is not required to rezone.”
The village, he added, would respond to the lawsuit once it is received and its attorneys have reviewed it, the Journal News reported.
The club proposed building 121 high-end condominiums, then finally 97 units on its property. The board unanimously voted not to consider changing the zoning to allow for this development of either size. The club has said it could pursue a tact to build 128 single-family homes on the entire site and remove the golf course but no plans for this option that would conform to local zoning have been submitted to the village, the Journal News reported.
The two condominium plans would involve a small portion of the club’s property, adding a residential component to the already existing clubhouse, and preserve over 100 acres of open space by giving up the remaining development rights. The golf club would remain and under agreements with schools still allow teams from Mamaroneck, Rye Brook and New Rochelle to use the course, the Journal News reported.
“Hampshire has been a treasured part of Westchester’s beautiful Sound Shore for generations,” Nappi said. “The preservation of Hampshire, including its nearly 100 acres of open space, has always been at the forefront of our plans. We have submitted not one, but two redevelopment proposals to the Village. These plans would have ensured the long-term viability of the club, included state-of-the-art flood mitigation systems, and generated significant new tax streams for the Village and schools.”
The club pays roughly $300,000 a year in property taxes and Nappi estimated that built townhouses could increase that amount by at least three-fold, the Journal News reported.
A group of longtime residents have rallied against the Hampshire development proposals saying these are too dense for the property, which is below sea level and often flooded. The environmental disturbance would be a significant impact for the village and nearby properties, they have said in written statements and at public forums on the plans, the Journal News reported.
“Unfortunately, the Village Board has allowed itself to be improperly influenced by a small group of club neighbors, who have threatened a protracted and expensive lawsuit if the Board even considered our plans. The Board has held numerous illegal closed-door meetings, which provide no transparency, and don’t allow the public access to what goes into making decisions that affect people in the community. That’s why we filed the lawsuit,” Nappi added.
Parties are due in court in White Plains on October 10, the Journal News reported.
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