Planning Board accepts Navaro accessory-apartment application and schedules July 9 public hearing

The Town of Union Vale Planning Board on June 11 accepted as complete an application from the owners of the Navaro property to convert an existing interior ‘wet bar’ and adjoining room into a roughly 700-square-foot accessory apartment to house the applicant’s mother. The board directed the applicant to confirm septic capacity and file required notices before the public hearing.

The applicant told the board the house was built 24 years ago with a side entrance and an area intended for a future ‘mother/daughter’ unit; the proposed work is primarily adding a stove and designating a downstairs bedroom and kitchenette. The applicant said there would be no structural changes. Staff accepted photos and plans for the record.

Board members asked the applicant to mark the accessory-apartment footprint on submitted plans and to verify the septic system’s rated capacity with the county Board of Health. Board members explained that septic sizing determines the number of permitted bedrooms and that the applicant could keep three bedrooms in the main house while designating the in-law suite as the accessory unit if the tank supports that layout. The board said formal approval would be conditioned on whatever the Board of Health and the building inspector require.

The board agreed the application materials were complete for the purposes of public notice and set a public hearing for the Navaro special-use-permit application at its July 9, 2026 meeting. Staff instructed the applicant to post the required notice sign at the property 10 days before the hearing and to provide any supporting documents (septic receipts, building-inspector records) to staff for the record.

The board did not take a final land-use decision at the June 11 meeting; it will hear public comment and take action at the scheduled public hearing.