Comprehensive Plan Committee

Meeting #9

July 31, 2008

8:30 a.m., Ruth M. Keeler Library

MEMBERS PRESENT: John White, Chairman

Martin Aronchick

Katherine Daniels

Linda Farina

Pam Pooley

Peter Wiederhorn

MEMBER ABSENT: Charlotte Harris

Drew Outhouse

OTHERS PRESENT: Cynthia Curtis, Planning Board Chairperson

Robert Kotch

Liz Reeve, Town Board Member

Mark Stellato, Ferrandino & Associates, Inc.

Janice Will, Recording Secretary

Chairman White opened the July 31, 2008 Comprehensive Plan Committee meeting.

John welcomed Linda Farina to the group, and they in turn introduced themselves.

Share Comments from July 24 Town Meeting

John told the group that he thought the July 24 Town Hall meeting went very well, and he was only sorry that Charlotte Harris and Peter Wiederhorn weren’t there re their work on water and traffic. John said there were 82 people present at the meeting.

John commented that in comparing Google and Yahoo searches, both turned up the CPC meeting minutes he has been posting on both the Town website and his own.

Regarding the traffic section, he said that between the efforts of Bob Kotch and Peter Wiederhorn and the work done by the traffic consultant, Mary Manning, it showed that the CPC is into the details of the issue. He passed around some e-mails received after the Town Hall meeting and said he thinks they have accomplished what they wanted to do. Getting more people involved is one thing, and now Linda has joined the CPC. John said he hopes a few more people will get involved.

John briefly went over the night’s agenda, including discussion of next steps and next topics. He said he also wants to discuss the September workshop. John said that after that, they should begin to formalize the document, and he hopes to publish a draft Comprehensive Plan in the spring.

Meeting with DOT, July 29

John stated that on July 29 he, Mark Stellato and Bob Kotch met with 5 people from the Westchester County Department of Transportation, including the Commissioner. He said the meeting was very helpful. Highlights of the meeting were:

· MTA is filing an application to improve the Danbury line (chance to comment at public hearing/window of opportunity for CPC).

· County not aware of the church to be built in Somers (Kennedy High School). Good to get exit ramp from 684 at Route 138/focus for IBM.

· Bus service – once a bus route from Mahopac, not running any more. In past, studied where parked cars came from to see where bus service would be helpful, but study is 10 years old. Asked them to look at it again.

Bob Kotch said the study was of overflow parking only (Route 100 in Croton Falls), but any new study should look at the parking lots also.

John stated that he met with the Somers Planner and was invited to address their Town Board. He learned that IBM wanted bus service to the train station and approached Heritage Hills about using their bus, but the Heritage Hills association was against it. John said he thought they should raise the issue again.

Linda asked how long ago that was, but John said he did not know.

Returning to the subject of the new church to be constructed on the playing field at Kennedy High School, John commented that there might be a lot available for parking where the church in Croton Falls (to be replaced by the new church) now stands. Perhaps this lot should be purchased with a State grant to help get parked cars off Route 100. John said Jeff Osterman of Bedford told him that a new 800-seat church is being constructed there also. John commented that many smaller churches are being closed/replaced by larger, consolidated churches. He told Jeff about the CPC’s meeting with the MTA, and Jeff was enthusiastic/would like to meet with them also. John suggested to him that representatives from North Salem, Lewisboro and Bedford all meet together with the MTA.

As a next step, John asked Peter Wiederhorn to get more reports from the radar machine. When Peter asked where the machine should be placed, John said someone at the July 24 meeting asked that it be used on Sunset Drive to monitor traffic after sporting events. He said use of the machine could help focus the efforts of the Police Department.

Peter said he has gotten data from use of the machine on 121, June Road and 116.

Linda suggested employing the radar machine on Hardscrabble Road.

Peter said he thought they would find that traffic on Hardscrabble is continuous and not particularly commuter-related, but Liz Reeve said it does slow down mid-day.

Cynthia Curtis said Hardscrabble should be left until after the schools re-open/other commuter routes should be done now.

Peter said Hardscrabble Road could be monitored now and after school starts to provide a comparison.

John told Peter to decide where to use the radar machine.

Bob asked if Mary Manning’s comments from the meeting with the MTA are available, and Mark Stellato said he will finish compiling them and then forward them to the CPC.

John said Mary has been very helpful, and he wants her to see the volume of traffic in Croton Falls. He stated that they should have a capital plan for transportation including paving and maintenance, and a plan for drain cleaning, etc., and he wants Mary’s guidance. John said that in addition to dirt roads North Salem has old paved roads (paved 20 years ago).

Cynthia said the Town got a paving grant 10 years ago, not 20, and they have a storm water improvement plan also.

Katherine Daniels asked if a capital improvement plan would be a part of the CP, and John said it will.

Traffic Action Items – capital program, additional radar readings, meetings.

Cynthia said Peach Lake Commons (office/retail space) is coming back to the Planning Board. She explained that the driveway as proposed will open right on to 121 opposite Bloomer Road. She thinks this would be bad and plans to request a traffic circle.

John said he spoke to Mary Manning about a traffic circle in Croton Falls, but she expressed concern that it could be too tight for large trucks. John commented that the Committee should consider what their big picture goal really is.

Pam Pooley suggested the CP stipulate that developers must consider traffic circles.

John said they could say that they have considered the character of the Town, and their goal is not to have traffic lights at busy intersections but rather to have just local traffic.

Bob said rather than improve intersections, they should aim to move traffic outside of Town.

John stated that a second traffic goal should be for the CP to get people on the roads they’re supposed to be on (or on mass transit) and off the local roads.

Linda commented that even local roads must be able to accommodate large trucks as they are sometimes headed for residences/local farms.

Cynthia said traffic circles can work, and “No Thru Traffic” signs may be employed also so that expected vehicles get through but others are discouraged.

Water

John commented that Charlotte Harris was not present, but Linda Farina will be working with her. John said the pieces done at the July 24 meeting were useful in that they alerted people to the need to have their wells tested and what to test for. He said that for the September workshop they should have testing prices and perhaps propose to the Town Board that some well-testing be done free of charge.

Cynthia suggested speaking to the New York State Department of Health because they tested wells in Town for MTB’s in the past and might be willing to participate again.

John said Paul Kurtz from the DOH was supposed to be at the meeting, but he couldn’t make it.

Open Space

John said he would not go into the work of the Open Space Committee, as it is a project in and of itself and they are managing. He reiterated that he has been putting everything up on the website.

Cynthia stated that the Open Space Committee should be added to the capital projects list, because they are looking into the real estate transfer tax as a possible source of revenue for acquisition of open land.

Next Meetings

John said he has already posted the next 2 meeting dates: August 21 and 28 at 7 pm. in the Library.

At least 3 CPC members said they will not be available for a meeting on August 21.

John stated that he would like to get back to having Friday morning meetings once the summer is over.

Workshop September 20

Katherine said that if this date is important, she will bump something else she was going to do.

John suggested starting at 10 am. on September 20 (possibly doing 2, two-hour shifts), adding that he hopes for a big turn-out. He said the date is still open, because he needs to speak to Supervisor Greenwood.

Cynthia said they should check to make sure the date is not a conflict with anything on the school calendar.

John said one of the break-out groups at the September meeting will be “School”, and Pam asked if they could get the workshop date put on the school website/calendar.

Future

John commented that his goal is not to be still at it next September. He said he wants to move on to 3 more major topics now, and 3 later on.

Zoning

John said that comprehensive plans usually have an impact on local zoning, adding that the CPC should look into that/think about things from a zoning perspective. He stated that affordable housing is a sub-set of zoning that must be looked at because it is part of the County Plan, and general issues like uses, signs and lot-size should be considered also.

Bob suggested contacting the Board of Appeals to see if they are experiencing any particular problems.

(Secretary to provide lists of ZBA variances granted for past 3-4 years to John.)

Cynthia said the Planning Board is looking at the zoning ordinance during their work sessions. They are working on tree-slashing, land-disturbance and steep-slope ordinances now. Cynthia said she also asked the Building Inspector for any quirks in the zoning ordinance, and he pointed out some definitions that need clarity, so those will be looked at.

John said he has tried to keep the Comprehensive Plan separate from Planning Board business.

Cynthia replied that the issues are important enough to move ahead on now instead of waiting for the CP. She said the Planning Board is also working on design standards, lighting, noise, etc. She went on to say that the Planning Board will present these things to the Town Board to see what they do and don’t like, and then those items will be re-worked. Cynthia stated that all Planning Board and Town Board agendas are on the Town website, but she will also e-mail them to the CPC.

Pam asked when the Planning Board will be going to the Town Board with zoning ordinance changes, and Cynthia replied that they will be presenting steep slope legislation in September.

John commented that the CPC and the Planning Board are looking at a lot of the same things, and Cynthia invited him to attend Planning Board meetings.

Cynthia said she wanted to talk about the Eastern Westchester Biotic Corridor study done by Michael Klemmens in 1999, covering Lewisboro, Pound Ridge and the east side of North Salem. The study recommended covering other contiguous areas. Cynthia said the Town has authorized funds for Michael to study the central portion of Town next year. She has been meeting monthly with the Supervisors of Bedford, Lewisboro and Pound Ridge to work on writing legislation for an overlay district. In such a district, 75% of every lot must be preserved. Cynthia commented that this is like up-zoning, and she feels it is important.

John said he heard the overlay district is a controversial topic, and Linda asked who would monitor such a district.

Cynthia said builders and developers are guided along and made to observe the requirement that 75% of the land remain open space.

Bob commented that it is like wetlands protection.

Cynthia explained that when the study is complete with connecting areas, the overlay district must be adopted by each Town’s zoning ordinance.

Martin suggested that a new government in a town might decide they don’t want to participate any more.

Cynthia said the goal is to test the waters re the 75% preservation, and there would be some exemptions; for example, the overlay might only apply to areas of 4 acre-zoning. She added that agricultural properties would be left out also, because they will declare themselves exempt any way.

John asked where and how one might appeal the overlay district restriction.

Cynthia answered that some smaller issues will be reviewed by committees, and others are before Planning Boards now. She said the participating towns are getting close to a final draft, after which Michael Klemmens will present it to the 4 town boards.

John said the Comprehensive Plan should recommend/support the overlay district, and then he added that he wanted to discuss affordable housing/history of County requirements.

Cynthia said Berensen in Chappaqua was first, then there was the 208 case here in the 80’s concerning The Hamlet on Route 22. She explained that the Hamlet looks like a house but consists of 6 condominium units. A man named Marceca wanted to construct multi-family units in Town and he took the Town to court over it. The Town decided to back multi-family dwellings and also a variety of housing, but the County said North Salem’s numbers were too low. George Lawrence wanted to build a large market-rate condo development, and he too went to court. Peter Eschweiler, the former County Commissioner of Planning, was asked what the criteria are for siting multi-family housing – public transport, public water and sewer, walkable proximity to services and shopping. The attorney asked Mr. Eschweiler if the property offered any of these criteria, and he said it did not. When asked if he thought it was a good site for multi-family units, he said yes.

Cynthia stated that the entire Town was looked at for the Master Plan and 1987 zoning ordinance. Because of Continental, George Raymond wanted the same standards applied here as in the Mount Laurel, NJ cases. The judge said to do something, but he was not specific. A blue ribbon committee decided what is a fair share number of affordable housing units for each town. The number arrived at for North Salem was 85, and they were asked to meet that number. North Salem asked the County if they were to provide for multi-family housing in the zoning ordinance, would the County make a favorable recommendation to the judge in the Continental suit, and the County agreed.

The number of housing units for North Salem went up in the 90’s, was modified, and it is 150 now. The 2000 CPU called for 85 units, some of which the Town wanted constructed on Walter Hutchins’ property on Peach Lake, but Mr. Hutchins said he was planning a 4-lot subdivision and did not want to build multi-family units. There are now only Salem Chase, Salem Hunt and the old Appel property next to the nursing homes; the Hutchins property needed to be replaced and the Town chose the NYSE&G piece.

Cynthia said the Town needs to have 150 units, and the Hamlet gave its land away to the Westchester Land Trust for open space. In 2006, the Town adopted a CPU including less than 85 and no mention of 150 units of affordable housing.

Mark said no town has met the County’s suggested numbers.

Cynthia asked how North Salem should go about delivering the number.

John said they should go back to the County, because things have changed. With the increase in the cost of fuel, it is preferable to have people near urban centers instead of spreading them around in outer areas from which they need to commute to other areas for work.

Cynthia commented that North Salem has no land near town centers, but they should do something to deliver some housing units. She said one way is to asked owners of accessory apartments to file a document with the Town stating that their tenants meet income levels required for affordable housing. She said there are dilapidated buildings in Croton Falls and the Town could build a fund to buy and renovate them.

Linda asked if single-family houses could be converted to 2-family houses, but Cynthia pointed out that the zoning ordinance would have to be changed.

Cynthia went on to say that just a few years ago, Old Salem Farm was going to build a dormitory for their staff, and the Town asked the County if this could be counted toward the affordable housing unit number. It was mentioned that there might be employees who are not legal residents, and a lot of records must be produced to prove eligibility, so this could not be done. Cynthia added that if accessory apartments are to be counted toward a town’s affordable housing, the property owners must file with the County who verify the income eligibility of the tenants. Just having the apartments is not enough.

Linda asked about some of the small, older houses in the Peach Lake communities, but Cynthia said affordable housing must be new construction, and she also described the formula for determining income eligibility in North Salem.

Peter asked what is considered an affordable rent, and Cynthia said she thought it would be between $500/month for a studio and $1000/month for a larger apartment. She commented that a new way to work up the numbers needs to be found, adding that Salem Hunt is proposing to construct 13 affordable units, but they would have to build 65 units in all to include that number of affordable units.

John said that another town found that affordable housing built for sale did not in fact sell, and the developer was released from the obligation and sold the units at market rate.

Katherine asked who is responsible for setting the formula for income eligibility, and Cynthia replied that it is the Town Board in North Salem and the County if Federal money is sought.

John reiterated the need to go to the County to suggest there is a better way to solve housing issues in terms of location, the formulas used for developers and maybe the eligibility formula also.

Cynthia said she agreed, and she added that people need to know that the County asks for a variety of housing types. She pointed out that North Salem consists almost entirely of single-family homes and accessory apartments and there is nothing to promote starter homes. She suggested that maybe they should ask developers for a mix of housing types instead of a development consisting of all the same size houses.

Cynthia stated that Bedford has a housing authority that buys land and builds homes which she thought North Salem should consider. She said that in the 1980’s, subdivisions all had some “throw-away” lots – long/narrow parcels at the entrance to the development/near the road. She suggested that developers could be asked to build houses with 2 to 4 rental units on those lots for the Town’s housing authority to own and rent. She added that the ordinance was changed to require that if a developer builds more than 10 houses they must provide affordable houses. It could be changed to provide that every subdivision must provide affordable housing or money towards a housing fund.

John suggested the Town could also pick up “walk-aways”. He said the issue of owning versus renting should be looked at. He said he thought it would be better to offer rentals, and a housing authority could adjust rents upon periodic review of tenants’ incomes.

Peter commented that people get into rent-controlled apartments in Manhattan and manage to stay on long after their incomes go up.

John said he thought the affordable purchase scenario was worse, because those buyers get a big bargain; although they may not sell at much of a profit, they get to keep a bargain-priced house long after their income increases.

Cynthia said they should discuss different ways to get funding, and whether to convert existing buildings or construct new housing.

Peter asked if affordable rentals ever pay for themselves, and Cynthia said she believes they do. She suggested asking Joan Arnold of A-Home to address the CPC.

John said he liked the idea of surveying local residents to see what they think is needed/what they want.

Cynthia stated that the Town’s consultant who is reviewing Salem Hunt suggested multi-family dwellings that look like mansions or barns (more in keeping with the look of the Town), and she commented that they need to find more creative ways to deliver a variety of housing types.

Bob said it was beginning to sound as though they actively want to solve the housing question and not just satisfy the County, and Cynthia responded that she thought it would be a good issue for the September workshop to survey people and see what is needed.

John said Bob’s comment is an old argument: is it government’s job to provide housing.

Katherine said perhaps the CP could just state the need to develop alternative ways of providing different types of housing.

Linda suggested that as individual property owners have been encouraged to have accessory apartments, buildings could be encouraged to construct some multi-family dwellings.

Bob said he sees the problem not as what number of units does the County suggest, but rather what does the community need.

John commented that Andy Spano has said the County has all the housing it needs now.

Cynthia responded that in that case, the ordinance could be written for conversion of existing buildings. She added that care must be taken in building/renovating this type of housing, because home-owners will resist having it in their neighborhoods.

Liz said they must survey people in Town, because there is an unmet need in the community.

Cynthia stated that it is hard to get good information from surveys, but adding in some census information could be helpful. She asked what else the CPC wants in zoning.

Liz commented that there are a lot of developments in the works, and she asked if the CPC could work on zoning re development needs vs. undesirable development.

John said one question raised at the July 24 meeting was whether North Salem should consider a moratorium on development. He explained that some current/active projects were in the last Plan, so it would be difficult to change now. He added that he thought a moratorium would result in the Town being sued.

Cynthia said they need to know if there is any kind of development that people in the Town want. Ten years ago, one-third of households responded that they wanted additional services and commerce – but always in parts of Town other than where they live.

John brought up the closed Getty station on Fields Lane. He mentioned that all gas stations have convenience stores now, which is a useful service.

Cynthia said the area is actually zoned residential, but John asked if they should want residential development in that location or should the gas station/convenience store use be allowed to continue as a pre-existing non-conforming use.

Cynthia told of a town on Long Island where the real estate transfer tax is used to buy everything available for sale in order to preserve the land/stop development.

Some of those present mentioned lighting as an issue.

Cynthia said the Planning Board is discussing Night Sky Standards presently, but it is hard to do much because engineers always say lights are needed for safety.

John said he wanted to recap next steps/action items before closing the meeting.

Traffic:

· Continue to do regular work.

· Peter to get more speed readings from radar machine.

· John try to schedule meeting with president of MTA and include Lewisboro and Bedford. Peter speak to Mary Manning about capital improvements and list of intersections.

Water:

· Linda work on State water tests.

· Linda and Charlotte work with Russell Urban-Mead to get pricing for water-testing.

· Start laying out how to share information at the September workshop.

Zoning:

· Have Joan Arnold of A-Home come to next CPC meeting.

· Cynthia brainstorm with County about fundamental underlying issues.

The minutes of the June 20 and June 26 meetings were approved.

John closed the meeting at 9 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

__________________________

Janice Will, Recording Secretary