HomeMy WebLinkAbout900 King Street R. Schlank Letter 2021-3-11Rosemary Schlank
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nation’s eleven largest assisted living facilities showed that the
residents of these facilities tested positive for COVID at a rate of over
five times the national average, and 30% of the residents who
contracted COVID in an assisted living facility died from it.
d. The statistics are even more alarming for residents of memory care
facilities. Studies supported by the NIH National Institute on Aging
show that people with dementia were twice as likely to get Covid-19
and four times more likely to die from it.
2. Many developers of senior care facilities appear to be dealing with the health
and safety issues in the pre-construction design stage. Newer two-story
models with alternative designs typically house no more than one to two
dozen seniors (as opposed to the 94-bed facility proposed for 900 King
Street). These designs have proven to be far more effective in preventing the
spread of infectious diseases. As an example, see the video at Green House:
Made for this Moment available at https://www.thegreenhouseproject.org .
3. In response to the trends, demand has fallen off sharply. In January 2021,
the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care reported that
occupancy rates had dropped to the lowest rates on record at the end of the
2020 calendar year. The average Independent living occupancy rate was
83.5%. The assisted living rate fell to 77.7%. Additional declines were
expected following the surge in COVID-19 cases in January.
4. The combination of the health and safety risks with the lower demand for
senior housing indicates that an investment in a facility with the design
proposed for 900 King Street is unlikely to be sustainable in a suburban
location like Rye Brook. An unsustainable investment could lead to financial
distress and termination of the PILOT agreement, resulting in the need for
foreclosures and/or additional site plan revisions. This could have potentially
devastating consequences for the community.
5. There are growing calls for reforms at the federal and state levels. If when
the calls for reforms and/or the falling demand trends result in the closing of
the senior care facility at 900 King Street, the current zoning status may
deter potential buyers of the land and unduly delay the return of the land to
productive use. I am not an expert in these matters, but my reading of the
site-specific zoning amendments indicates that they would lock the owner
into a specific and arguably unsustainable land use. Additionally, there do not
Rosemary Schlank
900 King Street, page 3
appear to be any detailed requirements for future site plan amendments
(similar to the requirements for the Arbors section of the PUD).
6. The zoning status could also adversely affect adjacent property values in the
same PUD. One of biggest advantages and selling points of owning property
within a PUD is that it is exactly that – a planned development. Site-specific
zoning is the opposite or antithesis of a well thought-out planned approach,
and I believe it will unnecessarily limit the attractiveness of the residential
properties to potential buyers as well in the future.
7. A delay in the consideration of the site plan approval for the assisted living
and memory care center would give the Village more time to address the
worst-case what-if scenario, (i.e., what-if the facility is in financial distress
with unpaid taxes and no ready buyer in the same distressed industry). A
business failure in this industry is not as simple as foreclosing and evicting
the tenants. The occupants of the assisted-living and memory-care facility
are vulnerable elderly people who will likely need more help than many other
renters. Who will find new homes for them and how long will it take?
8. During the delay, the Village might use the time in a manner consistent with
the recommendations in the Village’s 2014 comprehensive plan. These
recommendations include reassessing the provisions of the PUD Zone and
removing the requirement that PUD zones must be north of the Hutchinson
Parkway. If updated for the pandemic, the recommendation might also
include more detailed requirements for site plan revisions and/or a
contingency re-zoning plan that would take effect when the owner of an
anchoring property is in financial distress. This would be time well spent,
especially now when land uses are in a state of flux.
Thank you for considering the comments in this letter and my letter to the editor of
the Westmore News Letter: How will 900 King St. project affect the community? - Westmore News.
Yours truly,
Rosemary Schlank
c: Chris Bradbury, Administrator, Village of Rye Brook, NY
Dan Barnett, President, Board of Directors, Arbors Homeowners Association