Planning Board
Village of Tarrytown
Regular Meeting
November 26, 2012; 7:00 p.m.
PRESENT: Chairwoman Friedlander; Members Tedesco, Aukland, Raiselis, Birgy; Counsel Shumejda; Village Engineer McGarvey; Secretary Bellantoni
ABSENT: Village Administrator Blau
APPROVAL OF THE MINTUES – October 22, 2012
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Ms. Raiselis, and unanimously carried that the minutes of October 22, 2012 Planning Board meeting be approved as submitted. Mr. Aukland abstained. Motion carried.
CONTINUATION OF PUBLIC HEARING – HAS-UWC – Jardim Estates East - Subdivision – Browning Lane - Findings
The Board members took turns reading the Findings for this project to the public.
Mr. Aukland recused himself. Melissa Kaplan-Macey read the description of the action (starting on page 3) for clarification purposes since the Findings are based on the Planning Board’s preferred alternative for 11 lots rather than the Applicant’s preferred alternative for 12 lots. Mr. Tedesco began the Summary of Specific Findings for the project beginning on page 6.
After the Findings were read, comments were made by the Board Members and Village Staff clarifying statements regarding the following:
• Modifications to roadway conditions.
• Sheldon Road should read Sheldon Avenue.
• Homeowners Association; should the two existing houses be part of it. Mr. Shumejda said they should be since they will be part of the subdivision. Mr. Kirkpatrick said the Church is the owner of those two house and they understand that it is their responsibility to be part of the HOA as well as pay the dues.
• Mr. McGarvey asked that the statements on page 15 regarding the clogged sewer and it’s obstruction was due to a clay tile be removed; as well as, the paragraph regarding sufficient capacity in the existing line to accommodate the increase in flow be removed.
Ms. Raiselis asked that the tree survey be dated for accuracy and that it be noted that the following items are to be addressed prior to subdivision approval:
• Walking and bike path
• Mail pick-up
• Signage plan
• Lighting
Ms. Raiselis suggested including the condition that a foreman be on site during active construction. She asked if the foreman is not on site, what are the consequences for this violation. Mr. Shumejda said violations are covered in the Village Code.
Chairman Friedlander asked if anyone else would like to comment.
Linda Viertel, 8 Gracemere stated that she had several comments she would like added or expanded upon:
• How long will the construction go on? Gina Martini of VHB Engineering explained that there are phases of construction included in the FEIS, but no length of time. Mr. Tedesco said there will be more information included in the subdivision approval.
• Include landscape protection.
• The pond they refer to is Gracemere Lake.
• Would like to see the HOA structure as a condition of the subdivision approval. When will the HOA take over; when the first house or the last house is sold?
• Statement regarding the roadway to be crowned and not widened. Heavy trucks not allowed on roadway.
• Pedestrian and bike safety.
• Existing structures to be torn down must be removed and not be used as fill. The soil should be tested and remediated and clean fill added. Mr. McGarvey said construction debris cannot be used as fill.
• Clarify the statement regarding the unblocking of the culvert at Wetland C.
• Mention the use of rain gardens as a stormwater management feature where appropriate.
• Clean-up of open space by the applicant.
• Construction vehicles must come in from Browning Lane. Mr. Shumejda said we can have the applicant traffic engineer look into this item and make the solution a condition of subdivision approval.
Ms. Viertel feels that we should be realistic about the number of school children and the increased traffic.
Mr. Tedesco said it should be made clear that the five students is the number of Public School students.
It was decided by the Board that since there are a lot of changes to be made, Ms. Kaplan-Macey would make the changes and e-mail them to the board members and staff. They will review the new documents and vote on it at the December 2012 meeting.
PRELIMINARY PRESENTATION – Loja – 44 Storm Street
Ms. Diane Loja of 44 Storm Street explained that the house is a three-family house with two rented units and one owner-occupied unit. The house presently has a 50’ rear yard and they would like to have a 15’ addition built onto the rear of the house for a new kitchen for the owner-occupied unit. This will leave them with approximately 33’ in the rear yard. Ms. Loja said there are only 9 houses on the street including theirs, and five of the remaining 8 houses have backyard setbacks less than 33’. She presented letters from the neighbors on the right and left at 40 and 46 Storm Street. Both have no objection to the addition. Ms. Loja said along with the addition, they will be reconfiguring the inside of the unit.
Mr. Birgy asked if any variances will be needed. Mr. Tedesco said they will need variances for a rear yard set-back and coverage. Mr. Tedesco explained that he visited the site and what the applicant is proposing is less of an extension of the neighbors on either said. Many homes have either very small rear yards or none at all. In addition the Loja’s have a garage and a fence in the rear which will make it almost impossible to be seen.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, that the Planning Board declares their intent to be Lead Agency; all in favor. Motion carried.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, to set a $2,500 escrow; all in favor. Motion carried.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, to set a Public Hearing for the December 19, 2012 meeting; all in favor. Motion carried.
PRELIMINARY PRESENTATION – Toll Brothers – 214 Wilson Park Drive (Lot 6)
Jennifer Gray with Keane and Beane and representing Toll Brothers introduced herself and explained that the proposed house is on the same side of Wilson Park Drive as the model home; it is the third lot from it. The lot abuts the Village's rail trail, is slightly over one acre; and the proposed single family house is zoning compliant. There is three times the amount of front yard where 40' is required, 110' is proposed; the rear yard is 2½ times the required, where 36' is required 86' is proposed. There are no easements proposed for this property. She then turned the presentation over to Chris Badger of Toll Brothers for more details.
Mr. Badger said the property will be re-staked by this coming Friday showing the location of the house and the proposed retaining walls. Mr. Badger gave the following specifics of the lot and the proposed house:
• Single-family house with 5 bedroom, 4 ½ bathrooms and a 3-car garage.
• Brick colonial with hardy plank siding and energy STAR certified.
• House will be 5,640 s.f.; 77' wide, 63' deep, and a height of 28'.
• Setbacks are: Front, 110'; left side, 30'; right side,42.7'; rear, 86.2'
• No trees will be removed.
• House sits behind a hilltop area which screens it at that point.
Chairman Friedlander asked about the wall. Mr. Badger said it will be in the rear of the property, approximately 42' back, with a height ranging from 0 to 4', built similar to the wall at the model house.
Mr. Aukland asked if there is any deviation from the code. Mr. Badger said no.
Mr. Birgy asked if anything could be done about the large exposed rear foundation. Mr. Badger said the homeowners will be doing a hardscape plan for a patio or deck. Mr. Badger said he would e-mail it to it to the Village Landscape Architect for her suggestion for screening the exposed foundation. Mr. Badger said he would speak with his architects and engineers for their suggestions.
Mr. Birgy asked if the infrastructure for the subdivision is complete. Mr. McGarvey said it is almost 100% complete. Ms. Gray said she prepared a letter dated November 12, 2012 addressing the completion of the infrastructure which was e-mailed to the secretary and forwarded to the board members.
Mr. Birgy asked Mr. McGarvey if this lot is affected by the easements to the retention pond. Mr. McGarvey said no, it is the lot on the side of the model home.
Francesca Spinner, 206 Wilson Park Drive, asked about blasting because this lot is not flat. It does not appear that this house will be built into the slope like the existing houses. She said there is a very large rock outcropping which she assumes will have to be blasted. Are they going to blast away at our protected slope. Ms. Raiselis said it does not necessarily mean blasting. Ms. Spinner also asked about the existing wall with steps and doesn't someone have to look at this. Mr. McGarvey said an architectural review would have been done during the Findings. Mr. Badger said as per the plan, it will remain. Chairman Friedlander said we are going to do a site visit.
Ms. Spinner felt that many of the trees are endangered because of Con Edison's work. Mr. Badger said they hired Stephan Yarabek to oversee Con Edison's work.
Ms. Spinner asked about the sign at their end of the project and why they are getting all of the construction traffic. Mr. Birgy said it is a safety issue because of all of the EF students crossing the road in that area. Ms. Spinner asked about trucks parking on private property and Mr. Birgy agreed that he saw some concrete trucks parked on Village property near the oak tree that fell down. Mr. Badger said that is not Village property; it is Toll Brothers property.
Ms. Spinner also asked about the status of lot 13.
Kathy Ruhland, 17 Walden Avenue, asked about the soccer field. It looks like it is complete but there is not grass. What is the next step. Chairman Friedlander said they will address that later.
Ms. Gray addressed Ms. Spinners comments as follows:
• Lot 13 has been withdrawn; the buyers have chosen another lot which will be put before the board shortly.
• Regarding the planting plan for lot 6, in addition to some evergreens there will be one red oak, three white spruce, one paper bark maple and three October glory red maples.
• Regarding the archaeological issue, a review was done during the environmental review and is part of the Findings.
• Regarding the house being built into or not into the slope. It is being built into the slope and that is the reason for the walkout basement in the back. We are not flattening the property. It is being built in the only area where it can be due to the hilltop restriction.
• She does not believe there is any blasting proposed but will check and report back at the next meeting.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, to set a $2,500 escrow; all in favor. Motion carried.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, to set a Public Hearing for the December 19, 2012 meeting; all in favor. Motion carried.
PRELIMINARY PRESENTATION – Toll Brothers – 225 Wilson Park Drive (Lot 11)
Jennifer Gray with Keane and Beane and representing Toll Brothers introduced herself. She showed the board where lot 11 is on the overall subdivision plan and explained that the proposed house is directly across Wilson Park Drive from lot 6. It is backed by the open space parcel, is slightly over one acre, and abuts Village of Sleepy Hollow property. The proposed single family house is zoning compliant. There is three times the amount of front yard where 40' is required, 139' is proposed; the rear yard is 2½ times the required, where 36' is required 102.9' is proposed. This is a smaller house with less then half the maximum allowable livable area and less than half the maximum allowable floor area for this particular lot. She noted regarding zoning compliance that although the minimum width at the
front and the minimum frontage is less then required by zoning, the Planning Board did grant, as part of the overall subdivision approval, a reduction for this lot. She then turned the presentation over to Chris Badger of Toll Brothers for more details.
Mr. Badger gave the following specifics of the lot and the proposed house:
• Single-family house with 4 bedroom, 3 ½ bathrooms and a 3-car garage.
• Hardy plank siding with cultured stone and it is energy STAR certified.
• House will be 4,500 s.f.
• Setbacks are: Front, 139'; left side, 27.4'; right side,36'; rear, 102'
• No trees will be removed.
Mr. Badger showed the streetscape and stated that the finished floor will sit 6' below the street.
Ms. Raiselis said she would like to see a nicer rear especially because it backs on private property. She said looking at the front of this house and then the back, they don't seem to go together. Mr. Badger said he will have their designers look at it.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, to set a $2,500 escrow; all in favor. Motion carried.
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, to set a Public Hearing for the December 19, 2012 meeting; all in favor. Motion carried.
Chairman Friedlander asked Mr. Badger to comment on the soccer field. Mr. Badger said the work it is 93% complete; all drainage is installed and it has been laser graded. It needs some work on the swales on one side and the seeding needs to be complete. They are working with Rob DiGiorgi regarding the correct seeding for now, and it will be reseed in the Spring.
Chairman Friedlander asked if the pipe on the west swale is connected. Mr. Badger said they are working on picking up the low flow of ground water and piping it out.
The board members agreed to do individual site visits since there will not be a staff meeting in December. The December meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 19, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr. Tedesco moved, seconded by Mr. Aukland, and unanimously carried, that the meeting be adjourned – 9:15 p.m.
Dale Bellantoni
Secretary
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