Village Board of Trustees
Special Meeting
September 17, 2007
7:30 p.m.
A Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Briarcliff Manor, New York was held in the Village of Briarcliff Manor Village Hall, at 1111 Pleasantville Road, Briarcliff Manor, New York on the 17th of September commencing at 7:30 p.m.
Present
William J. Vescio, Mayor
David Venditti, Deputy Mayor
Robert Mayer, Trustee
Elsie Smith, Trustee
Gayle Waxenberg, Trustee
Also Present
Michael Blau, Village Manager
Ingrid Richards, Assistant Village Manager
Harlan Sexton from BFJ Planning
Absent
Christine Dennett, Village Clerk
Public Hearing to Hear and Discuss the Draft of the Comprehensive Plan
Upon motion by Mayor William J. Vescio, seconded by Trustee Smith, the Board voted unanimously to reopen the public hearing.
Trustee Smith introduced the members of the Committee and thanked them for their collective wisdom and hard work. Trustee Smith introduced Harlan Sexton as the presenter.
Harlan Sexton presented the Comprehensive Plan to the residents and the Board of Trustees.
Anthony Anisman of 51 Cypress Lane asked what type of industry the Board saw coming into the Village.
Mayor Vescio stated a study was done that determined what would be good to revive the area across 9A. He stated it would generate more commercial tax base for the Village.
Michael Agonetti stated Ms. Sexton blew past having big box retailers move into the Village. He stated most communities didn’t want stores like Home Depot moving in.
Deputy Mayor Venditti stated that the Plan says larger footprint not big box retail stores.
Nancy Hertz of 123 Birch Road asked why it was called a County Pocket Park?
Trustee Smith stated it was called a County Pocket Park because the County designed it but it was Village property.
Robert Schloss of 151 Holbrook Lane asked if the Plan was adopted would current buildings on the west side of street be forced to change.
Trustee Smith stated no one would be forced to do anything. She further stated once they got the rules and regulations in place they would give the Planning Board tools to work with conforming to a larger vision.
Anthony Anisman of 51 Cypress Lane stated the drawings didn’t show overhangs above the stores in the business district.
Maxine Kaplan of 6 Greenwood Court asked if it will be mandatory for stores on the west side of Pleasantville Road to reconstruct. She asked what would happen if one landlord wanted to reconstruct and others did not and how parking be accommodated if this is done in piece meal.
Harlan Sexton stated it doesn’t happen at once and there will be some disjunction.
Trustee Smith stated the new design would be safer with less curb cuts and there would be a better pedestrian experience.
Jerome Morrissy of 50 Orchard Road stated that it is visually more attractive. He stated he was concerned with the parking behind the stores and he didn’t think people would be willing to park in the back.
Deputy Mayor Venditti stated the parking would get employee cars off of the street and moved behind the buildings instead.
Jerome Morrissy asked how many people park behind The Patio currently.
Deputy Mayor Venditti stated that there is currently no agreement for through traffic.
Mayor Vescio stated the Plan was a road map and how you get there is the choice of the people of the Village. He stated it didn’t change any laws. He further stated the Village was required by law to have a Comprehensive Plan and updating it protected the Village.
Nancy Hertz of 123 Birch Road stated she liked what she saw so far and Katonah had parking behind their retail stores and it worked well.
Donald Penny of 220 South State Road stated he was a photographer and he was concerned with the illusion that occurred in the drawing. He stated Pleasantville Road was not as wide as the picture showed and a canned in effect could be created.
Trustee Smith stated Pleasantville Road did not have a canned in effect and there were three lanes in the downtown area.
Robert Schloss of 151 Holbrook Lane stated twenty five years was a long time based on demographics and there would be a larger population of senior citizens and presumed a certain pattern of auto use that may not exist. He stated we should have a vision five years from now not what we are going to do twenty five years from now.
Joan Austin of 789 Pleasantville Road commended the Village Board for their effort and she thought the work that had been done was admirable.
Bill Gorman stated a lot of time was spent talking about the downtown area and he wasn’t sure there was widespread Village support.
Trustee Smith stated that we have had support from public hearings and that there is recognition with the Village that a lot can be done there.
Brian Delaney of 333 North State Road asked if the long term plan linking east to west could be done now because there were terrible things going on behind Copley Court at night.
Mayer Vescio stated it was outside our jurisdiction and they were trying to work pro actively. He asked Mr. Delaney or his neighbors to call the Village Manager in order to keep a log of the indiscretions.
Trustee Smith stated that we want to look at short term things to try to get the ball rolling.
Margo Berger of 2 Elizabeth Court asked how the formula would be figured for the mixed use of commercial and residential in the downtown area as to how much residential space will be offered.
Mayer Vescio stated they would look at the needs of the community. He also stated the Plan didn’t have all the answers and to make any law changes they must get input from the residents.
Michael Berkman of 110 South State Road gave the Board kudos for the Plan and he felt the detriments are that the downtown area was anemic.
Mort Berger of 2 Elizabeth Court stated the Village should offer incentives to owners to do the building renovations and it would be terrible to lose parking spaces.
Mayer Vescio stated that the Village will be taking back space taken by the Getty Gas Station and that there will be more parking spaces in the future parking lots even with the Pocket Park.
Mr. Berger stated he was pleased to learn that we will pick up 30 percent more parking but was unhappy with the wording that says the Plan will consider creating incentives. He stated it should say we will create incentives.
Mark Santiago of 353 Sleepy Hollow Road stated he liked the Plan and he would like the Board to emphasize it was nice to talk about the 25 year time frame and tax incentives. He stated he would like the Board to modify the Wachovia building because it was so ugly.
Emily Schloss of 151 Holbrook Lane stated that bigger was better and asked if there was a height limit on the buildings.
Mayor Vescio stated the limit would thirty five feet.
Emily Schloss stated that redeveloping the east side of 9A would cause people to stay in Briarcliff and come to the Village; especially if you would allow housing with elevators for the elderly. She stated that having three story buildings would be a better use of space.
Trustee Smith stated there were different plans for different areas leading to different opportunities.
Lynn Kenner of 70 Old Sleepy Hollow Road asked if there were plans in place to expand the parking at the Scarborough Station. He stated there were 310 parking spaces and 450 permits sold. He further stated that access to the train is vital to the community and that there was a lot of talk, but nothing had been done.
Mayor Vescio stated that there are two different philosophies; meeting your needs of today and the future needs of the Village without using parking as a draw.
Mark Santiago of 353 Sleepy Hollow Road stated he heard a lot of discussion about business, but nothing on how it would impact schools due to the increasing population.
Mayor Vescio stated that the two school districts are not included in the Plan because schools include people outside of the Village and that the school district is required to have their own plan.
Phyllis Neider of 189 Hirst Road stated balance was important and she didn’t know if there was a way of saying we want seniors and asked if seniors would want to live downtown when it was made a livelier place.
Trustee Waxenberg stated that she was the liaison with the School Board. She stated the Board couldn’t control what privately owned land could do with development. She further stated the school was separate from the Village and they have different Boards and could not be incorporated into the Plan.
Mayor Vescio stated that we will get to that point when we start discussing mixed zoning and increasing the commercial tax base, then we can focus on the school issue.
Emily Schloss asked if the Board could up zone Scarborough to two acres why couldn’t they up zone it to 5 or 10 acres.
Trustee Smith stated that the Plan states a minimum of two acres with open space set aside. She stated that they are looking at cluster sub divisions and that they want to explore to preserve character.
Caroline Parker stated she wanted to live in Briarcliff until she dies and asked why they couldn’t have a van service rather than making the lot larger.
Adjournment
Upon motion by Mayor Vescio, seconded by Trustee Smith, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 9:45 pm.
Respectfully submitted by,
Rhonda Alomar
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