Residents press Lewisboro board over St. Luke’s Vista parking agreement and safety concerns

Lewisboro residents and adjacent business owners pressed the Town Board July 13 for clearer rules after the board approved a license allowing St. Luke’s School to use spaces at the Vista parking lot for the 2026–27 school year.

At public comment and during the agenda discussion, Barbara Mangione asked whether the school’s right to the lot is limited to standard school hours and whether the contract specifies hours, enforcement or overnight restrictions. Local business owners Jennifer Cipriano and Michelle Smith told the board they routinely see erratic driving and occasional damage to customer vehicles when students use the lot.

"They are young drivers parking there at the park, and there are a number of days where there's quite a bit of erratic driving occurring," said Jennifer Cipriano, who identified herself as a Vista business owner. Michelle Smith, owner of the Farmers Grind, asked the board to make clear how many spaces would be reserved and how those spaces would be identified so customers and residents are not displaced or endangered.

Board members said the agreement gives St. Luke’s a nonexclusive right to use the lot during the school year and that park rules and the town code prohibit overnight parking; they agreed staff should add a clarifying side note to the license that addresses typical end‑of‑day hours and sticker/permit identification for school vehicles. One board member suggested a 9 p.m. cutoff for activities that extend past normal school hours as a workable guideline to avoid overnight parking.

The board approved the St. Luke’s parking agreement and asked staff to confirm specific hours and the sticker/permit enforcement mechanism for the permit before finalizing operational details.

What’s next: Staff will clarify hours, signage and the permit/permit‑sticker system and return the clarified language to the board or record it with the signed agreement.