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Rye Brook Zoning Board delays ruling on 300 South Ridge parking variance, asks for engineering review
Summary
At its June 3 meeting the Rye Brook Zoning Board of Appeals postponed a decision on an application to legalize off-street parking at 300 South Ridge Street and to reduce impervious cover, citing unresolved stormwater concerns and directing an engineer review before returning the item to the board.
The Rye Brook Zoning Board of Appeals on June 3 postponed consideration of application ZBA25-010, filed by John Capistrano and Maricar Capistrano, to legalize a front-yard parking area at 300 South Ridge Street and to remove 1,445 square feet of impervious surface.
The board said it would not act until the applicant submits a drainage plan and the village engineer reviews it; the hearing was scheduled to return to a future meeting, with the board identifying the first Tuesday in August as the target date if the materials are ready.
The matter matters because the property exceeds the village’s allowable impervious coverage and neighbors told the board the driveway and lack of drainage are damaging a retaining wall and causing flooding to townhomes below. Building Inspector Steve Hughes told the board the parcel’s existing total impervious coverage is 5,883 square feet, while the code allowance for the lot is 3,393 square feet. The applicants proposed removing 1,445 square feet of asphalt, which the application projects would reduce total impervious coverage to about 4,438 square feet — still above the allowed amount.
At the hearing the applicants, who own a two-family house on a corner lot, said they want to remove the asphalt area closest to the house facing South Ridge Street and keep two driveways on Wyman Street because the Wyman access is flatter and closer to the house. Applicant John Capistrano said the Wyman parking is safer for family members and added, “This would be the only driveway that will be wheelchair accessible for me,” explaining accessibility concerns tied to his health.
Resident Daniel Tartaglia, who lives in the Brookridge townhouse development below the property, urged the board to prioritize drainage, saying, “the driveway and the fact that there’s no drainage at all, and it’s all macadamized right up to the retaining wall, is causing damage to the wall and is causing flooding to the properties below.” Tartaglia and other speakers referenced a 2022 engineering study for Brookridge that recommended addressing runoff from the neighboring driveways.
The board discussed parking requirements for two-family houses, and Hughes said today’s code requires five off-street parking spaces for a two-family unit; the applicants described currently fitting multiple cars across their remaining driveways and on-site spaces. Board members repeatedly asked whether the applicants could surrender additional impervious area to get closer to the allowable coverage, and the applicants said their architect advised they still need two driveways for functional access and safety.
The board directed the applicants to submit plans from a civil engineer showing proposed drainage mitigation and any regrading or catch basins. Village engineer Mike Nowak was asked to review any submission and report back to the board. The board said it preferred to avoid renoticing the application and set an initial return target for the first Tuesday in August; if the applicant cannot meet that timeline the hearing can be moved later.
Next steps: the applicants must submit engineering plans to the village for review by the village engineer; the board will consider those findings before acting on the parking/legalization request.
