Tensions Fray Over Mt. Kisco Preschool Playground Location

The couple looking to open a childcare center at 27 Radio Circle clashed with three members of the Mount Kisco Planning Board last week over the proposed placement of the facility’s outdoor playground.

Mark and Beatrice Santora, who are seeking site plan and special-use permit approvals from the planning board for their planned Little Garden Childcare Center, refused at the June 13 planning board meeting to consider moving what would be a 3,200-square-foot playground from the front to the rear of the property.

Board members Doug Hertz and Ralph Vigliotti and Vice Chairman Anthony Sturniolo pressed for an alternative plan of placing the playground behind the building and asked for a formal drawing. However, the Santoras may still have a slim majority on their side, as the board’s four other members voiced no objection to the play area’s location.

Project architect William Spade said his clients strongly believe that having the playground in front is safest for the children because it could be easily monitored by staff.

Spade said the Santoras had hoped the planning board would approve their application quickly. If the center is not open in September, “they’re done for year,” he said.

Spade’s request to speed the approval process irritated Sturniolo.

“It seems to me you’re forcing the planning board to accommodate your schedule,” Sturniolo said. The responsibility of the planning board is to assure “the health and welfare of the children,” he said.

After Beatrice Santora said she wanted to open the center for the start of the new school year, Sturniolo responded, “You should have come to the board in January.”

Sturniolo said he wanted to explore the possibility of locating the playground behind the building because it would be safer than the front, where parking lot traffic for the commercial building is nearby.

Beatrice Santora said she had no intention of placing the play area in the back because it wouldn’t be safe for children.

“I can’t in good conscience put it back there,” she said.

Aside from safety, Mark Santora said the rear of the property was “unsanitary” because a dumpster is located there.

But Hertz, along with Vigliotti, pressed for the applicant to show drawings depicting a rear playground. If it was in front, it would be out of character with the commercial property, Hertz said. He also said the project required a variance from the zoning board of appeals.

“I can’t possibly see how you’re going to open in September,” Hertz said.

Mark Santora said if the planning board forced him and his wife to move the playground, the couple would pull their application. Later in the meeting Hertz mentioned that the facility “may not be the right site for a child care center.”

Spade, however, suggested that the board has been shirking its responsibilities in evaluating the application.

“I don’t believe the board has done the job it needs to do,” Spade said.

“I take umbrage,” planning board chairman Joseph Cosentino shot back. Spade then apologized to the board.

Mark Santora said he would not pay for a new drawing showing the playground behind the building. He said he and his wife “have no interest” in spending money for a formal revised plan because the play area must be in front of the building.

If approved, the 10,878-square-foot facility would be located in an existing building and provide before- and after-school programs for school-age children, as well as day programs for preschool-aged children. The maximum number of youths at the center at one time would be 112.

The planning board agreed to schedule a public hearing on the application for its July 10 meeting.