COUNCIL OF GREENBURGH CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS
Minutes of Meeting - May 9, 2000
The Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations seeks to provide information and advance the common interests of member civic groups in important Town affairs. The following twenty-six civic groups have paid dues for the year 2000:
Beaver Hill Association
Birchwood Civic Association
Broadview Civic Association
Downing Hill Civic Association
East Hartsdale Avenue Civic Association
East Irvington Civic Association
Edgemont Civic Association
Edgemont Community Council, Inc.
Fort Hill Association
Fulton Park Civic Association
Juniper Hill Civic Association
Knollwood Manor Civic Association
Longview Civic Association
Lower Manor Woods Neighborhood Association
Mayfair-Knollwood Civic Association
North Elmsford Civic Association
Parkway Gardens Civic Association -
Parkway Homes Civic Association
Secor Homes Civic Association, Inc.
Southern Greenville Civic Association
Stone Oaks Condominium
The Cotswold Association, Inc.
Washington Avenue Civic Association
Westchester Hills Civic Association
Winding Road Farm Association
Woodhill Civic Association
Twenty-five of the thirty-four civic groups who were members in 1999 have paid dues for the year 2000 and the Washington Avenue Civic Association has joined for the first time. There is $892.73 in the treasury.
CGCA Members wished "A HAPPY BIRTHDAY" to
• Alice Moroney, Knollwood Manor Civic Association;
• Curt Constable, Juniper Hill Civic Association;
• Francis Sheehan, CGCA observer and member of ARB, GCFC and ZBA;
• Stephanie Bellino, Lower Manor Woods Neighborhood Association; and
• Sally Schaadt, Granada Condominium III Association.
"GET WELL QUICK" messages were sent to Irene Zuck, Fulton Park Civic Association.
ARDSLEY ROAD - GEL-SPRAIN REALTY
Five residents from Ardsley Road attended the meeting to learn about the CGCA and to discuss either establishing their own civic association or joining another area group. CGCA members provided the residents with information about the purpose of the CGCA, the names of other civic groups in the area and the steps the residents should take if they wish to establish a new civic association.
The Ardsley Road residents also sought information on how development projects are processed in the Town. They are concerned about the 40+ acres Gel-sprain property located behind their homes. The parcel contains extremely steep slopes and Con Edison high tension wires which make much of the property undevelopable. Toll Brothers, Inc. is requesting that the Town Board rezone the property to a Planned Unit Development (PUD). A PUD overlay would allow the developer to cluster 68 houses on the buildable portion of the property. Toll Brothers has purchased one parcel on Ardsley Road, giving access to the Gel-sprain property, but questions were raised about the adequacy of access because of its closeness to the curve near Sprain Road.
CGCA members explained the process for rezoning and site plan approval. The Town Board began the process at its April 12 meeting, when it referred Toll Brothers' request to the Planning Board for review and recommendation. At that meeting, resident Fred Becker was sworn in as Deputy Town Supervisor for the application. The application was briefly discussed at the May 3 Planning Board work session, with the applicant seeking preliminary feedback on the sketch plan and Mr. Becker asking for a 6-month moratorium on any development. The Planning Board will continue its discussion on the application on May 17.
The CGCA will follow this project through the application and approval process. Given the environmental constraints on the site, it was recommended that a Full Environmental Impact Statement be required. The residents were advised to check the Gel-sprain file regularly and to have their names placed on the Town's list to receive agenda of all meetings. CGCA members also encouraged the residents to contact other groups, including Boulder Ridge Condominium, officials in the Village of Ardsley and the Town's Conservation Advisory Council.
CGCA members informed the Ardsley Road residents that the Gel-sprain property was one of the parcels being studied by the Comprehensive Plan Committee and was being considered for up-zoning from R-20 to R-40 and/or excluding the areas of steep slopes when calculating allowable development. It was noted that the CGCA has been urging the Town Board to enact a moratorium on development of selected sites until the Comprehensive Plan is adopted. The Town Board repeatedly has failed to respond to residents' calls to enact a moratorium. Even the Town's consultant, Saratoga Associates, indicated last October that it would be appropriate to enact a moratorium on the selected parcels. Since the process on Gelsprain has begun, it is likely that the application will be "grandfathered" and allowed to proceed through the process, even if a moratorium were enacted soon.
It was noted that last September when residents from Ardsley Road attended a Town Board work session, several members of the Town Board stated that they were opposed to any development on the site. However, that was before anyone knew that the developer was Toll Brothers. The Toll Brothers not only individually contribute to Supervisor Feiner's campaigns but also have established a campaign committee to provide funds to Mr. Feiner. It is likely another open space will be lost to developers.
TAPPAN ZEE BRIDGE PROPOSAL
Bill Cerbone, a resident of Tarrytown, has been following the state's recommendation to build a replacement bridge for the Tappan Zee Bridge. Mr. Cerbone is concerned about expansion of I-287 and has provided the CGCA with a copy of the Final Report for "Long Term Needs Assessment and Alternative Analysis - I-287/Tappan Zee Bridge Corridor" prepared for the Governor's I-287 Task Force. The report was prepared in April, and meetings have been held on both sides of the river. Another meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Marymount College in Tarrytown on May 18.
The Task Force examined a number of alternatives to address congestion along the I-287 corridor. The preferred alternative is to build a new bridge and widen I-287 from Stewart Airport to Port Chester to accommodate commuter rail service or, as a second choice, a light rail or bus guideway system. CGCA members questioned the impact these proposals would have on the Town of Greenburgh and asked where there are railroad stations along I-287. It was noted that plans exist to make Stewart Airport a cargo airport, and any plans for a commuter rail or light rail service could result in commercial use in addition to transporting commuters.
CGCA representatives will read the report, attend the meeting in Tarrytown and question Town Board members about the report. It was noted that the Town Board last month passed a resolution calling for an independent review of the need for a new bridge but no mention was made of widening Route I-287 or any rail service. Greenburgh Town officials apparently have not attended the state-scheduled meetings.
GREENBURGH CAMPAIGN FINANCE COMMISSION
The Greenburgh Campaign Finance Commission (GCFC) has held six meetings to date as well as a number of subcommittee meetings. At the April 25 meeting, the GCFC discussed preliminary recommendations from the Ethics and Cable Access subcommittees and heard from Supervisor Paul Feiner, an invited speaker. Mr. Feiner stated that he wants real campaign finance reform at the local level to "level the playing field." He urged taxpayer financing of local elections and suggested that the money not be given to candidates but used to provide voters in the town, in both the primary and general elections, with a voter guide containing the responses of candidates to 10 questions. Mr. Feiner stated that he did not believe that most Greenburgh residents watch public access programs but that taxpayer funds also could be used to produce candidate "info-mercials" that would be aired on radio and popular cable channels, such as CNN or the Discovery Channel. When questioned how much money was needed to run a competitive race for supervisor, Mr. Feiner indicated that the cost could be as high as $100,000. However, he noted that in recent years he has not had a serious challenge and his greatest expense last year was $9,000 to stay on the ballot when the Republicans challenged in court the signatures on his nominating petition. When Commission Secretary Francis Sheehan asked what restrictions he had placed on the Commission, Mr. Feiner stated that his only restriction was that a referendum be placed on the ballot so that voters could decide about partial or full taxpayer financing of elections. Co-chair Harriet Leib reminded Mr. Feiner that LWV involvement was contingent on the Commission being "totally independent" and able to make recommendations as it deemed appropriate, even if they were not directly related to the charge. Mr. Feiner agreed with Ms. Leib's statement.
CGCA members distributed and discussed a May 5 memo from CGCA representative to the GCFC, Mary Tobias, to her fellow Cable TV subcommittee members. Ms. Tobias urges the subcommittee members to invite representatives from the Mamaroneck/Larchmont cable board to a meeting to discuss the totally independent (free from municipal control) cable access system that they run. It was noted that unlike Greenburgh, the vast majority of public access cable boards throughout the country (on the Internet) are independent, non-profit commissions set up to run cable. Many negotiate directly with the cable franchise companies and use franchise fees to operate and improve their cable systems. The independent boards do not rely on a Town employee to produce cable shows but train residents to produce the shows for each other.
The GCFC plans to hold a public hearing on its draft recommendations on Monday, June 5, 2000, at Greenburgh Town Hall at 7:30 p.m.
CGCA SUPPORTS SECOR HOMES
To address traffic problems in Ardsley, the Ardsley Village Board asked the NYS Thruway Authority to create a bypass and a northbound exit ramp on Route 9A in Greenburgh at Secor Road or Whitehouse Road. Carol Wielk, President of the Secor Homes Civic Association (SHCA), called Supervisor Feiner after reading about this issue in the newspaper but received no help. On behalf of the SHCA, Ms. Wielk wrote directly to the Thruway Authority on April 20, objecting to the proposal, noting the devastating effect a ramp would have on the residential area and asking to be kept fully informed on this issue, including notification of any meetings and copies of any correspondence or documents. A few days later, Mr. Feiner wrote a similar letter to the Thruway Authority.
The Village of Ardsley has organized a letter writing campaign in support of the bypass/ramp. CGCA members agree that an exit ramp would be deleterious to the SHCA residential neighborhood. CGCA members voted unanimously to have Chairman Gold send a letter to the Chairman of the Thruway Authority and our state legislators, endorsing the position of the SHCA and opposing the creation of an exit ramp at Route 9A and Secor Road.
DOT - ROUTE 100 PROPOSED RECONSTRUCTION
On Wednesday, May 24, the NYS Department of Transportation will hold a meeting at the Mount Pleasant Town Hall at 7 p.m. to discuss the proposed reconstruction of Route 100 from Virginia Road to Westchester Community College. CGCA members expressed concerns about this narrow, winding and hilly road and the increased traffic that new development (the Hebrew Hospital Nursing Home and the Westchester Meadows retirement facility) is bringing to the area. Since many employees of or visitors to these facilities use public transportation, it was recommended that a new bus stop with associated pull-off shoulder be created opposite the entrance to the site on the westbound side of the road to facilitate pedestrian safety. Also recommended by the CGCA were road realignments (deceleration and acceleration lanes) on the south side of the road to accommodate eastbound traffic entering and exiting these facilities. In addition, concern was expressed about the adverse impacts that the proposed road construction would have on the Shell Gas Station. CGCA members agreed that the DOT should take measures to minimize these negative impacts. Alice Moroney, President of the Knollwood Manor CA will present the CGCA's concerns at the May 24 meeting.
ZBA SPECIAL MEETING CANCELLED - NO QUORUM
For the second time in less than three months, the Zoning Board of Appeals had to cancel a meeting for lack of a quorum. The ZBA cancelled its February 17 meeting for lack of a quorum - the first such cancellation that anyone could remember in more than twenty years. To help clear the backlog of cases as a result of this cancellation, the ZBA made arrangements to hold a special meeting on May 4. Two of the ZBA members planned to be out of town on May 4, but the other five members gave assurances they would attend. Two days before the meeting, one member advised that she could not attend. That meant only four members would be present. However, on the evening of the meeting, one of the four members did not attend and did not give any notice that he would not attend. After waiting one hour, the Chairman of the ZBA announced to the audience that the meeting was being cancelled. A substantial number of people had attended the meeting and ZBA Chairman Steve Belasco and member Francis Sheehan responded to the questions of some very angry residents and applicants about the cancellation.
Residents of the Kathwood Road area were particularly upset with the cancellation (see the next topic discussed) and called Supervisor Feiner at his home that night and at his office the next morning. Without notice to the public, Mr. Feiner arranged a Town Board meeting for that Friday, May 5. As a result of the meeting, Mr. Feiner sent a memo to all of the ZBA members stating that the cancellation was a "major embarrassment" and a "big crisis" for the town. Mr. Feiner requested that ZBA members return an attached form to him within ten days agreeing to "attend all special meetings to be held during the coming months until all the backlogged cases are heard" or to resign from the ZBA.
CONTROVERSY CONTINUES RE STATE SALE OF "SURPLUS" LAND
The CGCA. is still waiting to hear from Assemblyman Richard Brodsky or other state officials about why land that was acquired to build the Sprain Brook Parkway was recently sold by auction as "surplus" land. Residents in the area recall that the state promised this land would remain as open space buffers in perpetuity. These auctioned parcels affect two areas:
High Street (North Elmsford). On March 29, the Planning Board instructed the owner, Glusker, of this 5+ acres parcel to submit additional material by April 18 to have the Board consider the subdivision application at its May 3 meeting. The information was not received by April 18 and the Planning Board removed the application from the proposed May 3 agenda. The owners apparently had misunderstood the Planning Board's instructions and did submit the requested material on April 27. The Planning Board has rescheduled the case for a work session on June 21.
Kathwood Road (Orchard Hill). Kathwood Road neighbors were very angry when the ZBA had to cancel its May 4 meeting for lack of a quorum. The residents are appealing the decision of the Building Inspector to issue five permits to build houses on the parcels of land the builder, WBRC Corporation, purchased at auction from the state. The case is currently in state Supreme Court. Because the neighbors could not afford to put up a $250,000 bond required to obtain an injunction, the judge ruled that the builder could continue to build at his own risk until the ZBA hears the case and makes its decision. Kathwood Road residents believe the ZBA quorum problem was an orchestrated effort to slow down the process so the builder could complete building more of the houses.
Since the issues raised in the appeal to the ZBA concern subdivision and site plan review, the ZBA referred the matter to the Planning Board for its advice. At the May 3 Planning Board meeting, Chairperson Frances McLaughlin recused herself from the discussion, citing potential conflict of interest, because she works for Westchester County and County Legislator Tom Abinanti was bringing the appeal on behalf of the Kathwood Road neighbors. The other six Planning Board members went into executive session to discuss the questions that the ZBA raised. They unanimously decided that they lacked sufficient information and abstained from voting on two questions of whether the acquisition of property by the state extinguished a 1929 subdivision plat. By a 5 to 1 vote, the Planning Board members agreed with the Kathwood Road residents' position that the builder should have received site plan approval from the Planning Board before the Building Inspector issued building permits for the five houses.
CGCA members noted that the Building Inspector and other Town employees are doing an unusually extensive amount of research to prove the Building Inspector made the correct decision in issuing the building permits for the Kathwood Road houses. The Building Inspector has even investigated previous subdivision and variance approvals granted to the existing residents of Kathwood Road who are bringing this appeal to the ZBA.
ANTENNA REVIEW BOARD TO TELEVISE MEETINGS
The Antenna Review Board has announced that it will begin televising monthly ARB meetings. The meetings will be televised live on cable Channel 71 on the first Tuesday of each month beginning on Tuesday, June f, 2000. The ARB meetings will be held in the Conference Room at Town Hall at 8 p.m. and are open to the public. `dial Democracy" will be available so those members of the public watching the live meeting on cable can call in to make comments or receive answers to their questions.
The decision to televise ARB meetings was made in response to an April 18 letter from Supervisor Feiner that stated that residents were complaining that they were left out of the process because they did not receive adequate notice about meetings of the ARB. Mr. Feiner maintained that the ARB should hold evening meetings and find better ways of informing the public of what the ARB does, consistent with Planning Board and Zoning Board practices. The live cable broadcasts of ARB meetings was the method found.
TOWN HIRES PLANNING FIRM
At the April 12 meeting, the Town Board passed a resolution to enter into a contract with the planning consultant firm of Allee King Rosen & Fleeting to serve as Greenburgh's Commissioner of Planning, replacing Stephen Lopez. The contract is to run through December 31, 2000. Beginning in October, the Town Board will assess whether to extend the contract. When a resident asked at the Town Board meeting what the cost of the contract was, Board members would not respond, saying they were still in negotiations. While the Town Board refused to provide this information at a public Board meeting, it appears that the Supervisor had already issued a press release to the media. Only hours later, an April 13 article in The Journal News stated that the cost was $60,000 through the end of the year.
CGCA members have met two of the members from Allee King - Spencer Salzberg and John Feingold who will hold office hours at Town Hall on Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. Mr. Salzberg endured "baptism by fire" at a well-attended Planning Board work session on May 3.
REQUESTED REZONING - ALPINE TREE PROPERTY
At the May 2 Town Board work session, former Planning Commissioner Stephen Lopez presented the application of Princewood Properties, LLC requesting a rezoning of the 3.7 acres Alpine Tree property on Knollwood Road from industrial to residential. The applicant is proposing to build 40 rental units on the property and is requesting a change to an M-10 (Multifamily Residence) zone, the same zoning as the adjacent Pondside development. The applicant has met with residents of Pondside and with Robert Reninger, President of the Broadview Civic Association, who is favorably impressed with the proposal.
CGCA members noted that a Full Environmental Impact Statement should be required given the tree chipping, mulching and storing of chemicals that has taken place on this property. The Town Board appears to be fast-tracking this application and plans to vote at tomorrow's Town Board meeting to declare itself Lead Agency and refer the matter to the Planning Board for review and recommendation.
MISCELLANEOUS
Adult Use. The Planning Board will continue its discussion on proposed Adult Use legislation at its May 17 meeting. The Town does not have a moratorium in place to protect our residential communities and this issue has remained unresolved for more than five years.
Cable TV Studio Not Ready. According to Supervisor Feiner, the cable TV studio on East Hartsdale Avenue was to be operational in April. It appears that a fair amount of work remains to be finished end the studio will not open until later this month at the earliest. Mr. Feiner has stated that Cablevision is interested in donating equipment to the Town when the new studio opens. CGCA members .questioned whether this equipment would be compatible with existing equipment.
SHCA Interviewing Consultants for Land-Use Study. The Secor Homes Civic Association last year received a state grant from the Department of Environmental Conservation to perform a study of how land-use decisions are made in Greenburgh. An independent consultant was hired to conduct the study but backed out when Supervisor Feiner interfered. The SHCA is currently interviewing other consultants to conduct the study.
New Signs of Welcome. Civic Association President Curt Constable reported that the Juniper Hill area is engaged in discussions to have new signs made and placed at the entrances to the neighborhood. The existing signs have deteriorated with age.
Promise Not Kept for Traffic Improvement. Civic Association President Lorrin Brown noted that members of the North Elmsford CA learned at a meeting last night that the state DOT would not permit the installation of a southbound left-turn arrow on the traffic light at Route 9A/Payne Street. Throughout the approval process for the Multiplex Theater (former Master's/Princeton site), the developer promised the community that a left-turn signal would be installed.
Questions raised about Subdivisions. Residents in the Juniper Hill area are concerned about the seven new homes being built in their area. The residents did not understand the approval process and did not realize they would not be permitted to speak in the work session when Planning Board members actually made their decisions regarding the subdivisions.
Fill Obtained from Kennedy Airport. It was learned that the truckloads of fill and boulders used to level a property on Taylor Road came from Kennedy Airport.
Water Filtration Plant. Alice Moroney informed CGCA members that the final scope for the DEIS for the proposed Water Filtration Plant on Grasslands Road includes for review the CGCA request that no cell towers be permitted on the premises.
Westchester County Campaign Finance Reform. The CGCA has joined with a number of other organizations in sponsoring a discussion on the need for campaign finance reform measures at the County level. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 17, 2000 at the White Plains Public Library. Featured speakers will include state Comptroller H. Carl McCall, as well as the President of the United States League of Women Voters.
Town Limits Controversy - NO "Dial Democracy." The Town Board has made arrangements so that all Town Board meetings between April 12 and September 27 will be held away from Town Hall. This means there will be no live TV coverage of Town Board meetings and no Dial Democracy. CGCA members questioned whether the Town Board is deliberately trying to minimize the discussion of any potentially controversial issues during this election season with two members running for office. It was noted that a substantial number of people would not attend outdoor meetings because of allergies, heat, inadequate seating and insects, particularly mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus. Further limiting public participation is the Town Board's decision that in the event of inclement weather, the meetings wild be held at Anthony F. Veteran Park rather than at Town Hall - again, without live TV coverage or Dial Democracy. CGCA members noted that the poor audio and video quality of tapes of these "road show" meetings that are eventually aired also discourages viewers from watching the meetings.