President Bell breaks tie as Sleepy Hollow deletes self-service storage as a permitted special use in B2 district

The Village of Sleepy Hollow board voted 4–3 to delete self-service storage units as a permitted special use in the B2 Village Business District and to remove the term’s definition from the village code, after a tie among trustees required the presiding officer to cast the deciding vote.

The measure, described by staff as the Planning and Zoning Commission’s recommendation from a Sept. 8 public hearing, was the focus of extended public comment and trustee discussion. A resident who identified herself as Laura Dolan told the board the proposed text change did not fully address the recurring problems associated with self-storage in the village and asked trustees to explicitly prohibit the use rather than only delete the special-use reference. “I still take exceptions to not including self storage in the list of prohibited uses in our code,” Dolan said during public comment, arguing that the existing language would leave a path for future applications.

Trustees debated the practical and procedural implications of the change. Staff explained deleting the term from the permitted special-use list and removing the definition would mean an applicant seeking self-storage would have to petition the Planning and Zoning Commission for a special-use allowance; adding an express prohibition would, by contrast, require the village to hold an additional public hearing and absorb the associated legal and administrative costs (staff estimated around $1,500 for such a hearing). Several trustees noted that capacity limits for sewer and other infrastructure had previously been discussed as part of consideration for low-impact uses.

After discussion, the roll-call vote was recorded as three trustees in favor and three opposed. Per village procedure, the tie was resolved by the presiding officer, who voted in favor to produce a final 4–3 result. The board’s recorded motion directs village code editors to delete the references to self-service storage in the listed sections and to remove the definition from section 8.1.5 of the code.

The outcome removes self-service storage as an explicitly permitted special use in the B2 district; it does not, however, state that the village has broadly banned self-storage in perpetuity. As staff explained during the debate, adding an express prohibition would require a separate, noticed public hearing and associated fees. Trustees and members of the public signaled differing views about whether prohibiting self-storage is a necessary permanent fix or an overly prescriptive barrier that could impede future development options.

The board did not immediately set follow-up action to pursue an express prohibition; trustees suggested the issue could return to the Planning & Zoning Commission or be revisited if a developer files for a special-use application. The commission’s original recommendation and the board’s approved language will be reflected in a forthcoming ordinance prepared by staff.