A Mamaroneck couple that wants to tear down and replace a house they bought on Delancey Cove claims they have been stalled for 15 months by an environmental review commission that won’t let them install a septic system.
Elisabeth and William Fedyna petitioned Westchester Supreme Court on Aug. 19 to reverse a ruling by the village’s Harbor & Coastal Zone Management Commission that found the couple’s plans inconsistent with waterfront policies.
The coastal commission’s determination is “arbitrary, capricious and irrational,” the petition states, and ignores substantial evidence that there is no feasible alternative for treating or removing wastewater from the property.
The alternative, according to Charles Gottlieb, the commission’s attorney, is to install a private sewer line that would connect with the village’s sewer system.
But instead of changing their application, he said in a telephone interview, the couple is disputing the findings of the commission’s consulting engineer.
The Fedynas bought the 1.1-acre property on Greacen Point Road for $1.25 million in June 2018.
The house is uninhabitable, according to the petition. It is on a private road that is not served by a public sewer and it has a septic system that must be replaced.
The couple wants to build a 2,637-square-foot house that would be smaller than surrounding homes and set back farther from wetland than the existing house.
The property is in a tidal flood zone. The proposed house satisfies the village flood code and Federal Emergency Management Agency standards for flood zones, the petition states, whereas the existing house does not.
The Fedynas got county Department of Health approval for the proposed septic system, and in April 2020 they applied to the planning board for site plan approval and a wetlands permit. The board, as required, referred the plans to the coastal commission to determine whether the plans are consistent with the village’s waterfront policies, to the maximum extent practicable.
The couple submitted expert reports and other supporting materials and presented their findings at a dozen meetings and hearings. They claim they have demonstrated that their plans would not hinder the village’s waterfront policies.
Several nearby properties, for instance, have septic systems.
Eleven properties connect to private sewer lines under Greacen Point Road, but the Fedynas contend that they have no legal right to connect to an existing line, there is limited space under the road for another line, the costs would be excessive, it would take up to three years to begin construction, and they have no control over other parties whose approvals they would need.
The coastal commission’s expert concluded that a private sewer line is not impossible. That, according to the Fedynas, is tantamount to an outright ban on any proposed septic system or repair of an existing septic system.
Gottlieb said the commission was also concerned about plans to use fill on the property that could impact adjacent properties during flooding, as well as the potential for the septic system leaching wastewater into Delancey Cove.
“We will continue to try working with the applicants,” Gottlieb said, “to resolve this matter outside of the litigation process.”
The Fedynas are represented by White Plains attorneys Joshua E. Kimerling and Kristen Motel.
