Board approves special-permit application for 219 Maranek Avenue with conditions on tenants

The Village of Mamaroneck Zoning Board approved a special-permit application for 219 Maranek Avenue that would allow multiple personal-service and office uses at the site, subject to language added by the board requiring that any occupant whose proposed use requires a special permit must obtain one before operating.

Board members described the application as unusual but said the submitted materials and letters addressed the zoning standards. Committee member (S2) asked whether physical therapy would be treated under the code like a massage establishment; members reviewed the zoning definition and concluded that licensed physical therapists are carved out and would not fall under the village’s massage-establishment definition provided they are licensed. Several members raised enforcement concerns about subtenants and independent contractors ("1099" workers) who could operate from leased cubicles, and the board discussed delegating enforcement to the building inspector and police. Committee member (S2) said the police chief had described recurring illicit uses as a “whack-a-mole” problem.

Committee member (S3) proposed amended language to make any approval conditional on lawful occupancy and any required special permits; the motion was seconded and passed. Committee member (S3) confirmed the board would and could require tenants that needed a special permit to obtain it before opening.

The board instructed staff to incorporate the added condition into the permit language and to prepare a resolution reflecting the statutory factors for approval. Enforcement questions—specifically how to monitor subtenants and resolve disguised uses—were identified as implementation matters for the building inspector and the police department rather than issues the board will resolve at this vote.

The motion to approve, as amended, carried on the record; the board directed staff to draft final resolution language for the next meeting.