Land along the Hudson River will be rezoned from residential to recreational use to keep the Borough in compliance for state and county money it received to build a marina.

When the Borough applied for Green Acres funding for the Grand Cove Marina project in 2001 it said it would hold more than 100 acres for recreation or conservation, Councilman David Weschler said at the council’s Sept. 2 work session.

Almost half that designated land is on the northern end of the borough near Edgewater Colony, a group of residences co-operatively owned by its homeowners.

There is an ongoing dispute over the land along the river, which is known as riparian water rights. The Borough took possession in 1939 after the property owner owed approximately $29,000 in taxes. The Colony was started about 10 years later next to that.

Boat docks either existed or were built over the years along the riparian lands. A building application last year started a dispute over who owned the land. The Borough maintains its ownership and has spent several meetings discussing how to handle the existing docks.

Weschler said that when the Borough took the Green Acres money the zoning map was changed but not the ordinance.

"We didn’t change our books or amend the master plan," Weschler said. "If we don’t fix that, people outside Edgewater will start asking questions."

Borough Planner Kathryn Gregory was at the meeting to discuss a draft ordinance Weschler prepared for the docks. She said she had questions concerning the docks, but the Green Acres issue was a simple fix.

Borough Attorney Phil Boggia said that in all the riparian rights talk it was the first time a council member talked about Green Acres. A resident has brought up the Green Acres issue in the public comment portion at past meetings.

"It’s a good idea to make the ordinance consistent but the starting point was always [the docks} trespassing on borough property," Boggia said. "It’s good that we got to the goal or objective for this."

Council President Neda Rose said that when the land was filed as Green Acres it was protected and would not be developed anyway. Mayor Nancy Merse said the Green Acres application also included other park and not just the riparian lands.

Boggia said that since Weschler provided the council with a list of the Green Acres land that night, Gregory could check the zoning for all of them.

Gregory said she would have an ordinance prepared for the Sept. 15 council meeting.

"Then the next issue is how do we deal with the docks on Green Acres land?" Gregory said.