Nyack Hospital Fights Zoning Designation; 'Impedes Development,' Officials Say

Ostensibly, is what it seems: a hospital. But according to a zoning designation passed down by the village of Nyack on December of 2009, the hospital is a "TFR," or "Two Family Residential."

David Freed—the president of Nyack Hospital—and several other hospital administrators appeared at in Nyack to discuss the designation. Freed noted the label brings along a practical effect, and not just a superficial one.

"The [TFR] designation seriously impairs our ability to borrow money," Freed told Nyack trustees. Freed continued that the hospital plans to borrow money in the near future in order to upgrade the facilities.

"We want to modernize the hospital, and would like to have our former zoning status back," Freed said.

Dennis Lynch, an attorney based in South Nyack, is working alongside the hospital to restore its old designation as "hospital."

Lynch noted that due to a nonconforming use, the hospital is "grandfathered" into the village and can continue operating as is—but its ability to expand is seriously impaired.

"A nonconforming use—from a zoning viewpoint—means 'you don't belong here,'" Lynch said. "It means 'we don't want to see anything new developed.'" Lynch noted that had the hospital been zoned this way 10 years ago, its Cancer Center would not have been allowed to be built.

"You can't lock down a facility when its ability to change is critical to the health and safety of people," Lynch added.

Village officials said the decision to eliminate the hospital zone just over one year ago was carried out alongside the Nyack's Comprehensive Plan.

"Whenever a municipality passes a comprehensive plan, according to New York State Law, they must also redo the zoning code," explained trustee Steve Knowlton. "The [hospital zone] elimination was just a small part of the total code revamp."

"We determined that at that time, the hospital had maxed out what it was able to do on its property," Knowlton continued. Because of this, village consultants noted having the hospital zone did not confer any benefit on either the village or hospital.

Knowlton noted there was an additional snag—the hospital zone was taken up entirely by the hospital. Due to this, someone could brand the designation as "spot zoning," or argue that the zone was created expressly for the hospital.

The next step in the process is taking the issue to the planning board, Knowlton explained.

"If a property owner want to change use, they go through regular land use process,” he said.

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