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Chappaqua board approves settlement, sale of 20.36-acre Buttonhook property to neighbors' group
Summary
The Chappaqua Central School District board approved a settlement that ends litigation over the Buttonhook property and authorizes sale of the 20.36-acre parcel to the Friends of Buttonhook for a combined $1,175,000 to resolve competing claims.
The Chappaqua Central School District Board of Education voted to approve a settlement agreement that ends years of litigation over the district's roughly 20.36-acre Buttonhook property and authorizes the sale of the parcel to the Friends of Buttonhook.
Board President said the settlement resolves suits filed in Westchester County Supreme Court by CG Homes and the Friends of Buttonhook and related appeals in the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court. Under the agreement, the Friends of Buttonhook will pay $1,175,000; $1,050,000 is to be paid to the district and $125,000 to CG Homes, the president said. The sale to the Friends is expected to be consummated within six months.
The president said the district's initial plan had been to sell the property to CG Homes and subdivide it into six lots, but government approvals required by the Department of Environmental Protection became unattainable. The settlement calls for all litigation to be withdrawn as part of the transfer.
Board members moved and seconded the resolution at the meeting and the board chair called for a voice vote; the chair recorded the motion as approved. The board also authorized the president to sign the contract of sale and to incorporate the settlement agreement and sale contract into the meeting minutes.
The resolution presented to the board identifies the parcel as 20.36 acres with tax map designation 81.12'-1.8 and directs district officers to execute documents necessary to complete the transaction. The board did not provide a detailed public timeline beyond the statement that the sale will be consummated within the next six months.
District officials and board members did not provide additional detail in the meeting about post-sale stewardship or any conservation or access restrictions the Friends of Buttonhook might place on the land. The settlement language and the contract of sale were incorporated by reference into the meeting record as part of the motion.
The board's action followed public and internal discussion of the property's prior proposed subdivision and the regulatory obstacles to that plan. The agreement resolves competing claims and concludes the court cases named in the motion.
Copies of the settlement agreement and the sale contract referenced at the meeting were incorporated into the meeting record; the board indicated the documents would be part of the official minutes.
