2019.08.23 CWAS CommentsCentral Westchester Audubon Society
August 23, 2019
Christopher Bradbury,
Rye Brook Village Administrator
Dear Mr. Bradbury,
Please accept this letter in reference to the proposed development at 259 North Ridge Street. We
apologize for the late entry into this discussion but we were notified only recently of this
proposal.
As you are likely aware, Central Westchester Audubon serves nine local areas including Rye
Brook, bringing a voice to environmental issues as well as education of our surroundings to those
we serve. It is with this voice that we wish to raise some concerns in reference to this proposal.
It is our understanding that this project would seek to do a fair amount of site remediation work,
including the removal of over 83 trees. We are not experts in this field but we do know that older
growth woods and forests are extremely valuable for the environment and the planting of
younger, less well established trees to the area will effectively make the area unsuitable for many
years to come for nesting birds, among other living organisms.
This site is also noted to have a significant amount of water and such an environment is
extremely valuable for the birds, animals and insects that rely on such sources for survival. Water
is also a very desirable habitat for many plants, which in turn support soil conservation and
enriches the nutrients available to the area.
We noted that a fair amount of parking area would be provided for this project, further raising
our concerns for water management and run-off. Large, sudden bursts of quickly moving water is
unhelpful for soil conservation. Wetlands are critical as well in mitigating flooding and run off.
It is also our understanding that this area sits directly in a Scenic Road Overlay District and
allowing this proposed project to go forward at this scale would require overriding many existing
regulations that were, undoubtedly, put in place for the conservation of the area.
While we appreciate the broader concerns of housing and the need for providing appropriate
options, we would ask you to slow down, take our concerns and those of local residents, into
account before moving forward. With so much of our area already developed or previously
developed and now vacant, may we make the suggestion that these areas be further explored
before more trees, soil and watersheds be disturbed? If that’s not possible we would request that
you please seek to scale this project back further for less of an environmental impact.
Thank you for taking the time to hear our concerns.
Sincerely,
Lisa Curtis,
President, CWAS