Group aims to strengthen, clarify SNAD zoning rules

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A city designation making wide stretches of Riverdale a Special Natural Area District (SNAD) is credited with preserving the neighborhood’s spacious and leafy character. But with development booming in the area, community members have started to question whether SNAD rules, last revised in 2005, are up to the task today.

The Department of City Planning (DCP), which oversees SNAD regulations, has formed a working group to analyze the rules with an eye to creating stronger protections of natural features and making provisions clearer for everyone.

“I think by making our preservation standards a little stricter, a little clearer, we can better preserve some of the natural features in the area,” said DCP’s Bronx Borough Director Carol Samol.

Working group participants include members of Community Board 8, the Riverdale Nature Preservancy, homeowners, architects and other professionals.

Participants interviewed for this article emphasized their goals are still taking shape, with the first meeting expected to take place later this month. They said there will be an opportunity for public comment at an undetermined date.

Ms. Samol, who lives in Riverdale, said the group will examine the rules as they apply both to large institutions and individual homeowners.

Riverdale Nature Preservancy Chairwoman Sherida Paulsen, who is in the working group, pointed out homeowners living in the Riverdale SNAD are often confused about how to go about simple changes like relocating a tree. She explained that contractors have become wary of carrying out such work, fearing fines for not receiving the right kind of approval.

Ms. Paulsen has also become a strong critic of the approval process for projects like the Cardinal O’Connor Clergy Residence’s expansion. Earlier this year, she wrote an op-ed in The Press arguing that the spirit and intent of SNAD regulations were not met as the Arlington Avenue site received clearance to cut down a large number of trees for construction.

SNAD, Cardinal O'Connor Clergy Residence, SAR Academy, Bloomfield project, Carol Samol, Sherida Paulsen, Bob Bender
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