Red Swan applicants will wait for village zoning code update

Warwick — The Red Swan Inn application will not go any further until the village adopts its new zoning code, so said project attorney Steven J. Spiegel at Monday night’s board meeting. “We believe it is advisable, and in the best interests of the project and the community, for the Village of Warwick to complete the adoption of its new zoning code, prior to our own rezoning, as the mayor and the village attorney first suggested to us,” said Spiegel, as he read from a prepared letter to the mayor and Village Board. “Our own rezoning is redundant, for in the final analysis, the Village Board of Trustees must adopt a new zoning code, consistent with the Comprehensive Master Plan, for the Village of Warwick as a whole.” The project, which includes residential housing units, commercial businesses, retail establishments and the new Red Swan Inn, requires a zone change for the nearly 11-acre property known as Welling Farm Square as well as a site plan review. The new zone needs to be created. It is currently zoned residential. The owners have requested creating a floating hospitality zone and then changing this property to that zone. The village is in the process of updating its zoning code to coincide with its new Comprehensive Master Plan, which should be completed by the end of the year. Spiegel said the project is inspired by the Comprehensive Master Plan and will compliment the downtown area. The project has been in the works since September 2001 and came to the Village Board in April 2004. Since then, the applicant and board have disagreed on just where the project should go. The village has asked for a detailed site plan and scoping document; Spiegel has disagreed. There is a question on secondary access to the site. “Since the submission of our petition in April 2004, the legal process which followed has been confusing to the board, to the applicant, and to their respective advisors and consultants, and has been the source of some disagreement and debate,” said Spiegel. “More than 18 months have elapsed since we first submitted our petition, and it seems that the Village Board has yet to formally answer the central question of the project’s conformance to the Comprehensive Master Plan.” The Village Board named itself lead agency on the zone change. The owner of the property is Michael Demetroules, a lifelong Warwick resident and descendant of Thomas Welling, founder of the Welling farm in 1750. Demetroules is the owner of Demetroules, R.E., LLC, the company behind the Red Swan Inn. Mayor Michael Newhard said the applicant’s decision to wait for the zoning change could be risky because “the zone may not correlate (to the project).” Spiegel answered: “We understand that risk. We want to follow the prerogative of the Village Board and take a back seat.” The Zoning Code review is scheduled to be completed by year’s end. And the Red Swan Inn principals will be waiting and watching.