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Board agrees to rehear Westchester Day School fence variance after finding installed sections exceed prior approval
Summary
The Board of Appeals voted to reopen the prior variance for Westchester Day School to consider legalizing higher fence sections and to add new fencing after the building inspector found some installed sections exceed the height measured from grade.
The Village of Mamaroneck Board of Appeals voted to rehear a 2024 variance for fencing at Westchester Day School, after the board was told that portions of an 8-foot fence were installed atop a stone wall, yielding an effective top height above what the board permitted.
Attorney Jessica Zalen, representing Westchester Day School and Westchester Religious Institute, told the board the school installed fencing approved in a 2024 variance but discovered additional vulnerabilities in on-the-ground conditions that prompted extra fencing and some field adjustments. "We were trying to provide necessary security features at the Westchester Day School campus to respond to the recent and pervasive increase in anti-Semitic rhetoric," Zalen said, describing security objectives that motivated the additional sections.
Board members questioned whether the installed fence exceeded the earlier approval because the condition in the 2024 resolution measured maximum height "above grade," while the school installed eight-foot sections on top of an existing stone wall. The building inspector told the board the installation did not conform with the resolution and that legalization would require additional relief.
After discussing procedural options (reopening the original variance versus amending the new application to include all fencing), the board moved to reopen the prior variance to consider the totality of fencing work and the height issue. The board clarified that a rehearing requires notice and that the prior variance remains in effect until the board takes final action, per Village law.
The board asked the applicant to provide clearer site plans highlighting existing and proposed fence sections, and it suggested an on-site walkthrough before the rehearing. The matter was continued and will appear on the board's next agenda with re-notification to adjacent property owners.
Next steps: the application will be renoticed for rehearing; the applicant will provide revised maps and photos, and the board will consider whether to rescind or modify the original 2024 variance following the rehearing.
