Pleasantville Officials Conduct Post Mortem on Development Forum

The Pleasantville community town hall meeting on village development on Nov. 16 was given a full debriefing at last week’s Village Board meeting.

Pleasantville Mayor Peter Scherer and trustees shared their impressions of the three-hour forum as well as information gleaned from informal conversations with residents since the meeting.

Last week a handful of residents aired their thoughts on residential and business growth in the village. Numerous requests for a moratorium were a big takeaway, Scherer said.

“A moratorium would be a legal pause of some aspect of development and it is something we are open to,” he said. “We’ve had preliminary conversations with our planner and legal counsel about it and the goal would be to tailor a moratorium that would address issues people have raised as opposed to a blanket moratorium.”

Board member Michael Peppard agreed he was open to a moratorium but warned of unintended consequences.

“There are legal concerns if it looks like we are targeting some property owners and not others,” Peppard said.

Holding a copy of the village’s 1961 Comprehensive Development Plan was village resident Thomas Rooney, who read a section on land use to keep the village small and to avoid building apartment houses.

“They were concerned then and we are still concerned now,” Rooney said. “It’s clear to me that the majority of villagers are asking the board to do something. If you can’t do it one way, find another way to do it.”

Board members appeared eager to engage with residents last week. A lengthy dialogue between former Pleasantville trustee Jonathan Cunningham and board members included anecdotal reactions.

“I hadn’t heard that much pushback to the idea that we are moving forward a lot and developing too quickly,” Cunningham said. “Have you received feedback from folks who are pro-development and pro-moving forward? That was not the sentiment of the meeting.”

Trustee Nicole Asquith agreed most feedback expressed concern that there has been too much development.

“But we have heard from some who like what’s going on. For others, development is a non-issue,” she said.

Asquith added that there was reticence to speak at the town hall by those not entirely opposed to development.

A contentious issue raised last month was the generous offer made to the village for its parcel behind the post office on Cooley Street. The land was purchased by the village in 2012 for a little over $1 million and was turned into a parking lot.

The offer for the property came from the developer of 70 Memorial Plaza. who has proposed a four-story office building with municipal parking on the first level.

At last week’s meeting, Scherer was repeatedly asked about the Cooley Street offer.

“The project has merits but we’re not rushing to do that,” he said.

Village resident and parent Noelle Nicolai said she felt the safety of Pleasantville was being threatened by new office buildings and apartments. She was also concerned about traffic congestion.

“I’m concerned with bicycle safety with so many cars coming and going,” Nicolai said. “I don’t know that my kids have the knowledge to navigate the street.”

Scherer explained village traffic has increased since the pandemic, with more people working from home.

“There’s more congestion with picking up and dropping off kids at school even though there are fewer kids at school than 10 years ago,” Scherer said. “The dynamics have changed and we’re not clear where that’s going to end.”

The village is requesting traffic data from the state Department of Transportation that will be helpful in considering future traffic patterns, Scherer added.

Christine Iovino, who attended the development forum, inquired about fundraising and starting a committee to build a recreation center. Board members offered to help brainstorm and put together a committee.

Future discussions on development will be planned after the holidays.

“As we move into the new year, we will continue to have conversations and engage with all of you,” Scherer said.