A new five-bedroom home is headed for one of Rye's oldest streets after the Zoning Board of Appeals voted 5-1 to grant variances at 5 Orchard Drive.
The decision, first reported by the Rye Record, ends months of hearings in which developer Angelo Maiorano of Connecticut-based Soundview Terrace LLC and residents of the "Clamtown" neighborhood clashed over whether a 2,600-square-foot house belongs on a block of mostly smaller, century-old bungalows. The dispute played out across City Council, Board of Architectural Review and zoning board meetings.
The 5,663-square-foot lot sold for $1.1 million on Sept. 12, 2025. A two-bedroom, 1,174-square-foot house built in 1919 was torn down to clear the site.
Board Chair Alan Weil told the Rye Record the project meets code requirements except for one front-yard setback. "I thought the detriment to the community was not great," Weil said. He added that he was not convinced the new construction would create the sight-line safety problems several neighbors raised.
Weil said the board applies a balancing test weighing code compliance, feasible alternatives and potential harm to the neighborhood. He acknowledged that Maiorano delivered what Weil called a "prolonged tirade" during the hearings but said it did not influence the ruling.
The lone dissenting vote came from Anthony DiCaprio, who believed the proposed home was too stark a contrast with the rest of the neighborhood.
Neighbor Suki van Dijk, who said she was among eight to 12 area residents attending meetings over the past six months, questioned the outcome. Van Dijk told the Rye Record she attended the city's comprehensive planning workshop on Oct. 13 and saw a contradiction between what residents said they wanted there and the zoning board's decision the following night.
She said workshop attendees expressed a desire to preserve Rye's distinct small neighborhoods. Van Dijk described the Clamtown blocks as more than 100 years old and called the approval "a done deal."
Maiorano's attorney, Leo Napier, told the Rye Record his client would not comment.
Weil said the developer will voluntarily build catch basins and a backyard dry well to help manage the neighborhood's water runoff. Additional driveway parking is also planned to reduce cars on the already-congested road. Whether those commitments are formal conditions of the approval or voluntary pledges is not clear from the public record.
The decision arrives as Rye works to update its comprehensive plan for the first time since 1985. More than 130 residents attended the Oct. 13 planning workshop at the Locust Avenue Firehouse, where stations covered housing, flooding, transportation and neighborhood character.
