No. Castle Town Board: Age Restricted Housing Proposal too Dense
The owner of a 3.6-acre parcel looking to build an age-restricted housing project on Armonk’s Old Mount Kisco Road will likely be forced to reduce density despite his pledge to build sewers for neighboring homeowners.
The North Castle Town Board told property owner Frank Madonna Jr. last week that it would schedule a work session to hash out key issues surrounding his proposal. Board members listed a number of concerns, most notably that the proposed 28 units of one- and two-bedroom housing would likely be too much for the site to absorb.
Madonna appeared before the board at its Feb. 13 meeting requesting that officials refer his project to the planning board so that board can move forward with the site plan review process. However, since he needs a rezoning of the property, which is the purview of the town board, officials temporarily rebuffed his request.
Supervisor Howard Arden told Madonna that just because he has revised the project to build sewers for all owners within 100 feet of his property line, that doesn’t allow him to have an inappropriate number of units for the site. Under Madonna’s proposal, he would build sewer lines for eight neighboring homeowners.
“I have a problem with the density and I don’t think we can just say because you need X number of dollars and units to build sewers you should have a great deal of density,” Arden said.
The remainder of the board also cited the density issue with some members listing traffic, ingress and egress from Route 128 and the underground parking, which could make it resemble an apartment building, as potential obstacles.
Madonna, who acquired the property in stages between 2008 and 2010, said he needed the 28 units in order to have the project, called The Byram, financially viable so he could build the sewers. He said various studies conducted by the town have traced a pattern of failing septic systems in the area going back at least 30 years.
Odors from the failing septics in the area are unmistakable, Madonna added.
“The Byram project (initiates) infrastructure improvements that protect the health of the Old Mount Kisco Road neighborhood and the community as a whole. Improvements that have not been able to be accomplished in more than 30 years can finally be realized,” Madonna said.
Trying to convince officials of the townwide advantages of the project, he said there would be a net tax revenue gain of about $140,000 a year even though the units will be taxed as condominiums. The 55 and up restriction would significantly curtail the number of schoolchildren. By comparison, if he were to subdivide the property and build six private homes, there would be an estimated 12 to 15 students added to the Byram Hills School District.
“You’re not committing to anything,” Madonna pressed on regarding a referral to the planning board. “You’re just letting me move forward to try and work with the planning board.”
Councilwoman Diane DiDonato-Roth said that the board appreciated what Madonna was hoping to do with the property, including providing sewers for the immediate neighbors, but needed to iron out the critical issues that have been raised. She said the board wanted the project to succeed if it were to move forward and that means putting in the time to whittle the project to an appropriate size before significant money is spent.
“But the density of the project, hearing from the town board, they’re feeling like it’s a little bit out of the scope of what they’re willing to accept,” DiDonato-Roth said.
No alternate number of units was mentioned by board members or Director of Planning Adam Kaufman.
In addition to density and traffic issues, some residents at previous forums have expressed concern that the mass of the buildings would appear to be too great. The units would be contained in three separate structures, although total footprint would not exceed that of six private homes, Madonna said. Furthermore, the buildings’ height would not exceed a house that is currently on the grounds that is slated to be removed and trees would be planted for additional screening.
A date for the work session was not announced last week.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/