Planning Board
Village of Tarrytown
Regular Meeting
February 23, 2009 8 p.m.
PRESENT: Chairman Friedlander; Members Raiselis, Aukland, Tedesco,
*D’Avolio (late); Administrator Blau; Building Inspector/
Village Engineer McGarvey; Planner Geneslaw;
Secretary D’Eufemia
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Mr. Aukland moved, seconded by Mr. Tedesco, that the minutes of January 26, 2009, be approved as submitted. Members Raiselis, Aukland, Tedesco and Friedlander assented.
Motion carried.
CHANGE OF MEETING DATE
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, that the next regular meeting of the Board be changed from Monday, March 23, 2009, to Monday, March 30, 2009. Members Raiselis, Aukland, Tedesco and Friedlander assented. Motion carried.
CRESCENT ASSOCIATES – 153-155 WHITE PLAINS ROAD – EXTENSION FOR FILING SUBDIVISION MAP
The Board reported receipt of a letter from Don Walsh, Project Manager, requesting a 180 day extension of Tarrytown’s requirement that a subdivision map be recorded with the County Clerk within 90 days of final approval. The reason for the request is because the County Department of Health has not yet signed off on the subdivision map because a lack of staffing has caused a backlog.
Chairman Friedlander moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, that the Board grants a six month extension to Crescent Associates for recording the subdivision map with the County Clerk. Members Raiselis, Aukland, Tedesco and Friedlander assented. Motion carried.
*Ms. D’Avolio arrived.
CONTINUATION OF PUBLIC HEARINGS
HSA-UWC – Jardim Estates East – Browning Lane – Subdivision
Fordham University – 100 Marymount Avenue
Lake Street Construction – Lake Avenue – Subdivision
Chairman Friedlander stated all the above applications have been adjourned this evening. No one appeared to address the Board on any of the applications. Board members agreed to continue these hearings at their March meeting.
CONTINUATION OF PUBLIC HEARING – LENIKA REALTY, LLC – 132 NORTH BROADWAY
Chairman Friedlander stated this application has been withdrawn by the applicant.
PUBLIC HEARING – BRANDON THOMPSON – 104 CENTRAL AVENUE
Chairman Friedlander read the following Notice of Public Hearing:
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Planning Board of the Village of Tarrytown will hold a public hearing on Monday, February 23, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. at the Municipal Building, One Depot Plaza, Tarrytown, New York, to hear and consider an application by:
Brandon Thompson
104 Central Avenue
Tarrytown, New York
To consider the application for a change in use at second floor only from commercial to residential within the existing structure of the building.
The property is shown on the Tax Maps of the Village of Tarrytown as Sheet 6, Block 0017, Lot 8 and is located in an GB (General Business) Zone.
Documents are available for inspection in the Planning and Zoning Office. All interested parties are invited to attend and be heard. Access to the meeting room is available to the elderly and the handicapped. Signing is available for the hearing-impaired; request must be made to the Village Clerk at least one week in advance of the meeting.
Mr. James Arriaga, architect, stated his client owns the property at 104 Central Avenue and he would like to have his art workshop on the first floor and live on the second floor. There are two entries – one on Central Avenue and one on Ann Street, which would be the residential entrance. The second floor will not be rented; Mr. Thompson will reside in this loft studio space. This would allow Mr. Thompson to work downstairs and live upstairs.
Chairman Friedlander questioned whether anyone wished to address the Board on this matter.
Mr. Scott Croft, 5 Linden Place, stated there is a parking problem in the area. Although Mr. Thompson is planning to live on the second floor, in the future the property could be sold and that could become a rental property.
Mr. Thompson stated he will probably only use the residential space three or four months a year. He has projects all around the country. When he has projects in New York, he will stay here. Mr. Thompson submitted photographs of the type of work he does – primarily restoration of 18th and 19th century paintings, artifacts and sculptures.
Upon inquiry, Mr. McGarvey stated the residential use requires 2-1/2 parking spaces and the commercial use requires one space for every 300 feet plus one space per employee. If the second floor were used for commercial use also, the parking requirements for the building would actually be higher than the proposed use. The building has no parking.
Mr. Jason Mauguin, Linden Place, stated the area is very congested and something needs to be done about the parking. He noted spaces on Central Avenue were lost when Lennox Bus acquired an adjacent property. Mr. Blau stated the Village is reviewing the parking in the area.
Mr. Kevin McNally, Linden Place, stated the parking has been getting worse over the past two years. The auto repair businesses on Central Avenue take spots on Linden Place
and the parishioners of the Baptist Church park on Central Avenue and Linden Place on Sundays. If spots at the bottom of Central Avenue were opened up (where parking used to exist) that would help.
Mr. Thompson stated 99% of the time he would only use one parking space. Chairman Friedlander stated the concern is in the future if Mr. Thompson is no longer there, someone else might use it more intensely and put more parking pressure on the neighborhood.
Mr. Arriaga stated if the building were full commercial, even more cars would result. Mr. Croft stated the commercial use brings cars during the day but the residential brings the cars at night, which is the concern of the residents.
Mrs. McNally stated she felt it would help if the parking spaces on the streets were lined. Mr. Blau noted that studies have found that the painting of lines on a street to designate parking spaces actually decreases the number of vehicles that can park on a street. Without the lines, cars park closer to one another than when the spaces are designated by lines.
Mr. McGarvey questioned how many employees Mr. Thompson has. Mr. Thompson stated he has one assistant and sometimes has another person or two; however, they live in the Bronx and when he is at the Tarrytown location, they would come by train.
Mr. Aukland stated he understands the parking problem; however, if the building were used for all commercial, the parking requirement would be greater. Hopefully, the Village can do something to help the parking in this area. Mr. McGarvey stated he would be reviewing files to determine whether any spaces were improperly removed. Ms.
Raiselis stated Mr. McGarvey should also look into the curb cut for Lennox Bus and whether that received approval.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, and unanimously carried, that the Planning Board declares itself Lead Agency on this application.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, and unanimously carried, that the hearing be closed.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, and unanimously carried, that the Planning Board determines there will be no significant adverse environmental impacts as a result of this proposal.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, and unanimously carried, that the Planning Board approves the proposed commercial use of the first floor and one residential unit on the second floor of the property at 104 Central Avenue subject to:
- Approval by the Building Inspector/Village Engineer.
- Approval by the Architectural Review Board for any exterior changes such as the proposed changes to the entrance door area and if there is any signage for the commercial use of the building, that will also require ARB approval.
- A sprinkler system provided for the building as approved by the Building Inspector/Village Engineer.
- Payment of any outstanding escrow fees prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy.
- Signing of the site plan by the Planning Board Chair.
PUBLIC HEARING – TARRYTOWN WATERFRONT, LLC (FERRY LANDINGS/HUDSON HARBOR – 129 WEST MAIN STREET
Chairman Friedlander read the following Notice of Public Hearing:
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Planning Board of the Village of Tarrytown will hold a public hearing on Monday, February 23, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. at the Municipal Building, One Depot Plaza, Tarrytown, New York, to hear and consider an application by:
Tarrytown Waterfront, LLC (Ferry Landings/Hudson Harbor)
129 West Main Street
Tarrytown, New York 10591
To consider an application for an amendment to a previously approved subdivision to subdivide a 2.32 acre parcel for the creation of a RiverWalk. The amendment provides for the elimination of one parcel (Lot 10B) from the previously approved subdivision.
The property is shown on the Tax Maps of the Village of Tarrytown as Sheet 1, Parcel 21 and is located in the Waterfront General Business District (WGBD).
Documents are available for inspection in the Building Department. All interested parties are invited to attend and be heard. Access to the meeting room is available to the elderly and the handicapped. Signing is available for the hearing-impaired; request must be made to the Village Clerk at least one week in advance of the meeting.
Mr. Paul Janos, representing the applicant, stated Lot 10B is the lot containing the monitoring wells and Scenic Hudson and the Village desire that Ferry Landings retain ownership of that piece for purposes of compliance with and dealing with the monitoring wells. Once the subdivision is approved, Ferry Landings will be conveying all of the Scenic Hudson Park to the Village – except for Lot 10B – and Ferry Landings will convey an easement to the Village over Lot 10B for purposes of continuing the parkland over Lot 10B.
Chairman Friedlander questioned whether anyone wished to address the Board on this matter. No one appeared.
Mr. McGarvey stated there will need to be some small changes to the map.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, and unanimously carried, that the hearing be closed.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, and unanimously carried, that the Planning Board determines there will be no significant adverse environmental impacts as a result of this subdivision.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, and unanimously carried, to approve an amendment to the previously approved subdivision to subdivide a 2.3 acre parcel for the creation of a RiverWalk. This amendment provides for the elimination of Lot 10B (which will be used as a perpetual easement for the RiverWalk) in the previously approved subdivision. This approval is conditioned on the approval of the final subdivision plat by the Building Inspector/Village Engineer and the subdivision plat is to be signed by the Planning Board Chair.
PRELIMINARY PRESENTATION – RELIGIOUS OF THE SACRED HEART OF MARY – 32 WARREN AVENUE
Mr. Craig Hunt of Sullivan Architects stated the Sisters did some temporary renovations on the south wing which is currently unoccupied. They are growing in membership and would like to fully renovate the wing. This portion of the convent is old and does not have an elevator, which it needs. They are proposing to build an elevator on the back of the building. There would be the elimination of one parking space. Previously parking
was added to the front of the building – about 40 spaces. The brick and detailing will be matched. The bump out is 19 ft. 10 in. for the first floor and then it is about 12 ft. The elevator is about 9 ft. x 7 ft. The elevator would serve the whole building – the basement and three floors above. There are no trees or vegetation in the area of the bump out.
Mr. Aukland stated there should be more detail submitted for the public hearing.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, and unanimously carried, that the Board declares its Intent to be Lead Agency on this application.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, and unanimously carried, that the Board sets an escrow account in the amount of $2,500 on this application.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, and unanimously carried, that the Board sets a public hearing for March 30, 2009, on this application.
PRELIMINARY PRESENTATION – DENARDO – 1 EMERALD WOODS
Mr. Jim Annicharico, engineer, stated the property is in the southeast corner of Sheldon Avenue and Emerald Woods. There is an existing house on the property. The proposal is for a single family residence with 5,048 sq. ft. of floor area.
Mr. Norman Sheer, attorney for the applicant, stated this is a 20,226 sq. ft. parcel. The property is currently in an R-60 zone. It is a pre-existing small lot. It dates back to when the zoning was 20,000 sq. ft. The code says they must meet the current R-60 setback, which they do. No variances are required. The new building will be more conforming than what is currently there. The plans for this building were done by the same architect who did the plans for Emerald Woods.
Mr. Aukland noted the impervious surface coverage is slightly over what is allowed. Mr. Sheer stated they will reduce that.
Mr. Tedesco stated a tree removal and tree preservation plan should be submitted. They should indicate the size, type and location. The method of saving the three large trees should be shown. A landscaping and screening plan should also be submitted. The driveway should be done with impervious surface to bring the impervious surface coverage into compliance. The size of the house is within the code; however, the lots around it are much bigger so the architecture will be critical in terms of details.
Ms. Raiselis stated a streetscape should be submitted. She noted they are conforming with Emerald Woods but the concern is what is across the street on Sheldon Avenue.
Mr. Sheer stated there is a large house on the opposite corner. It is question of whether you conform with the larger homes or the smaller homes.
Chairman Friedlander stated the marketability of this house might be better if it were somewhat smaller. Mr. Sheer stated if there is no market for a house of this price and size and there is a market for smaller homes, they would come back to the Planning Board.
Mr. Geneslaw stated for the public hearing it would be helpful to have a map of all the surrounding houses and the size of the homes and also the landscaping on those lots. The houses on Sheldon Avenue should also be shown. Mr. Sheer stated he believed the houses on Sheldon Avenue are on even smaller lots.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, and unanimously carried, that the Board declares its Intent to be Lead Agency on this application.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, and unanimously carried, that the Board sets an escrow account in the amount of $2,500 on this application.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, and unanimously carried, that the Board sets a public hearing for March 30, 2009, on this application.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, and unanimously carried, that the meeting be adjourned – 8:10 p.m.
Kathleen D’Eufemia
Secretary
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