Zoning amended by board

The Village of Warwick passed a new local law at the Monday, May 19 village board meeting amending the zoning designation of a portion of property at 42 Orchard Street.

The amendment, from residential to light industrial, ensures the neighboring Warwick Car Wash’s use of the area complies with village code.

The zoning change follows a request by the Warwick Village Planning board to bring to code a long-standing agreement between M&L Equity Auto, the corporate entity that runs the property known as The Warwick Car Wash, and the owner of 42 Orchard Street, which enabled the car wash to use part of 42 Orchard’s land for traffic flow, stockpiling snow in the winter and maintaining easier access around the back of the building.

Robert Krahulik, the attorney representing the car wash, addressed concerns expressed during the public hearing for the proposed zoning change. He said the company has no plans for expansion and the revised zoning designations would only mean installation of additional screening and fencing along the property line.

Public confusion over whether the entire lot of 42 Orchard Street would become light industrial led the board to insist the language of the resolution clarify that the change referred to a specific section of the property. In addition, Krahulik addressed concerns over the change in residential lot size, saying the remaining residential lot would be comparable if not larger than the others on Orchard Street.

Mayor Michael Newhard responded to resident fears over the car wash expanding and noted the neighboring properties were zoned residential and would require the owner to seek out further variances. He further affirmed his and the board’s commitment to keeping Orchard Street a residential neighborhood.

In other zoning news, the village amended its code to require recipients of Zoning Board of Appeals decisions to act on them by obtaining either a building permit or occupancy permit for the property within in 180 days of receiving the variance. In addition, the amendment enables applicants to obtain a 90-day extension from the ZBA.

Following the prior meeting’s discussion on recreational staff salaries, the board agreed to increase the hourly rates for Program Directors and Health Directors to $20 per hour and Assistant Program Directors to $15 per hour for the fiscal year 2025-26 year. According to Newhard, who acknowledged the original request for across-the-board raises, this limited change would be manageable under the current budget.