No. Castle Approves Controversial Rezone for Mariani Gardens

The North Castle Town Board approved a rezone of the Mariani Gardens property and a revision of the Comprehensive Plan for potential development of a 43-unit multifamily project despite repeated suggestions that the proposal would be too dense.

After a nearly four-hour public hearing last Wednesday evening that at times turned contentious, the board voted 3-2 to rezone the 4.1-acre property at 45 Bedford Rd. in Armonk from Nursery Business (NB) to the new specialty Residential-Multifamily-Downtown Armonk Zoning District that enables the application to advance. A special permit from the Town Board and site plan approval from the Planning Board are still needed for the project to be approved.

Supervisor Michael Schiliro, who cast the deciding vote, said it was a difficult decision but said the rezone is justified considering changing conditions in the real estate market. He noted that most of the opponents to the rezone and the Comprehensive Plan amendment agree that the site should be home to a residential development.

Much of the debate centered on the density of the project and its impact on the adjacent Bedford Road Historic District.

“Demographics change, needs change and although when we did the Comprehensive Plan update we talked about limited residential, even from then, even when they started that project, the needs where we live in the county have changed where, knowing this from the private sector, it’s not economically viable to have a mixed-use type project there because then you have to figure out how to rent the retail or how to fill that space,” Schiliro said.

The vote to amend a portion of the Comprehensive Plan comes 13 months after the Town Board updated the document calling for limited residential at the site. While limited residential was not clearly defined in the document, Anthony Veneziano, one of the developer’s attorneys, said that limited residential meant a mixed-use development.

Board members Jose Berra and Barbara DiGiacinto opposed the rezone, arguing that the density would be excessive and the size and scale of the buildings would be inappropriate for the nearby historic district.

“There’s just too much here and it’s not something I can live with,” Berra said. “I would really hope that it could be scaled down. I realize, I understand the economics, I understand people want to be able to make money and capitalism’s a good thing but we have to look at the overall town. So, in terms of density it presents all sorts of issues.”

DiGiacinto said the overwhelming feedback she received from residents focused on the enormity of the project. She said that the Comprehensive Plan not only called for limited residential but also maintaining the current NB zone density. DiGiacinto asked Mariani to return with a scaled-down version.

“I don’t know what the magic number is (in terms of units), but (it should be) a plan that doesn’t fill this room to capacity with the majority of the people speaking against it,” DiGiacinto said.

Meanwhile, councilmen Stephen D’Angelo and Barry Reiter supported the requests, concluding that the applicant addressed enough of the concerns, including the removal of all living space from the property’s floodplain and structures from a deed restricted area closest to Maple Avenue.

D’Angelo said the proposed C Building, which will house 24 of the units and is set back about 300 feet from Bedford Road, is roughly the size of the existing nursery building. If there were fewer units, they would likely be larger.

“We worked very hard to make this a much better project,” D’Angelo said.

The proposal of 43 luxury rentals units was reduced from 50 in the last iteration and the number of bedrooms is down from 93 to 76. Veneziano said the rents would range from an average of $3,500 a month for the 24 one-bedroom units to $10,000 for the four four-bedroom units. There would also be nine two-bedroom apartments and six three-bedroom residences.

Speakers lined up for most of the evening exhorting the board to see their point of view. Supporters of the rezone said the project would provide the community some certainty for the parcel for generations.

Kelly Skaggs, a parishioner at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church across the street from the parcel and a member of the North Castle Historical Society, said that while the proposal is not perfect, it represents positive change, similar to Armonk Square, as the needs of the community change.

“Likewise, a residential development at Mariani Gardens would be good for our community, bringing new business to Armonk Square and Main Street and a new set of residents who don’t need to bring their cars to town and look for parking on Main Street because they can walk,” Skaggs said.

Resident Neal Baumann, also a St. Stephen’s member, said numerous changes have been made to the proposal to make it more palatable than a likely commercial use.

“I believe we are at the end of the line with this property and the owner,” Baumann said. “If this application is defeated, the property will be sold and an application will be submitted that most likely none of us will be happy with.”

Nursery owner Mark Mariani has come before the board on multiple occasions asking for various accessory uses to supplement his “exotic landscaping” enterprise. Additional requests had included a catering service and for Soul Cycle to use a portion of the facility.

However, those in opposition outnumbered proponents. Thomas Rice, a 30-year Armonk resident, argued that such a major change to a hamlet entranceway would be “destructive” to the hamlet. An online petition to stop the proposal contained 443 names by Sunday evening.

“The question is whether it’s the limited residential that you all approved and was approved in the Comprehensive Plan or whether we do a high-density apartment complex at one of the main entrances to our town, and I think it would be offensive to consider doing that, I think it is destructive to the nature of this hamlet,” Rice said.

“That this board might give consideration to this plan simply shocks me,” said resident Susan Shimer.

Veneziano said he and his client heard the concerns and will do their best to continue to improve the proposal.

“I pledge we will continue to work with you and I will continue to work with my client to do this,” he said.