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Design Review Board reaffirms driveway approval after court remand in Trimarchi–Appell dispute
Summary
The Saratoga Springs Design Review Board read a court-directed decision into the record and approved its earlier driveway replacement decision after reviewing additional materials and addressing the court's concerns; one member abstained.
The Saratoga Springs City Design Review Board on July 16 read its decision on the Trimarchi driveway replacement, which had been remanded by Judge James E. Walsh of the Supreme Court, Saratoga County, and approved the board's prior decision with no change to the substantive outcome.
The action matters because the court vacated the board's 2021 approval and remanded the application after concluding the board had not complied with its own application requirements, particularly for color photographs showing the shared nature of the driveway, and raised concerns about site permeability relative to local code.
At the meeting the board summarized the court record and its own review. The board said the original 2021 application did include color photographs of the applicant's driveway but not of the adjacent property, and that some board members had visited the site or viewed online imagery in preparation. The board concluded those supplemental observations provided sufficient knowledge of the shared driveway configuration and that additional photographs would not have been determinative. The board also reviewed whether it had authority to consider permeability and concluded that, at the time of the 2021 approval, authority to enforce permeability standards vested with the zoning officer rather than the board. The board returned the neighbors to other agencies or courts for unresolved disputes over shared driveways and permeability.
The decision was read into the record pursuant to 6 NYCRR Part 617 and the Unified Development Ordinance (article 240-13.9) as cited in the board's determination. After the motion was called, a member recorded an abstention. The chair announced the motion had been approved and the decision officially read into the record.
The board noted the dispute between neighbors remained active but said resolving some elements was outside the board's authority and recommended other administrative or legal remedies for the parties.
Trimarchi's property is at 115 Circular Street (tax parcel referenced at the meeting). The board specifically referenced the April 3, 2024 decision and order of Justice James E. Walsh in the Article 78 proceeding Appell v. City of Saratoga Springs, Dominic Trimarchi and Amanda Tucker.
The board concluded by entering its written decision into the record on July 16, 2025.
More procedural details about the court order and the board's reasoning are contained in the board's written decision read at the meeting; the board did not reopen the technical dispute about permeability or shared access but explained where regulatory responsibility lies.
