Enclave HOA seeks site-plan change to add smaller native trees after border plantings overgrow

The Enclave homeowners association in Rye Brook asked the Planning Board during a sketch plan conference to amend its approved site plan to allow homeowners and the HOA to replace overgrown screening trees with smaller native species listed in a new planting plan.

The proposal, presented by Tommy Ciminello, a resident of 26 Carroll Court, and Lee Freund, treasurer and board member of the Enclave at Rye Brook HOA, would not remove screening requirements but would add an approved palette of alternate species and a master planting plan so replacements meet the original screening intent while avoiding repeat overgrowth. "Everything is dying prematurely," Ciminello said, describing rows of evergreens planted too close together on HOA property that, he said, are encroaching on homes.

Why it matters: Board members and staff said the problem affects homeowner safety and sightlines and that permitting only the same large species would likely produce similar issues in a decade. Planning staff members said they favor adding native species options but stressed the need for a planting plan that preserves upper-, mid- and lower-story screening rather than allowing homeowners to pick only low shrubs.

HOA presentation and reasons for the change Lee Freund, who said he lives at 6 David Lane and serves as the HOA treasurer, showed photos of…