2016.12.08 D. Santon CommentsMEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor Paul S. Rosenberg and all Rye Brook Trustees
c: Christopher J. Bradbury, Michael J. Izzo, Michal Nowak, Marilyn Timpone-Mohamed,
Edward F. Beane, Esq.
FROM: Dean P. Santon
DATE: December 8, 2016 [CORRECTED]
RE: Comments relating to Public Hearing for proposed 3-lot subdivision
at 259 North Ridge Street with AFFH affordable housing component
Pages: 10 pages including this sheet
I submit these comments as part of the continuing Public Hearing for the captioned applications.
As a former 3-term Rye Brook trustee, I fully understand that land use applications before the BOT
must be evaluated on the merits of an application under SEQRA and governing Village Code … not
upon issues of NIMBY, a gauntlet of lawn signs or even picketing protest activity by certain residents
opposed to a project. Land use applications are not popularity contests that get swayed by the
loudest faction of dissenters or supporters.
(1) Affordable Housing component of the application:
(A) As the 259 North Ridge Street Public Hearing continues on 12/13/16, it will be 5 years
ago that day on 12/13/11 that the BOT adopted legislation to create the Fair and Affordable Housing
District (“FAH”) as a floating FAH zone to allow for the creation of Affordable Affirmatively Furthering
Fair Housing (“AFFH”) units and amended Sections 250, 219 and 209 of the Rye Brook Code
accordingly. Unlike the approved Reckson/ Sun Homes PUD application with AFFH units tucked at
the rear of an isolated office park, this 259 North Ridge Street application is the first test of the BOT
applying the FAH floating zone to a property in the heart of the Blind Brook school district with
residential neighbors actually in place to say NIMBY … literally.
(B) Sadly, it seems that opposition to "affordable housing" in the Blind Brook school district
has reared its ugly head with some of the citizenry opposing this application. Opponents who say
they’re “in favor of affordable housing … just not this [North Ridge Street] location.” Opponents
who claim that the proposed affordable housing at 259 North Ridge Street will hurt their property
values. I will leave it to the Village Attorney to advise the BOT on the legal ramifications if a bona fide
land use application from an experienced, reputable developer of market-rate and affordable housing,
who is petitioning to use the floating FAH zone, is denied approvals for applications that otherwise
comply with zoning and satisfy legitimate environmental concerns under SEQRA
(C ) There are all types of "affordable housing" initiatives. Some are geared towards senior
citizens to retain them in the community like the 42 units that Lazz Development built in in the south
end of Rye Brook in the Port Chester school district at (i) Louis Court at Grant Street [26 one-bedroom
units in 4 buildings built between 1999-2003] and (ii) 510 Westchester Avenue a/k/a 5-9 Bowman
Avenue [16 one-bedroom units in 2 buildings].
(D) In March 2001, the BOT adopted Chapter 6 of the Rye Brook Code to govern the twelve
(12) "middle-income" affordable units built in Bellefair pursuant to 1998 BOT approval resolution with
a priority towards qualified applicants who work for the Village of Rye Brook, the Town of Rye, the
Blind Brook and Port Chester school districts, or local emergency services (police, fire, EMS) as a
means to retain municipal workers in the Rye Brook community.
(E) In 2013-15, Lazz Development built 4 one-bedroom AFFH units in one building of FAH
housing at 527 Ellendale Avenue … the first FAH project in Rye Brook pursuant to the 2011 BOT
legislation.
(F) On February 23, 2016, the BOT approved the Sun Homes application to rezone and
convert the 31.5-acre undeveloped phase 3 of the circa-1980 Reckson office park into 100 market-
rate homes plus 10 AFFH affordable housing units as part of the new Reckson PUD.
(2) 5 units of attached housing is NOT an “apartment building”
(A) Some opponents of the project like Stephen Corey Effler, Esq. of 274 North Ridge
Street resort to hyperbole and refer to the proposed affordable housing structure at 259 North Ridge
Street as “an apartment building” that somehow does not belong in the neighborhood.
(B) Sorry, but five (5) attached townhouse units of affordable housing (2-bedrooms each) at
259 North Ridge Street in a singular 79.5’ x 40’, 2-story structure does not constitute an “apartment
building.” The only apartment buildings in Rye Brook are the Rye Ridge Apartments built in 1964-65
as168 garden apartments in 11 buildings at North Ridge Street/ Westchester Avenue (private
roadway of Avon Circle) …converted to condominium ownership in 1975.
(C ) Anyone objecting to 5 attached units at 259 North Ridge Street should note that Rye
Brook already has 672 units of single-family “attached housing” amidst and adjacent to free-standing,
single-family housing, as follows:
(i) The 5 units at James Way, built in 1980 at North Ridge Street just north of Betsy Brown
(and approx. 1,000 feet south of the 259 North Ridge Street site), are attached townhouses
configured as two buildings on 1.6 acres with 3 attached townhomes and 2 attached townhomes,
respectively.
(ii) 85 of the 110 Sun Homes units at Reckson approved by the BOT in February 2016 will
be attached townhomes with 75 of them configured as 25 buildings of 3 attached homes per building
plus 10 AFFH affordable units configured as a cluster of 5 side-by-side buildings with 2 attached
homes each.
(iii) All 250 units at The Arbors built on 36 acres in 1977-79 are attached housing,
configured as 58 buildings containing clusters of 3 to 6 townhouses each (66 are 1BR, 109 are 2BR
and 75 are 3BR). Only 122 of the 250 townhouses have garages (single-car). The other 128 units rely
solely on unenclosed parking lots. These attached townhouses at The Arbors are very visible to the
15 abutting Meadowlark Road and Hillandale Road neighbors and you don’t hear those neighbors
calling them “apartment buildings” in an effort to disparage the Arbors neighbors.
(iv) All 138 of the Doral Greens townhomes built between 1992-1996 on 22.63 acres of the
Doral Arrowwood PUD on Anderson Hill Road are attached units configured into 39 buildings as
follows: 14 buildings with 6 units each, 2 buildings with 4 units each & 23 buildings with 2 units each.
(v) All 30 units at Enclave at Rye Brook currently under construction on 12.727 acres at
Anderson Hill Road/ King Street corner are attached housing … clustered as 15 buildings with 2
attached units per building.
(vi) 58 of the 240 residences at Bellefair built in 1999-2001 are attached housing including
(a) 12 “middle-income affordable housing” configured as 3 adjacent buildings each containing 4 units
plus (b) 46 market-rate homes configured in 23 buildings with 2 attached homes each that are
situated on Heirloom Lane, Reunion Road, Milestone Road and Meetinghouse Lane. The remaining
182 residences at Bellefair are free-standing houses.
(vii) All 46 units at Brookridge at Brookridge Court on Wyman Street built in 1988 are
attached housing configured as 13 buildings: 3 buildings with 6 attached units each … 4 buildings
with 4 attached units each … and 6 buildings with 2 attached units each.
(viii) All 14 units of the Wyman Street Townhouses built in 1988 at 20 Wyman Street North
are attached housing configured as 4 buildings: 3 buildings with 4 attached townhouses each … and
1 buildings with 2 attached townhouses.
(ix) The aforementioned 42 units of senior affordable housing built by Lazz Development at
Louis Court and 510 Westchester Avenue … plus their 4 units of AFFH housing completed in 2015
at 527 Ellendale Avenue.
(3) Environmental Impact Concerns:
(A) Flyers/ signs like the one below being distributed are red herrings to galvanize NIMBY
opposition for the “fair and affordable” housing component of the 259 North Ridge Street under the
guise of concerns about (i) over-development, (ii) traffic safety, (iii) wetlands and (iv) storm water
runoff.
(B) Project opponents living in their proportionately large (often GFA/ setback maxed out)
houses on typical ⅓-acre (give or take) R-10, R-12 and R-15 Rye Brook subdivision lots may claim
over-development, but this 3-lot subdivision of this 3.96-acre lot would actually create three (3) of the
largest residential lots in Rye Brook with a low density of improvements, as follows:
Lot 3 consisting of a proposed single-family, market rate home on 1.436 acres;
Lot 2 consisting of the existing, circa-1947 house with 1,800 sf footprint to be renovated in place as a
new market rate home on a 1.1-acre parcel; and
Lot 1 consisting of proposed 79.5’ wide x 40’ deep structure, containing 5 attached townhouse units
of “fair and affordable housing” on a 1.387-acre parcel with the Colonial style structure being similar
in size, bulk and appearance to other Rye Brook residences.
(C ) It is ironic that Kami Katz of 16 Eagles Bluff and local realtor Sabrina Lanosa of 14
Eagles Bluff, whose properties abut the 259 North Ridge Street site, have hired Zarin & Steinmetz
attorneys to oppose the Lazz Development application, when both of their Eagles Bluff properties
were the subject of multiple 7/17/07 Rye Brook ZBA “area variances” that enabled their house
expansions to exceed both bulk & setback regulations at their R-15 properties.
When former owners Robert & Deborah Lewis obtained two (2) ZBA “area variances” [side yard
setbacks & FAR] from the 7/17/07 ZBA for the expansion of their 16 Eagles Bluff home to 3,957 sf
FAR on a 0.4338-acre lot, they submitted this “Sampling of Homes in the Area” to bolster their 2007
application:
Sabrina Lanosa and Daniel Otera of 14 Eagles Bluff obtained three (3) ZBA “area variances” [front
yard & side yard setbacks and FAR] during that very same 7/17/07 ZBA meeting to expand their
house to 3,699 sf on a 0.366-acre lot.
(D) So, while the proposed AFFH structure at 259 North Ridge Street is 79.5’ wide x 40’
deep on a 1.387-acre lot, according to 2007 plans on file with the Building Department, 16 Eagles
Bluff (shown below) appears to be approx. 62’ wide and 48’ deep on a mere 0.439-acre lot w/ these
front (easterly) and left side (southerly) elevations from the 2007 plans for 16 Eagles Bluff:
(E) Let’s compare the 259 North Ridge Street proposed Lot 1 AFFH structure’s bulk with
some other area properties as follows:
Address GFA (sf) Lot Size House Dimensions Max. GFA Allowed
259 No. Ridge St Lot 1 6,400 sf 1.387 acres 79.5’W x 40’D 8,435 sf
270 North Ridge Street 3,705 sf 0.344 acre 63’W x 42.5’D 3,220 sf
16 Eagles Bluff 3,957 sf 0.439 acre 62’W x 48’D 3,694 sf
14 Eagles Bluff 3,699 sf 0.366 acre 56’W x 47’D 3,331 sf
6 Winding Wood Rd. N. 4,204 sf 0.526 acre 80’W x 53’D 4,124 sf
37 Hillandale Road 5,464 sf 1.93 acres 81’W x 28’D 11,150 sf
18 Hillandale Road 6,584 sf 1.02 acres 121’W x 44’D 6,600 sf
39 Hillandale Road 8,505 sf 1.79 acres 80’W x 58’D 10,450 sf
17 Berkley Drive 11,700 sf 2.20 acres 118’W x 29’-64’D 12,500 sf
NOTE: The bulk of a house is controlled by a uniform GFA formula of Maximum Gross Floor Area =
4,000 + [(Lot Area - 21,780) * 0.11478421]. The allowable GFA has been exceeded at 270 North Ridge Street,
16 Eagles Bluff, 14 Eagles Bluff and 6 Winding Wood Road North. The latter three had to obtain ZBA
area variances.
(F) Most of the mature trees on the 259 North Ridge Street site will not be disturbed as the
proposed three (3) residential structures will be situated near the Ridge Street roadway.
(G) Storm water runoff from the Ridge Street and West Ridge Drive right-of-ways and the
Rye Acres subdivision properties on the westerly side of Ridge Street that in the past had been
improperly directed onto this private property through culverts rather than being contained/ managed
in municipal storm water systems, was an issue prior to the County updating its Ridge Street roadway
storm water infrastructure. Just as the Village of Rye Brook renovated its storm water infrastructure
running through the 15-foot wide “drainage easement (shown on the filed 1958 Meadowlark Section
No. 2 subdivision map) underneath the 16 Eagles Bluff driveway from the 259 North Ridge Street site
to the Eagles Bluff right-of-way infrastructure. Obviously, this drainage easement’s infrastructure will
continue to capture storm water runoff from the 259 North Ridge Street site, in addition to on-site
detention drywells that the developer will install for its proposed housing structures/ improvements like
is required of any project.
(H) Impacts of wetland soils and storm water can be mitigated/ managed through the
engineering design of this or any project. I leave these issues to the Village’s consulting engineer,
Dolph Rotfeld Engineering to vet, just like Village planning consultant, F.P. Clark Associates’ partner
Mike Gallante (who specializes in traffic studies) has addressed the 259 North Ridge Street
application, sight lines and any Ridge Street traffic safety concerns.
(I) Project opponents talk about this “dangerous curve” on North Ridge Street with lots of
speeding vehicles (even though there is no accident data) as if this should preclude a property
owner’s right to use and develop this property.
People speed throughout all Rye Brook local streets! There are many Rye Brook roads with curves,
changes in grade, steep slopes and other conditions creating less than ideal sight lines relating to
speeding vehicles. These include (i) North Ridge Street (with curves at #488-492 from where cars
speed by from southbound King Street …and near James Way … and near Ridge Blvd.), (ii)
Hilllandale Road I/F/O #38-42, (iii) Lincoln Avenue near Westerleigh Road, (iv) Meadowlark Road
near Robins Roost and #33 Meadowlark Road … (v) Country Ridge Drive opposite Country Ridge
Close … (vi) throughout much of Talcott Road … and (vii) near 33-35 Bonwit Road, to name a few
examples. Ask the folks on the Hawthorne Avenue straight-a-way if a lack of curves makes their
street safe from speeding vehicles. Should property owners throughout the Village have their C of Os
voided because of speeding traffic or less than ideal sight lines? I think not.
(4) Putting development into a historical perspective
(A) 259 North Ridge is one of the few parcels in Rye Brook never part of a subdivision. It is
pretty much unspoiled since this 4-acre parcel was part of the Merritt Homestead (Daniel Merritt and
his sister Emma) dating back to the 1800s when the farm spanned close to 200 acres extending from
Ridge Street in the Town of Rye to Lincoln Avenue in the Town of Harrison.
(B) Ridgeland Group, Inc. bought 259 North Ridge Street in 2001 as a rent-generating,
investment property from 86-year old, Roy Alton Adams who had owned it for 55 years since 1946
when he and his wife Lillian purchased it from the Estate of Emma E. Merritt and built a small 30’ x
22’ cottage in the woods. A bedroom wing and living room/garage were added in 1952. Roy and
Lillian lived on Ridge Street while he was an executive with the American Felt Company in Greenwich
for the latter part of his 50-year career there. Lillian, an artist, was the Port Chester Public Library’s art
director for a few years. They never gave up their roots to the small upstate village of Dolgeville, east
of Utica where they were lifelong residents. Lillian was buried there in 1999. Roy in 2005 at age 90.
(C) The excerpts below of Vol. 1, Plate 42 of the 1929 G.M. Hopkins atlas show the Emma
Merritt farm at Ridge Street with private cemetery (where 274 North Ridge Street is now) across from
her 4.1-acre parcel that is now known as the 3.96-acre property at 259 North Ridge Street. Note that
Catherine Milbank main house (now BOCES at 17 Berkley Drive) and stables (now 8 Berkley Drive):
Prior to Emma Merritt’s brother Daniel E. Merritt’s death in 1914, the 54-acre Harrison property
of George Arents, Jr. (see above) was part of the Merritt farm. Following Daniel’s 1914 death and
Emma’s death in 1936 at age 96, there were a series of legal challenges … see 254 App. Div. 292
(N.Y. App. Div. 1938) and 280 N.Y. 391, 21 N.E.2d 365 cases in NY Court of Appeals) before land
was sold in 1946 to the Rye Acres subdivision developers, who in turn sold the portion on north side
of the Hutchinson River Parkway (and below Rockinghorse Trail) to the Country Ridge developers.
(D) The Catherine and Dunleavy Milbank, circa-1926 mansion from a former 66-acre estate
stretching from Ridge Street to Lincoln Avenue/ Hutch interchange, is now situated on a 2.2-acre, R-
15 residential lot at 17 Berkley Drive (part of 1962 Pine Ridge, Section 6 subdivision) and is an
example of extensive unenclosed parking (40+/- parking spots) within close proximity to the 259 North
Ridge Street site. Below are 2009 aerial photos of 17 Berkley Drive from the Rye Town Assessment
databases:
(E) Below is an excerpt of the Rye Brook Official Map showing the 259 North Ridge Street
3.96-acre site opposite West Ridge Drive and the nearby 2.2-acre, 17 Berkley Drive lot (at Old
Orchard Road corner) … and portions of The Arbors attached townhouses (bordering Meadowlark
Road R-20 and Hillandale Road R-25 properties) with the Arbors having extensive unenclosed
parking lots for its 250 attached units as noted above in section 2(C)(iii) hereof.
(F) What was once all sorts of working farms (and later gentlemen farmers) along what was
known in the 1700s/1800s as “Hog Pen Ridge Road,” Ridge Street farms stretching from King Street
down to Westchester Avenue, started to be subdivided and developed one-by-one in the post-war
era. Trees got cut down, private cemetery remains got relocated (like the Merritt Family remains were
transferred to Greenwood Union Cemetery in Rye) so that homes could be built on 1/3 acre lots.
Because Emma Merritt lived until 96 and it took 10 years after that to settle her estate and legal
challenges before the Merritt farm parcels were sold in 1946 to the Rye Acres developers and the 4-
arce wooded site to Roy Adams, and because Roy Adams owned the property until age 86, the
property never got “developed” in the conventional sense. Now, after Ridgeland Group’s 15-year run
with this investment property, the Adams’ circa-1946 cottage in the woods has outlived its life. Like
every other subdivision before it, it’s ready for the next chapter as a 3-lot subdivision with AFFH units.
Above
is
a
2009
aerial
photo
of
3.96-‐acre
site
at
259
North
Ridge
Street.
Starting
counterclockwise
from
bottom
left
are
the
homes
at
257
North
Ridge
Street,
26
and
Rock
Ridge
Drive,
20
Eagles
Bluff,
16
Eagles
Bluff
(formerly
Lewis
…
now
Kami
Katz)
with
gray
roof
and
2
cars
in
long
driveway,
14
Eagles
Bluff
(Lanosa/
Otero),
former
Okun
property
with
swimming
pool
at
267
North
Ridge
Street
and
finally
the
former
Roy
Adams
cottage
at
259
North
Ridge
Street
by
the
roadway
at
center
left
of
the
photo.
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