Planning Board
Village of Tarrytown
January 23, 2012
Present: Chairman Friedlander; Members Tedesco, Raiselis, Village Administrator Blau, Village Attorney Shumejda, Village Engineer McGarvey, Secretary Bellantoni
Absent: Member Aukland
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES - December 13, 2011
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Birgy, all in favor with one abstention, that the minutes of December 13, 2011, be approved as submitted. Motion carried.
CONTINUATION OF A PUBLIC HEARING - HOLY SPIRIT ASSOCIATION - UNIFICATION FOR WORLD CHRISTIANITY - JARDIM ESTATES EAST - BROWNING LANE
Adjournment at the applicant's request.
CONTINUATION OF A PUBLIC HEARING - HONDA - 480 SOUTH BROADWAY
Adjourned at the applicant's request.
NEW PUBLIC HEARING - TOLL BROTHERS - WILSON PARK
Certified receipts received and the sign was posted.
The Chairman read the following public hearing notice:
" PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Planning Board of the Village of Tarrytown will hold a public hearing on Monday, January 23, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at the Municipal Building, One Depot Plaza, Tarrytown, New York, to hear and consider an application by:
Toll Land V Limited Partnership
60 Merritt Blvd., Suite 100
Fishkill, NY 12524
To consider three proposed site plan amendments. All three proposals include plans for temporary parking, a stone and mortar wall with an average height of 32 inches with 48 inch high piers along County House Road, walking trails and, the grading and seeding of open space across from Lot 9 of the Wilson Park Subdivision in the Village of Tarrytown.
The property is shown on the Tax Maps of the Village of Tarrytown as Sheet 001.010, Block 001, Lots 030.009 and 030.018.C and is located in an R-80 (Residential) 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.
By Order of the Planning Board
Dale Bellantoni
Secretary”
Chris Badger reported on the soccer field and said they have now had test pits done, soil samples taken and sent out to Rutgers for further analysis, visual classifications of the soils, and radiation test were done. Rutgers has made recommendations for three geotech engineers whose expertise is in the construction of athletic fields. They will be interviewing the three firms next week to determine which is best for this project. Their expectation is that they take the soil samples, look at the existing conditions and tell them how they will perform in the existing conditions as well as make recommendations for improvements. This will take place over the next month or so. Their expectation is that they will then be able to finish up their improvements at the soccer field in the spring.
Regarding the walking trail, specifically the pruning of trees and keeping them clear of debris, they are meeting with Steve Yarabek this Friday and once Mr. Yarabek has walked the trails, they will have their contractors take care of the trail issues.
Temporary parking - met with Lakes Committee who consulted with Stephen Yarabek. The Lakes Committee made recommendations, as did the Board at the last staff meeting, and they incorporated those recommendations into the new plan as follows:
• Six parking spaces with the possibility of six more, if needed, for future use.
• Infiltration system.
• Scaled back peers to 30" x 30."
• Lowered the height of the peer to be more in keeping with the existing walls in the area.
• Walking trail is shown as recommended by the Lakes Committee.
• Rectified some inaccuracies in the plan.
Chairman Friedlander asked Mr. Badger if they plan to include Village Engineer McGarvey in the discussions and review of the plans for the soccer field. Mr. Badger said absolutely they will.
Mr. Tedesco stated that 12 parking spaces are shown on the plan and asked if they were going to put in all 12. Mr. Badger said they will be installing six, as expressed in Mr. Yarabek's letter, with the ability to expand to 12.
Chairman Friedlander asked if they planned on using that parking area for the sales office. Mr. Badger said they currently have five spaces at the sales office and they currently received 9 - 12 visitors per week, so the parking on the site is adequate; but they will use it for any potential overflow to avoid cars parking along the shoulder and creating an unsafe condition should there be a higher influx of traffic.
Mr. Birgy asked the status of the stone wall west of the parking lot.
Mr. Badger said there is a dry stacked wall and there is also a berm of debris and rocks. It appears to be one structure, but it is not.
Mr. McGarvey asked if the dry stacked wall is on private or Village property. Mr. Badger said it appears to be on Village property.
Mr. McGarvey reported that Mr. Badger and he met today regarding the parking lot and what they are proposing as infiltration for stormwater management. I told him I would review it but need to see something from a professional engineer showing what the percs for the existing conditions and the proposed conditions and will evaluate what is necessary for a 25 year storm. He asked the applicant to provide the Village, in conjunction with the Lakes Committee, with a copy of the CAD program with whatever they feel should not be shared removed. Mr. McGarvey said they can send it to him or to Dan Pennella of his office. Mr. Badger said they can absolutely share that.
Mr. Birgy said the road that goes in front of the model home does not seem to be wide enough and do they have plans to make it wider. He said right now cars are going into a muddy shoulder area. Mr. Badger said the road has varying widths in keeping with the character of the area, and it is narrower there; but it was his understanding that they approved the project that way because they wanted to keep the road that way. Mr. Badger said there were boulders along the road before they took it over and they could put them back along that area to provide some form of delineation. Mr. Birgy asked if they are planning to install any curbing along the road. Mr. Badger said no. Mr. Birgy felt it would be an issue. He stated that they did not go along with what was there; that they varied the road.
Mr. McGarvey said the road was constructed according to the approved subdivision plan. He said it’s not a Village road. Ms. Raiselis commented that it was designed that way because of the trees along to road which they did not want to disturb. Mr. Birgy said curbing prevents cars on a narrow road from running off the road into a muddy area.
Mr. McGarvey suggested that they include Dvirkan and Bartolucci as possible geotech engineers only because they are familiar with the site. Mr. Badger said they will consider them as well.
Ms. Raiselis asked Mr. McGarvey to confirm that the plan presented tonight is contingent upon his review and approval of the engineer's reports for the infiltration system. Mr. McGarvey said yes, they have to prove to him what the perc rates are.
Chairman Friedlander asked the board if they had any more questions and then asked if anyone in the audience would like to speak.
Cathy Ruland, 17 Walden Road, responded to Mr. Birgy's comment about the roadway. She fells that the snow plow did the best it could, but he probably could not tell where to go either. She said prior to the snow, there was no problem.
Mark Fry, Sleepy Hollow, thanked the applicant for their responsiveness to their comments; i.e., the pillars on both sides of the road, the continuation of the wall along the parking area, they have kept everyone up to speed, proposed a well-constructed parking lot, sight-line improvements. He also felt the narrow width of the road is an issue that should be revisited for safety reasons. Perhaps it should be wider in certain areas and mountable curbs may be a solution. He thanked the applicant for his willingness to provide the CAD design plans which can be helpful for the layout of the trails. He feels that the 12 parking spaces should be built now because there is no other parking in that area; and if the six spaces are land banked and needed later on, they will have to be constructed at the cost of the Village.
Karen Brown, 5 River Terrace, commented about the muddy condition of Wilson Park Drive. Ms. Brown said it may appear worse than it is because of the construction work that is presently going on, She said that many of the workers park there cars there which may give it the appearance of being too narrow; but she felt it would be worth examining. She thanked Toll Brothers for the beautifully paved road. She commented that the pillars do block your view when coming up Tower Hill Road. Lastly, she commented about the soccer field and asked how deep is the pond that is down there now because it could be dangerous to the children. It's hard to believe that it will one day be a soccer field, and feels that none might be better than a poor field.
Chairman Friedlander suggested that since there are still issues with the drainage for the soccer field and parking area, they continue the public hearing until February.
Mr. Tedesco asked what their feelings are regarding the 12 spaces with gravel and Belgium block as opposed to six now with the potential for six in the future.
Mr. McGarvey said he does not like to provide for something that is not going to be used and he has no idea how many will be used. He suggested that they put money in escrow for the construction of future spaces.
Ms. Raiselis asked why they could not make a decision on the parking now. Mr. Tedesco said they could approve with a condition for the additional parking. They decided to vote on the parking lot with the necessary conditions.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Ms. Raiselis, to declare the Planning Board as lead agency for this application; all in favor. Motion carried.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Ms. Raiselis, to close the Public Hearing; all in favor. Motion carried.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Ms. Raiselis, that there will be no significant adverse environmental impacts as a result of the proposal; all in favor. Motion carried.
Mr. Tedesco moved to approve the applicant’s site plan proposal for Parcel C which is designated as Option 2, dated 12 January 2012, which shows 12 potential parking spaces.
Initially six spaces would be provided with the potential of the other six spaces to be added in the future.
The parking spaces would be of gravel and delineated by railroad ties.
Also, the applicant must provide an escrow account for the provision of the additional six spaces if and when the Village deems necessary. If these spaces are added, the applicant will provide Belgium blocks as the delineation of all 12 spaces.
In addition, this approval is subject to the following:
1. Approval by the Village Engineer for any drainage system that he deems necessary.
2. The roadway provided should lie outside the drip line of trees.
3. The footpath through Parcel C should be connected to the easement on Lot 10, rather than the road.
4. The five most westerly bushes planted along Tower Hill Road should be removed and re-planted out of the sight line a few feet further to the south for safety.
5. Road signage should be provided on Town Hill Road to alert drivers to the intersection ahead.
6. The signage for the stone pillar at the end of the extended wall will be a plaque with the words "Wilson Park Drive." The size and material of the plaque is to be approved by the Architectural Review Board.
7. After the applicant fine grades and seeds open space Parcel C, the applicant will be responsible for its maintenance during its temporary use.
8. The approved temporary use of the parking spaces is not to exceed one year from the date of approval.
9. For the soccer field, a set of plans should be presented to the Planning Board after soil studies are done at Rutgers. The plans must provide for a field that will be usable and have proper drainage (48 hour recovery time). The work is to be completed in the spring and is to be approved by the Village Engineer.
Unanimously approved. Motion carried
Mr. Blau made one further statement regarding the issues on Tower Hill Road. He stated that it is a Village road and anything done on Tarrytown's portion will need to be coordinated with the Village and anything done on Sleepy Hollow's portion will need to be coordinated with that village as well.
NEW PUBLIC HEARING-GREYSTONE-ON-HUDSON-612 SOUTH BROADWAY
The certified mailing receipts were presented and the sign was posted.
Chairman Friedlander read the following public hearing notice:
“PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Planning Board of the Village of Tarrytown will hold a public hearing on Monday, January 23, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at the Municipal Building, One Depot Plaza, Tarrytown, New York, to hear and consider an application by:
Broadway on Hudson Estates, LLC Michelle Coppola 1994 Trust
227 Main Street 620 South Broadway
Huntington, NY 11743 Tarrytown, NY 10591
To consider the application for an 8-lot subdivision, site development plan and steep slope waiver approvals for property with a street address of 612 South Broadway in the Village of Tarrytown, New York.
There is also an application for subdivision approval pursuant to Town Code of the Town of Greenburgh, New York, to allow for a twelve lot subdivision of approximately 34 acres within unincorporated Town of Greenburgh (the remaining 22 acres of open space will be donated to the Town of Greenburgh) for property with a street address 612 South Broadway, Tarrytown, New York.
It is expected that the Village of Tarrytown Planning Board will declare itself lead agency for the above referenced project which contains applications for approvals from the Village of Tarrytown and the Town of Greenburgh.
The property is shown on the Tax Maps of the Village of Tarrytown as Sheet 29, Lot P42B and is located in an R-60 (One Family Residence, 60,000 s.f.) 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.
By Order of the Planning Board
Dale Bellantoni
Secretary”
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Birgy, to declare the Village of Tarrytown Planning Board as Lead Agency for this project; all in favor. Motion carried.
Chairman Friedlander introduced Walter Simon, Vice Chairman of the Town of Greenburgh Planning Board. He explained that this is a joint project within the Village of Tarrytown and the Town of Greenburgh with a road leading from Tarrytown to Greenburgh. The Town of Greenburgh Planning Board has accepted the Village of Tarrytown's designation as Lead Agency in the Draft Environmental Impact phase as well as the Environmental Impact Review. The Town of Greenburgh will be an interested Lead Agency. This will be a jointly planned project. They will be attending our meetings and we will be attending their meetings.
Mr. Andy Todd, one of the principals of Greystone on Hudson, 612 South Broadway, introduced himself and gave a quick overview of the property. Property was similar to the Lyndhurst property. They are going to take advantage of the beauty of the property by creating an old world type of development. Houses will be very large, elegant houses with an average of about 3,500 s.f. and are expected to sell in the 5 million dollar range. The original plan was for the road to go behind the houses on Tarryhill Road. In response to the Tarryhill residents, the road was switched to an existing tree-lined road that leads to the Greystone Mansion. Seventy-seven percent of the finished road already exists. It is presently 16'-18' wide and they will be widening it to 22'. Less roadway will be constructed with
the use of this existing road.
He explained that the existing road along the lower side of the property will be completely demolished and tall evergreens will be planted as a screen between the Greystone property and the Tarryhill property. Mr. Todd demonstrated how the road will go through the property, which includes the property they purchased from the Copollas, and into the Greenburgh property.
Mr. Todd stated that the property is zoned R-60, which is 1½ acres; the proposed lots will be 2-4 acres in Tarrytown. Essentially they up-zoned the property themselves to R-90 (90,000 square feet).
There will be 8 homes in Tarrytown and 12 in Greenburgh. A previous developer had a 56 lot subdivision proposed and 42 in Greenburgh. In 2006 a 14 lot subdivision was proposed in Tarrytown. The density that they propose is significantly lower than any other developer has proposed for this property.
Bill Lachenauer, from Hudson Engineering Consulting discussed their stormwater plan and assessment, which is based on the New York State DEC's most current regulations, GP-10. They have introduced new or green technology, which is mandated to be included in the plan, by using exfiltration basins to recharge the aqua firm, bio-filtration swales to remove pollutants from the stormwater, and by creating on-site a series of individual system for the eight lots. The benefit to the environment is the recharge of the aqua firm and substantial reduction of the rate of runoff as well as the volume over existing conditions, as mandated.
Currently one section drains down from Broadway and another section of upstream properties drains through the Greystone parcel. It all flows toward the north into ponds.
Mr. Lachenauer discussed the technical data necessary to begin to design their stormwater plan as follows:
• First they identified a series of seven water sheds to analyze the direct impact as it currently is.
• They have to determine the rate of runoff and volume for each water shed to insure that the proposed design does not increase the rate of runoff.
• The soils are classified as B-Excellent.
o They did individual on-site testing of soil,
o Dug holes 8'-10' deep to assess the level of water,
o Did perc tests to determine the rate at which the ground can absorb the volume of water.
Mr. Lachenauer showed the plan and explained that there is a swale along the north side of the Coppola property that goes into a 16" diameter culvert and is directed into a swale that goes into the Tarryhill Pond. The pond is designed for a certain amount of water and the water or the volume going into the Tarryhill Pond cannot be increased. They developed a series of mitigation ponds (predominately exfiltration ponds), which are planted with three seasons of color and fully landscaped, starting at the top of the hill and working down. The water volume, as well as storm events up to a 100-year storm is directed into these ponds where the majority is exfiltrated into the aqua firm, in accordance with the DEC regulations. With this plan, they have directed any water on the site into the stormwater system.
The water that presently comes down over the Coppola driveway and into the swale, as well as the water along the northern border of Tarryhill, will be taken by a proposed by-pass drainage line to an 18" pipe conveyance which will be designed for a 100-year storm, and is directed to the swale that is directed to the Tarryhill Pond. This will slightly reduce the rate and volume of run-off to the Tarryhill Pond.
For the balance of the site, the interconnected ponds will continue down to a separate by-pass line which will run down to two ponds in the front of the property. Those ponds will do the final polishing of the stormwater as well as the final attenuation, which will help mitigate the flooding problem on Route 9. That water will now become part of the system that comes through the property. The final discharge point for this system is to a pipe under Broadway onto the Lyndhurst property to a swale, under the Old Croton Aqueduct to the Kraft Pond.
All of the mitigating ponds, retention swales and bio-retention swales will be visible for inspection and maintenance which is now mandated by the DEC. The stormwater development plan and the maintenance plan are fully explained in the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). The SWPPP is filed with the Homeowner Association, the Village, and State and is enforceable by the Village.
Mr. Simons asked what they planned to do in Greenburgh. Mr. Lachenauer said as an overview for the Town of Greenburgh lot, they will use a very similar philosophy. They are proposing a series of infiltration ponds with one attenuation pond which does not exfiltrate, a series of bio-retention swales that cleanse the runoff, and one attenuation pond just south of the existing wetland which is on the north property line. There is a series of six design points all along the northern property line, draining from south to north, which will reduce volume and the rate of the run-off from the property. The water is also being cleansed with the water quality.
Mr. Simon and Chairman Friedlander asked if the homeowners would be affected. Mr. Lachenauer said that none of the Town of Greenburgh property drains through Greystone, and that Greenburgh homeowners will not have any additional run-off or rate of run-off.
Chairman Friedlander asked if Emerald Woods East would be affected by the additional flow into the wetland. Mr. Lachenauer said no because they are not increasing the flow or volume. Chairman Friedlander asked if they were going to take care of the additional discharge coming from the water tower. Mr. Todd said if the water tower is never upgraded, they are going to pipe it down to the swale; but it is his understanding that Tarrytown is upgrading the telemetry; in which case, it will go away.
Mr. Todd stated the following statistic to show that there will be significantly less run-off when they are done than there is today:
• For a 100-year storm, there will be 43% less run-off than there is today.
• For a 25-year storm, there will be 39% less run-off than there is today.
• For a 10-year storm, there will be 35% less run-off than there is today.
• For a 1-year storm, there will be 19% less run-off than there is today.
Mr. McGarvey stated that when they are done, there will be no run-off coming onto Broadway; is that correct? Mr. Todd said yes, that is correct.
Mr. Todd briefly discussed the Landscaping plan. They will provide plenty of screening for the existing homes in the area. He stated that there are many trees along the border of South Broadway that are dead or dying and in danger of falling on the overhead wires. They will be removing all of the old trees and planting mature evergreens to screen Tarryhill. We are going to request a waiver to plant both non-invasive native and non-native trees which will work best in that area.
Ms. Raiselis asked if they are only planning on evergreens. She felt it would look better with a mix of trees. Mr. Todd said they are going to plant lots of different trees and are only using the evergreen trees for the screening. They will be presenting a complete landscape plan.
Mr. Tedesco explained that a waiver will not be necessary because the Planning Board's condition has always been native and non-invasive trees.
Chairman Friedlander suggested that he briefly tell us the fiscal benefits of the project, the traffic issues, density and the donated land.
Mr. Todd explained that they will be donating 27.5 acres of open space in Greenburgh that will be added to Taxter Ridge Park, they are going to build a parking lot on Taxter Road and create a trail from Gracemere which will lead to the donated portion from Tarrytown. Additionally they are donating a gate which will reconnect the aqueduct.
Fiscally the Village of Tarrytown will receive approximately $250,000 worth of net revenue and the Town of Greenburgh will received approximately $300,000 worth of net revenue. Both will be in the Irvington School District, which will receive just under 1.7 million.
In accordance with the new law regarding affordable housing, they have presented the Board of Trustees a letter requesting permission to provide the house off-site, which is allowed under the law. They are waiting to hearing from the Board.
Mr. Birgy asked how many units they will be providing. Mr. Todd said for 8 houses they are required to provide one.
Mr. Todd spoke briefly about the traffic study which was done by their traffic engineer, John Canning. The study has found that there will be no significant impact.
Chairman Friedlander opened the meeting to comments and questions from the public.
Marc Peterzell, 67 Tarryhill Road, asked for a clarification of what they are going to do with the older trees. Mr. Todd explained that any dead or unhealthy trees will be removed and replaced. Chairman Friedlander stated that there will be a formal landscaping plan submitted by the applicant and reviewed by the Village Landscape Architect. Mr. Tedesco stated that in addition each individual site will require approvals, which will be at a public review as well.
Alan Ziess, President of the Tarryhill Board of Directors, 77 Roundabend Road, stated that they are very happy with Mr. Todd but they are very concerned about the runoff, especially the runoff that does not go into the retention pond. Chairman Friedlander said it is a technical issue and our Village Engineer will look into it. Mr. McGarvey said according to the New York State DEC it is illegal for the applicant to put more water into that pond. He stated that they cannot increase the amount of runoff from that site. Mr. Todd stated, which was confirmed by Mr. Lachenauer, that they are not increasing, but will be decreasing, the amount of runoff.
John Moran, 33 Tarryhill Road, explained that about 5 years ago they discovered an 18' pipe that collapsed in his backyard. It appears that the original Tarryhill Builder installed the 18" clay pipe which leads to the Tarryhill pond. The water from above him runs down under the road and joins with the water from his property and goes into the Tarryhill Pond. Mr. Lackenauer was aware of the pipe.
Linda Viertel, 8 Gracemere, thanked the Planning Board on insisting on a Full Draft Environmental Impact Statement. She asked what controls Tarrytown has, as Lead Agency, in terms of Greenburgh since Tarrytown's rules are stricter than Greenburgh's. Do the stricter rules apply? Mr. Simon was not aware that Tarrytown is stricter and stated that the Greenburgh portion will go through a full review. He said that members of the Tarrytown board will be invited to sit with the Greenburgh board at their meetings to make sure that there is consistency across the boundaries. Ms. Viertel asked that they include the Old Croton Aqueduct in the notice to interested agencies. She asked that the traffic study include Gracemere.
Noise and air quality will also be an issue. She asked Mr. McGarvey what the hours of construction are. He replied 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. weekdays, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturdays and no construction on Sundays and legal holidays. She asked what protections they would have regarding blasting and trees. She asked that they consider replanting and replanting, which is costly, because of the deer population. Ms. Viertel would like the rendering to including a view shed from the Tappan Zee Bridge. She questioned the tax revenue and would like to see a realistic range.
Linda Radlauer, 90 Roundabend, thanked the board for addressing all of her concerns. She is concerned about lowering the speed on the road with a speed bump, signage, or whatever can be done. There will be many children playing on that road.
Marianne Stecich, attorney for Min Ding and Sabrina Shue of 612 Gracemere, presented the board with a letter (copy attached). They do not oppose the subdivision; but since their property is going to be greatly affected by the new road, they asked that very dense evergreen screening be installed along their property to protect their privacy, minimize traffic noise, and shield vehicle lights and light poles. Shrubs, rather than trees, should be installed along the portions of the property where their views of the Hudson River would be impacted. They asked that all plants and shrubs be deer resistant, shade tolerant, and maintenance free. The Ding/Shues would also like the Planning Board to require the developer (and subsequently the homeowners association) be responsible for maintenance of the plantings, and that a
five-year maintenance bond be posted to insure the plants' survival. They would prefer that Greystone use the existing road rather than the northern road, which is being move approximately 20' closer to their home. However, they understand that the Planning Board prefers the northern road. They would like the Map of Easements, dated October 10, 2011, submitted by Greystone on Hudson, to be corrected to reflect the subsurface gas line easement, the telephone and electric line easement. They ask that the Planning Board make it a condition of approval that the telephone, electric, gas, water and sewer lines to the Ding/Shue house remain operational throughout the construction of the road and the relocation of the utility lines and that their utility service not be interrupted by any work on the Greystone property.
Lori Hrbek, 61 Walnut Street, is concerned with how the Greenburgh portion will impact Tarrytown. She also hopes that Greenburgh, and the Tarrytown portion, including Jardim, will work together because they are adjacent to each other.
Linda Viertel, stated two items should be included in the DEIS Michael Klemens natural resources inventory which was done in preparation of Taxter Ridge in 2001. It lists some endangered species and some comments about biotic corridors. John Canning's earlier traffic study should be looked at.
Wayne Heller, Gracemere Lake Drive, stated that the southern portion of the project has to be addressed and that there is a neighborhood to the north which has issues: water, water, water. He asked that the stormwater management plan be looked at long and hard to prevent future problems which will not be possible to fix.
Mark Weidler, 94 Roundabend Road, was present to show support of Mr. Todd and his project. He is especially pleased with the tax revenue for the Irvington School. He requested that Mr. Todd be allowed to plant Colorado Spruce and he is against speed bumps because of the noise they will create outside his bedroom window.
Mr. Simon thanked the board for their invitation to attend their meetings and looks forward to having the Tarrytown board attend their meetings so they can work together on this project.
NEW PUBLIC HEARING - THE CASTLE ON HUDSON - 400 BENEDICT AVENUE
The certified mailing receipts were presented and the signs were posted.
The Chairman read the following Public Hearing Notice;
“PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Planning Board of the Village of Tarrytown will hold a public hearing on Monday, January 23, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at the Municipal Building, One Depot Plaza, Tarrytown, New York, to hear and consider an application by:
Lenimentus NY Inc.
400 Benedict Avenue
Tarrytown, NY 10591
To consider a site plan application for renovations with small additions to existing buildings, construction of a new free-standing spa building, and construction of a new parking structure for property located at 400 Benedict Avenue in the Village of Tarrytown, New York.
The property is shown on the Tax Maps of the Village of Tarrytown as Sheet 19, Block 83, Lot 5 and is located in a OB (Office Building) 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.
By Order of the Planning Board
Dale Bellantoni
Secretary”
William Knoll, with Cuddy and Feder, representing Lenimentus, introduced himself; Mr. Hirosato, Principal of Lenimentus; Mike Flynn, Architect, with KTGY Group; Steve Grogg of McLaren Engineering; and Gilbert Baeriswil, General Manager of the Castle.
Mr. Knoll stated they are proposing to make some minor additions and improvement to the Castle which was approved in 1994 under a Compatible Use Permit for an Inn and specialty retail and catering facility. A spa addition was approved in 2003. They are proposing a free-standing spa and a parking structure. He stated that the met with Carrollwood last week.
Mike Flynn briefly explained the project. He showed the site plan of the existing Castle and explained what they are proposing to do. He said they would like to improve the entry, make improvements to the Castle itself, and construct an addition of a spa building and a two-story parking structure.
Entry:
• They propose to swing the entry wall back some to improve the vision when exiting;
• and to draw greater attention to the entrance to the site where the driveway splits, they are proposing a small carriage house at the driveway entrance to the Castle.
Additions/Alternations to the Castle:
• They plan to square off the existing hotel drop-off area and drop it 2,' which will ease the very steep road coming up into that area and will allow an accessible pathway around the area, which presently exceeds the ADA guidelines for slope and cross slope.
• They proposed to install small weather-type roofs at the banquet and hotel entries, where presently there is no cover.
• They will be adding a wheel-chair lift at the banquet entry.
• They propose to construct a small building on the opposite side of the court yard to complete the enclosure of the court yard and to eventually use it for the sale of sundries because there is no where in the hotel for those items.
• The construction of a 400 s.f. addition for an elevator right behind the lobby. This elevator will access the lobby, the second floor and two suites in the tower.
• There will be some configuration of the suites on the second floor to divide off bedroom and living areas.
• The administrative offices will be moved to the basement of the other building.
• This is the only area where they will be building an addition to the historic building and it is in the rear of the building.
Spa:
• They are proposing an 8,000 s.f. free-standing spa. In 2003 a 5,000 s.f. spa was approved within the building but it proved structurally impossible to build.
• It will have 8 treatment rooms and expect approximately 24 to 36 patrons a day. They will be mostly guest of the Inn, but there will also be day spa slots available for non-guests.
• The spa will have a men's side and a women's side. Each area will have treatment rooms, locker rooms, a sauna and hot tub.
• The women's area will have a hair salon and the men's side will have a shaving and hair cut area with a relaxation lounge in between.
• The physical fitness area will be moved into the spa as well.
• The spa will be built of the same materials as the other buildings.
• Mr. Flynn showed elevation drawings and stated that 70% of the spa roof will be vegetative.
Parking structure
• They are proposing to bring all of the parking that is scatter around the site to one parking structure. In this way they can control the access, visibility and noise.
• They are working to preserve a very large oak.
• There will be two levels.
• The drive into the structure is on the Castle side.
• The profile of the garage will be as low as possible and will be completely surrounded by "green screen" which will allow vines to grow on it.
• On the upper level they will have an opaque material to screen the car headlights from shining out, and a skirt wall on the lower level will do the same.
• The lighting will be at a much lower level because only staff will be at the parking structure since all parking is valet.
At the Board's request, Mr. Flynn showed parking alternatives if there were no parking along the road and what affect it would have on the parking structure:
• If all of the parking were taken off the road and brought into the parking structure, the structure would get about 30' longer toward Carrollwood.
• If the structure were 3 stories, it would be very small, but would have to be pushed way back toward Carrollwood to allow for the access to the third level.
• A third alternative would be to have the net stanchions on the tennis courts removable. They could then use that area when they had large events where many more cars had to be parked. This alternative would make the parking structure 30' shorter; 156' in lieu of 185'. They felt this was the best alternative.
Mr. Flynn showed an aerial of what it would look like including Carrollwood and Hackley. He then showed several pictures of the existing and proposed site from various vantage points surrounding the site.
Mr. McGarvey asked how often they have an event where they need the existing parking. Mr. Baeriswil stated one to two days a week in May through November.
Chairman Friedlander asked the capacity of the ballroom and the restaurant. Mr. Baeriswil said 159 for the ballroom, 100 for the restaurant, and there are 31 guest rooms.
Mr. Flynn stated, confirmed by Mr. Baeriswil that right now when they have an event there is parking everywhere. He said that on a day-to-day basis the parking will only be on the lower level, and that the second level would only be used when they had larger events.
Chairman Friedlander opened the meeting to the public.
Mike Withowski, President of the Carrollwood Homeowner Association, 73 Carrollwood Drive stated that they had one meeting with the architects but have not had a chance to share the information with all 208 units. He stated that the parking that is there now is very visible to Carrollwood and a larger structure is really going to be seen by Carrollwood. Since the work is right near Carrollwood's pool, he was concerned about the start date. He had heard sometime in August. He also said that water is a large concern for Carrollwood and they would like to be kept in the loop.
William Wheeler, 520 Carrollwood Drive, President of Phase 4, stated that much of their common area abuts the Castle. He stated that the Castle has been a good neighbor, noise managed well. Water is a big issue and he would be very interested in seeing their technical studies and the drainage study. He asked what studies have been done on:
• Is this a Type I action and what type of SEQR documents are required.
• View shed, significant concern.
• Traffic engineering study regarding parking.
• Demand for the parking and how it relates to specific events.
• Impact on the historic point of view.
Would like to see a lot more data on this.
(A detailed written copy of Mr. Wheeler's comments was provided and will be kept as part of this file).
Roger Rooney, 203 Carrollwood Drive, presently President of Phase 2, member of the HOA Board and former President of the Homeowners Association. Mr. Rooney stated that he has no problem with the upgrades to the Castle as long as it does not cause any adverse impact on Carrollwood. He stated that Carrollwood has had water problems since the Castle was converted from office space to an Inn in the mid 1990's. He feels that the planned additions, particularly the parking structure, could make those issues worse. He feels that the proposed spa fits in with the aesthetics of the property but not the parking structure. If the structure is approved he hopes that it is more fitting with the aesthetics of the area.
George Whalen, 451 Carrollwood Drive, member of Phase 4 Board, understands that the new owners of the Castle want to improve on their investment but he thinks the parking structure if ugly. He would like to see further thought and active consideration of further alternatives.
Chairman Friedlander stated that the Public Hearing would be continued.
PRELIMINARY PRESENTATION - EF SCHOOL - 100 MARYMOUNT AVENUE
John Kirkpatrick, attorney for EF School, introduced himself; Diana Garcia who runs the EF campus; and Michael Molinelli, architect for the project.
Mr. Molinelli explained that EF would like to convert an existing library to a dormitory for approximately 225 students. As a change of use, it would require the current building to meet current code. They plan to use a central energy management system, which is where the bulk of their green energy savings are going in to. The library will not be changing its appearance.
The Academy students have a Monday thru Friday routine and their day is focused mainly in the area of Rita Hall and the Classroom Building. They are not allowed back into their room until 3:00 p.m. After 3:00 p.m. they head down to the train station to New York City.
They are proposing to extend the alternative paving around the corner of Butler Hall to the Library which will extend the pedestrian strip. The biggest concern is the students crossing Marymount Avenue to Neperan Road down to the Village. Once the students cross over to the Sports Building, there is a service lane that brings them down to the Village very easily and off that road. In the spring they will be installing a new sidewalk down from the Butler Hall area down to a sidewalk to a crosswalk. They are proposing to complete the sidewalk, create a crosswalk and install a sidewalk on the west side of Marymount Avenue which will lead to the service lane by the Sport Building. The crosswalk would lead student either to the Sports Building or they could continue to the end of the sidewalk to the service lane.
Ms. Raiselis asked that they look at the crossing area in the rush hour in the late afternoon because the sun light is blinding and it could be very dangerous. Mr. Kirkpatrick asked if it is when you are on Neperan or on Marymount. Ms. Raiselis said it is after you turn onto Marymount. Mr. Kirkpatrick said they will take a look at it and asked if they might suggest a better area.
Mr. Blau said that painting crosswalks in the middle of the street is not safe because it gives the feeling of being safe and making them diagonal will take them longer to walk across.
Mr. Birgy said we should look into a safer way such as a raised crosswalk which will slow cars down.
Mr. Blau said you might want to look at bump outs which show that the street is narrowing down which will make them slow down.
Mr. Tedesco asked Ms. Garcia if the students are aware that it is safer to wear white clothing at night. Mr. Garcia said she will add that to their orientation.
Mr. Tedesco asked if there will be any traditional library facility left on the Campus. Mr. Molinelli said they are looking for a place in Butler to put a portion of a collection for the International Baccalaureate program.
Chairman Friedlander stated that since you are adding approximately 25% more population to the campus, how this will affect the utilization of the other buildings in terms of how to service the additional 25%.
Mr. Molinelli said the average class size is 12 - 17. There are many large university classrooms that hold 40 or more which are not being used. They can easily be divided and made into smaller classrooms which will give them adequate classrooms. Chairman Friedlander asked Mr. Molinelli to provide the board with that utilization analysis so that we can see how the campus is functioning.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Ms. Raiselis, that the Planning Board declare their intent to be Lead Agency; all in favor. Motion carried.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Ms. Raiselis, to set a Public Hearing; all in favor. Motion carried.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Ms. Raiselis, to set a $2,500 escrow; all in favor. Motion carried.
Chairman Friedlander moved, seconded by Mr. Tedesco, to adjourn the meeting; all in favor. Motion carried.
Submitted by:
Dale Bellantoni, Secretary
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