Clarkstown Board Considers Allowing Restaurants Near Houses of Worship and Schools

By Sarah Morgenstern

Clarkstown may eliminate an unenforced zoning rule that bans restaurants from opening too close to any house of worship or school.

While some town officials, such as Clarkstown Board Member Phillip DeGaetano, argue that the outdated zoning law unnecessarily discourages new businesses from opening in the area, other officials are wary of new zoning laws. 

“If it isn’t broken, why fix it?” asked Board Chairman Gil Heim, who told Rockland County Business Journal that he was reluctant to allow restaurants, especially those that sell alcohol, to be built near schools and houses of worship. “I don’t see a reason to change it.”

Last Wednesday, the Clarkstown Planning Board asked for a recommendation to remove the restriction that disallows any “food-dispensing establishment,” such as restaurants, drive-throughs, and take-out shops from being built within 200 feet of the nearest property line of a house of worship or school that is located in the town’s regional shopping zone.

Clarkstown’s regional shopping zones, which include shopping centers like Rockland Plaza, Rockland Center, and other smaller shopping centers, are mainly located in the retail corridor along Route 59 in West Nyack and Nanuet.

While some Clarkstown board members noted that the New York State Liquor Authority controls liquor licenses, not the town, the town board has the ultimate authority to rewrite zoning codes.