Toll Brothers. After voting 4-1 that the plan for 118 senior townhouse units on the 50 acre Catherine Street site would not have any significant adverse impacts on the environment, the Board voted 4-1 vote to rezone the property to the RSP-2 senior citizen zone. Although I have no inherent problem with the development, I voted against both resolutions as I was not satisfied with the environmental review of how the plan impacted 8 acres of steep slopes and traffic on Old Crompond Road. I also questioned the extent to which the Planning Board had any flexibility to modify the existing plan, e.g., rejecting some of the units on the steepest slopes, during its site plan review.
The resolution calls for Toll Brothers to transfer the Field Home and 2.46 acres to the town for a “nominal” price. If the town does not close on the property within a specified time frame, Toll Brothers will be able to sell the building and site. (Note: There was no discussion on when the Board would be ready to advertise a Request for Proposals (RFP) to identify outside interest in how the historic building could be saved and reused.)
Navajo Fields (aka Hidden Valleys ). The discussion centered on the applicant’s request to have his 50 acre property (located off Navajo Street and Route 6) included in the Lake Osceola Overlay district to allow for a mixed used development that would include 242 rental apartments, a 5,500 sf clubhouse, a 23,00 indoor athletic facility and 4,700 sf of commercial space. As part of the plan, the developer would extend a sewer line from his property along Route 6N (aka East Main Street) to the existing manhole on Hill Boulevard. As explained by the developer, the sewer line is the key to revitalizing the Jefferson Valley hamlet.
The developer explained the 3-step review/approval process.
- The Town Board amends the existing Lake Osceola Overlay District to include the Navajo parcel. This requires a public hearing.
- Once the parcel has been added to the district, the applicant applies to the Town Board for overlay status. Public hearing IS NOT required.
- If the Town Board grants overlay status, the site plan will have to be reviewed and approved by the Planning Board. There will be two public hearings.
After explaining the process and the benefits of the project, Board members asked questions, most of which were from me and centered on the need for more information, especially how the existing property owners along East Main Street would hook into the sewer line. After considerable back and forth, it was decided that the Town Board will provide the developer with a list of what additional information it wants with a possible follow up discussion at a January work session.
Battery storage facilities. A retired fire chief provided an overview of safety issues associated with the facilities (for the presentation, see link to the meeting video below) and a member of Sustainable Westchester offered the Board assistance in revising its 2020 battery storage law before the moratorium ends in March. The point was made that these facilities take up less space than solar panels. Some of the land use issues the town will likely consider as it reviews possible changes to the existing law include where these facilitities can be located (currently they’re allowed in all zones), size of the parcel, setbacks, and percentage of lot usage.
Recycling facility. After opening and closing a public hearing, the Board voted, for a second time, to eliminate the recycling provision in the Zoning Code. The law is the same as the one passed in October and was needed to fix a procedural error with the first vote.
Tax ceritoraris. The Board approved a total of three budget transfers totaling $657,422 to pay the tax certiorari refunds. According to Supervisor Lachterman, the bulk of the refund money was for the JV Mall, with$583,027 coming from the General Fund fund balance. The remaining funds came from the Advanced Life Support Fund fund balance ($19,565) and from the Special Projects line in the Water District budget ($54,830) as there were refunds for the taxes paid into those districts.
A video of the full four- hour meeting is available at https://yorktownny.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=1894