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Mamaroneck ZBA hears renewal request for Mamaroneck Beach & Yacht Club; board asks for event records, adjourns to May 1
Summary
The Zoning Board of Appeals took public comment and pressed the Mamaroneck Beach & Yacht Club to supply contemporaneous event records, IRS filings and permit documentation before it resumes the special‑permit renewal on May 1. Neighbors raised concerns about website access, wetlands work and sewer testing; the club said it holds a DEC conservation permit and performs dye tests every two years.
The Village of Mamaroneck Zoning Board of Appeals on April 3 heard a request from the Mamaroneck Beach & Yacht Club and Spa for the fifth three‑year renewal of a special permit allowing non‑member events.
Attorney Adam Wechstein, representing the club, told the board the ratio of non‑member to member events remains under the 20% limit established by the zoning code, and that “the operations are the same” as during the last renewal. He supplied event counts showing non‑member events at 22 (2022), 24 (2023) and 26 (2024) out of 134–151 total events, figures he said equate to about 15–16% non‑member business.
Board members pressed for documentation of a prior condition that required “contemporaneous records indicating the date, time, name of the sponsor, and type of all events.” Several members said they needed more than summary totals. Chair Kramer (identified in the public record) directed the applicant to return with event dates, the type of each event and a sponsor identifier—board members agreed member numbers rather than full names would satisfy privacy concerns while meeting the condition. Attorney Wechstein and club board member Conrad Roncati said the club maintains dates and whether events were member or non‑member; Roncati told the board, “We have the date of every single event, and we have whether it’s a member or non‑member event.”
Residents who spoke during public comment urged the board to ensure documents are available online and raised environmental and infrastructure concerns. Dan Natchez, president of the Shore Acres Property Owners Association, said he could not find application materials on the village website and reported neighbors’ complaints about heavy equipment, soil movement and alleged boat storage in a wetland buffer. Natchez said records did not show dye or pressure tests of the sewer line that runs under Otter Creek and asked whether any such testing had been filed.
Neighbor Christopher Hillier, who said he is a voting member of the club and lives about 250 yards from the club, urged the board to approve the renewal and praised the club’s renovations and neighborhood engagement.
In response to the environmental and permitting questions, the applicant said the building‑department complaints referenced by neighbors dated back several years, were closed, and did not relate to the current permit request. Roncati said the club has kept backflow‑preventer tests annually and biennial dye tests as requested since 2019. He also said the club holds a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) conservation permit that covers limited work around wetlands and offered to provide a copy to the board.
The board did not vote on the renewal. It instructed the applicant to provide the event records, supporting IRS filings (or note that 2024 filings were not yet due), and signage documentation by the submission deadline and continued the hearing to the board’s May 1 meeting. The board’s staff clarified the public agenda materials go live the Friday before meetings but that applicants may provide paperwork at the clerk’s office for public review prior to online posting.
The ZBA said it would review the additional records at the May 1 session; until those materials are filed and examined, the hearing remains open.
