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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.13.2021 R. Schlank CommentsROSEMARY A. SCHLANK 9 Bayberry Lane Rye Brook, NY 10573 (914) 939-9273 RSchlank@ix.netcom.com May 13, 2021 Chairman Robert Goodman and Members of the Planning Board Village of Rye Brook Offices 938 King Street Rye Brook, NY 10573 Dear Chairman Goodman and Members of the Planning Board, Re: Site Plan Review for the 900 King Street Site It is my understanding that the Planning Board’s process does not permit public comments on the 900 King Street site plan at this time. However, I am respectfully asking you to consider my comments anyway because this matter appears to be consuming valuable Village resources, and I believe our tax dollars can be spent more constructively by considering the concerns of the residents and taxpayers of the Village in general and of our PUD in particular. As a senior citizen, taxpayer, and homeowner in the same PUD as 900 King Street, I urge you to consider the following before issuing any report or recommendation: 1. The applicable NY State standards. Please clarify - or obtain clarification from the applicant - of which NY state laws, regulations, and requirements, including environmental standards, apply to the proposed site plan. I am not an attorney, but I believe the applicable laws would include Title 18, SubChapter D, Adult-Care Facilities. ( https://regs.health.ny.gov/volume-b- 1-title-18/1413515569/subchapter-d-adult-care-facilities ). This clarification would be helpful for evaluating both the current site plan proposal and any future site plan revisions that may need to be considered if and when there is a business failure that leaves the Village with unpaid taxes and no ready buyer in the same distressed industry. 2. The lessons learned from the pandemic for assisted living and memory care facilities. As mentioned in my letter of March 11th, recent studies and investigations indicate that the health and safety risks are unacceptable for assisted living and memory care facilities of the type proposed for 900 King Rosemary Schlank 900 King Street, page 2 Street. These concerns are far more important to the future of our PUD and our Village than the aesthetic matters that the applicant has asked the Planning Board to spend its time on. To plan ahead effectively and avoid a crisis situation in the future, the Village must consider the effects on the health and safety of the future residents of this facility of any unwillingness on the applicant’s part to voluntarily modify the site plan in response to the lessons learned from the pandemic. 3. The need for improvement in communications with neighboring land owners. At past hearings on this matter, the applicant and the attorney for the Arbors HOA have been permitted to speak at length, while the residents of the Arbors have been told to limit our remarks and avoid duplication. This is not appropriate because the HOA is only one of 251 land owners in the Arbors portion of the PUD. This project will have significant adverse consequences that many Arbors landowners understandably do not want. To date, the only access we have had to information about the project has been through the Village’s website, despite the fact that the original PUD resolution requires our consent for any future changes in land use. The Village has argued that unanimous consent is too high a standard. But, even if true, this would not be sufficient grounds to shut us out completely. In the future, please require establishment of a process by which the other 250 landowners can obtain answers to our questions and resolution of our complaints directly from the applicant’s representative and/or the Village’s officials. We should have the same direct access to Village officials as any other taxpayers in the Village. Thank you for considering my comments. Yours truly, Rosemary Schlank c: Chris Bradbury, Administrator, Village of Rye Brook, NY Dan Barnett, President, Board of Directors, Arbors Homeowners Association