Village Board Considers Licensing Requirements for Design Professionals, Fines and Penalties for Violations of Building Code and More Land Use Code Changes

The Village Board discussed a draft of proposed changes to land use code at a work session prior to the Village Board meeting on July 14, 2026. After reviewing them, the Board asked Village Staff to revise them in places and agreed to call for a public hearing in August.

In the interim, they invite the public to review the proposals and email their comments to Village Planner Kellan Cantrell at kcantrell@scarsdale.gov. or manager@scarsdale.gov.

A memo from the Village Attorney provided an overview of the proposed changes – and you can see that explanation here:

Appearance Tickets

The first change expands the list of Village employees who are authorized to issue appearance tickets for violations of Village Code and Property Maintenance Code. The new list adds the Director of Planning and the Assistant Civil Engineer to the list of those authorized to issue appearance tickets.

Environmental Quality Review and SEQRA Review

These amendments eliminate provisions of Scarsdale Village code that are duplicative of the State Environmental Quality Review regulations. The changes involve wetlands permits and also empower the Director of Planning to be responsible for navigating the SEQRA process.

Freshwater Wetlands

The proposed changes are intended to simplify languages and processes and to remove provisions that have allowed certain types of encroachments into wetland-controlled areas and restricted buffers. The proposed code would charge the Village Engineer and or the Director of Planning to grant approvals regarding minor structures within 50-150 feet of a wetlands and to grant approvals for cutting trees within 50-150 feet of a wetlands. This would free up the Planning Board to review more substantial applications.

Licensing of Design Professionals

This new provision would require Design Professional who receive land use approvals from the Village to be licensed from the Village of Scarsdale. Design professionals are defined as “person who is an architect, engineer, landscape architect, or land surveyor issued a license by the State of New York, or a person who is an ISA Certified Arborist.”

This would allow the Village to revoke the license or deny an application if:

1. The applicant has submitted false or materially misleading information and/or certifications in connection with four (4) or more applications for Land Use Approval within the prior 12 months.
2. The applicant has been issued four (4) or more stop-work orders in the Village of Scarsdale within the prior 12 months.
3. The applicant has been issued four (4) or more Notices to Correct or Notices of Violation in the Village of Scarsdale within the prior 12 months.

Site Plan Approvals

These changes address the sequence of approvals from Land Use Boards and changes which projects need to be reviewed by the Board of Architectural Review. Read the memo to see which applications required BAR review.

Stop Work Orders

The memo outlines a new schedule of fines and penalties for work done without site plan approval or work that deviates from the approved site plan.

Here are the proposed fines and penalties:

First offense, by a fine not less than $500, not to exceed $1,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or both. The penalty for a corporate offender's first offense, by fine not less than $2,500, not to exceed $5,000, or any higher amount not exceeding double the amount of the corporation's gain from the commission of the offense. Each day that any such violation shall continue or exist shall constitute a separate and distinct offense hereunder.

2. For a second offense within five years after a conviction of a first offense, by a fine not less than $1,500, not to exceed $2,500, or by imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or both. The penalty for a corporate offender's second offense, by fine not less than $7,500, not to exceed $15,000, or any higher amount not exceeding double the amount of the corporation's gain from the commission of the offense. Each day that any such violation shall continue or exist shall constitute a separate and distinct offense hereunder.

3. For a third offense within five years after a conviction of a second offense, which took place within three years after a conviction of the first offense, by a fine not less than $4,000, not to exceed $6,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or both. The penalty for a corporate offender's third offense, by fine not less than $25,000, not to exceed $50,000, or any higher amount not exceeding double the amount of the corporation's gain from the commission of the offense. Each day that any such violation shall continue or exist shall constitute a separate and distinct offense hereunder.

In addition, the offender could be subject to a civil penalty up to $50,000.