Council agrees to reinstate North Haven planned development with 10-foot no-encroachment condition

The Community & Economic Development Committee voted to reinstate and transfer the North Haven Estate planned development to Hovnanian Town and Country Homes, but added a condition barring accessory structures or other encroachments within the required 10-foot northern side-yard setback.

Staff told the committee the lots were approved as a planned development in 2008 but remained vacant; reinstatement would reapply the original architectural controls and require a subdivision improvement agreement and letter of credit. Planning staff explained that public improvements under a planned development must be completed within three years of approval and said reinstatement preserves review powers the village would lose under a straight rezoning. Planning staff summarized those protections, noting that reinstatement "gives us far more, not only the protections as far as letter of credit, but controls over what gets built there" (Planning staff, paraphrased).

Neighbors raised detailed concerns about setbacks, patios and drainage. One neighbor said concept drawings showed a patio that could end up within 5 to 7 feet of a shared property line, potentially leaving structures only about 10 feet apart. Linda Andrews, whose property backs the subject lots, told the committee that a patio could "face directly into my deck" and described worries about loss of privacy, drainage into her yard and the potential removal of a century-old tree on her property.

John Kanapada, a land-acquisition manager with Family Homes, acknowledged the concerns but said the developer has not yet submitted a final site plan. Kanapada said the company "typically have a 100 day build cycle" from break ground to completion and expects to close on the lots in mid-November, then move quickly to obtain permits and begin work.

After discussion the committee adopted an amendment requiring that "the northern lot will have no accessory structure or other encroachment within the required 10 foot side yard setback," language proposed by a committee member and agreed to by the petitioner. The motion as amended passed and was placed on the council's consent agenda for final action.

Why it matters: reinstating the planned development preserves village-level controls—architectural standards, letters of credit and subdivision improvement agreements—that staff said give neighbors additional protections and financial remedies if construction damages private property. The added 10-foot no-encroachment condition directly responds to residents' privacy and drainage concerns and will be enforced when the petitioner returns with engineering and a site plan.