New Castle, Developer Agree to Suspend Chap Crossing Suit
The Chappaqua Crossing developer and New Castle officials have reached an agreement that suspends state and federal lawsuits brought against the municipality pending the outcome of the retail use proposal at the former Reader’s Digest site.
Town Attorney Clinton Smith, who announced the settlement near the end of Tuesday night’s town board meeting, said the agreement at least temporarily stops applicant Summit/Greenfield’s litigation while the town continues to consider rezoning a portion of the campus to allow 120,000 square feet of retail space and site plan approval.
The town board voted 4-0 to accept the settlement. Councilwoman Elise Kessler Mottel recused herself from the vote.
“Effectively, both of these actions will be suspended while the community and the town board considers the retail zoning proposal that the town knows Summit/Greenfield” is pursuing, Smith said Tuesday night.
It also doesn’t obligate the town to approve the project. Should the project be scuttled based on officials’ decisions, which could restart the litigation, the town is in no different position than it has been, Smith said. However, there are certain milestones in the agreement because Summit/Greenfield wants to maintain a schedule. Smith declined to discuss what those milestones are.
In addition to the suspension of the litigation, the agreement calls for Summit/Greenfield to pay New Castle $905,000 in fees it owes the town connected to the review of the residential portion of the project. Municipal officials had maintained that the town was owed $1.5 million.
The settlement does not affect the ongoing tax certiorari Summit/Greenfield has filed against the town covering several years because it was considered a separate issue and pre-dated the litigation, Smith said.
In February 2011, Summit/Greenfield sued the town and three sitting board members in state Supreme Court and U.S. District Court in White Plains charging that officials caved to pressure from critics of the project. At the time the suits were filed, the developer was proposing 199 residential units. Summit/Greenfield had contended much of the opposition surfaced because affordable residences were part of the plan.
By April 2011, the town board approved a reduced residential project of 111 condominium units.
The public relations firm representing Summit/Greenfield, Thompson & Bender, issued a one-sentence statement following announcement of the settlement.
“We are pleased that a settlement of the ongoing litigation with the Town of New Castle has been reached and look forward to completion of the review process for the retail zoning on the site,” the statement read.
Smith said that the suspension of the lawsuits is predicated on Summit/Greenfield being granted the rezone by the town board and site plan approval by the planning board. While there can be some divergence from the current plans based on site plan issues, the applicant can reactivate the lawsuits if it concludes a revised project is not “an economically feasible development,” Smith said.
“They’re not going to commit to walking away until they have the right to put a shovel in the ground,” he said.
Summit/Greenfield is proposing a full-service supermarket between 36,000 and 66,000 square feet to serve as the retail project’s anchor. Other stores, most of which will be at least 5,000 square feet, could include a drive-through pharmacy, a bank, restaurants or various national retailers.
Councilman Robin Stout said officials didn’t want to have the presence of litigation hanging over them while they consider the rezone request and site plan.
“It has no impact on how we move forward but it clears a cloud and allows us to move forward,” Stout said.
In July, a federal judge tossed out the portion of Summit/Greenfield’s suit that personally sued one current and two former town board members regarding the project.
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/
