What About That Wall?
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At a meeting of the Law and Land Use Committees of the Village Board on Wednesday night November 9, 2011, members of the Scarsdale Forum’s Zoning and Planning Committee went head to head with village trustees about the village’s management of construction projects.
Unhappy about the clear cutting of trees and the construction of a high retention wall at the Heathcote Manor project on Weaver Street, the Forum Committee, represented at the meeting by David Buchen, Lena Crandall, Dan Hochvert, Martin Kaufman and Bea Underweiser asked the Village to look into a revision of the building code and called for a moratorium on all development until this could be done.
However, given the unusual nature of this project, and its 20-year timeline, Trustees Brodsky and Mark defended the actions of the village's boards and staff and concluded that the sequence of events was unique and should not be the basis for a revision of Village building code.
In a November 3, 2011 letter to the trustees, the Forum committee cites “the clear cutting of the trees and the construction of an offensive wall along Weaver
Street” and calls for the Village to “to limit or restrain such offensive blights upon our sense of the well forested, green nature of this largely single family residential community. A broad inquiry into our codes or our processes would be useful ex-ante new multiple unit development, instead of ex-post.” Given that the landscaping plan for Heathcote Manor was approved in 2004, the Forum Committee questioned why the plan did not have an expiration date so that new thinking about landscaping and flooding could be considered almost eight years later. They discussed the need for regulation on the maximum height of front-yard retaining walls and also wanted to know why the B.A.R. had not seen elevation drawings of the Heathcote Manor retention wall to help them better understand what it would look like when built.
The Forum Committee called for a moratorium on large-scale development while the Village considered zoning amendments.
Brodsky and Mark reviewed the history of the project in order to answer the Forum’s concerns. They found that the project had been on the agenda for 25 meetings of the Planning Board, BAR and Village Board since 1986. In their words, the project was “thoroughly reviewed and debated,” and in response to comments, “the Planning Board considered more than 70 different plans relating to the property.”
Though Brodsky and Mark agreed that the Village should look into assigning expiration dates for site plans, and asked the Village staff to investigate, expiration dates would not have changed the course of action for this project … “for reasons highly beneficial to the community and discussed below, this development proceeded as an approved cluster subdivision with a subdivision plan filed with the County Department of Land Records.” And after it was filed, only the property owner could change the terms of the subdivision.
Brodsky and Mark also noted that an early site plan called for nine homes and nine curb cuts along Weaver Street. This was later changed to one curb cut to mitigate traffic concerns, reduce lot coverage and preserve open space. On the matter of the retention wall, the trustees found that the Planning Board had acted “within its statutory mandate, (and) retained aesthetic control over the appearance of the wall. The height, length, and style of the wall were all considered. Various veneers and stone colors were discussed. The wall was redesigned to minimize its visual impact, and a detailed landscaping plan was developed to integrate the wall into the overall property design.” In addition, tree removal to facilitate the building of the project was approved by the Planning Board who also called for 250 replacement trees to be planted on the property.
The trustees noted that in the 25 years since this project has been in the works, large development projects have been built at Windmiill and Fairview Roads, at Christie Place and at Westchester Reform Temple. These followed the same approval processes, and therefore, the trustees concluded, “the Forum Report appears to arise from dissatisfaction with the results of one particular project at an interim stage of development and does not, in our view, support an overhaul of the entire approval system, which has worked and continues to work in numerous other cases.”
Their response concludes by saying, “Dissatisfaction by some with a particular result – and specifically an unfinished result --does not support the argument that the process in the Village is broken.”
Meanwhile, construction appears to be stalled at Heathcote Manor. Village Planner Liz Marrinan has asked the developer to plant some trees in front of the wall to mask it, but has received no response. Thought building permits have been issued for a few of the homes, little progress has been made.
Scarsdale Forum to Discuss Schools, Village Budget and Development at November Meeting
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The Scarsdale Forum Inc. invites the public to its meeting on Thursday, November 17 in the Scott Room of the Scarsdale Library at 8 p.m. A reception honoring the volunteers of Friends of Music and the Arts in the Scarsdale Schools, the Scarsdale Task Force on Drugs and Alcohol and the Scarsdale Teen Center begins at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome.
Following the business portion of the membership meeting, Jill Spieler, President of the Scarsdale School Board will present “The State of the Schools.”
The Education Program Committee will host a panel discussing “Professional Development and the Scarsdale Teachers Institute.” Panelists include Dr. Michael V. McGill, Superintendent of Schools; Trudy Moses, Greenacres music teacher and President of the Scarsdale Teachers Association; Lynne Shain, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction; Susan Taylor, Director of the Scarsdale Teachers Institute and Dr. Joan Weber, Assistant Superintendent for Personnel and Administration.
Also under consideration at the Forum meeting will be two reports – one on decisions impacting the 2012-13 Village Budget and the other on the Construction Approval Process in Scarsdale Village.
To meet the Village budget challenges ahead, the Fiscal Affairs Committee recommends:
- A 5.52% budget increase – thereby overriding the state imposed tax cap
- Reducing or minimizing salary increases by leaving positions vacant and negotiating contracts with minimal or no increases
- Exploring reduced trash pick up and the elimination of leaf pick up and consolidated purchasing
- Increasing fees for parking and day camp, and charging non-property tax entities like religious institutions for trash pick-up.
- Funding road repairs, sewer system upgrades and food control measures that have been deferred
- Using the undesignated fund balance for emergency needs
- Educating Village residents and getting input through community forums
These measures as well as a report on the approval process for development projects will be discussed at the November 17 meeting.
The Scarsdale Forum is a 107 year old civic organization dedicated to improving life in Scarsdale. The Forum studies issues before the Village, School and Westchester County Boards and provides input and recommendations via public reports and other public statements.
For program and membership information, visit www.ScarsdaleForum.com, e-mail: office@scarsdaleforum.com or call 914-723-2829.
Wednesday Storm Update:
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A big chunk of Scarsdale had their power restored on Tuesday night, 24 hours before the Con Edison deadline of Wednesday night at midnight. Mayor Flisser reports that as of Wednesday morning, 14,000 customers in Westchester were still without power, down from a peak of 100,000. Con Edison plans to have most repairs done by tonight at midnight.
For most it was too late to save food from the refrigerator and the freezer and residents spent the day cleaning out the kitchen and waiting for their houses to warm up. The people we spoke to were relieved to see life returning to normal after many frustrating days. They opined about disrupted schedules and cancelled plans but primarily remarked about how cold they had been. With the warmer temperatures today, the snow has quickly melted and it feels like autumn instead of winter.
Large branches are littered all over Scarsdale. If you’re thinking about cleaning up your property, here is what you need to know:
Crews from the Scarsdale Department of Public Works are cutting and removing damaged limbs from Village owned trees. To be eligible for pick-up from your curb, the branches must not exceed 3 inches in diameter and should be cut into five-foot lengths and bundled. The bundles should not exceed 18 inches in diameter or 50 pounds in weight.
From today until Friday November 18, Scarsdale Village will waive the tipping fee normally charged to landscapers for yard waste hauled to the Recycling Center. The Center is open Monday - Saturday, 8:00am - 3:00pm to accept yard waste, loose tree limbs, logs and branches from landscapers. Residents should be aware that all yard waste taken directly to and disposed at the Recycling Center will be accepted by the Village without charge.
While you may expect to pay a hauling fee to your landscaper you should not pay a disposal fee during this period. The Village strongly suggests that you direct your landscapers to haul yard waste directly to the Village Recycling Center located at 110 Secor Road.
Deep Service Cuts Would be Needed to Comply with 2% Cap
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Scarsdale Village Manager Al Gatta met with the Scarsdale League of Women Voters on Halloween morning to preview the potential effect of the state-imposed 2% tax cap. The cap would impact the 2011-12 village budget and can be overridden by a vote of 60% of the Village trustees.
Though it’s very early, Gatta presented estimated numbers and an analysis of what services might have to be cut if the trustees elect to comply with the tax cap.
Gatta’s numbers show that the Village would require a $2.79 million dollar increase from the 2011/12 budget of $46.9 million to maintain services at the current level. That’s a 5.95% increase. To further complicate matters, the 2% cap is on the tax levy, not on the total village budget, so the allowable increase is 2% of the $31.9 tax levy or $638,102.
Therefore, if the Village needs a $2.79 million increase and can only increase taxes by $638,102, there will be a $2,100,000 gap – and that doesn’t include monies the village may need to spend to alleviate flooding in the Sheldrake River Basin, improve the fire house or for additional infrastructure improvements.
Gatta also projected expected increases in Village revenues to offset expenses but could only come up with $330,000 as mortgage tax revenues are flat and interest income has steeply declined.
On the expense side, the Village is required to increase police salaries by 2.7% and increase the contribution to the pension fund by another 30%, on the heels of a 67% increase this year. It should be noted that $300,000 of that increase is exempt from the cap.
According to Gatta, the Village has been cutting budgets for the last 5-6 years and there is little else to cut without dramatically changing services now offered to residents. He asked his department heads to go through the exercise of cutting 3% from their budgets to see what would have to go, and here are a few examples of what could be omitted:
In the Village Manager’s office, a secretary would need to be cut which would prevent phones from being answered and delay requests for information. Receptions for the Village Board and Council would be eliminated.
The Fire Department would cut one position, fire captains would be returned to the line of service, and professional development, attendance at parades, non-essential overtime and the replacement of station and work uniforms would all stand to be eliminated. There would be no laundry service for uniforms and linens and the fire house would not be painted. Due to the staff cut, response time to fires would increase from 3 ½ minutes to 4 minutes.
The sanitation department could cut $350,000 out of their budget by firing employees and reducing trash pick-up to once per week, rather than twice. The recycling center (sanitation yard) could be closed on weekends. The village could reduce the number of times leaves are picked up and require all leaves for pick up to be placed in recyclable bags. Another $30,000 could be saved by not clearing the catch basins – further exacerbating flooding issues.
There are just a few of the choices that residents and trustees will face when they weigh options for what’s in and what’s out of next year’s village budget. Some of the services that the village now provides may have to be purchased privately – and it will be up to homeowners to decide whether it makes more sense to fund the village budget or pay for these services on their own.
Stay tuned.
Endless Opportunities at Westchester’s Ridge Hill Shopping Mall?
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Yonkers is the new home to a stunning outdoor shopping center that looks more like a gated community than a place for consumers to indulge. Ridge Hill, located down the road from Stew Leonard’s, Home Depot, and Costco, is designed to provide shoppers with a feeling as though they’ve escaped their every-day-lives to enter an oasis of endless opportunities. But, did they succeed
While I can’t guarantee you endless opportunities, I can tell you that this place does not feel like it’s anywhere near home. With elegant fountains, a charming village green, and a plethora of outdoor seating, Ridge Hill will make you feel as though you have reached a destination. As you enter the complex, you are met with a lavish apartment building that looks like it belongs in the residential part of Battery Park. Furthermore, when you pull up to Market Street, you find yourself wondering if you’ve found the newest town in Westchester.
“I feel like I’m on a movie set,” says Armonk resident, Saul Kurtz. “Every structure in the complex looks state of the art, yet this place has the charm of a small town.”
Although many storefronts still appear empty, an impressive variety of big name suppliers have already opened shop. Guys can find all the sports gear they need at Dick’s Sporting Goods, while women can find a home at prestige beauty retailer, Sephora. Anyone can find his or her cozy winter gear at places like L.L. Bean or R.E.I., and there’s always time for a quick stop at Whole Foods on the way out.
Don’t feel like cooking tonight? Not a problem. With American favorites like The Cheesecake Factory and Yard House, an upscale meal is just around the corner. If you’re staying for a meal, why not make it a date. A fully operational Cinema De Lux is open for business, and ready to entertain a shopper at the end of a long day.
“We didn’t even know the theater was here,” says local shopper and moviegoer, Andy Joseph. “My wife dragged me to the mall to pick up sweaters, and it turned into a romantic day.”
You might think the mall looks impressive now, but a promising variety of stores are set to open within the next year. Powerhouse clothing retailers like Gap, H&M, and Old Navy, as well as fashion stores like Desigual, Orvis, and Republic of Couture, are all scheduled to be open before the start of the New Year. Furthermore, culinary paradise, Sur Le Table, fashion accessories boutique, Charming Charlie, and the sensationally soothing smells of Yankee Candle are also scheduled to open prior to December 31st.
Not too bad, right? Next year, we will see a plethora of restaurants moving in like: Barbes, Brio Tuscan Grille, Elevation Burger, Havana Central, and Texas de Brazil. Lastly, in March of next year, fashion super store, Lord and Taylor, will be hoisting an impressive 80,000 square foot store to complete shopping mall with a bang.
Driving around the complex was a pleasure and walking around felt like bliss. Aside from the nuisance of the drive to an isolated part of Yonkers and the three dollars I had to fork over for parking, I could not be happier with my shopping experience. Thus, if it’s “endless opportunities” that you seek, this is probably not your place; but, if it’s a short getaway that fulfills all of your suburban needs, Westchester’s Ridge Hill is the place for you.
Author Michael Kanner is a graduate of Union College with a background in English and a passion for the written word. He worked at Scarsdale Golf Club as a tennis pro before offering his services to a private clientele, and he loves hearing constructive criticism from anyone willing to speak their mind. Michael can be contacted at Michael.Kanner4@gmail.com
