2019.07.05 F.P. Clark Wetland & Steep Slopes Memo
A HARDESTY&HANOVER COMPANY www.HardestyHanover.com
To: Paul S. Rosenberg, Mayor, and the
Board of Trustees of the Village of Rye Brook
Date: July 5, 2019
Subject: 900 King Street – Building Demolition
Site Plan, Wetlands and Steep Slopes Permits Applications
As requested, we reviewed revised documents and plans submitted by Rye King
Associates, LLC to demolish the existing office building on the property located at
900 King Street, Town of Rye Tax Map Parcel 129.68-1-13.
Property Description
The 17.77-acre subject property is located within the PUD district situated on the west
side of King Street south of the Hutchinson River Parkway that includes The Arbors
residential development and Harkness Park. It is developed with a 215,000 square-
foot office building and surface parking area. The subject lot is adjacent to and west
of Village Hall and the Village Firehouse, adjacent to and south of the Hutchinson
River Parkway, adjacent to and east of The Arbors, and adjacent to and north of
Harkness Park and the Blind Brook High School property. It is within the King Street
Scenic Road Overlay District (SROD).
Although the lot has 164.78 feet of frontage along King Street, it does not have direct
vehicular access from King Street. Vehicular access to the lot is provided at two
locations along the north side of Arbor Drive, which is currently the only access to
and from King Street for the commercial and residential portions of the PUD.
There are four wetland areas and a watercourse on, or adjacent to, the subject lot,
and areas of steep slopes are situated in various locations. The lot has open areas
that are landscaped and planted with mature trees and shrubs, and areas that are
naturally vegetated.
Project Description
The application proposes to demolish the office building, which would disturb a
portion of the western-most wetland buffer and an area of steep slopes directly ad-
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adjacent to the building. A site restoration plan is proposed to mitigate disturbance of the wetland
buffer and stabilize disturbance of the steep slopes. A Demolition Management and Logistics Plan is
proposed to mitigate the impacts associated with demolition and site construction.
Review
We reviewed application materials and plans that include the following items:
1. Short Environmental Assessment Form and EAF Mapper Summary Report
dated 6/6/19
2. Demolition Permit Application
3. Application for Site Plan Approval
4. Site Plan Submittal Review Checklist
5. Site Location Map prepared by JMC, PLLC, Armonk, N.Y. dated 4/3/18
6. Segmentation of Demolition Memorandum to the Board of Trustees from
Veneziano and Associates, Armonk, N.Y. dated June 5, 2019
7. Letter to the Planning Board from Veneziano and Associates, Armonk, N.Y.
dated June 6, 2019
8. Letter to the Board of Trustees from Veneziano and Associates, Armonk,
N.Y. dated June 6, 2019
9. Memorandum to the Board of Trustees from AKRF, White Plains, N.Y.
dated July 1, 2019
10. Memorandum to the Planning Board from AKRF, White Plains, N.Y. dated
June 6, 2019
11. Demolition Management and Logistics Plan, with references prepared by
AKRF, Inc., White Plains, N.Y. dated July 1, 2019
12. Environmental Review Technical Memo prepared by HDR, PC, Mahwah,
N.J. dated June 14, 2019
13. Engineer’s Plans, prepared by AKRF, White Plains, N.Y.:
USheet NumberU Sheet TitleU Dated
S-1 Cover Sheet 6/6/19
S-2 Existing Conditions 6/6/19
S-3 Site Demolition Plan 6/6/19
S-4 Site Restoration Plan 6/6/19
S-5 SWPPP, Notes and Details 6/6/19
Please note that our review is limited to planning and environmental issues. We offer the following
comments regarding the application:
1. Draft Demolition Management and Logistics Plan (DMLP). The applicant revised the draft
DMLP and provided a final DMLP that includes a summary of the building demolition and res-
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toration process and responds to comments from the Board, consultants and the public.
Though the revised document states that demolition of the building (Phase 1), which includes
removing the building, filling, and grading and vegetating the disturbed areas will be completed
before September 5, 2019, the first day of the school, the document also states on Page 5,
under the heading “Noise,” that demolition of the building and the slab would be completed by
September 4, 2019, but grading and seeding operations may continue through September.
The revised document provides more information regarding the grading and seeding
operations on Page 4 in the fourth bulleted item, stating that the operations will continue for
two weeks. During the first week filling and rough grading would be performed and during the
second week topsoil would be added, raked and the area hydroseeded with a meadow seed
mix. Though not stated, presumably the proposed trees and shrubs would be planted as well.
The work would include use of an excavator, a skid loader, and 6 workers.
In the same section, the first paragraph is ambiguous about the schedule for importing the fill
material necessary for the proposed grading, noting if fill and topsoil are received before the
completion of demolition they would be stockpiled in the existing parking area. This suggests
that fill and topsoil could be delivered during the grading and seeding operations, which would
be after school starts. We recommend that delivery of the fill and topsoil should be scheduled
to commence and conclude before the start of the school year. If this is not possible, the DMLP
should provide information regarding the number of truck loads expected and the delivery
schedule that would avoid peak traffic time periods when school is in session.
2. Phase 2 Demolition, and Steep Slopes and Wetland Buffers. In the event the senior housing
project is not approved, and Phase 2 demolition and restoration is necessary, the revised
DMLP states that existing trees within the parking areas will be protected during demolition
and integrated into the meadow landscape to be installed, which addresses the comment in
our last memorandum.
3. Other Impacts During Demolition. We may have additional comments regarding traffic when
information about importation fill for grading and seeding operations during the first month of
the school year is submitted. (See Comment 1)
4. Coordination with Agencies. The revised DMLP includes coordination with the Police and Fire
Departments, which addresses the comment in our last memorandum.
We look forward to discussion with the Board.
Marilyn Timpone-Mohamed, RLA, ASLA, AICP
Senior Associate/Planning/Environment
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cc: Robert I. Goodman, and the Planning Board
Michal Nowak, Superintendent of Public Works/Village Engineer
Jennifer L. Gray, Esq., Village Attorney
Mark S. Miller, Esq., Veneziano and Associates, for the Applicant
4133.12.900KingStDemolition.SitePlanWetlandSteepSlope.Memo3