By Zarah Kavarana
Two changes at both ends of the affordable housing proposed plan on Hunt’s Lane was described last week by the architect for Conifer, Inc., Steven Schoch. Meanwhile, a public hearing on zoning and town development plan changes for grocery-retail for Chappaqua Crossing will continue tomorrow, 7 p.m. at town hall.
Explained Schoch re the Conifer proposal: The Quaker Street entrance will be well landscaped so that the property can blend seamlessly into its surroundings and have more of a greener feel instead of simply feeling like a “vast gulf.” This would help appease one of the community’s main concerns that the building will be too isolated from the rest of Chappaqua. Conifer plans to work with the board on all necessary details of the landscaping.
Formerly a rendering, a rectangular deck will be built on the opposite side of the building. It will be furnished appropriately for the recreational use of residents in order to become an integrated part of the whole structure. Conifer will additionally add more details to the building with columns, stone walls, and landscaping around the entire property.
In response to the changes, board member Robin Stout brought up a point that had not yet been mentioned about the eventual growth of the landscaping.
He said, “The bridge is going to look better over the years because there’s a lot of landscaping on the bridge that hasn’t yet matured. And so as I understand it, this connection to the bridge on the south side would be matching the bridge. It’ll grow with the screening on the bridge, and it will blend together – not quite as one piece – but visually it will read uniformly.”
Town Supervisor Susan Carpenter read out a letter received last week from Sean Fitzgerald, Assistant Commissioner for the New York State Division Housing and Community Renewal (HCR) to Tim Fournier, President and Chief Executive Officer of Conifer Realty, regarding funding requirements for the project’s apartment count.
It acknowledged Conifer’s great attempts to make the project suitable to residents of New Castle. The letter declared HCR’s approval to reduce the number of units from 36 to 28, and said that it will not approve of any further reductions. Building affordable housing in Chappaqua is too important to HCR’s mission for there to be less units. Any further reductions could jeopardize HCR’s funding for the project.
The Conditional Negative Declaration has been made public since Monday, July 22. Stout wanted to clarify that it has not been drafted by the applicant, but instead by the Town Planner.
Board member Elise Kessler Mottel questioned the applicant about the fence proposed to be built on the Quaker Bridge. The board had requested for there to be a fence due to safety reasons, but it had notably been stricken from the applicant’s draft.
Schoch stated that the fence would be subject for approval by the Department of Transportation (DOT). He made note that there would be no need for a fence on both sides of the bridge. The fence would be put in to prevent people who are exiting the building to run out into the roadway, but a fence on the other side would not serve a purpose. Mottel responded by saying that a fence on both sides of the bridge would be good for consistency purposes.
Stout pointed out to members of the public that the fence would not ruin the aesthetics of the bridge: In fact, there is already a fence present over the train tracks to prevent garbage and thrown objects from falling. The concept for the new fence is similar to the one existing in terms of style and lack of visibility, but it would be between the sidewalk and the road instead so that people cannot make pick-ups and drop-offs on the bridge, he said.
There was vote to close the public hearing on the applicant’s Zoning Text Amendment with four members in favor and one opposed. The following items were also authorized by the board:
- Enter into a contract with Mind Mixer in order to provide web-based public education and outreach in connection with the master plan update for a cost of $299 per month
- Use of the Chappaqua Train Station on Friday, December 6 and Saturday, December 7, 2013 by the Chappaqua Garden Club for the annual Wreath and Greens Sale
- Use of the Pocket Park by the New Castle Democratic Committee on Saturday, July 27, 2013
- Purchase of the 2014 Tri-axel Chassey Truck with a roll off hoist and power trapper at the price of $170,300
- Promotions of three Police Officers to the rank of Sargent.
- Award storm water RFP for consulting services to assist with review of certain applicant submissions for the proposed re-zoning of Chappaqua Crossing to AKRF
- Monthly reports from Building and Engineering
