The developer of a proposed $500 million residential project in Harrison has petitioned Westchester Supreme Court to compel the town to approve land use permits.
Renaissance Harrison LLC accused the Harrison officials of delaying the project until the town can enact a development moratorium.
“Renaissance has satisfied all application requirements related to land use applications,” the petition states, but the planning board has refused to vote “within the time required by law.”
Renaissance Harrison is a joint venture of Rose Equities, of Manhattan, and Garden Communities, of Short Hills, New Jersey. In 2022 the partners announced plans to build up to 760 apartments at the former Renaissance Harrison Hotel at 80 W. Red Oak Lane. Plans for the 28-acre site include building a connector road to a Wegmans market north of the project site.
For two years, the petition states, the planning board has held hearings on applications for a site plan, special exception use permit and freshwater wetlands and slope permit. The last hearing was held a year ago, on Dec. 17, 2024, when the board directed the town planner to prepare approval papers for consideration at the next meeting.
At that point, according to the petition, the planning board had to approve or disapprove the applications within a few months.
Instead, Renaissance Harrison claims, the planning board failed to act eight times, “for unknown reasons.”
Each time, the developer says, it was assured that the planning department was working on approval resolutions that would be voted on at the next meeting.
Then on Nov. 20, the town board, consisting of the mayor and council members, met.
Renaissance Harrison representatives who attended were ordered to leave the building, the petition states, while the town board held a closed, executive session to discuss personnel matters.
When the public meeting resumed after the executive session, the developer’s representatives were in effect barred from attending, according to the petition, and the town board replaced three of the seven planning board members.
Renaissance Harrison claims that the planning board members were replaced so as to dilute support for the project and to delay land use approvals until a development moratorium can be enacted on and around the developer’s property.
The developer is asking the court to void the new planning board appointments and require the planning board to vote on the land use applications by Dec. 31.
Harrison broadly denied the accusations and asserted that Renaissance Harrison is trying to impose an artificial deadline and undo three lawful appointments “to favor their financial interests,” in papers filed on Dec. 4 by Syracuse attorney Kathleen M. Bennett.
“Rather than preserve the status quo while the legal issues are determined in a deliberate and judicious manner,” she stated, the developer would “force the planning board to take final action on petitioner’s applications despite numerous unresolved legal and factual issues.”
Renaissance Harrison is represented by White Plains attorney Patricia W. Gurahian, of McCullough, Goldberger & Staudt.
