Concerns about permit for Summit Club golf course in Armonk

Residents near the Summit Golf Club in Armonk last week vigorously urged North Castle officials to resist making concessions to the club as it seeks a permanent special use permit to operate the golf course.

During a two-and-a-half-hour public hearing on June 12, there was extensive debate on a variety of issues, including limiting the club’s maximum membership during construction of the 73 luxury condominiums on the site, banning live outdoor music at special events and regulating the use of the 10 planned golf course cottages.

Golf courses in North Castle can only operate with a special permit. Whippoorwill Golf Club is the town’s other golf course.

Other questions included the number of participants in the club’s youth golf camp (club officials said there could be as many as 100) and whether there is sufficient parking at the golf course.

The Summit Club, which received final approval for the luxury condos last summer, reopened its golf course in July 2021 after completing its redesign. Officials hope to be allowed to accept up to 500 memberships, including those from the public, while the housing construction is completed. The special use permit for public memberships would expire no later than the end of 2029 or when the residential units are completed, whichever comes first.

Attorney Mark Weingarten, who represents the Summit Club, said the cottages would be owned by the club and rented only to members and their guests. A member could also purchase a cottage, he said.

However, most residents who spoke at the public hearing on the building permit at last Wednesday night’s town council meeting expressed disappointment that officials may be willing to allow 500 members, even though the project’s environmental impact statement (EIA) calls for 350 members.

Garrett Kennedy, a resident of Upland Lane, said Summit officials continued to request additional capacity and uses that were not part of the environmental impact statement.

“We’re talking about 500 members, public use, 100 campers. That’s not what was requested, that’s not what was investigated, that’s not the job of this board,” Kennedy said.

Another resident, Elan Keller, said it was obvious to him that the Summit Club was continuing to make requests to expand uses and capacity in order to get better financing terms for housing. But the city was not obligated to make things easier for the developer, he said, stressing that the responsibility was to protect the city and its residents.

“It’s not the city’s job to guarantee their funding; it’s not the city’s job to make sure they get better terms because they have a permit for a public golf course,” Keller pleaded with board members.

Keller was one of the speakers who raised the question of how the city would enforce the regulations on the cottages, including the ban on using the cottages as Airbnb, he said.

Weingarten said his client would comply with the restrictions agreed to in the special use permit.

“We believe the main interest for them is going to be members from New York City who come in for a week or a weekend, bring three friends and play golf, and that’s who they’re for,” he said. “They’re for members and their guests, not for Airbnb.”

Resident Alan Blum said he understood the study on the golf course’s traffic and environmental impacts to be aimed at 350 members, not 500. He wants to see a feasible project, but protecting the city’s interests is a priority for the committee.

“I want the club to be successful,” said Blum. “The city wants that too. But that cannot happen on the backs of the citizens or as the responsibility of the city. It has to be run as a business.”

Adam Kaufman, the city’s planning director, said that while the environmental impact statement assumes 350 members, it also takes into account events in a much larger clubhouse. The recreation building, which will serve as the clubhouse, is slated to be constructed in the opening phase of construction, along with three of the six 36-unit residential buildings.

Jeffrey Mendell, managing partner of the Summit Club, said the PGA-certified golf camp, which will be open to up to 100 children, is a very attractive proposition for the community. There are youngsters who have secured college scholarships for golf in similar programs offered at clubs across the country, he said.

“This is a great benefit to the children of this city and it would be foolish not to allow it,” Mendell noted.

Weingarten has repeatedly argued that the golf course is self-limiting and allows a maximum of 144 players at one time.

He added that the Summit Club has an exemption of 61 parking spaces under city ordinance, but the available space for the golf course parking lot will remain the same as before. Once the residential development is built, there will be private roads to accommodate any additional parking, he said.

Board members discussed whether to postpone the public hearing until a future meeting. Council members Jose Berra and Saleem Hussain voted to continue the hearing to address key issues at the next meeting.

But by a vote of 3 to 2, the remaining board decided to end the hearing but to allow written public comments for another ten days.

At the suggestion of Councilwoman Barbara DiGiacinto, the board agreed to hold a work session on June 26 to work on solutions to outstanding issues.