Zoning board keeps DiLemme hearing open until April after applicant asks for historical records

The Town of Newburgh Zoning Board of Appeals voted Feb. 26 to keep the public hearing for an application by Nick and Jennifer DiLemme for property at 2201 Route 300 open until the fourth Thursday in April, after the applicants requested more time to gather historical zoning data.

Chairman Darrin Scalzo said the applicants asked to defer after obtaining historical zoning information they want considered. Board counsel David Donovan argued the applicants should be afforded due process to present any records that bear on whether the use may be a preexisting nonconforming use. "There is a concept ... due process ... you give the applicant in front of the Board the opportunity to prove their case," Donovan said.

Board member Latwan Banks objected to the deferral, citing the packet’s apparent lack of a certificate of occupancy. "The reason I object to deferral is, in looking in the packet, there is no CO," Banks said, arguing the absence raised questions about how to interpret the existing zoning for an apparently unpermitted business.

After discussion the board took a motion from Darrell Bell, seconded by John Masten, to extend the hearing to April and to require the applicants to re-notice property owners within 500 feet. Siobhan Jablesnik completed the roll call: five members voted aye and two voted no, and Chairman Scalzo announced the motion carried. The board noted the public hearing remains open and invited additional evidence from the public and the applicants before the next meeting.

Next steps: the board directed staff to notify the applicants about re-noticing requirements and to post the continued hearing on the town website; the board will hear the matter again in April.