Reproduced with permission of The Scarsdale Inquirer.

© 2004 S.I. Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Published in The Scarsdale Inquirer on Friday, October 15, 2004

To the Editor:

The Planning Board of the Town of Greenburgh is writing to address statements made in a recent article titled, "Donations May Have Influenced Approvals."

As allegations were made that the Planning Board was influenced in its decisions, we think your paper needs to be educated on the membership of the Planning Board and its process.

The board is comprised of seven volunteers, serving without pay, all of whom are educated professionals, independent thinkers and strong personalities not influenced by anyone.

We are an impartial board. Each member serves because he/she cares about the orderly development of the town we live in. This is the focus of our service.

No member of the Town Board pressured the Planning Board to "fast track" Castlewalk.

This board cannot "fast track" projects; our process does not allow it. No project is ever approved by our board until the proposal has been thoroughly studied. Applicants submitting projects with impacts that do not have appropriate mitigation measures are asked to provide additional information and revise their plans as many times as necessary to meet our concerns. When appropriate, we also require studies by experts in such fields as wetlands, storm water management, tree protection and traffic patterns. Only when a project is ready to proceed is it scheduled for the next step in the process. On Castlewalk, for instance, we held at least three public hearings and numerous work sessions.

Any approval granted by our board, and the conditions attached to that approval, is the result of our independent findings and not influenced by any individual, firm or agency.

We are proud of our service to the Town of Greenburgh.

FRANCES S. McLAUGHLIN, Chair
BLANCHE ALTER
JAMES HUBERT
KEVIN MORGAN
HUGH SCHWARTZ