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 the boundary between the Enclave and the adjacent club and described trees planted under the original site plan that have since overgrown, died or been planted too closely. He said the golf club planted roughly 36 new trees along its border within the last three years, changing conditions since the original site plan approval, and that several original spruces and white pines were spaced about eight feet apart.

"A white pine will grow 60 feet wide. Blue spruce will grow 40 to 60 feet wide," a resident said while explaining why replacements should be chosen for long-term fit. The HOA proposal would let the HOA or a homeowner replace dying or hazardous trees with species that mature at smaller widths and heights; recent replacement plantings shown to the board were said to reach about 30 feet and grow in narrower, columnar forms.

Staff guidance, board concerns and process
Planning staff (identified in the meeting as Sarah and Michael) told the group they had reviewed the HOA’s proposed species list and that the listed options were native species. Sarah noted the key regulatory point: to maintain the screening intent, approvals should require a planting plan specifying upper-, mid- and lower-story plants so a homeowner cannot meet the species list by planting only low shrubs.

The Planning Board chair and members stressed the practical enforcement issue: once the board approves a modified site plan that includes a definitive planting palette and spacing, that plan becomes the standard and does not expire under current code. That means replacement plantings done now or later would need to follow the approved plan rather than allowing unregulated choices by individual homeowners.

On whether the amount of screening itself could be reduced, board members said a substantive reduction would likely be a material change to the original site plan and would require trustee-level approval and, potentially, agreement with the adjacent golf club because the original approvals had been negotiated with the club. "If you want to decrease the amount of screening, which would be a material change in the original site plan, then you’re off on a different track," a board member said.

Costs and responsibility
Board members and HOA representatives said responsibility for cost depends on the work: the HOA typically covers removal or replacement for trees that are dying or at risk; if an individual homeowner requests a cosmetic or discretionary replacement, that could fall to the homeowner. The board emphasized that property owners still must obtain required tree or planting permits before removing healthy trees.

Next steps
Planning staff told the HOA to submit a formal landscaping/site-plan modification with species lists, spacing and a planting plan. The board indicated the submission will be reviewed by village planning staff, will become the enforceable standard once approved, and will require a formal application and a public hearing before final action. "Get your site plan in, have whatever conversations you have needed to have internally, go back to Sarah and Michael, come to an accord as to what the site plan will look like, and we’re ready to entertain it whenever you guys are," a board member said.

The discussion combined concerns about safety and aesthetics with procedural constraints: the board signaled willingness to approve a clear, vetted planting palette and spacing to prevent future overplanting, but said reducing the screening obligation from the original approval would be a separate, more complex process involving trustees and possibly the club.

Ending
The Enclave HOA will submit a formal modification to the approved site plan that includes a master planting plan and an approved species list; planning staff will review the application and schedule the required public hearing. The Planning Board said it expects to approve a carefully defined planting standard that village staff and the HOA can enforce so future replacements do not recreate the current overgrowth and mortality issues.