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The approval, which was unanimous, creates a new overlay zone to allow for the homes. The board also approved an amendment to zoning text governing golf courses, which Brynwood is already covered by, to allow for-profit ownership and new amenities.
The board also voted to end the proposal's environmental review and to amend the town’s comprehensive plan to enable the project
A vote on mapping the new zone still needs to be held in order for it to specifically apply to the Brynwood site. The board voted on Wednesday to set a public hearing on the mapping for June 24.
In addition, project will require a special permit, which is also subject to Town Board approval, along with a site plain that would be granted by the Planning Board following its own review process. Town Attorney Roland Baroni explained that both processes could be handled concurrently.
The owner, Brynwood Partners LLC, purchased the site more than five years ago. Its attorney, Mark Weingarten, has argued in the past that the homes are necessary in order to finance updating the club, which he said has been losing money.
The club, which is on a roughly 156-acre site, is located off of Route 22, near Coman Hill Elementary School and Byram Hills High School. The project also calls for a new clubhouse and revamped golf course designed by Rees Jones.
Edward Baquero, who is president of Brynwood Partners investor Corigin Real Estate Group, was satisfied with the outcome, saying “we’re very pleased” before thanking the board and community.
North Castle Supervisor Michael Schiliro noted the work that various sides of the process did.
“It’s a testament to the work of the board and the work of the citizens in the community that care enough to put their time in, get educated on the application and the commitment by the applicant to listen to the community and make modifications to the application.”
Brynwood Partners first sought to build homes in 2011 when it unveiled a 243-unit proposal. Over the following years, the plan was revised with multiple unit reductions; the 73-unit iteration was only recently announced.
The project has been met with controversy, as neighbors have expressed worry about unit count and traffic impact. Other residents have voiced support for the project, arguing that it will help bring in revenue, jobs and additional amenities.
Recently, a changed in the homes’ taxation structure was made so that they will be under what is called fee-simple status. This means that the units, which will be attached, will be taxed as if they were single-family homes. Previous iterations called for taxing most of the homes as if they were condominiums, which caused some concern locally because the status can lead to less tax revenue being paid out.
Brynwood Partners also proposes having the open golf-course space placed under a conservation easement, which means that the land could either only be used for its current purpose or for just open space. Recently, the town has been in talks with Westchester Land Trust to see if the open-space preservation group would be interested in joining the easement as a third party.
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