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AUGUST 20TH, 2026[I. ROLL CALL]
HERE IN HASTINGS ON HUDSON.WE'RE HAPPY TO SEE YOU ALL IN THIS AUGUST, SUMMER, AUGUST.
UM, SO WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO TAKE THE, I'M GONNA ASK MARY ELLEN TO PLEASE TAKE ROLL CALL CHAIRPERSON.
BOARD MEMBER RICHARD BASS HERE.
BOARD MEMBER DANIEL BERKOVITZ.
AND BOARD MEMBER PATRICK DIGGINS.
VILLAGE ATTORNEY LINDA WHITEHEAD.
HERE BUILDING INSPECTOR CHARLES MOZZI HERE.
WE HAVE, UH, EVERYONE PRESENT FOR IN AUGUST.
[II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
TO REVIEW MINUTES.UM, AND I WANNA NOTE THAT GIVEN, UM, THAT ONE OF OUR FOUR BOARD MEMBERS WHO WAS PRESENT AT THE SEPTEMBER 18TH, UM, 2025 MEETING WILL NOT, WILL NOT BE ABLE TO VOTE ON THE MINUTES 'CAUSE THEY, UM, ARE NO LONGER ON THE BOARD.
AND I'VE BEEN ADVISED BY OUR ATTORNEY, I THAT WE, A VOTE IS ACTUALLY NOT NECESSARY.
IT'S JUST THAT WE ALWAYS ASK PEOPLE, UM, WHETHER THEY HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR CORRECTIONS TO THE MINUTES.
UM, SO WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND, UM, THROUGH EMAIL, WE'RE GONNA CONFIRM WITH THE OTHER THREE MEMBERS THAT WERE PRESENT, UM, IF THEY HAVE ANY COMMENTS ON THE MINUTES.
AND ONCE THAT'S BEEN DONE BY EMAIL, WE WILL POST THOSE MINUTES AS FINAL.
UM, SO WITH THAT, WE HAVE TWO OTHER SETS OF MINUTES TO APPROVE THIS EVENING.
THE FIRST ONE IS FROM JUNE 18TH, 2026.
AND I WAS PRESENT AT THAT MEETING ALONG WITH DANIEL PATRICK ANDIE.
SO, UM, DO ANY OF YOU HAVE COMMENTS ON THE MINUTES? NO COMMENTS? NO COMMENTS? UM, I DON'T EITHER.
SO CAN I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF JUNE 18TH, 2026.
UM, NEXT WE HAVE THE JULY 16TH, 2026 MINUTES.
UM, AND PRESENT AT THAT MEETING WERE PATRICK, DAVID, RICHARD, DANIEL, AND LISA.
DO ANY OF YOU HAVE COMMENTS? I DID, BUT I, I SENT THEM TO MARY ELLEN ALREADY.
SO WITH THAT, UM, CAN I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF JULY 16TH, 2026.
SO WE ARE NOW CAUGHT UP ON MINUTES.
UM, SO WE HAVE A LONG AGENDA TONIGHT WITH MULTIPLE ITEMS TO REVIEW, AND I'M GONNA ASK EVERYONE TO KEEP THAT IN MIND.
UM, WE'VE RECEIVED A LOT OF PUBLIC COMMENTS AND LETTERS REGARDING SOME OF THE APPLICATIONS, AND I WANT TO ASSURE THE PUBLIC THAT WE WILL, WE HAVE READ ALL THOSE LETTERS AND COMMENTS, THINGS THAT HAVE COME IN DIFFERENT WAYS TO US.
WE, WE ALWAYS TAKE THEM INTO CONSIDERATION IN OUR REVIEW.
SO I WANNA ASSURE I KNOW THERE WERE QUESTIONS, HAVE WE RECEIVED THEM? WE HAVE.
UM, AND I WANT TO SAY THAT, UM, BY VIRTUE OF THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE HERE, I SEE, UM, I'M SURE THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT TO COMMENT.
THESE ARE ALL, EVERYTHING EXCEPT FOR THE FINAL AGENDA ON THE ITEM IS A PUBLIC HEARING.
SO YOU WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
UM, IN FAIRNESS TO EVERYONE AND HOW MANY APPLICATIONS WE HAVE TONIGHT, I AM GOING TO ASK THAT PEOPLE, UM, LIMIT THEIR COMMENTS TO THREE MINUTES.
UM, AND WE'LL, I'LL JUST REVIEW WHAT I'VE SAID AT OTHER MEETINGS, UM, IN CASES WHERE WE HAVE ONE APPLICATION THAT'S NEW, BUT IN OTHER CASES WHERE WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING THE PROJECT.
UM, PLEASE KNOW THAT YOUR PREVIOUS COMMENTS ARE IN THE RECORD.
IF YOU WANNA JUST REFER TO THEM BRIEFLY, THAT'S GREAT.
IF SOMEBODY GOT UP AND SPOKE BEFORE YOU AND SAID SOMETHING THAT WAS EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANTED TO SAY, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SAY, I WANT TO EMPHASIZE WHAT THAT PERSON SAID WITHOUT GOING THROUGH EVERY SINGLE ITEM THAT THEY LISTED.
JUST SO THAT WE, AGAIN, I WANNA BE FAIR AND GIVE EVERYONE A CHANCE TO SPEAK AND MAKE SURE WE GET A FULL SENSE OF EVERYONE'S, UM, COMMENTS THROUGHOUT THE ROOM.
SO THOSE ARE WAYS WE'RE GONNA MANAGE.
UM, THE FACT THAT WE JUST HAVE A LOT OF IT, A LOT OF PROJECTS ON THE AGENDA THIS EVENING AND A LOT OF INTEREST IN DISCUSSING THEM.
UM, SO WITH THAT, UM, I WANT TO SAY,
[III. OLD PUBLIC HEARINGS]
UH, OUR FIRST MATTER OF THIS EVENING IS A CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING.SO THAT MEANS THAT THE FIRST COUPLE OF ITEMS, UM, ARE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN ON OUR, ON OUR AGENDA BEFORE AND THEY'RE CONTINUED REVIEW.
SO, UM, THE FIRST ONE IS SITE PLAN APPROVAL FOR THE APPLICATION OF RTB WASHINGTON LLC FOR A MIXED YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, CREATING ONE COMMERCIAL SPACE AND 20 RESIDENTIAL UNITS WITH 20 PARKING SPACES AND A PUBLIC ACCESS MUSE ON TWO EXISTING BUILDING LOTS LOCATED AT N DASH 17 WASHINGTON AVENUE.
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SAID, PROPERTY IS IN THE MRC ZONING DISTRICT AND IS KNOWN AS SBL 4.70 DASH 48, DASH 37 AND 38 ON THE TOWN OF GREENBURG TAX MAPS.AND, UM, SINCE THE APPLICANT WAS HERE, WAS LAST HERE, UM, THEY'VE BEEN TO THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS, YOU'LL HEAR ME REFER THAT TO THAT AS THE ZBA AND, UM, THEY'VE RECEIVED THE NECESSARY VARIANCES AND VIEW PRESERVATION APPROVAL FROM THAT BOARD, UH, WHICH HAS THAT AUTHORITY AND THE ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD AS WELL.
AND YES, AND THEY HAVE, I WAS JUST GONNA SAY
UM, THEY'VE ALSO APPEARED BEFORE THE ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD, ALSO KNOWN AS THE A RB AND, UM, THEY'VE BEEN TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO DISCUSS THE USE OF VILLAGE PROPERTY ADJACENT TO THE ZINZER PARKING LOT.
UM, SO I'D LIKE TO INVITE THE APPLICANT TO BRIEFLY UPDATE US ON ANY CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE AS PART OF THIS PROCESS.
I'M KAREN CHU BACK, CGA STUDIO.
UM, MAYBE I'LL GIVE IT A MINUTE ONCE MY STUDENTS PRESENT PROJECTOR COMPUTER GO OUT AND BUY A NEW COMPUTER.
SO DIDN'T TURN YOUR, PUT THE RIGHT COMPUTER.
OKAY, SO THOSE WERE MY TWO MINUTES THERE,
UM, SO AS YOU UPDATED THE BOARD, WE'VE BEEN TO, UH, THE ZBA AND THE A RB AND WE ARE HERE TO DISCUSS, WE, WE SUBMITTED MATERIALS DETAILING ALL THE CHANGES THAT WERE MADE TO THE PROJECT AT THOSE VARIOUS BOARDS.
WE WON'T NECESSARILY GO THROUGH THOSE.
UM, I WILL BRING UP THIS IMAGE, WHICH IS A NEW IMAGE, A RENDERING OF THE INTERIOR OF THE MUSE THAT SUMS UP REALLY WHERE WE ARE CURRENTLY AND SHOWS SOME OF THE INPUT FROM ALL OF THOSE BOARDS.
WE'VE WORKED WITH THE A RB TO REFINE THE COLOR SCHEME FOR THE PROJECT.
UM, WE HAVE WORKED WITH ACTUALLY THE BUILDING INSPECTOR AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARE REFER, REFINING THE LAYOUT OF THE PLANTERS WITHIN THE MUSE TO COORDINATE WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, FIRE PROTECTION NECESSARY DEVICES.
AND WE ACTUALLY, EVEN YOU SEE HERE THE LIGHTS THAT WE'VE INCORPORATED INTO THE PROJECT.
AND WE SUBMITTED A, UH, PHOTOMETRIC STUDY, UH, FOR THE VILLAGES REVIEW.
AND WE'VE ALSO, THROUGHOUT OUR MEETINGS WITH THE VARIOUS BOARDS, EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MUSE AS PART OF THE PROJECT AND THE CONNECTION TO THE ZINZER LOT, UH, VIA THE STAIRCASE.
UM, I WILL JUST PULL UP THIS ONE PLAN FROM THE MULTIPLE PLANS WE SUBMITTED.
AS YOU COULD SEE, WE HAD POINTED OUT, UM, THE CHANGES THAT WERE MADE, UM, SPECIFICALLY HERE, THE, YOU KNOW, PIECES, UH, THE LOWER LEVEL LIGHT WELLS THAT ARE NOW INCORPORATED INTO THESE UNITS.
UM, I'M PULLING UP THIS PLAN BECAUSE ONE OF THE COMMENTS THAT WE GOT IN OUR REVIEW LEVER LETTER FROM, UH, THE, UM, THE VILLAGE'S, UH, CONSULTANTS WAS ABOUT EGRESS FROM THE RESIDENTIAL UNITS AT THIS LEVEL.
UM, AND SO I WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT THE THREE SINGLE STORY UNITS, UH, ON THE PROJECT, SO ONE ON THE SOUTH OVER HERE AND THEN IN EAST AND AND WEST ONE HAVE DIRECT EGRESS WITHOUT GOING THROUGH THE GARAGE.
SO THOSE UNITS EGRESS WITHOUT GOING THROUGH THE GARAGE.
AND THEN THE THREE SPACES THAT, UH, WERE POINTED OUT IN THE LETTER ARE LOWER LEVEL SPACES THAT EGRESS THROUGH THE INTERIOR STAIRCASE THAT GO OUT THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR AT THE MUSE LEVEL.
HOWEVER, THEY DO HAVE, UM, A DOOR OVER HERE INTO THE PARKING LOT, AND THAT WAS ADDED FOR CONVENIENCE.
AND SO WE HAVE DISCUSSED THIS WITH THE APPLICANT AND WE ARE HAPPY TO CONTINUE THIS DISCUSSION WITH THE BUILDING INSPECTOR AND WITH, YOU KNOW, MR. CLEARY, UM, WE ARE OPEN TO REMOVING THOSE DOORS IF HAVING CONVENIENCE DOORS THAT YOU KNOW ARE, YOU KNOW, ALLOWING EGRESS THAT IS NOT EGRESS IS NOT, IS NOT DESIRABLE.
HOWEVER, YOU KNOW, IF THAT'S NOT NECESSARY, WE'D LIKE TO KEEP THEM AS A CONVENIENCE.
BUT I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT.
UM, AND THEN THE REAL FOCUS HERE TONIGHT IS, IS THE CHANGES TO, UM, THE STAIRCASE.
AND I'LL JUST POINT OUT THIS IS WHERE THE STAIRCASE CONNECTS TO THE PROJECT AT THE LOWER LEVEL.
UM, AND I WILL ASK RICHARD TO, UH, JOIN ME TO DISCUSS THE, UH, STAIRCASE, UH, CHANGES TO THE STAIRCASE DESIGN.
I'M WITH THE OFFICE OF IQ LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS.
UM, WHAT I'LL BE TALKING ABOUT TONIGHT IS THE LINEAR CONNECTION FROM THE
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MUSE TO THE ZINZER PARKING LOT.UH, THIS IS GOING TO BE A POLLINATOR GARDEN.
UM, WHEN WE CONSTRUCT THE STAIRS, THEY WILL BE FLANK BOTH SIDES WITH NATIVE, UM, POLLINATING PERENNIALS AS WELL AS SHRUBS AND A FEW NATIVE FLOWERING TREES.
UM, THERE WILL BE PERMEABLE PAVERS IN TWO OF THE LANDINGS TO HELP, UM, MITIGATE SOME OF THE RUNOFF.
UM, AND THERE WILL ALSO BE TWO SITTING AREAS WHERE THERE'LL BE BENCHES, ONE AT THE MIDPOINT OF THE STAIRS AND ONE AT THE BOTTOM.
UM, AT THE BOTTOM THERE WILL BE HANDICAP ACCESSIBILITY.
UH, THERE'LL BE A, A FLUSH CURB FROM THE PARKING LOT TO THE, UH, TO THE BENCH AREA AT THE BOTTOM.
UM, AND, UH, THERE WILL BE, UH, A RAMP NOT EXCEEDING ONE IN 12 ON BOTH SIDES, A DA COMPLIANT, UM, TO EVENTUALLY, UM, TIE INTO FUTURE CONNECTIONS IF A SIDEWALK IS TO BE BUILT ON THE PROJECT.
UM, THERE ALSO THE SLOPE IS GOING TO BE SEATED WITH A STEEP SLOPE STABILIZATION EROSION CONTROL MIX, UM, WHICH IS A FAST GERMINATING, UM, SEED MIX THAT'LL ALSO HAVE JUTE MESH ON IT TO, UM, TO, UH, HOLD THAT MATERIAL ON DURING THAT GERMINATION PERIOD.
AND ALSO WILL BE, UH, A POLLINATOR A TRACTOR AS WELL.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO DO HERE IS REALLY CREATE A GARDEN LIKE ENVIRONMENT AS PEOPLE WALK TO THE PARKING LOT AND BACK FROM THE PARKING LOT TO THE NEWS.
AND JUST TO CLARIFY, THE APPLICATION STATED THAT IT'S NOT POSSIBLE TO MAKE THE STAIRS, UM, HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE.
SO IT'S JUST TO THE BENCH, RIGHT INTO THE, TO THE BENCH.
UM, AND IT'S GOING, YEAH, ON BOTH SIDES.
UM, THESE ARE SOME IMAGES OF OTHER STAIRWAYS, UM, IN THE LOCAL AREA.
UM, AGAIN, THE VOCABULARY THAT WE'RE USING HERE ARE CONCRETE STAIRS, STEEL RAILINGS, UM, AND THESE ARE OTHER PRECEDENTS THAT EXIST TODAY.
UM, THIS IS THE RENDERING OF WHAT'S PROPOSED.
UM, I'M, UM, I'M IN THE PARKING LOT RIGHT NOW, LOOKING UP THE HILL TOWARDS WHERE THE FUTURE MUSE WILL BE.
THERE'S THE, UH, THE BENCHED AREA TO THE LEFT THERE AND A SET OF STEPS, UM, GETTING UP TO THE MID-LEVEL WHERE ANOTHER BENCH THERE.
THERE ALSO WILL BE AN INTERPRETIVE SIGN THAT WILL, UM, ALLOW THE USER TO SEE WHAT'S GOING ON IN TERMS OF THE POLLINATION, UH, CHARACTER.
AND, UH, HELP YOU ALONG WITH UNDERSTANDING WHY WE, WE WANT TO, UH, AND REALLY EMBRACE THIS WHOLE CONCEPT OF, UH, OF NATIVES AND, AND POLLINATORS, UH, IN THE OVERALL COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN FOR HASTINGS.
POLLINATOR PARKS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO LINK GREEN SPACES FROM ONE TO ANOTHER.
AND THIS IS GONNA BE ONE THAT WE'LL DO IT.
AND, UM, I WILL USE THIS IMAGE TO POINT OUT A FEW OF THE ITEMS THAT CAME UP WHEN WE WERE AT THE BOT AND REVIEWED THIS REVISED, YOU KNOW, THIS DESIGN FOR THE STAIRCASE AND POLLINATOR GARDEN WITH THEM, AS RICHARD MENTIONED.
SO THE A DA, UH, FLUSH THRESHOLD OVER HERE, UM, WAS, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE'VE INTRODUCED AFTER THAT, UM, MEETING WITH THE, UH, WITH THE VOT.
UM, WE ALSO HAD A DISCUSSION WITH THEM ABOUT THE LOCATION OF THE GATE.
THERE IS A GATE SEPARATING THIS PUBLIC STAIR FROM THE DEVELOPMENT.
AND THAT GATE, JUST LIKE THE FRONT GATE THAT YOU SAW ON THE FIRST RENDERING, WILL BE, UH, CONTROLLED, YOU KNOW, BY A PROGRAMMABLE TIMER TIED INTO THE HOURS THAT ARE ALLOWING PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE STAIRCASE AND THE MUSE.
AND THERE WAS DISCUSSION AT THE BOT WHETHER THAT GATE SHOULD BE UP HERE OR WHETHER THE GATE SHOULD BE AT THE BOTTOM.
WE ARE KEEPING, WE'RE PROPOSING TO KEEP THE GATE AT THE TOP, UM, SINCE THE BOTTOM IS, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE SIDEWALK, A DA FLUSH ACCESS, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO HAVE THE GATE DOWN THERE.
UM, ALSO A DISCUSSION AT THE BOT WAS THE LIGHTING PROPOSAL.
AND WHEN WE WERE AT THE BOT, I'D WANT TO CLARIFY THAT WE PROPOSED THAT THE LIGHTING, UH, FOR THE STAIR, UH, BE OFF, UH, AFTER PUBLIC ACCESS HOURS TO SIGNIFY THAT IT WAS NO LONGER PUBLIC ACCESS HOURS.
HOWEVER, WE'VE DECIDED PRE KNOW PER INTERNAL DISCUSSIONS AND COMMENTS AT THE BOT MEETING TO PROPOSE THAT THE CONTROL OF THE LIGHTING ON THE STAIRS BE THE SAME AS THE LIGHTING IN THE MUSE, THE EXTERIOR LIGHTING, WHICH IS THAT IT WILL BE TIED TO PHOTO CELLS AND ON WHATEVER, WHENEVER IT IS DARK.
UM, REALLY TO FACILITATE PUBLIC ACCESS ON THE MUSE AT OPENING HOURS THAT ARE AFTER IT'S DARK OUTSIDE IN THE, YOU KNOW, IN THE FALL AND THE AT 4:00 PM.
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UM, AND I WILL SAY THAT, UM, THE PUBLIC ACCESS HOURS WE'RE PROPOSING ARE THE SAME AS WE HAD DISCUSSED WITH YOU PREVIOUSLY.AND THEN, UH, THE IMAGE UP HERE IS JUST SHOWING, UH, THE, UH, AN IDEA OF LINING FOR THE STAIRS AFTER THIS RENDERING WAS DONE, WE SAW THROUGH THE, UH, PHOTOMETRIC STUDY THAT IT'S BETTER TO HAVE TWO LIGHTS ON EACH RISER.
SO THIS IS NOT ACCURATE TO OUR CURRENT PROPOSAL.
AND THEN THE LAST QUESTION THAT CAME UP WAS OUT OF STORM WATER AND, UM, THOMAS FROM HUDSON ENGINEERING IS HERE TO ADDRESS THAT.
UM, AGAIN, I'M THOMAS WITH HUDSON KHANI WITH HUDSON ENGINEERING.
UM, THE, WHEN WE WERE IN FRONT OF THE TOWN BOARD, THEY EXPRESSED CONCERNS OVER THE STORMWATER RUNOFF CREATED BY THE WALKWAY DOWN TO THE ZINZER LOT.
UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT IT AS A, UM, PROJECT AS A WHOLE, UM, THE EXISTING NO BUILD SCENARIO CONTRIBUTES, UM, SEVEN, 7,800 GIVE OR TAKE, SQUARE, UH, CUBIC FEET OF VOLUME TO THE, UM, PARKING LOT.
THE SITE CURRENTLY RUNS OFF DOWN THE HILL AND INTO THE PARKING AREA.
UM, THE PROPOSAL COLLECTS, UM, 96 PER, UH, 96% OF THAT ON SITE, UM, AND RETAINS IT ON SITE FOR THE A HUNDRED YEAR.
THIS, THE RUNOFF WILL, UM, BE EXFILTRATED INTO THE SOILS.
UM, THE PORTION OF THE WALKWAY DOWN IS AN ADDITIONAL 235 CUBIC FEET.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE PROJECT AS A WHOLE, THERE'S A REDUCTION OF 93% OF RUNOFF COMPARED TO THE NO BUILD CONDITIONS.
AND I THINK I'LL PASS IT BACK.
AND AS RICHARD MENTIONED, AFTER THAT DISCUSSION, UM, WE, UH, WE, UH, HAVE INCORPORATED PERMEABLE PAVERS INTO THE LANDING OF THE THERE AND THE STAIR ITSELF IS ONLY FIVE FEET WIDE WITH MINIMAL LANDING.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO BE AWARE AND CONSCIOUS OF, UH, MINIMIZING OUR IMPACT.
UM, IN TERMS OF IMPERMEABLE SURFACE, WHO, WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAINTENANCE? SO LIKE IF IT GETS ICY IN THE WINTER, WAS THE APPLICANT THE PROJECT WILL BE, YEAH.
SAME QUESTION ON MAINTAINING THE VEGETATION.
CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE LOUDER PLEASE? THE, THE, UM, VILLAGE BOARD HAS MADE CLEAR THAT THEY WOULD EXPECT THE, UM, APPLICANT OR ULTIMATELY THE PROJECT BECAUSE THE APPLICANT'S NOT ALWAYS GONNA BE THERE, UM, TO BOTH BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND ALL THE MAINTENANCE.
AND THAT WILL INCLUDE LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE.
SO THE BUILDING OWNER WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE STAIRS AS WELL AS THE PLANTINGS MAINTAINING THEM.
JUST VERY BRIEFLY, MY NAME'S BRIAN SBA.
I'M AN ATTORNEY WITH SARAH STEIN ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANT.
UM, AS OUR TEAM JUST WENT THROUGH, I BELIEVE WE'VE ADDRESSED ALL THE OUTSTANDING COMMENTS.
UM, AND AS YOU MADAM CHAIR, AS YOU SPOKE IN THE BEGINNING, UM, WE HAVE RECEIVED SOME OF THE APPROVALS THAT WERE REQUIRED.
THE OTHER ONLY OUTSTANDING PIECES THAT TOWN BOARD EASEMENT, UM, WHICH, OR SORRY, BOARD OF TRUSTEES EASEMENT, UH, WHICH I BELIEVE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES REQUESTED THAT WE OBTAIN SITE PLAN APPROVAL, CONDITIONAL SITE PLAN APPROVAL PRIOR TO EXECUTING.
UM, SO TO THAT END, I DO ASK THE BOARD THAT WE CLOSE A PUBLIC HEARING AND DIRECT STAFF TO PREPARE A RESOLUTION.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT DONE REVIEWING, SO YOU THANK YOU FOR THAT REQUEST.
BUT, UM, I AM GOING TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION HERE.
UM, SO, UH, OUR VILLAGE PLANNER, UM, I KNOW SOME OF THE COMMENTS WERE ALREADY REFERENCED BY THE APPLICANT, BUT, UM, PATRICK, DO YOU WANT TO SUMMARIZE OR, OR HIGHLIGHT ANYTHING OR, OR SURE.
JUST POINT OUT ANYTHING THAT WASN'T ADDRESSED.
SO THOSE THREE UNITS AT THE LOWER LEVEL, UM, IT IS SECONDARY ACCESS.
IT'S NOT PRINCIPAL ACCESS, BUT TO BUDDY AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, THERE MAY BE CODE ISSUES.
IT'S ABOUT 10 INCHES BETWEEN THE EDGE OF A A CAR AND THAT DOOR.
SO THERE MAY BE CODE ISSUES WITH RESPECT TO THAT.
YEAH, BUT IT'S NOT THE PRIMARY ENTRANCE.
I DON'T THINK IT'S AN OBSTACLE.
I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO REMOVE THE UNITS.
IT'S WHETHER OR NOT THEY REMOVE THE DOORS OR NOT.
SO IT'S, AND I, BUT I THINK IT'S, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, CODE COMPLIANCE ISSUES WITH RESPECT TO THAT.
THE, THE VILLAGE BOARD IN CONSIDERING THE USE OF VILLAGE PROPERTY FOR THE ACCESS BASICALLY SAID TO YOU, LET'S DO A GOOD JOB WITH THIS.
SO I THINK ONE OF THE OBJECTIVE IS TO MAKE IT A PARK-LIKE FACILITY, NOT JUST AN ACCESS FACILITY.
SO, UM, A COUPLE OF COMMENTS COME TO MIND.
SO I'M GLAD TO HEAR THE INTERPRETIVE SIGNAGE.
I THINK THAT'S A GREAT FEATURE FOR THE POLLINATOR GARDENS.
THAT'S WHAT WE DID, IF YOU REMEMBER, AT ELECTRIC OWL AS WELL.
SO THAT'S AN, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT THING.
UM, WHAT'S RICH, WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE EDGE OF THE POLLINATOR OR OF THE, OF
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THE GARDEN? IS IT JUST TAPERING AWAY? DO WE NEED TO, WE HAVE TO UP THE MICROPHONE.DO WE NEED TO CREATE AN EDGE TO THAT? THAT'S MICRO.
SO YOU GUYS ARE SPEAKING THAT EDGE WILL BE WHERE THE, UM, STEEP SLOPE STABILIZATION MIX WILL BE? UM, YEAH, SO THAT'S FROM PINELAND NURSERIES IS A PREMIER, YOU KNOW, SEED, NATIVE SEED MIX.
AND, UH, IT WILL DO VERY, VERY WELL IN THIS, IN THIS CONDITION.
SO AGAIN, WE HAVE A VERY VIBRANT POLLINATOR GARDEN WITH LOTS OF RICH STUFF.
AND THEN IT TURNS INTO KIND OF LAWN AT THE EDGE OF THAT? NO, NO, THERE'S UM, THERE'S ACTUALLY SOME PRECEDENT IMAGES, UM, OF, OF WHAT THAT MATERIAL IS.
THE TWO OR THE THREE PHOTOS AT THE BOTTOM IS WHAT THE FINAL GERMINATED SLOPE WILL LOOK LIKE WHEN IT'S DONE.
THAT'S THE STEEP, STEEP SLOPE STABILIZATION MIX THAT REQUIRES VERY LITTLE MAINTENANCE.
WELL, WE'RE NOT WORRIED ABOUT THE MAINTENANCE 'CAUSE YOU'RE GONNA MAINTAIN IT.
WHAT I THINK WE WANT TO GET OUT OF IT IS SOMETHING THAT'S SPECIAL.
SO IS, IS THAT THE BEST TREATMENT OF THE, OF THE AREA NEXT TO THE POLLINATOR GARDEN? THE OTHER THING THAT JUST COMES TO MIND WITH RESPECT TO THIS IS THE STRAIGHT STAIRCASE GOING UP THE HILL.
IF IT WERE A, A CURBING STAIRCASE, WOULD THAT BE MORE OF A PARK LIGHT SETTING WITH RESPECT? SO SOMETHING TO CONSIDER? YEAH.
UM, AND AGAIN, I THINK THE MIS THE MISSION TO THIS BOARD WAS MAKE IT PARK LIKE NOT JUST A PIECE OF ACCESSIBLE INFRASTRUCTURE.
WELL, HAVING THOSE, THOSE AREAS, ESPECIALLY THAT INTERMEDIATE AREA WHERE THERE BE A, A BENCH WHERE, UH, ONE WOULD BE ABLE TO SIT AND LOOK TO THE WEST AT THE RIVER, UM, AND ALSO THAT'S WHERE THE INTERPRETIVE SIGN WOULD BE.
SO IT'S KIND OF A, YOU KNOW, A MIDPOINT.
UM, IF YOU WANTED TO JUST SIT AND RELAX FOR A FEW MINUTES, YOU COULD DO THAT ON YOUR WAY BACK AND FORTH TO THE TRAIN STATION.
AND, AND ONE OTHER POINT, KAREN, YOU MENTIONED YOU'RE GONNA TURN OFF THE LIGHTS BASED ON THE LIGHTING INSIDE.
MAYBE THERE'S SOME SECURITY LIGHTING THAT NEEDS TO ALWAYS BE THERE, PARTICULARLY AT THE BOTTOM.
UM, SO THE, JUST TO CLARIFY, THE LIGHTS WOULD, UM, THE LIGHTS WOULD GO OFF, UH, WHEN IT'S LIGHT OUTSIDE, WHEN THERE IS, WHEN THERE'S NO NEED FOR THE LIGHTS.
SO, SO ALL THEY WOULD ALWAYS BE ON.
AND THAT'S WHY THE, THE PHOTOMETRIC ANALYSIS WAS IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT OVER LIGHTING THE SPACE.
I MISUNDERSTOOD THAT, BUT WE PLAN TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON WHEN THERE'S NO LIGHT OUTSIDE.
SO AGAIN, IT, IT, I THINK THE BOARD IS RELYING ON YOU TO MAKE SURE THAT FEATURE IS SOMETHING THAT'S SPECIAL AND GIVES SOMETHING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY MM-HMM
IN EXCHANGE FOR THE USE OF PUBLIC PROPERTY.
AND LINDA, DO YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING? 'CAUSE I KNOW YOU, YOU, I WAS AT THE, THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING AND HAVE HAD SOME, UM, CONVERSATIONS AND, UM, PAT CORRECTLY STATED SOME OF THE CONCERNS AS DID KAREN AND RICH, BUT, UM, SOME OF THE THINGS IS THAT THE BOARD WAS ENVISIONING THAT THIS WAS GONNA BE MORE LIKE A POCKET PARK AS OPPOSED TO JUST A STAIRWAY WITH A, A SITTING AREA.
UM, SO, BUT THEY'RE REALLY LOOKING, THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES IS LOOKING TO YOU, THE PLANNING BOARD, TO REALLY WORK ON THE PLAN, AS PAT SAID, UM, CONCERNED, YOU KNOW, HOW WILL IT LOOK, WANT IT TO BE AN ATTRACTIVE DESIGN.
UM, THEY DIDN'T LIKE THE STRAIGHT STAIRCASE KIND OF GOING UP.
THERE WAS SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THAT.
UM, I THINK IT'S MUCH BIGGER THAN THIS, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT GINSBURG PARK THAT THEY JUST DID IN YONKERS, IT KIND OF MEANDERS A LITTLE MORE.
AND I THINK AT AN EARLIER ITERATION THAT WE SAW HAD PART OF IT KIND OF GOING, YOU KNOW, WAS NOT JUST STRAIGHT UP IN THE EARLIER ITERATION THAT WE SAW, UM, THERE WAS A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE MATERIAL FOR THE STAIRS, UM, WHETHER IT WAS GONNA BE POURED CONCRETE OR ANOTHER MATERIAL, UM, NOT A MAJOR CONCERN, BUT JUST SOMETHING THAT WAS RAISED FOR YOU TO LOOK AT.
UM, THE VILLAGE ALSO ASKED THEM, AND THEY AGREED TO PROVIDE AN AREA WHERE THEY KIND OF FLATTENED OUT THE BOTTOM AND MADE THE WALKWAY TO ALSO PROVIDE AN AREA FOR THE DONATION BINS AND THE PORT OF SANDS THAT ARE THERE FOR THE FARMER'S MARKET, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THEY'RE TAKING UP PARKING SPACES.
SO IN AN EFFORT TO GET THOSE PARKING SPACES BACK, THE VILLAGE BOARD HAD ALSO ASKED, UM, FOR THEM TO SHOW AN AREA WHERE THOSE COULD BE SORT OF MOVED OUT OF THE PARKING SPACES.
UM, THE PLANTING PLAN, AGAIN, JUST AS PAT SAID, IS THAT MATERIAL, THAT'S THE SLOPE STABILIZATION, HOW'S THAT GONNA LOOK? HOW ARE THEY GONNA BLEED TOGETHER? UM, IS THERE A DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THAT ALL GONNA LOOK LIKE? UM, SIGNAGE, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT NOT JUST THE INTERPRETIVE SIGNS, BUT, UM, SIGNAGE AT THE BOTTOM AND AT THE TOP.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SHOWING HERE, THE SIGNAGE OF THE BOTTOM.
SO WE, AND THE INTERPRETIVE SIGNAGE, BECAUSE THAT GETS LOCKED AFTER A CERTAIN HOUR, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S VERY CLEAR SIGNAGE SO THAT WHILE
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RESIDENTS CAN GO UP, BECAUSE THEY'LL HAVE ACCESS THAT THE PUBLIC KNOWS THAT THEY CAN'T, UM, ACCESS AFTER A CERTAIN HOUR.THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION AT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES ABOUT WHETHER TO PUT THE GATE AT THE BOTTOM TO ADDRESS THAT ISSUE.
UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT WOULD BE THE MOST ATTRACTIVE.
AND WE'VE ALSO FELT LIKE, YOU KNOW, IF THE, IF THE, WE DON'T WANT THE STAIR TO BE BETWEEN SIX FEET WALLS.
SO IF THERE'S A GATE AT THE BOTTOM AND YOU COULD HOP IN AND GET CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO GATES, THAT'S NOT DESIRABLE.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S, IT'S, YOU KNOW, MOSTLY THE DESIGN AND MAKING THE SPACE FOR THE ADDITIONAL, UM, THINGS AT THE, AT THE BOTTOM THAT THE BOARD HAD ASKED FOR.
UM, BUT THEY, AGAIN, THOSE WERE THEIR, SOME OF THEIR CONCERNS AND THEY'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR, FOR YOU
SO WITH AND AS A POLLINATOR GARDEN, CAN WE HAVE AN EPIPEN DISPENSER ABOUT
SO, SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA OPEN IT UP TO MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS.
DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS ALONG THOSE QUESTIONS OR ANYTHING YOU SUGGEST CHANGES? I MEAN, AND MY INITIAL REACTION WAS THAT IT'S PERFECTLY ATTRACTIVE, BUT I THINK NOW HEARING ABOUT WHAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES WAS SEEKING, THIS DOESN'T REALLY SEEM TO ADDRESS THAT BRIEF.
UM, I MEAN, IT, IT LOOKS LIKE A PERFECTLY, THE MICROPHONE A LITTLE BETTER.
HOW, HOW ABOUT NOW? IS THAT BETTER? YES.
WHEN THE ROOM IS FULL, IT'S VERY OKAY.
WE'RE ALL GONNA MAKE SURE WE, UH, I'LL, I'LL REPEAT MYSELF.
I, I THINK THAT, UM, THIS DOESN'T NECESSARILY, I THINK REALLY SEEM TO ADDRESS THE BRIEF FROM THE BOARD.
UM, I THINK CERTAINLY, I MEAN, THE COMMENT ABOUT THE, THE AREA, UH, TO ADDRESS THE PORT OF SANDS FOR THE FARMER'S MARKET AND THE DONATION BINS IS LIKE NOT PRESENT HERE.
AND THEN BEYOND THAT, I MEAN, THIS IS A NICE LOOKING STAIRCASE, BUT IT, IT READS TO ME AS ESSENTIALLY A STAIRCASE IN SPITE OF THE LANDINGS.
SO I'M NOT, I JUST, I'LL SAY BRIEFLY, I MEAN, I THINK, UM, REGARDING THE PLANTING PLAN, UM, I DON'T THINK WE FUNCTIONALLY HAVE MUCH CONTROL OVER WHAT HAPPENS IN 10 YEARS.
YOU KNOW, WHEN WHATEVER MANAGEMENT COMPANY IS, IS IN CONTROL OF THE PROJECT, DECIDES TO PLANT SOMETHING ELSE, WHICH IS OR ISN'T A NATIVE POLLINATOR GARDEN.
I MEAN, IT LOOKS PERFECTLY NICE RIGHT NOW, BUT I THINK IN TERMS OF THE ACTUAL DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE OF IT, THIS IS STILL, YOU KNOW, FUNCTIONALLY A STAIRCASE.
SO, WELL, WE CAN'T PUT CONDITIONS ON THE PROJECT REQUIRING CERTAIN TYPES OF PLANTING.
SO JUST THAT'S A WAY TO ADDRESS YOUR CONCERN THAT IT COULD COMPLETELY CHANGED.
SO, UM, BY THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THEY WANTED TO SEE MORE LIKE A PARK, POCKET PARK, AND I'VE BEEN TO GAINES PARK QUITE A BIT, IT'S LOVELY.
A COUPLE THINGS ABOUT THAT PRECEDENT IS THERE'S A DIRECT WAY TO GET UP AND A MEANDERING WAY TO GET UP.
NOT SAYING THAT YOU DO BOTH, BUT LIKE, THERE'S A PURPOSE OF THIS IS FUNDAMENTALLY TO GET UP AND DOWN AND MEANDERING WOULD BE NICE FOR PEOPLE WHO WANNA LINGER, BUT IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO DIRECT FUTURE DESIGN REVISIONS FOR A PRECEDENT THAT'S A LITTLE MORE LIKE, WHAT'S THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF SPACE FOR THIS? LIKE, IS IT AS BIG AS GAINES WORK? PROBABLY NOT.
SO LIKE WHAT, HOW MUCH MORE SITTING AREA OR, YOU KNOW, LIKE IF THEY'RE GOING TO DO A REVISED DESIGN, MAYBE A LITTLE DIRECTION IT'S MORE SPECIFIC SO THEY CAN HIT IT.
I DON'T KNOW WHO PROVIDES THAT, BUT WHOEVER'S ASKING FOR WE ARE, WE ARE, YEAH.
SO, YOU KNOW, AT THIS POINT IT'S US.
SO IT'S NOT AMORPHOUS AND THEY CAN TAKE A LOOK AT SOME, WE WANT X AMOUNT OF SPACE FOR SITTING OR, OR SOMETHING THAT DEFINES WHAT'S MISSING FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE AT THIS POINT.
WELL, LIKE HOW DO OTHERS FEEL ABOUT THAT? THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL, LISA.
UM, I DO THINK IT'S, IT, YEAH, IT'S PART OF, IT'S OUR, IT'S ON OUR PLATES TOO.
SO FOR US, I MEAN, DO YOU HAVE, BEFORE WE MOVE ON FROM YOU, DO YOU HAVE A STRONG VIEW ON THAT? UM, YEAH, I, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE SEEN THE RUNNING AND I THINK AS EVERYONE, I THINK IT IS NICE.
IT LOOKS, IT LOOKS WELCOMING, IT LOOKS, UM, LIKE AN IMPROVEMENT OF WHAT IS CURRENTLY IN THIS LOCATION.
UM, SO I, YEAH, I THINK IT'S MAYBE JUST SOME CONSIDERATION OF THE PROGRAM, LIKE WHAT THE ANTICIPATED USE IS OF MORE OF A PARK-LIKE SETTING.
UM, THAT MIGHT JUST REQUIRE SOME DISCUSSION.
UM, SO I'M JUST THINKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF WHEN YOU WANT DIRECTION ON HOW YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO CHANGE SOMETHING, WE'D LIKE TO GIVE YOU SOMETHING THAT'S, UM, DEFINITIVE, NOT DEFINITIVE, AT LEAST A SUGGESTION.
I, I GUESS THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO SUGGEST JUST TO GET SOME PARAMETERS, LIKE MORE SPACE FOR SITTING.
UM, THE OTHER ITEMS THAT SEEM TO BE MISSING, YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE SORT OF, UM, QUANTIFIED.
AND, AND LISA, JUST, JUST FOR CONTEXT, I THINK ONE OF THE REASONS THAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES IS PUSHING FOR SOMETHING MORE THAN IT BEING A STAIRCASE SURROUNDED BY PRETTY PLANTING IS THAT THEY'RE ALLOWING THIS TO BE DEVELOPED ON PUBLIC PROPERTY.
[00:30:01]
MM-HMMTHAT IS, UM, THE REASON WHY THEY ARE PUSHING TO GET MORE FROM IT THAN JUST THE UTILITARIAN, THEY'LL GO UP THE STEPS.
IT'S A, IT'S A VERY COMMON GIVE BACK SITUATION.
UM, BUT YEAH, WE'LL JUST, I THINK, UM, I GUESS THAT'S SOMETHING TO DISCUSS OPINIONS ABOUT HOW, HOW MUCH MORE DEVELOPED OR, OR PARK LIKE THE, THIS PASSAGE WANTS TO BE.
SO I CAN'T ANSWER IT RIGHT NOW,
UM, UH, JUST BRIEFLY, I THINK THE LANDSCAPE DESIGN IS VERY THOUGHTFUL.
UM, WITH THIS, THE SLOPE STABILIZATION, I THINK THERE'S A TRADE OFF THAT HAS TO BE MADE THERE BETWEEN PLANTS THAT WILL DO THE WORK AND ALSO BE ATTRACTIVE AND IN SOME COMPROMISE THERE IS TOTALLY FINE.
AND I THINK WHAT'S PROPOSED WILL LOOK GREAT.
UM, THE, THE THEME I HEAR WITH THE CONCERNS IS THE STRAIGHT STAIRCASE.
AND SO I THINK THE WHERE, UM, THERE MIGHT BE WORK TO DO IS SOMETHING THAT BREAKS IT UP.
THAT COULD BE SOMETHING MORE MEANDERING.
I THINK THAT COULD BE A, A LARGER, UH, SITTING AREA.
UM, IT COULD BE MAYBE TWO SITTING AREAS INSTEAD OF ONE.
UM, BUT SOMETHING THAT VISUALLY BREAKS IT UP MAKES IT MORE INTERESTING AND MORE INVITING, UM, FOR THE PUBLIC AS OPPOSED TO WHAT KIND OF READS IS JUST A STAIRCASE AND IS SORT OF IMPOSING.
UM, YEAH, I FIRST OF ALL WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THE LETTER OUTLINING ALL THE CHANGES THAT HAVE HAPPENED SINCE THE LAST TIME YOU WERE IN FRONT OF THE BOARD.
THAT WAS REALLY, REALLY HELPFUL.
AND IT'S COME SO FAR ALONG AND LOOKS BEAUTIFUL.
THANK YOU FOR ADDRESSING ALL OF THOSE WITH ALL OUR DIFFERENT VERY EFFECTIVE BOARDS, APPARENTLY
I WAS WONDERING ALSO WHY NOT POTENTIALLY TALLER TREES, TALLER NATIVE TREES.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WOULD HELP OR IF IT'S A PROBLEM ON THE STEEP SLOPES.
WELL, WHAT WE PROPOSING, CAN YOU SPEAKING TO THE MICROPHONE, SO I'M SORRY.
WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING THERE ARE, UH, A NATIVE TREE TO THE HUDSON VALLEY.
THE SHA BLOW SERVICE PROBABLY GOT ITS NAME FROM WHEN THE SHAD RUN UP THE HUDSON RIVER IS WHEN THEY FLOWER MM-HMM
SO IT HAS SOME SIGNIFICANCE IN TERMS OF THAT.
UM, ONE OTHER THING I WANT TO KEEP IN MIND THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS LINEAR GARDEN IS WHERE PEOPLE HAVE TO GO FROM THEIR HOME AND ALSO PEOPLE THAT ARE COMING FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO GET TO A TRAIN IN THE MORNING.
SO IT SERVES A, A PURPOSE IN TERMS OF IT'S DIRECT KIND OF FLOW.
UM, WE DO HAVE, YOU KNOW, A MAJOR JOG IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STAIRS THAT REALLY BREAKS IT UP AND GIVES THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ANOTHER LITTLE SMALL PARKLET IN THE MIDDLE, UM, WITH THE BENCH AND AGAIN, WHERE THE INTERPRETIVE SIGN IS.
I'M GONNA HEAR FROM OTHER BOARD MEMBERS AND WE'LL SEE WHERE WE LAND ON THIS.
BUT YOU WANNA GO LAST
UM, I DISAGREE WITH, UH, THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
I THINK THE DESIGN, UH, EVOKES OTHER STAIRCASES IN HASTINGS.
UM, WHERE I THINK THE TRUSTEES MISSED AN OPPORTUNITY IS IF THEY WANT TO, UH, ADDRESS THE, THE WHOLE PARKING LOT HOLISTICALLY AND TO EXTRACT OTHER, UM, CONTRIBUTIONS.
THEY SHOULD HAVE DONE THAT, NOT NOW.
THEY, THIS HAS BEEN ON OUR AGENDA FOR A VERY LONG TIME, AND IF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MISSED AN OPPORTUNITY, THEN THEY MISSED AN OPPORTUNITY.
I THINK THIS IS A GOOD DESIGN.
UM, THE STAIRS WORK, THE PLANTINGS WORK, UH, IF WE WANT TO ADDRESS THE PARKING LOT HOLISTICALLY, THAT'S A DIFFERENT STORY.
AND I THINK G RAISING THAT AS AN EXTRACTION NOW, UH, IS NOT FAIR TO THE APPLICANT.
CAN I JUST POINT OUT THIS, JUST WENT TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN JULY, THE FIRST TIME THEY WERE BEFORE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
YOU STILL CAN TO HEAR, WE CAN'T HAVE YOU SHOUTING OUT LOUD LIKE THAT.
I WANT YOU TO SAY THAT THEY WERE JUST BEFORE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN JULY.
THIS IS THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY THE BOARD HAD TO COMMENT ON THIS.
WELL, I WOULD, I WOULD RATHER NOT HOLD THIS APPLICATION UP, UH, ON THIS DETAIL.
THE, MAYBE WE CAN FIND SOME WAY TO WORK IT OUT.
WE'VE BEEN HEARING THIS FOR A VERY LONG TIME, AND I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE ON, ON THIS APPLICATION, UH, TO ADDRESS THE PARKING LOT MORE HOLISTICALLY.
AND AGAIN, I DON'T THINK THAT'S FAIR TO THE APPLICANT.
UM, YEAH, I, I HAVE TO, WITH NO DISRESPECT TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, I ACTUALLY, I LIKE THE IDEA THAT IT IS NOT ACCESSIBLE.
I MEAN, THE STAIRS ARE ACCESSIBLE, OBVIOUSLY, BUT I LIKE THE IDEA THAT IT IS TREES
[00:35:01]
AND TALL GRASSES AND NATIVE PLANTS, UH, BECAUSE I THINK VISUALLY IT'S APPEALING AND I LIKE THAT IT'S A, A, AN ACCESSIBLE TO HUMAN GREEN SPACE, WHICH WILL PROVIDE SORT OF A NATURAL ENVIRONMENT.SO, UH, I, I MEAN, I GUESS REJIGGER IN THE STAIRS AND ADDING A BENCH IS FINE, BUT I, I ACTUALLY DON'T THINK THAT WOULD IMPROVE IT.
I THINK I LIKE THE IDEA THAT THERE'S A, THERE'S A, A NATURAL COMPONENT TO THIS, AND I THINK THAT'S VISUALLY APPEALING WHEN YOU'RE IN THAT PARKING LOT.
AND AS YOU POINTED OUT, IT'S PRETTY UGLY THERE RIGHT NOW.
SO THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A, A MASSIVE IMPROVEMENT IN MY OPINION.
UM, THE ONE OTHER POINT I'D LIKE TO, TO BRING TO ATTENTION IS THE SEASONAL CHANGE HERE.
THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF CHANGE, A LOT OF COLOR WHEN YOU'RE AT THE FARMER'S MARKET OR YOU'RE IN THE PARKING LOT.
THIS IS REALLY GOING TO BE A SHOWY PIECE THAT IS NOT EXIST NOW.
UM, I'LL JUST, I'LL JUST WEIGH IN AND SAY, I, I, I THINK WHEN I FIRST SAW THIS, WHEN IT CAME TO US THIS MONTH, I, I THOUGHT THAT THE, THE LANDING JUST SEEMED VERY SMALL.
LIKE, I'M NOT SURE HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE GONNA STOP AND SIT THERE BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S REAL.
MAYBE IT'S, IF PEOPLE ARE CARRYING HEAVY BAGS FROM THE FARMER'S MARKET, THEY'LL JUST TAKE A LITTLE BREAK BEFORE THEY GO UP THE REST OF THE STEPS.
BUT IT, IT'S NOT REALLY A PARK LIKE, UM, EXPERIENCE THE WAY IT'S DESIGNED.
I ALSO HEAR THE, THE POINT ABOUT, WELL, MAYBE THAT'S NOT WHAT ITS PURPOSE IS CERTAINLY BEAUTIFIES THAT, UM, HILLSIDE, WHICH IS QUITE, UM, DILAPIDATED RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND IT, AND IT IS UTILITARIAN IN THAT IT ACCOMPLISHES THE MAIN REASON FOR THAT, UM, AMENITY THERE, WHICH IS TO ALLOW THE PUBLIC AND THE RESIDENTS TO GO STRAIGHT THROUGH THE MUSE DOWN TO THE PARKING LOT, UM, DURING SET HOURS.
SO, UM, I THINK WHAT I'D LIKE TO SAY, YEAH, GO AHEAD.
NO, I JUST, I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT I ALSO THINK IT LOOKS BEAUTIFUL AS IS, BUT I WAS DEFERRING TO OTHER PEOPLE'S DESIGN, UM, SENSIBILITIES.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I, THE REASON I SUGGESTED A TALLER TREE, TALLER NATIVE TREE OBVIOUSLY WAS FOR MORE OF A PARK SENSE AND SOME SHADE FOR PEOPLE TO SIT.
AND WE, WE COULD ACHIEVE THAT SOMEWHAT EASILY WITHOUT REJIGGERING THE WHOLE DESIGN, THE FEEL OF IT.
SO I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE WE HAVE DIFFERING OPINIONS ON WHETHER, BASICALLY WHAT IT'S DOWN TO IS, DO WE THINK THIS NEEDS TO BE REDESIGNED, UM, AS PER THE REQUEST OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, EITHER A COUPLE PEOPLE STRONGLY FEEL LIKE I'M HEARING NO
DOES ANYONE GIVEN ALL THE COMMENTS? UM, IT'S A PROCESS QUESTION.
SO WAS THIS PLAN OR THIS RENDERING SHOWN TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND THEY SAID GO BACK TO THE PLANNING BOARD TO, TO WORK ON THE, I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE CON THAT OKAY.
AND YOU KNOW, THE, AS AS PAT SAID EARLIER, YOU KNOW, THE IS ALLOWING A PRIVATE DEVELOPER TO MAKE USE OF PUBLIC LAND OF VILLAGE PROPERTY AND THEREFORE, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY'D LIKE, AND YES, IT IS AN IMPROVEMENT.
NOBODY'S DENYING THAT, BUT YOU KNOW, THEY WERE, I THINK LOOKING FOR SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE, I THINK EVEN IF THE SITTING AREA AT THE BOTTOM COULD BE ENLARGED A LITTLE TO BE A LITTLE MORE LIKE A SMALL PARK OR POCKET PARK.
UM, AND, AND THEN AGAIN, THE, THE SPACE FOR THE BINS AND THE, UM, PORT OF SAND, WHICH THEY WERE AWARE OF AND HAVEN'T SHOWN, UM, THAT'S JUST, AGAIN, I'M PASSING ON.
UM, ULTIMATELY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES IS GONNA HAVE TO GIVE THEM PERMISSION TO DO IT, BUT THEY WERE REALLY LOOKING TO YOU ALL TO, TO WORK ON THE DESIGN.
UH, SORRY, A A LEGAL QUESTION.
I MEAN, IF WE GIVE THEM SITE PLAN APPROVAL AND THEN THEY HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, CAN THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES SAY PUT IN MORE TREES OR OUT A BENCH? I MEAN, WHAT'S THEIR LEGAL AUTHORITY IN THAT WAY? WELL, THEY COULD BECAUSE OTHERWISE THEY COULD SAY, IF YOU DON'T DO THAT, WE'RE NOT GONNA GIVE YOU THE EASEMENT TO USE THE PROPERTY.
WE, WE PROVIDE THE COMMENTS ON THE SITE PLAN.
IT MAY REQUIRE AN AMENDMENT TO THE SITE PLAN OR JUST RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT.
SO I'M PLAYING SITE PLAN CHICKEN WITH THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SO I THINK, I THINK GIVEN I, WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF FEEDBACK, UM, CONVEYED TO US ABOUT WHAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES IS LOOKING FOR, AND THIS ISN'T A TYPICAL JUST STRAIGHTFORWARD SITE PLAN PROCESS BECAUSE OF WHAT I POINTED OUT EARLIER.
AND LINDA HAS JUST EMPHASIZED THAT IT IS PUBLIC LAND THAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES WANTS TO MAKE SURE IS BEING UTILIZED IN A WAY THAT, UM, MEETS THEIR VISION FOR THE APPROPRIATE, UM, USE PRIVATE USE ON PUBLIC LAND.
AND SO WITH THAT, I DO, I THINK THAT IT, IT IT'S,
[00:40:01]
IT WOULD BEHOOVE US TO ASK THE APPLICANT TO TAKE ANOTHER STAB AT MAKING SOME ADJUSTMENTS THAT WE'RE, THAT RESPOND TO THESE COMMENTS ABOUT WANTING, EVEN IF IT'S NOT A MAJOR CHANGE, SOME ADJUSTMENT.UM, I THINK IN MY VIEW, WHEN I FIRST LOOKED AT IT BEFORE WE HAD ANY OF THIS CONVERSATION, I JUST FELT THAT LANDING WAS VERY TIGHT AND DIDN'T SEEM LIKE VERY MUCH LIKE IT'S ALMOST, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S A BENCH FOR TWO PEOPLE AND IT'S, THERE COULD BE MORE MADE OF THAT, EVEN IF IT'S ROUNDED WITH A LITTLE MORE SPACE OR SOMETHING.
I DON'T WANNA DESIGN FOR THEM, BUT I THINK THERE COULD BE MORE TO THE DESIGN WITH SOME NOT COMPLETELY REDOING IT IN MY VIEW.
I DON'T THINK IT'S FAR OFF, BUT I THINK THE APPLICANT COULD TAKE ANOTHER STAB AT, UM, PROVIDING MORE INTEREST FOR, FOR USERS TO USE IT AS, AS MORE THAN JUST GETTING FROM THE TOP TO THE BOTTOM.
AND BACK UP, MADAM, MADAM CHAIR, IF, IF WE'RE GONNA SEND THEM BACK, CAN WE ASK THE APPLICANT TO, UM, MAKE SUGGESTIONS FOR THE VILLAGE IN TERMS OF TREATING THE PARKING LOT MORE HOLISTICALLY, NOT YOUR OBLIGATION TO IMPLEMENT IT, BUT SOME HELPFUL, UH, HINTS ON WHERE WE SHOULD BE GOING IN THE FUTURE.
IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK? I DON'T, I DON'T THINK THAT'S THEIR JOB.
THEY, IF THEY WANT TO, THAT'S FINE, BUT THIS, THIS IS NOT THE PARKING LOT.
THIS IS ADJACENT TO THE PARKING LOT AND IN MY VIEW, UM, ASKING, THAT'S ACTUALLY ASKING A LOT TO ASK THEM TO THEN COME UP WITH IDEAS FOR PARTS OF THE PROJECT.
BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT, LOOKING AT THIS MORE HOLISTICALLY.
THE APPLICANT DIDN'T CUT DOWN THE BLOODY TREES THAT WE REQUESTED.
UM, UH, YOU KNOW, I I IF WE'RE, IF WE'RE GOING TO SEND THEM BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD TO NIBBLE AT THE EDGES, LET'S, LET'S COME UP, YOU KNOW, LET'S PICK THEIR BRAINS AND COME UP WITH SOMETHING MORE.
I DO WONDER IF INSTEAD OF A, IF, IF A POCKET PARK AT THE BOTTOM WITH BENCHES MAKES MORE SENSE THAN ONE HALFWAY UP, UH, THE FARMER'S MARKET DOESN'T HAVE A TON OF SEEDING, AND SO PERHAPS THAT'S A BETTER USE FOR THE BOTTOM OF THE SPACE.
AND AN, UH, AN ANGELIE'S COMMENT ABOUT TREES PROVIDING SOME SHADE IS ACTUALLY I THINK A REALLY GOOD ONE AS WELL.
THE FARMER'S MARKET GETS VERY HOT AS EVERYBODY KNOWS IN THE SUMMER, AND IT'S, IT'S ON A PARKING LOT.
SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES WAS THINKING IS TO HAVE THIS SORT OF BE AN AMENITY SPACE.
I, I SUPPORT THE CHAIR'S SUGGESTION OF ASKING THE APPLICANT TO TAKE ONE MORE SHOT.
UM, AT A, NOT A MAJOR REDESIGN, BUT TO INCORPORATE THE COMMENTS THAT WE'VE SHARED.
AND THEN MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS' COMMENTS ARE ALSO WELL TAKEN.
I THINK PERFECT IS THE ENEMY OF THE GOOD.
YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S A GOOD DESIGN RIGHT NOW.
AND I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE MORE CUT.
WE'LL MAKE IT EVEN BETTER AND WE'LL BE IN A GREAT SPOT.
I MEAN, THEY'VE TALKED ABOUT MAKING THAT BOTTOM SECTION HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE, BUT ALL THAT'S THERE IS THAT ONE SMALL BENCH.
YEAH, I, I WILL SAY, I, I THINK IN MY VIEW, UM, MAYBE TO RICHARD'S POINT, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW IT'S A PARKING LOT, WHICH WITH CARS RIGHT NEAR THERE.
SO I DON'T THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE A VERY INVITING, NO MATTER HOW MUCH THEY KIND OF DRESS UP THE BOTTOM OF THE STAIRS, IT'S NOT GONNA BE THAT INVITING.
AND I THINK IF ANYTHING, I WOULD ENCOURAGE THEM TO LOOK AT THE LANDING THAT'S HALFWAY UP, BECAUSE THEN YOU COULD TAKE A LITTLE BREAK AND ENJOY, YOU KNOW, TAKE A BREAK FROM THE FARMER'S MARKET OR WHATEVER ELSE YOU'RE DOING AND BE SURROUNDED BY THE POLLINATOR GARDEN AS OPPOSED TO LOOKING OVER THE PARKING LOT.
I, I, I THINK PUTTING A LOT OF DESIGN INTO THAT IS, IN MY VIEW, NOT THE RIGHT, IT WOULD BE MISSED OPPORTUNITY IF THEY DIDN'T INCREASE THE SIZE OF THE CENTER, OF THE CENTER LANDING.
TO INCORPORATE MORE S BUDDY YOU DON'T HAVE A MICROPHONE.
I THINK WOULD BE A MISSED OPPORTUNITY TO JUST SKIP OVER MM-HMM
THAT DESIGN ASPECT OF THIS PLAN.
I, I THINK THAT'S, THAT MAKES SENSE.
SO MORE AVAILABLE, SITTING, HANGING OUT SPACE AT THE LANDING, I THINK IS WHAT WE'RE, AND THE OTHER TWO ITEMS FOR TRASH CONTAINERS.
OKAY, SO WE HAVE, UM, GIVEN YOU FEEDBACK ON WHAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE IN ANOTHER REVISION.
UM, BUT I THINK OUT OF, OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE, THE ROLE THAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES PLAYS IN GRANTING THIS, UM, EASEMENT, UM, I THINK IT BEHOOVES US TO ASK FOR THIS REVISION AND, AND WE GAVE, WE GAVE SOME CONCRETE SUGGESTIONS TODAY.
SO, UM, WITH THAT IT IS A PUBLIC HEARING, SO WOULD ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC LIKE TO SPEAK TO THIS APPLICATION? I WOULD.
[00:45:01]
PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND YOUR ADDRESS.UM, ARE WE, UH, CHARLES, ARE WE PUTTING ASKING PEOPLE TO SIGN ONTO THE BOARD LIKE WE ALWAYS DO? OH, NOT, NO.
ONE THING I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT IS THAT COULD YOU SAY YOUR NAME, THE ADDRESS? I'M OUTSIDE BRIAN ALLEN, 4 87 WAR BURDEN.
MY, I OWN A THREE, UH, STORY APARTMENT BUILDING THAT ABUTS THE PROPERTY.
UM, NOBODY IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM CAN SEE THESE SCREENS BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT ARTICULATED OUTWARD.
YEAH, BECAUSE, AND, AND THERE ARE PEOPLE HERE FOR ANOTHER MEETING THEY'RE GONNA WANNA SEE.
SO THAT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA.
SO NO ONE IN THE BACK CAN SEE.
ALSO, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT IN THE BACK TO HEAR WHEN IT'S FULL.
UM, I'M NOT GONNA SAY TOO MUCH.
I, I, I, UH, YOU KNOW, WE FOUGHT OFF THE, THE VIEW SITUATION.
NOW I'M WITH MR. BASS ENTIRELY ON THIS AT THIS POINT.
YOU CAN CALL IT POCKET PARK ALL YOU WANT.
I GET MAKING A BIGGER LANDING, BUT IT'S NOT A PARK.
IT'S NEVER GOING TO BE A PARK, A LANDING THAT TAKES A DIAGONAL.
NO ONE'S GONNA SIT ON THESE BENCHES ON THE WAY BACK FROM THE TRAIN.
NO ONE'S GONNA SIT ON THE BENCHES ON THEIR WAY TO THE TRAIN.
HE WANTS TO MAKE THIS AN ACCESS.
AT THIS POINT, THE MAN'S BEEN FOUGHT DOWN FOREVER ALREADY.
IT'S GONNA BE TWO MORE YEARS FULL SUMMERS WITH NO CLEARING OF THE TREES.
NOW YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MAYBE A THIRD ONE.
OUR VALUES ARE GOING DOWN THERE.
THE WHOLE IDEA HERE IS, IS TO MAKE THIS WORK.
THIS, THESE ARE QUIBBLING NOW.
I I THINK YOU SHOULD LET THE GUY GO FORWARD AT THIS POINT.
UH, GOOD EVENING, DAVE SKOLNIK, UH, 47 HILLSIDE.
UM, I'M GLAD BRIAN POINTED OUT SOME OF THE DETAILS.
SO I WON'T END UP BEING QUITE AS OFFENSIVE AS I WILL OTHERWISE NORMALLY BE PERCEIVED.
UH, I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT PERSONAL NOW, BUT AS HE SAID, WHEN WE'RE TRYING, WHEN WE'RE HERE, THIS MANY PEOPLE, IT'S VERY FRUSTRATING NOT TO BE ABLE TO HEAR PEOPLE SPEAKING.
AND YOU'VE HEARD THIS FROM ME FOR YEARS NOW.
IF I HAD TO GO TO ONE, USUALLY I MAKE THE MISTAKE OF TRYING TO FIT IN TOO MUCH, SO I'M GONNA GO FOR ONE.
UM, I'M NOT AWARE IF AT WHAT MEETING, WHETHER THE PLANNING BOARD OR THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED, UM, TO THAT CLEARING OF THAT ENTIRE SLOPE OF TREES WAS, UH, DESIRABLE.
UH, IF NOTHING ELSE, I WOULD APPRECIATE BEING DIRECTED TO THAT CONVERSATION.
I MADE A REAL EFFORT TO LOOK AT THE PLAN AND TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT SLOPE AND WHAT THE EXTENT OF CLEARING, UH, WOULD BE.
AND I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DISCERN IT IN ANY REASONABLE WAY.
I THINK THE IMPACT OF HAVING THAT CLEARED, UH, TO ME IS, IS, IS, IS IS SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO ADDRESS.
UM, THE, UM, I MEAN THAT'S MAINLY, UH, THE CONCERN.
SECONDARILY, THE CAFE, I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE RAMIFICATIONS, SORRY, OF THE CAFE AND THINGS LIKE WHAT ITS FUNCTION WOULD BE, WHAT IT, WHAT HAPPENS IF THE CAFE DOESN'T SUCCEED AND WHAT WOULD BE PERMITTED, UH, IN ITS PLACE.
UM, AND JUST AGAIN, HOW IT FUNCTIONS EITHER AS A, AS A, UM, A CENTER FOR THE COM, THAT LOCAL COMMUNITY OR, UH, VISUALIZED DRAWING IN, UH, TRAFFIC, UM, OTHERWISE, UH, SNOW.
UH, AGAIN, I LOOK TO UNDERSTAND HOW THOSE STAIRS AND JUST HOW THE MAINTENANCE, NOT EVEN JUST THE STAIRS, BUT HOW THE MAINTENANCE EVEN OF THE WALKWAYS IN THE MUSE, WHAT THE PLAN IS.
UH, SINCE IT'S NOT VILLAGE, IT'S GOING TO BE ALL THE HOMEOWNERS AS FAR AS I ASSOCIATION.
BUT THE IDEA OF THIS, IF THIS WAS GOING TO BE A SUCCESSFUL, UM, UH, EGRESS, PEOPLE USING IT, UH, HOW IT WOULD BE, WHAT THE PLAN WOULD BE FOR MAINTAINING, UH, UH, THINGS LIKE SNOW, BUT MAINLY, UH, THE TREES, I'M, I CONTINUE TO BE DISTURBED AT AT THAT NOT BEING ADDRESSED.
LINDA, DO YOU WANNA ADDRESS ANY OF THAT JUST BRIEFLY? THEY DID SUBMIT TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, AND I BELIEVE TO YOUR BOARD AS WELL, UM, A REPORT FROM AN ARBORIST ON THE CONDITION OF THOSE TREES.
AND IT, THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION OF IT AT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING.
IF YOU, THERE WAS ONE VALUABLE TREE, WHICH WILL REMAIN IF YOU GO BACK, UH, IT'S BEEN A, IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME, BUT IF YOU GO BACK TO ONE OF THEIR PREVIOUS MEETINGS, THIS GENTLEMAN, I'M SORRY I DON'T REMEMBER YOUR NAME.
RICHARD, UH, GAVE US A PRESENTATION ON, THEY DID A SLOPE STABILITY ANALYSIS AND A TREE ANALYSIS ON THE WHAT? ON,
[00:50:01]
ON THE STABILITY, THE CURRENT STABILITY OF THE SLOPE AND ON THE HEALTH OF THE TREES.AND THEY'RE NOT HEALTHY AND THE SLOPE IS NOT, IS NOT STABLE, WHICH IS WHY THEY'RE PROPOSING TO REMOVE THEM AND PUT IN NATIVES.
SO I WOULD SAY I WOULD GUESS SIX MONTHS AGO, BUT, UH, YEAH, I LISTENED TO IT.
THE POINT WOULD BE MAINLY TO ADDRESS THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES ON THIS BECAUSE IT IS THEIR, IT WAS DISCUSSED AT, AT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MAINLY.
SO THE POINT BEING THAT IT'S THE BOARD THAT'S DECIDING TO REMOVE INSTEAD OF, AND IT'S THE VILLAGE'S LAND.
SO IF THEY HAD WANTED TO HAVE A NICE TREE LINED THE WOODS, I MEAN, THAT WOULD'VE BEEN SOMETHING FOR THEM TO CONSIDER.
ANYWAY, THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO KNOW.
DO YOU WANNA ADDRESS THAT AS THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT? YES, I HAVE, UH, MICHAEL WHEELER, WHO, CAN YOU SPEAK INTO THE MICROPHONE SO PEOPLE CAN HEAR YOU? I HAVE MICHAEL WHEELER HERE FROM EMERALD TREE CARE.
HE'S WORKED ON THE PROJECT SINCE THE BEGINNING.
AND I'D LIKE TO, EXCUSE ME, I, I HEAR A LOT OF TALKING IN THE, IN THE AUDIENCE AND IT'S REALLY DISTRACTING FOR PEOPLE, UM, WITH MATTERS BEFORE US.
I WOULD LIKE MICHAEL JUST COME UP TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF THE QUALITY OF THE TREES THAT EXIST OUT THERE.
CERTIFI, PLEASE COME UP WITH EMERALD CREEK CARE.
MICHAEL WHEELER, UH, LICENSED ARBORIST THROUGH THE ISA.
I'M ALSO A CERTIFIED TREE CARE RISK ASSESSOR.
UM, THE TREE THAT, UH, SHOULD BE PRESERVED IS ACTUALLY ON CITY PROPERTY.
IT'S THE LARGE TULIP TREE AT THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE PROPERTY.
AND PART OF MY RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE TEAM WAS THAT PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION, INCLUDING THE BINS, THINGS LIKE THAT, JUST REMAIN OUTSIDE THAT CRITICAL ROUTE ON THAT 30 FOOT OF DRIP LINE SO THAT THAT TREE DOESN'T HAVE ANY STRESS ON IT.
DURING THIS PROJECT, THE REMAINING TREES WERE EITHER INVASIVE SPECIES, HAZARDOUS WITH BROKEN LIMBS, UM, POOR ROOT CONDITIONS DUE TO THE EROSION THAT'S BEEN THERE, THAT'S EXACERBATED THIS CONDITION, STORM DAMAGE OR UNDER THE DIAMETER OF, UM, QUALITY OR CONSIDERATION FOR A PROJECT OF THIS TYPE.
SO IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE, THAT'S WHERE WE SET.
ANYBODY ELSE TO, WHO WANTS TO SPEAK ON THIS MATTER? OKAY.
UM, WELL, SO AS WE ALL HEARD TONIGHT, THE APPLICANT HAS A FEW THINGS TO ADDRESS.
UM, SOME MORE TWEAKS TO DESIGN.
IT'S NOT GONNA DELAY IT BY YEARS.
I, THIS IS, WE'RE COMING TOWARDS THE END.
UM, I THINK IT IS, I, IN MY VIEW, IMPORTANT FOR PUBLIC PROPERTY TO BE TREATED IN A WAY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THOSE ENTRUSTED WITH THE CARE OF PUBLIC PROPERTY FEEL THAT IT'S, UM, GOTTEN THE REVISIONS THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR.
SO YOU GOT SOME CLEAR FEEDBACK FROM US.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOU COMING BACK WITH YOUR IDEAS.
YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO ITERATE ALONG THE WAY AND REALLY MAKE IMPROVEMENTS.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE CONFIDENT YOU'LL COME BACK WITH SOMETHING THAT EVERYONE WILL BE HAPPY WITH.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN.
SO, UM, THE NEXT ITEM, UM, WE'RE GONNA TAKE ACTUALLY OUT OF ORDER BECAUSE THE SAME APPLICANT IS PRESENTING, UM, THE, THE NEXT PROJECT.
SO WE'RE GONNA JUST SWITCH THINGS AROUND.
UM, IT'S THE AMENDMENT TO SITE PLAN APPROVAL FOR THE RENOVATION OF AN EXISTING TWO STORY COMMERCIAL BUILDING TO CREATE TWO RESIDENTIAL UNITS ON THE, EXCUSE ME, PLEASE BE QUIET ON YOUR WAY OUT.
UM, IT'S SITE PLAN APPROVAL FOR THE RENOVATION OF AN EXISTING TWO STORY COMMERCIAL BUILDING TO CREATE TWO RESIDENTIAL UNITS ON THE SECOND FLOOR WITH ONE COMMERCIAL SPACE ON THE FIRST FLOOR FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 5 66 AND 5 68 WARBURG AVENUE.
SAID PROPERTY LOCATED IN THE CC ZONING DISTRICT AND IS KNOWN AS SBL 4.30 DASH 24 DASH 26 AND 27 ON THE VILLAGE TAX MAPS.
UM, I'LL JUST NOTE THAT THE APPLICANT HAS BEEN TO THE ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD AND HAS PROVIDED US WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WE REQUESTED REGARDING THE ROOFTOP USE.
AND WOULD THE APPLICANT LIKE TO PRESENT THE UPDATES? UH, GOOD EVENING.
UH, CGA STUDIO, UH, ARCHITECT.
I'M THE PROJECT ARCHITECT FOR, UM, THANK YOU, UM, REPRESENTING OUR CLIENT, KAREN YOUNG, OWNER OF 5 66, 5 60 AT WAR BURTON AVENUE.
UH, THE LAST WE WERE HERE WAS IN MAY.
AND, UH, WE HAD I THINK TWO, TWO OPEN ISSUES.
WE HAD A MEMO FROM HA ENGINEERING THAT, UH, UH, OUR CIVIL ENGINEER HAS SINCE ADDRESSED THOSE ITEMS. WE SUBMITTED THAT AND I BELIEVE WE GOT A RESPONSE MEMO SAYING ALL THOSE ITEMS HAVE BEEN SATISFIED.
UM, THIS SECOND ISSUE, YOUR BOARD WAS CONCERNED ABOUT, UM, GUIDELINES FOR THE ROOF DECK USE.
I THINK YOU MIGHT NEED TO SPEAK UP.
UM, SOME PEOPLE MIGHT BE ABLE TO HEAR, I'M EVEN HAVING TROUBLE.
I COULD SPEAK LY INTO THE MICROPHONE.
I'M HAVING, UH, GETTING OVER A LITTLE COLD.
UM, I THINK THE MAIN COMMENT FROM YOUR BOARD WAS TO TAKE
[00:55:01]
A LOOK AT THE ROOF DECKS AND NOW THAT WE'RE SEEING MORE OF THOSE IN THE DOWNTOWN, UM, HOW ARE WE GONNA ADDRESS THE ROOF DECK USE IN THE DOWNTOWN? UH, WE, UM, SUBMITTED SOME, WE TOOK A LOOK AT SOME HOMEOWNERS, HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS, HOW THEY DO DEAL WITH, UM, SHARED ROOF DECK SPACE.WE PUT TOGETHER SOME IDEAS, UH, THAT COULD BE INCORPORATED INTO THE TENANTS.
UM, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, LEASE OR WE, YOU KNOW, OR IT COULD JUST BE POSTED AT THE ROOF DECK, UM, AS, AS A, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING TO KEEP THE NOISE LEVELS DOWN, TO KEEP, UH, EVERYTHING SAFE WITH THE FURNITURE, THINGS NOT FLYING OFF THE ROOF.
SO WE CAN GO THROUGH THOSE TOGETHER, UM, IF YOU LIKE, 'CAUSE UM, YOU KNOW, YOU MAY WANNA HAVE INPUT INTO THIS AS WELL.
UM, AND AS YOU MENTIONED, WE DID GO BEFORE THE A RB IN JULY.
UH, WE'VE GOT CONDITIONAL APPROVAL.
UM, THEY, THEY HAD ASKED FOR, UM, A FEW CLARIFICATIONS ON THE MATERIALS AND COLORS, WHICH WE SUBMITTED TO THEM.
THE MAIN THING THEY WANTED, UH, THEY TOO, UM, WANTED A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ROOF DECK.
THEY WANTED US TO LOOK AT THE LIGHTING, MAKE SURE THE LIGHTING WASN'T, UM, UH, THAT THE ROOF DECK WASN'T OVER LIT.
THEY ASKED FOR A PHOTOMETRIC STUDY, UM, AND THEY WANNA MAKE SURE THERE WAS NO SPILL OFF INTO THE, UM, TO THE NEIGHBORING PROPERTIES.
WE SUBMITTED THAT TO YOU AS WELL.
I'M THINKING THAT YOU WOULD WANNA LOOK AT THAT AS WELL.
UM, JUST AS A REMINDER, THIS IS COM AN EXISTING TWO STORY BUILDING.
ALL COMMERCIAL SPACE WE'RE CONVERTING.
THE, THE LOWER FLOOR WILL REMAIN, UH, RETAIL SPACE, TWO APARTMENTS ABOVE.
AND THEN THE ROOF DECK IS A NEW ADDITION.
UH, THE OWNER ENVISIONS THE ROOF DECK AS, UM, TO BE ACCESSIBLE BY THE, THE TENANTS OF THE APARTMENTS.
AND THOSE TENANTS MAY BE, UH, PEOPLE WHO ARE LEASING THE APARTMENTS.
THEY COULD ALSO BE ARTISAN RESIDENCE OR VISITING TEACHERS FOR THE FIBER ARTS CENTER AT THE FIRST FLOOR.
UM, THE ACCESS TO THE ROOF DECK WILL BE CONTROLLED BY THE OWNER.
UM, SHE, AND, AND THAT'S HOW SHE ENVISIONED IT, IT, IT WON'T HAVE THE PUBLIC COMING UP FROM THE RETAIL SPACE USING THE ROOF DECK WITHOUT, UM, WITH, WITHOUT ACCESS FROM THE OWNER.
AND SHE DOES, SHE WANTS TO KEEP THE OPPORTUNITY OPEN TO PERHAPS USE THE ROOF DECK SPACE FOR, UM, AS A WORKSHOP SPACE FOR THE BUSINESS.
UM, AND I, THIS CAME UP AT THE, THE LAST MEETING, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, SHE, SHE HAS CERTAIN IDEAS ABOUT HOW SHE'S GONNA USE THAT ROOF DECK FOR HER BUSINESS, BUT MAYBE DOWN THE LINE THERE MIGHT BE A DIFFERENT BUSINESS OR, YOU KNOW, THERE MIGHT BE DIFFERENT WAYS PEOPLE WILL USE THIS ROOF DECK.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, THE THINGS THAT WE LOOK AT, LOOKED AT WERE REALLY KIND OF THESE GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR HOW ANYBODY WOULD USE THIS ROOF DECK.
AND REALLY THEY RELATE TO SAFETY, UH, YOU KNOW, KEEPING NOISE LEVELS DOWN, KEEPING LIGHT LEVELS DOWN.
YOU'LL SEE WITH, IN THE STUDY WE DID, UM, REALLY KEEPING THE LIGHT AMBIENT.
UM, WE SUBMITTED THESE TO YOU.
I CAN GO THROUGH EACH ONE, BUT REALLY, YOU KNOW, UH, THEY, UH, THE GOAL IS JUST TO HAVE, TO HAVE THAT ROOF DECK SPACE USED LIKE ANY PATIO SPACE OR OUTDOOR BACKYARD THAT PEOPLE WOULD USE IN THEIR, IN THEIR HOMES, YOU KNOW, UM, I THINK SOME OF THE BUILDINGS NOW ARE, ARE IN THE DOWNTOWN OR THEY'RE MORE OF THEM ARE BEING USED AS RESIDENTIAL AND, AND THOSE, THOSE BUILDINGS NEED OUTDOOR SPACE.
AND THE ROOF DECK IS REALLY THE LOGICAL, LOGICAL AREA FOR THAT, FOR THAT OUTDOOR SPACE.
UM, I, UM, IS THAT THE END? AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, AND I CAN TAKE YOU THROUGH THE, THE LIGHTING PLANS, BUT THAT'S REALLY, THAT'S REALLY IT.
I'M HAPPY TO GO THROUGH EACH ONE, BUT YOU LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU'D LIKE TO DISCUSS.
UM, WELL, I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS, 'CAUSE WE RAISED THIS ISSUE AND NOW WE HAVE A LIST OF DIFFERENT, UM, RESTRICTIONS ON THE, ON THE USE OF THE SPACE.
UM, ARE, ARE YOU ALL SATISFIED? DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT ITS USE UNDER THESE CONDITIONS? CONCERNS? I THINK YOUR LETTER, UH, REFERENCE THAT THERE COULD BE, UM, CLASSES OR COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY BETWEEN ONE TO FIVE IN THE AFTERNOONS WITH POSSIBLE EVENING CLASSES AS WELL.
MY CONCERN HAS BEEN, UM, THOSE SORTS OF COMMERCIAL USES IN THE EVENING WHEN NEIGHBORING RESIDENTS MIGHT BE HOME AND HAVING DINNER AND, AND WHAT HAVE YOU.
SO I WOULD SUGGEST, UH, WE CONSIDER A CONDITION WHERE THERE WOULD BE NO COMMERCIAL USE OF THE ROOF DECK DURING NON-BUSINESS HOURS.
AND ANY COMMERCIAL USES WOULD BE CONFINED TO NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? I THINK THAT'S IN, I THINK THAT'S IN KEEPING WITH COMMENTS WE'VE GIVEN TO OTHER APPLICANTS WHO HAVE WANTED TO, UM, PROPOSE TO USE THE ROOFTOPS, THEIR ROOFTOP FOR COMMERCIAL USE IS TO REALLY ENSURE THAT, UM,
[01:00:01]
THERE'S SOME REGULATION OF NOISE IN THE EVENING.UM, SO THAT MAKES SENSE TO ME.
SO THAT WE ESSENTIALLY, WE WOULD ADD A RESTRICTION THAT COMMERCIAL USE WOULD BE RESTRICTED TO, I MEAN, WE, WE NEED TO BE SPECIFIC ABOUT HOURS.
'CAUSE THOSE COULD CHANGE, RIGHT? WE COULD SAY TILL FIVE O'CLOCK.
UM, ANY OTHER, I WONDER IF FIVE, IF FIVE TOO RESTRICTIVE GIVEN IT'S SORT OF AN EXPERIENCE BASED COMMERCIAL, PERHAPS LIKE 7:00 PM IS MORE APPROPRIATE.
I FEEL LIKE THAT'S A GOOD, THAT'S WHEN KIDS START GOING TO BED.
BUT I, I DO, I THINK 11:00 PM ESPECIALLY AT 70 DECIBELS, IT'S ACTUALLY QUITE LOUD.
YOU KNOW, I TOOK, I, I GUESS I, I THINK THE, THE, THE INTENT IS NOT TO HAVE AMPLIFIED MUSIC ON THE ROOF DECK.
BUT I THOUGHT IT NEEDED TO BE ADDRESSED IF THERE WAS AN EVENT, YOU KNOW? UM, AND, UH, THAT SEEMED TO BE THE, SORT OF THE STANDARD LEVELS FOR, FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, A GATHERING SPACE.
UM, WE'RE HAPPY TO REVISIT THAT.
WE THOUGHT MAYBE NO, YOU KNOW, NO AMPLIFICATION AFTER 11.
WE'RE FLEXIBLE ABOUT THAT AS WELL.
BUT, UM, I THINK THAT'S A VILLAGE ORDINANCE.
SO I GUESS I'LL JUST SAY I THOUGHT IT WAS A REALLY THOUGHTFUL, COMPREHENSIVE LIST.
WHAT I WOULD POINT OUT IS, SO WE'VE NOW HAD A COUPLE OF THESE AND WE'VE IMPOSED THESE AS CONDITIONS.
THIS ISN'T A FURTHER ITERATION OF THOSE CONDITIONS, SO IT'S EXPANDING IT.
UM, THERE MIGHT BE SOME TWEAKS.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE, THE, THE POUND, THE 155 POUNDS, I THINK WE HAD A DIFFERENT NUMBER PREVIOUSLY.
SO WE MAY WANT TO ADJUST THAT.
UM, I DO THINK 70 DECIBELS ON A ROOF COULD BE PROBLEMATIC.
UM, BUT I WOULD SAY WITH RESPECT TO THE, THE POTENTIAL USE OF IT, MAYBE IT'S NOT OUR, MAYBE IT'S THE TYPE OF ACTIVITY, NUMBER OF PEOPLE, PEOPLE.
SO IF THESE ARE SIX PEOPLE KNITTING ON THE ROOF, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S AN EASY ACTIVITY.
YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHEN THERE'S KNITTING, THERE'S TALKING
WHEN THERE'S TALKING, THERE'S LAUGHING ALSO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOME VERY NICE SUNSET VIEWS FROM THAT ROOF.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S GOING, I I THINK THIS, YOU KNOW, THIS ROOF DECK USE IS GONNA BE FOR PASSIVE RECREATION.
AND EVEN, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF IT IS USED FOR WORKSHOP SPACE, IT'S, IT'S, UM, I THINK ANYTHING THAT GETS OUT OF CONTROL BECOMES A, AN ISSUE WITH THE VILLAGE AND, AND THE POLICE, YOU KNOW, AS, AS YOU KNOW, BUT I, I'M, I WAS POKING FUN AT THE NIT PART OF THE, IS A LECTURE IN, IT'S IN THE EVENING THEY'LL HAVE A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION.
IT CAN BE SOMETHING OF CONSEQUENCE.
SO IT'S, IT'S A REASONABLE THING TO CONSIDER.
I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW BEST TO, TO, YEAH.
I, I WOULD SUGGEST RATHER THAN TRY TO PARSE, IS THIS ACTIVITY NOISY OR NOT, JUST SAY COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY EIGHT TO SIX OR WHATEVER WE'RE COMFORTABLE WITH IN TERMS OF THE HOURS.
AND THAT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
SO WHAT'S THE NUMBER? IS IT SIX OR SEVEN
YEAH, I THINK SEVEN IS REASONABLE.
SO WE'RE GONNA ADD THAT, UM, WE'D LIKE TO ADD THAT TO YOU, THE REQUIREMENTS THAT YOU'VE LISTED OUT.
UM, AND, AND I, ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM PATRICK ERLAND? NO.
SO, UM, JUST TO REMIND EVERYBODY, THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT FROM THE PRE PLAN THAT WAS BEFORE YOU.
SO THIS IS A, A TERRIFIC AMENDMENT TO THE PREVIOUSLY APPROVED PLAN.
I, I'M, I WILL SAY I'M VERY PLEASED WITH THIS VERSION AS OPPOSED TO ONE A WHILE BACK.
I THINK THIS IS THE, I WILL SAY, UM, THE CONTINUED USE OF THE GROUND FLOOR ACTUALLY NOT CONTINUED BECAUSE THAT WAS AN OFFICE BEFORE.
NOW THAT IT'S GOING TO BE RETAIL, I THINK IT'S WONDERFUL FOR THE VILLAGE.
I'M VERY HAPPY THAT THIS OWNER WANTS TO MAKE THAT INVESTMENT AND ACTIVATE THE SPACE.
I THINK IT'S REALLY GREAT FOR OUR VILLAGE AND A GREAT BUILDING FOR, UM, IN THE CENTER OF OUR TOWN TO BE, TO HAVE THAT.
AND WE COULD ALSO USE THE HOUSING UNITS ABOVE.
SO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, THIS IS GONNA BE GREAT.
UM, YEAH, IT IS A PUBLIC HEARING, SO I'M GOING TO ASK IF ANYBODY FROM THE PUBLIC WANTS TO SPEAK ON THIS PROJECT, THEY'RE INVITED TO COME AND SPEAK.
UM, I'LL GIVE IT A FEW MORE SECONDS.
SOUNDS LIKE I DON'T SEE ANYBODY, UM, WANTING TO SPEAK ON THIS.
SO WITH THAT, UM, WE, WE HAVE THAT REMAINING FEEDBACK.
UM, AND IS THERE A GUIDELINES THAT I SHOULD BE LOOKING AT TO COMBINE? YOU HAD MENTIONED ANOTHER ONE THAT MAYBE WE CAN, SHOULD WE WORK? SO WE'LL WORK WITH YOU ON THAT.
WE IMPOSE THIS AS CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL.
IF WE HAVE CHANGES TO THIS, WE'LL SHARE THEM AND WE'LL WE'LL REPLY TO THE BOARD.
SO WE COULD, WE COULD GO AHEAD AND I, I'D SAY LET'S GO AHEAD AND, UM, I'M GONNA INVITE A MOTION TO APPROVE WITH THIS YES.
FINAL CONDITION THAT WAS ACTUALLY PRETTY EASY FOR THEM TO ADDRESS.
WE WOULD DRAFT A RESOLUTION WITH THE PROPOSED CONDITIONS.
[01:05:01]
CHANCE TO REVIEW.YEAH, WE'LL SHARE THAT AT THE NEXT MEETING.
DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AMENDED SITE PLAN APPROVAL FOR 5 66 DASH 5 68 WAR BURTON AVENUE, SUBJECT TO ADDRESSING THE OPEN COMMENTS THAT OF THE VILLAGE ENGINEER AND, UM, THE ROOF DECK AND, AND OUR, UM, ADDED COMMENTS ABOUT THE ROOF DECK USE GUIDELINES SET FORTH IN THE LETTER FROM CGA STUDIO ARCHITECTS DATED AUGUST 5TH, 2026, WHICH SHALL BE AMENDED TO OUR APPROVED RESOLUTION AND WHICH SHALL BE POSTED ON AT THE PROPERTY AND PROVIDED TO ALL TENANTS.
SO NEXT WE HAVE VIEW PRESERVATION AND ADVISORY SITE PLAN APPROVAL FOR 16 VILLARD AVENUE LLC, WHICH IS THE CONTRACT VANEE FOR VIEW PRESERVATION RECOMMENDATION UNDER SECTION 2 95 DASH 82.
AND SITE PLAN APPROVAL UNDER SECTION 2 95 DASH 1 0 4 TO CONSTRUCT A THREE STORY 60 UNIT ACTIVE ADULT 55 PLUS RENTAL APARTMENT BUILDING, AN ASSOCIATED CLUBHOUSE BUILDING WITH SURFACE AND SUBSURFACE PARKING, LOCATED AT 16 BELLARD AVENUE.
SAID PROPERTY IS IN THE MR DASH 1.5 ZONING DISTRICT AND IS KNOWN AS SBL 4.40 DASH 44 DASH THREE ON THE VILLAGE TAX MAPS.
AND I'LL JUST SAY, UM, IN PREFACING THIS, UH, PRESENTATION THIS EVENING.
UM, JUST TO REMIND EVERYONE, THIS APPLICATION WAS, UM, BEFORE US, UH, ONE OTHER MEETING.
UM, AND THE APPLICANT HAS SUBMITTED REVISIONS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SINCE THEY LAST APPEARED.
UM, AND SO WE'RE GONNA INVITE THEM TO MAKE, UM, TO PRESENT THE REVISIONS.
I WILL ALSO NOTE, AS I DID EARLIER IN THIS MEETING, WE HAVE RECEIVED A LOT OF COMMENTS.
WE HAVE THEM, WE'VE BEEN READING THEM, WE ARE TAKING THEM UNDER ADVISEMENT.
UM, AND THERE WILL BE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
SO WITH THAT, WE ARE FIRST GONNA HEAR FROM THE APPLICANT, HEAR WHAT THEY CHANGED.
WE'LL ALSO HAVE A BOARD DISCUSSION ABOUT OUR COMMENTS AND WE'LL TAKE IT FROM THERE.
SO PLEASE PRESENT, UH, YOUR CHANGES.
I'M AN ATTORNEY WITH ZAIN STEINZ.
I'M HERE WITH ME THIS EVENING.
WE HAVE OUR WHOLE DEVELOPMENT TEAM.
SO WE HAVE A NEW MISRA ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANT.
RICH WILLIAMS FROM INSIGHT ENGINEERING, SAL COCO OF BHC ARCHITECTS, JOHN CANNING OF KIMLEY HORN, AND ALSO, UM, I BELIEVE WE HAVE TERRY HAHN AS WELL.
UM, THE, AS YOU MENTIONED, THE APPLICANT IS HERE, UM, FOR ADVISORY SITE PLAN AS WELL AS AS VIEW PRESERVATION.
UM, WHEN WE LAST CAME BEFORE YOU, YOU HAD A NUMBER OF COMMENTS.
WE HAD, UH, AUGUST 5TH SUBMISSION RESPONDING TO A NUMBER OF THOSE TOWN COMMENTS.
WE BELIEVE, UM, WE HAVE MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS.
WE HAVE REDUCED NUMBER OF VARIANCES, FIRST AND FOREMOST.
UM, WE'VE IMPROVED THE VIEW PRESERVATION, UM, ON THE SITE, MOST LIKELY, MOSTLY FROM BREAKING OUT THE BUILDINGS.
THAT'S PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ITEMS THAT WE HAVE HERE TONIGHT.
UM, WE'VE ALSO REDUCED BUILDING HEIGHTS THAT, THAT ARE ON THE SITE THAT ARE ALREADY CODE-COMPLIANT.
UM, THE VARIANCE REDUCTION IS DOWN TO I BELIEVE, SEVEN.
UM, SOME OF THOSE VARIANCES THAT WE DO HAVE, UM, REMAIN KIND OF INEVITABLE.
SO, UM, THERE ARE, THERE IS ONE FOR SETBACKS, SIDE YARD SETBACK, UM, WHICH IS DUE TO THE LOT LENGTH.
AND DUE TO THAT, BASICALLY ANY DEVELOPMENT ON THE SITE WOULD BE, REQUIRE THAT VARIANCE.
ALSO LOT COVERAGE FOR THIS PARTICULAR DEVELOPMENT.
UM, DUE TO INGRESSING EGRESS REQUIREMENTS.
UM, WE DO HAVE SIGNIFICANT LOT COVERAGE HERE.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE PREEXISTING CONDITIONS, SO ONE VARIANCE FOR CURB CUT.
UM, AND THEN SOME OF THE REMAINING VARIANCES REALLY DO NOT IMPACT THE VIEW ON PALISADES HUDSON RIVER.
SO DEVELOPING COVERAGE AND RETAINING WALL HEIGHT.
UM, I JUST WANNA START WITH THAT JUST TO SHOW THAT WHILE WE HAVE REDUCED VARIANCES, THERE ARE SOME THAT WE JUST SIMPLY CANNOT, UM, ENTIRELY REDUCE.
SO AT THIS POINT, I'LL JUST TURN IT OVER TO RICH WILLIAMS WHO WILL WALK YOU THROUGH THE SITE.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL TURN IT OVER TO OUR ARCHITECT WHO WILL CONTINUE TO WALK YOU THROUGH SOME OF THE CHANGES AND OPEN UP FOR QUESTIONS.
MY NAME IS RICHARD WILLIAMS AND I'M WITH INSIGHT ENGINEERING.
AND AS BRIAN SAID, I'M GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH THE SITE PLAN CHANGES WE DID.
AS I DO THAT, I'LL WALK YOU THROUGH SOME OF THOSE VARIANCES THAT HE WAS MENTIONING, THAT REGARDLESS OF WHAT DEVELOPMENT, COULD YOU PLEASE SPEAK UP.
UH, REGARDLESS OF WHAT TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT IS PROPOSED, THEY WOULD STILL BE NECESSARY.
UM, AND THEN I WANNA HAVE A DIALOGUE WITH YOU.
WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE STILL OWE YOU A VISUAL ANALYSIS, AND THAT IS A VERY KEY COMPONENT.
WE BELIEVE OF THIS APPLICATION AS YOU'VE LET US KNOW THAT VERY CLEARLY AT THE LAST MEETING.
WE BELIEVE WE HAVE SOME IDEAS ON HOW TO PRESENT THAT.
BUT BEFORE WE GO AHEAD AND DO THAT, WE WANNA SHOW YOU SOME REPRESENTATIVE IMAGES OF WHAT WE'RE THINKING
[01:10:01]
AND THEN TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE STRATEGY ON HOW WE WISH TO EMPLOY THAT, WHICH WE DO BELIEVE, UM, WE WILL NEED SOME OF THE COOPERATION OF OUR NEIGHBORS TO DO.BUT I'LL GET INTO THAT IN A COUPLE OF MINUTES.
WITH RESPECT TO WHAT IS DIFFERENT, SINCE THE LAST TIME YOU SAW THIS PLAN, AS BRIAN MENTIONED, WE ACTUALLY SEPARATED THE BUILDINGS FARTHER APART BY NINE FEET TO CREATE A LARGER CENTRAL CORRIDOR.
AND THAT WAS BECAUSE AS WE STARTED TO LOOK AT HOW TO PRESENT A VIEWSHED ANALYSIS TO YOU, WE THOUGHT THAT BY OPENING IT UP, SOME OF THE VIEWS THAT WE WILL BE BLOCKING, AND YES, WE RECOGNIZE AND WE'RE NOT HIDING FROM THE FACT THAT WE WILL BE OBSTRUCTING SOME OF THE VIEWS.
WE DON'T BELIEVE WE'RE ENTIRELY ELIMINATING VIEWS.
BUT ON THE LOWER FLOORS OF OUR NEIGHBORS AT HASTINGS TERRACE, WE WILL HAVE SOME IMPACTS TO THEIR VIEWS.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE WANNA GO THROUGH WITH YOU AND, AND SHOW YOU MORE CLEARLY IN A SUBSEQUENT SUBMISSION.
BUT AS WE STARTED TO EXAMINE IT, WE THOUGHT BY OPENING THAT CORE UP AND ALSO MAKING IT AN OPEN AIR BREEZEWAY IS TO, AS OPPOSED TO EVEN THE CLOSED VERSION YOU SAW LAST TIME OR GLASS, WE LOOKED AT GLASS, BUT WE WERE AFRAID OF REFLECTIONS, IMPEDING VIEWS.
SO WE CREATED AN OPEN AIR BREEZEWAY.
WE THOUGHT THAT WOULD HELP PRESERVE SOME OF THE VIEWS, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A COUPLE OF MINUTES.
UM, BY SPREADING THOSE BUILDINGS A LITTLE BIT FARTHER APART, THAT DID INCREASE OUR DEVELOPMENT COVERAGE.
UM, WE WENT FROM 62.2% TO 63.8%.
WE ALSO MODIFIED OUR ENTRANCE.
WE ARE USING THE EXISTING CURB CUT.
THAT EXISTING CURB CUT IS SOMETHING WE NEED A VARIANCE FOR OR POTENTIALLY NEED A VARIANCE FOR.
IT IS AN EXISTING CONDITION WHERE WE ARE NON-COMPLIANT.
YOU'RE ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE 24 FEET AT YOUR CURB CUT.
WE'RE RIGHT NOW BETWEEN 28 AND, EXCUSE ME, 29 FEET DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU MEASURE FROM.
UM, WHAT WE HAVE DONE IS WE'VE PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS TO THIS CORNER OF THE EXISTING CURB CUT VIS-A-VIS TRANSVERSAL CURVES AND SPECIFIC CONCRETE DESIGNS IN THE SIDEWALK AND AREAS TO ALLOW THAT RADIUS TO BE USED BY FIRETRUCK IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY.
THE OTHER THING THAT WE'VE ADDRESSED IS REFUSE.
UM, THAT WAS ONE OF THE COMMENTS THAT CAME UP LAST TIME.
UH, WE HAD PREVIOUSLY PRESENTED A REFUSE ENCLOSURE AND SHOWN MANEUVERS WHERE YOU COULD ACCESS IT BY COMING IN FROM CHRISTIE, WHICH IS AGAINST THE ONE WAY TRAFFIC OUR SITE'S PROPOSING OR COMING IN THROUGH VILLARD.
WE'VE NOW PUT THE REFUSE ENCLOSURE ON THIS PORTION OF OUR PROPERTY.
WE HAVE TALKED TO THE MANAGEMENT COMPANY AND WE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO USE A FRONT LOADED DUMPSTER SO THAT A GARBAGE TRUCK WILL BE ABLE TO ENTER OUR SITE FROM VILLARD, FOLLOW THE ONE-WAY PATH OF TRAFFIC LOAD, AND THEN LEAVE THROUGH CHRISTIE TERRACE FOLLOWING AGAIN THAT ONE-WAY CIRCULATION THAT WE'RE PROPOSING.
WE'VE ALSO ADDED THE STOP SIGN AND THE STOP BAR IN RESPONSE TO SOME OF THE COMMENTS REGARDING, UH, THE USE OF CHRISTIE TERRACE AND OUR NEIGHBORS, UM, TO THE SOUTH.
UM, SO THAT WILL ALLOW OUR TRAFFIC TO STOP, UM, AND MAKE SURE THERE'S NO ONCOMING TRAFFIC FROM THE NEIGHBORING PARKING GARAGE.
WE ALSO UPDATED OUR LIGHTING PLAN JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY SPILLAGE OFF THE PROPERTY.
UH, AS BRIAN MENTIONED, WE STILL DO HAVE A NUMBER OF VARIANCES AND SOME OF THEM WE BELIEVE WOULD BE HERE NO MATTER WHAT AND AREN'T RELATED NECESSARILY TO THE VISUAL IMPACT.
IE WE ARE CODE COMPLIANT WITH RESPECT TO HEIGHT.
WE ARE CODE COMPLIANT WITH RESPECT TO THE LENGTH OF THE BUILDING, AND WE ARE CODE COMPLIANT WITH RESPECT TO FAR.
UM, WHERE WE ARE OVER IS ON DEVELOPMENT COVERAGE.
ONE OF THE REASONS WE'RE OVER IS WE'VE WORKED WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WHO HAS ASKED US TO PROVIDE AN AERIAL APPARATUS ACCESS ROAD THROUGH THE SITE.
NOW THAT IS A 26 FOOT WIDE ROAD AS OPPOSED TO A FIRE APPARATUS ACCESS ROAD.
AND THE REASON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO IS ONE ALLOWS FOR YOU TO SET UP THE AERIAL APPARATUS ALONG THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF ROAD.
THAT DOES ADD A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF COVERAGE, AS DOES CREATING THE THROUGH CONNECTION TO CHRISTIE.
ALTERNATE LAYOUTS WE'VE LOOKED AT COULD HAVE ENTERED THE PARKING GARAGE DIFFERENTLY AND REDUCED A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF THAT IMPERVIOUS.
WITH RESPECT TO THE SIDE LOT LINES, THE WAY THE CODE IS READ AND BEEN INTERPRETED, BECAUSE WE HAVE SUCH A LONG SLENDER LOT, OUR SIDE YARDS ACTUALLY OVERLAP, MEANING THE SIDE YARD FROM THE PROPERTY LINE ON THE BOTTOM OF MY PAGE EXTENDS OVER THE SIDE YARD FROM THE ONE COMING DOWN FROM THE TOP OF THE PAGE.
THAT'S GONNA BE TRUE OF ANY APPLICATION.
SIMILARLY, BECAUSE WE HAVE THE FIRE APPARAT, THE AERIAL APPARATUS ACCESS ROAD, WHICH IS 26 FEET WIDE VERSUS A FIRE APPARATUS ACCESS ROAD,
[01:15:01]
WE HAVE AN ADDITIONAL SIX FEET OF WIDTH.IF THAT WEREN'T THERE, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE FIVE FOOT WIDTH OF LANDSCAPE STRIP, UH, STRIP THAT'S REQUIRED ALONG THIS PROPERTY LINE.
THAT WAS ONE OF THE OTHER VARIANCES.
ANOTHER ONE HAS TO DO WITH 10% OF YOUR PARKING BEING LANDSCAPED.
IN THIS PARTICULAR INSTANCE, WE HAVE THE MAJORITY OF OUR PARKING UNDERNEATH THE STRUCTURE.
SO PART OF THE REASON I'M GOING THROUGH THIS IS BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND THE SENSITIVITY OF THE VISUAL ANALYSIS, AND WE ALSO JUST HOPE THAT THE VARIANCES CAN BE FRAMED IN TERMS OF WHETHER THEY DO AFFECT THE VISUAL NATURE OF THIS PROJECT OR DON'T.
JUST TO SHOW YOU SOME OF THE RENDERINGS OF THE CHANGES, THIS IS, UH, A COVERED PERGOLA, WHICH WE'VE ADDED BETWEEN OUR NORTHERN BUILDING AND OUR CLUBHOUSE.
THAT WAS ONE WAY WE ELIMINATED, UM, A HEIGHT VARIANCE FROM THE CLUBHOUSE BEING CONSIDERED AN ACCESSORY STRUCTURE.
THIS IS THE OPEN AIR BREEZEWAY THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WITH THE BUILDINGS BEING SEPARATED.
AND AGAIN, THAT WAS FOR SOME OF THE APARTMENTS AND WINDOWS.
IT'S A WAY THAT WE HOPE TO SHOW THAT WE'RE GONNA PRESERVE SOME OF THE VIEWS.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S WHAT I WANNA TALK TO YOU ABOUT IN A FEW MINUTES WITH THE VISUAL ANALYSIS.
THIS IS ANOTHER ANGLE LOOKING BACK TOWARDS HUDSON TERRACE OF THE, UH, OPEN AIR BREEZEWAYS.
AND THEN THIS IS A VIEW THE CLUBHOUSE IS RIGHT TO OUR RIGHT.
WE'RE LOOKING INTO OUR SITE AND YOU CAN SEE THE CONNECTING PERGOLA BETWEEN OUR, UH, NORTHERN BUILDING CLOSEST TO VILLARD AND THE CLUBHOUSE.
AND THEN THIS IS A VIEW OF THE CLUBHOUSE AND THE NORTHERN BUILDING.
SO WITH RESPECT TO THE VISUAL ANALYSIS, UM, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS MAYBE JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR NEIGHBORS, THE APARTMENT BUILDINGS AND HOW THEY'RE STRUCTURED.
SO AS WE HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS, WE CAN, WE CAN TALK IN TERMS OF FLOORS, HOW THE FLOORS SIT ABOVE GROUND LEVEL AND UNITS.
UM, BECAUSE WHAT WE STARTED TO LOOK AT WAS WHERE BALCONIES WERE LOCATED, WHERE WINDOWS WERE LOCATED, THE FACT THAT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT SOME OF THOSE WINDOWS ARE, RIGHT? ARE THEY LIVING ROOMS? ARE THEY KITCHENS? UM, AND A WAY TO PRESENT A VISUAL ANALYSIS THAT IS A FAIR REPRESENTATION OF WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE DOING.
SO ON THIS DIAGRAM, WHICH WE WOULD INCLUDE IN A VISUAL ANALYSIS IS ALL OF OUR NEIGHBOR'S APARTMENT LETTERS.
AND OBVIOUSLY THE FLOOR IS STACKED ON TOP OF EACH OTHER NOW.
SO WE'RE ALL SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE.
THE GROUND FLOOR IS NOT APARTMENTS, IT'S PARKING.
SO IF I'M IN APARTMENT ONE A, I'M ACTUALLY ONE FLOOR UP.
AND IF I'M IN APARTMENT TWO A, I'M TWO FLOORS UP, OR REALLY ON THE THIRD FLOOR.
AND THAT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT I THINK CONFUSED ME A LOT WHEN I FIRST HEARD IT.
AND IT JUST, EVEN AS A DEVELOPMENT TEAM, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IT, WE CONSTANTLY HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE'RE TALKING TO APPLES TO APPLES.
UM, THE FIRST THING THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO IS PREPARE A NARRATIVE AND A, A SERIES OF REPRESENTATIVE IMAGES, WHICH I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT.
THIS IS, THIS IS KIND OF THE GAME PLAN, AND IT STARTS WITH A CROSS SECTION, AND IT CAN BE ONE CROSS SECTION OR MORE.
UM, I'M GONNA HAVE TO ZOOM IN A LOT BECAUSE WE, WE LOOKED AT THE CROSS SECTION, BOTH IN AN ENLARGED VERSION LOCALLY TO THE VILLAGE OF HASTINGS, BUT THEN WE PULLED IT BACK AND SAID, HOW DOES THAT GET ALL THE WAY TO THE PALISADES? AND WE PULLED THE TOPOGRAPHY FROM THE PALISADES IN ORDER TO CREATE THIS SECTION.
WE WANTED TO START HERE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT FLOORS WOULD BE IMPACTED.
AND AS I'LL SHOW YOU IN A MINUTE, BY THE TIME WE GET UP TO THE APARTMENTS THREE, LIKE THREE A, THREE B, THREE C, WHICH IS REALLY ON THAT FOURTH FLOOR, SURE YOU ARE LOOKING OVER THE BUILDING AND I WANNA SHOW YOU HOW AND WHAT THAT MEANS.
UM, THE FIRST TWO LEVELS OF APARTMENTS ARE WHERE WE ARE GOING TO BE OBSTRUCTING VIEWS.
AND WE THINK IT'S FAIR TO YOU IN THE COMMUNITY TO SHOW HOW, FOR INSTANCE, IF I HAVE A SEASONAL VIEW OF THE PALISADES THAT IS 120 DEGREES AND NOW IT'S GONNA BE 60 DEGREES, WE THINK YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT.
IT DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE COMPLETELY OBSTRUCTING IT, BUT WE ARE REDUCING IT.
AND I THINK THAT'S A FAIR PART OF THE CONVERSATION TO UNDERSTAND.
THE WAY WE WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT IS BY CONTINUING, SORRY, THE ZOOM IS BY CONTINUING MODELING LIKE THIS.
AND JUST TO SHOW YOU ANOTHER IMAGE, THIS, SO THIS WAS TAKEN FROM ONE OF OUR NEIGHBOR'S APARTMENTS EARLY ON IN THE PROCESS.
THEY LET OUR DEVELOPMENT TEAM IN TO TAKE A PICTURE.
AND WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO IS EXTEND THE OPPORTUNITY TO OUR NEIGHBORS TO CALL US.
UM, THEY CAN EITHER GO THROUGH THEIR CO-OP BOARD TO GET AHOLD OF ANUP OR WE'RE ALSO GONNA BE REACHING OUT TO THE MANAGEMENT COMPANY, WHICH IS HOW WE WERE ASKED TO CONTACT THEM AND OFFER THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME INTO THEIR APARTMENT TO A PICTURE.
AND THEN WE COULD CREATE A SIMULATION LIKE THIS.
NOW, WHERE I WANNA HAVE A DIALOGUE WITH YOU IS I'D LIKE A LITTLE BIT OF FREEDOM TO,
[01:20:01]
YOU KNOW, LOOK AT SOMETHING.SO IF SOMEBODY CALLS ME IN AND IT'S A BATHROOM WINDOW, RIGHT? I, I, I DON'T KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD NECESSARILY CREATE AN IMAGE OVER, BUT IF IT'S A LIVING ROOM WINDOW, THAT'S SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
UM, IF IT'S AN APARTMENT THAT, FOR INSTANCE IS EAST FACING, SORRY, I JUMPED AROUND A LITTLE BIT.
IS EAST FACING LIKE HRG WHERE WE KNOW THERE'S NOT GONNA BE AN IMPACT? I DON'T, I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR THAT WE WOULD STUDY THOSE APARTMENTS BECAUSE THEY'RE FACING THE WRONG DIRECTION.
UM, BUT WE WOULD PROVIDE A LIST OF PEOPLE TO REACH OUT JUST SO THAT YOU SAW THAT.
AND I THINK THAT'S TRANSPARENT AND FAIR TO DO.
AND THEN WE WOULD LIKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE THOSE PICTURES IF OUR NEIGHBORS WOULD LET US, AND THEN CREATE A SERIES OF WIRE FRAME DIAGRAMS LIKE THIS.
THE REASON, THE REASON WE WANT TO USE THIS STYLE IS BECAUSE IT ALLOWS YOU TO SEE WHERE OUR STRUCTURE SITS FROM A ROOF LINE AS WELL AS A GROUND LINE, BUT IT ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO SEE THROUGH IT SO YOU QUICKLY GET AN INSTANCE OF WHAT THE EXISTING VIEW LOOKS LIKE VERSUS WHAT THE PROPOSED VIEW WOULD LOOK LIKE.
AND WE JUST, BEFORE WE UNDERTOOK THIS ENDEAVOR, WE JUST WANTED TO TAKE THE TEMPERATURE OF THE BOARD AND SEE IF WE WERE ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
WELL, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF THINGS TO DISCUSS.
I MEAN, WHAT YOU'RE PROPOSING IS GENERALLY I WOULD SAY HOW WE DO IT, UM, WE, WE INVITE, UH, WE ASK THE APPLICANT TO GO TO THE PROPERTIES THAT WILL BE AFFECTED AND TO GET, UM, VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF THE VIEWS THAT THEY CURRENTLY HAVE AND HOW THEY'LL BE AFFECTED.
UM, AND THIS KIND OF, UH, DRAWING IS, IS SIMILAR TO WHAT WE, WHAT WE LOOK AT.
SO I'M NOT GONNA SAY YOU'RE OFF THE MARK, BUT I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER THINGS TO, TO DISCUSS.
SO, UM, I DON'T WANNA JUMP TO THAT RIGHT AWAY.
AND THERE WAS A REASON THAT WE DIDN'T ASK FOR THE VIEW STUDIES AT OUR LAST MEETING YET BECAUSE WE CONVEYED VERY CLEARLY THAT WE DID NOT THINK THE PROJECT WAS DESIGNED IN A MANNER THAT WE WERE READY TO HAVE YOU MOCK IT UP OR DO ANYTHING MORE DETAILED BECAUSE WE HAD VERY CLEAR FEEDBACK THAT IT WAS NOT, UM, MASKED IN A WAY THAT WE WERE COMFORTABLE WITH MOVING FORWARD IN THE, IN THE CURRENT STATE THAT IT WAS IN.
SO I WANNA MAKE, I JUST WANNA POINT THAT OUT IS WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS.
THIS IS OUR SECOND MEETING MM-HMM
AND, UM, WE WILL BE DISCUSSING MORE, IN MORE DETAIL, UM, OUR RESPONSES TO WHAT YOU SUBMITTED IN THIS SECOND VERSION.
SO, UM, I THINK YEAH, LET'S, LET'S KEEP GOING.
UM, AND DO YOU HAVE ANY MORE OF YOUR PRESENTATION THAT YOU WANT? NO, THAT, OKAY.
THAT ESSENTIALLY SUMMARIZES THE CHANGES.
SO WITH THAT, UM, I'D LIKE TO ASK OUR VILLAGE PLANNER TO, UM, LET US KNOW IF THERE'S ANYTHING FROM YOUR MEMO THAT YOU WANNA HIGHLIGHT.
SO THE SUBMISSION REALLY WASN'T A SUBSTANTIVE RESPONSE TO THE TECHNICAL COMMENTS WITH RESPECT TO THIS.
SO TO YOUR POINT ABOUT MASSING, THAT'S A FUNCTION OF ZONING COMPLIANCE.
WE HAVE A PROJECT THAT'S NOT ZONING COMPLIANT IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
SO BEFORE WE MODEL SOMETHING, IS THIS THE BEST THAT CAN BE DONE? THE OBJECTIVE IS TO COMPLY.
SO IN TERMS OF DEVELOPMENT COVERAGE AND THINGS LIKE THAT, DEVELOPMENT COVERAGE, YEAH, IT'S A FUNCTION OF THE WIDTH OF A FIRE ACCESS ROAD.
IT'S ALSO A FUNCTION OF THE SIZE OF THE BUILDING.
SO IF THE BUILDING WERE REDUCED IN SIZE, YOU MIGHT MEET YOUR DEVELOPMENT COVERAGE.
SO THAT'S WHERE I THINK WE ARE WITH RESPECT TO THIS IS THE BUILDING SET YET AND I DON'T BELIEVE IT IS.
UM, ALSO, I KNOW THAT WE HAD A MEMO FROM OUR CONSULTING ENGINEER WITH A NUMBER OF ITEMS THAT THE APPLICANT NEEDS TO ADDRESS.
I I, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE FOR THE RECORD THAT THAT'S BEING REVIEWED AS WELL AND NEEDS TO BE RESPONDED TO.
UM, SO I WOULD POINT OUT THAT THERE'S NOT MUCH PROGRESS TO BE MADE WITH RESPECT TO ALL OF THE TECHNICAL COMMENTS.
AND, AND WELL, IN, IN FAIRNESS TO US ON, ON THE ENGINEERING COMMENTS, THOSE ARE ADDRESSABLE, BUT I, I WOULD TO, TO PAT'S POINT, I THINK WE HAVE SOME, SOME BIGGER THINGS TO DISCUSS BEFORE WE JUMP IN AND START GOING TO THOSE, WHICH IS WHY WE DIDN'T, I JUST DON'T WANT THE BOARD THINK WE WERE IGNORING THEM OR NO.
AND, AND I THINK THAT'S THE RIGHT PROCESS.
WE DON'T WANT YOU TO SINK A LOT OF TIME AND ENERGY INTO DETAILING THINGS THAT ARE NOT, WE'RE, WE'RE STILL AT THAT, WE'RE STILL AT THE BIG PICTURE STAGE OF WHAT IS, WHAT IS GOING TO BE AN ACCEPTABLE PROJECT, UM, THAT ADDRESSES OUR CONCERNS THAT WE, WE RAISED AT THE INITIAL MEETING.
UM, SO THAT, THAT'S, WE, WE GET THAT.
UM, SO I WANNA, I WANNA OPEN IT UP TO MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS AGAIN IN OUR PROCESS HERE, UM, TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL YOUR THOUGHTS.
FIRST OF ALL, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, AND ALSO ANY COMMENTS ABOUT, UM, WHETHER THIS, THESE CHANGES ADDRESS
[01:25:01]
THE CONCERNS THAT WE, UM, RAISED AT THE LAST MEETING.IF YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER COMMENTS ON THE, THE DESIGN AT THIS POINT OR ANYTHING ELSE? I'VE GOT TWO.
I MEAN, I, I APPRECIATE THE EFFORT TO BREAK UP THE MASSING OF THE BUILDING.
I WANTED TO ASK, UM, WHAT THE RATIONALE IS BEHIND THE OPEN AIR BREEZEWAY AS OPPOSED TO EITHER, YOU KNOW, HAVING TWO BUILDINGS OR I CAN UNDERSTAND THE, THE, THE MERIT OF HAVING A SINGLE LOBBY, YOU KNOW, BUT VERSUS JUST HAVING A SORT OF ONE STORY LOBBY, WHICH IS OPEN ABOVE.
SO I, I ASSUME THERE'S SOME MOTIVATION BEHIND THE BREEZEWAY, BUT I DON'T NECESSARILY UNDERSTAND WHAT SORT OF INTERNAL CIRCULATION IS BEING PROPOSED THAT YOU WOULD EXPECT A LOT OF TRAFFIC FROM ONE SIDE OF THE BUILDING TO THE OTHER.
SO I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN HEARING ABOUT THAT.
UM, AND I'VE COMPLETELY UNRELATEDLY, UH, THERE WERE A COUPLE OF COMMENTS I THINK LAST TIME ABOUT THE PICKLEBALL COURT AND I, I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS AND I, I DO WANNA NOTE THAT, I MEAN, I, I THINK PICKLEBALL COURTS IN RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS ARE VERY CONTROVERSIAL AND WE DON'T HAVE A PICKLEBALL COURT, I DON'T THINK, IN HASTINGS RIGHT NOW, A PUBLIC PICKLEBALL COURT.
AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD PROBABLY WEIGH AND CONSIDER AND DISCUSS, UM, BECAUSE THEY CAN BE QUITE NOISY, UH, AND IF PEOPLE WORK FROM HOME AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
COCO, BHC ARCHITECTS, UH, THE CONNECTIVITY IS PART OF CREATING THE COMMUNITY, UH, FEELING THROUGHOUT THE SPACE AND ALSO TO GET FROM ONE SIDE DOWN AND ACROSS TO THE, UH, TO THE AMENITY BUILDING.
IT REALLY ALSO CREATES A CENTRAL SPACE, A CENTRAL GATHERING SPACE FOR THE RESIDENTS.
AND, UH, WE THOUGHT IT WAS A REALLY NICE FEATURE AS WELL WHILE OPENING UP THE VIEW.
CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME AT THE BACK? OKAY.
ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS THE FIRE DEPARTMENT HAD US MAKE WAS TO CONNECT THE TWO BUILDINGS.
SO CASES OF FIRE IN ONE BUILDING, THEY GET ON THE OTHER SIDE, THEY CAN WALK THROUGH TO THE, TO THE OTHER BUILDING.
THAT'S WHAT PROMPTED US TO CONNECT THE TWO BUILDINGS TOGETHER.
I MEAN, HI DANIEL, SINCE YOU BROUGHT UP THE PICKLEBALL COURT ISSUE, I KNOW YOU HAVEN'T SEEN PICKLEBALL COURTS YET, BUT THEY'RE COMING, UM, AS, AS PEOPLE AGE UP AND THEY RETIRE, THAT'S ONE ACTIVITY THEY'RE GETTING INTO.
UH, PEOPLE FEAR PICKLEBALL COURTS BECAUSE OF THE NOISE THEY MAKE.
AND, UH, THE MANAGEMENT COMPANY THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO ENGAGE GRAY STAR, THEY BASICALLY GAVE US SOME NUMBERS.
THEY SAID, IF YOU HAVE 60 APARTMENTS, EXPECT ABOUT 20% OF THESE FOLKS TO PLAY PICKLEBALL.
IF THEY PLAY FOUR, FOUR TO A GAME, THAT'S THREE GAMES A DAY.
AND WE COULD PUT SIGNS THAT DON'T PLAY BETWEEN THIS TIME AND THIS TIME, AND OBVIOUSLY KEEP THE NOISE DOWN.
SO PICKLEBALL IS TURNING OUT TO BE A, WAS A FAD 10 YEARS AGO, AND THIS IS NOT A, UH, FITNESS CENTER OR A COMMUNITY OF 500 APARTMENTS WHERE WE EXPECT PICKLEBALL USAGE ALL YEAR, ALL DAY LONG.
THIS IS MOSTLY GONNA BE A SUMMER ACTIVITY.
AND, UH, BECAUSE WE HAVE A CLUBHOUSE THAT HAS OTHER AMENITIES, GAME ROOMS AND SO ON, I THINK OUR RESIDENTS ARE GONNA BE HAPPIER BEING INSIDE THAN OUTSIDE.
JUST TO CLARIFY ONE THING, THE VILLAGE DOES HAVE PICKLEBALL COURTS.
THE VILLAGE, UM, HAS WORKED WITH A GROUP OF PICKLEBALL PLAYERS, AND I THINK THE CHEKA COURT TENNIS COURTS, THEY CONVERT TO PICKLEBALL.
WELL, PEOPLE PLAY PICKLEBALL ON THE TENNIS COURTS, BUT YEAH.
AND THERE'S NO RESIDENTS NEARBY.
YES, THAT IS A RECREATIONAL AREA THAT IS NOT SURROUNDED BY HOMES.
I WANNA MAKE SURE OTHERS HAVE A CHANCE, UM, ON THIS SIDE HERE.
YEAH, I MEAN, UH, YEAH, I HAVE A LOT OF, YEAH, I HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS.
UM, I MEAN, FIRST I, I ECHO WHAT DANIEL SAID.
I, UH, WHEN IT CAME UP DURING THE LAST MEETING, I, MY INITIAL THOUGHT WAS, IT'S JUST PICKLEBALL.
HOW LOUD COULD IT BE? AND, AND, UH, HAVING, HAVING ENJOYED CHEMP KAPO THIS SUMMER, I NOW REALIZE JUST HOW LOUD PICKLEBALL IS.
UH, IT'S, IT'S, UH, IT'S QUITE A THING.
UM, SO I, I REALLY HAVE A LOT OF CONCERNS ABOUT HAVING IT, UM, OUT AN OUTDOOR PICKLEBALL COURT.
I, YOU KNOW, I I, I DO ALSO SEE THE COMMUNITY VALUE IN IT, AND I KNOW THAT A LOT OF, A LOT OF, UM, PEOPLE MY AGE AND OLDER REALLY ENJOY PICKLEBALL.
SO I, I WONDER IF, IF THERE'S A WAY TO DO ACCOMPLISH THIS WITH THAT WOULD RE IF THERE'S, THERE'S DESIGN CHOICES THAT CAN BE MADE THAT WOULD REDUCE THE NOISE FOR THEIR
[01:30:01]
SURROUNDING RESIDENTS.I MEAN, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I'LL LET YOU EXPLORE THAT.
UM, AND THEN, I MEAN, I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THAT YOU MADE AN EFFORT TO IMPROVE THE VIEW SHED A LITTLE ON THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE BUILDING.
I, I, I'M, I'M STRUCK BY THE FACT WE, AND THIS CAME UP LAST TIME TOO.
I RE THE CLUBHOUSE IS A REALLY NICE IDEA, AND I THINK THE BUILDING IS NICE.
UM, BUT THE, THE DESIGN AS IT STANDS, UM, PUTS THE, THESE, THESE TWO LARGE BUILDINGS IN DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE ADJACENT APARTMENT BUILDING.
AND IT'S, THEY'RE NOT IN FRONT OF THE PART WHERE THERE'S ESSENTIALLY NO VIEW SHED.
SO WHERE THE CLUBHOUSE IS AND THERE'S A LOWER LAWN THAT GOES ONTO THE LOWER NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, I JUST WONDER IF THERE IS A WAY TO READ TO, YOU KNOW, CHANGE THIS DESIGN TO SHIFT THE MASSING TO THE NORTH, UH, TOWARDS BROADWAY SO THAT YOU, YOU PUT LESS IMPOSITION ON THE VIEW OF THE HASTINGS TERRACE BEHIND IT.
I, I, YEAH, I, I, I ALSO WONDER IF THERE'S A WAY, I KNOW IT MEETS THE FAR REQUIREMENTS, BUT I WONDER IF THERE'S A WAY TO NOT ONLY SHIFT IT, BUT YOU KNOW, WHERE IT DOESN'T AFFECT VIEW, MAKE THAT PART TALLER AND SQUEEZE SOME OF THE APARTMENTS THAT WAY, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, MAKE THE OTHER PART LOWER SO THAT YOU'RE LESS OBTRUSIVE.
I, I, I, WE APPRECIATE SOME OF THE CHANGES THAT WERE MADE THAT I, YOU KNOW, I, I APPRECIATE THAT YOU LOOKED AT THE TRAFFIC ISSUE.
YEAH, I JUST, IT'S STILL SO BIG AND I, THAT ONE NINE FOOT HOLE, YOU KNOW, IT DOES OBVIOUSLY MAKE SOME IMPROVEMENTS, BUT IT'S ITSELF PARTIALLY OBSTRUCTIVE.
UH, THERE'S, YOU KNOW, BANISTERS AND CEILINGS AND ALL THAT STUFF.
I THINK YOUR DESIGN SOLUTION IS TOTALLY WRONG.
UM, AND YOU MAY NEED TO AMEND THE ZONING TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT I'M GOING, GOING TO SUGGEST.
UM, YOU HAVE A, A STRETCH OF APARTMENT BUILDINGS GOING SOUTH.
IF YOU PUT AN APARTMENT BUILDING AT THE CORNER THAT'S SIX OR SEVEN STORIES, IT WOULD ACCOMPLISH YOUR FAR THE SQUARE FOOTAGE FOR YOUR 60 UNITS.
UM, IT WOULD HOLD THE CORNER FROM A DESIGN POINT OF VIEW, IT'D BE MORE, UH, IN KEEPING WITH THAT STRETCH OF BROADWAY, I THINK YOUR DESIGN SOLUTION, YOU'RE TRYING TO CRAM A PEG INTO THE WRONG HOLE.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, SORRY THAT I MISSED THE MEETING TWO MONTHS AGO.
UH, BUT I THINK YOUR DESIGN SOLUTION IS TOTALLY WRONG.
AND I THINK YOU SHOULD GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD AND COME UP WITH A, A BUILDING THAT'S FUNCTIONALLY BETTER.
IT WOULD BE MORE COST EFFECTIVE TO BUILD AN APARTMENT BUILDING IN TERMS OF, OF COST AND, AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
IT WOULDN'T HAVE THE IMPACTS TO THE NEIGHBORS.
IT WOULDN'T, IT WOULD ADDRESS ALL THE CONCERNS YOU'VE HEARD OVER THE LAST TWO HEARINGS.
SO, SORRY THAT I'M, I'M SAYING THIS, BUT I THINK YOUR DESIGN SOLUTION IS TOTALLY WRONG.
OH, I APPRECIATE THE CANDIDNESS.
ANYBODY ELSE? I, I HAVE TO SECOND THAT, NOT THAT I LIKE GOING BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD AS A PROFESSIONAL EITHER, BUT I, I THINK THERE'S JUST A LOGIC THAT THE TWO BUILDINGS THAT WANT VIEWS ARE RIGHT WHERE THESE BUILDINGS ARE AND PUSHING THE, THE HIGHER BUILT FORM TO THE SOUTH AND THE NORTH, CONSOLIDATING YOUR OPEN SPACE LIKE THAT BREEZEWAY, BUT WAY WIDER.
UM, IT SEEMS LIKE WHAT EVERYONE'S SORT OF SEEING IS LOGICALLY FEASIBLE.
AND I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE EXCAVATION IS LIKE HERE.
BUT, UM, I DUNNO HOW MUCH LOWER YOU CAN GO AND GET AWAY WITH THAT, UM, GEOTECH, BUT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAD ONE, TWO STORIES AND YOU'VE PUSHED IT DOWN JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE.
I MEAN, THERE'S LOTS OF DIFFERENT THINGS, BUT I THINK THAT THE MAIN CRUX IS THAT IT LOOKS, UH, THE MOST PROBLEMATIC FOR VIEWS THE WAY IT'S MASKED RIGHT NOW.
JUST, JUST SO THE BOARD IS AWARE AND, AND END UP CAN GIVE YOU THE DETAILS.
THERE'S A DEED RESTRICTION THAT PREVENTS RESIDENTIAL UNITS FROM BEING LOCATED GENERALLY WHERE THE CLUBHOUSE IS.
SO PART OF THE REASON WHY WE DIDN'T SHIFT THE BUILDINGS CLOSER TO BROADWAY IS ACTUALLY DEED RESTRICTION ON THE PROPERTY PREVENTING THAT MM-HMM
AND AGAIN, I, I DO THIS FOR A LIVING AND WE GET AROUND DEED RESTRICTIONS AND ZONING.
WHAT'S THE RESTRICTION AND WHY IS IT THERE? AND WHAT, AND, AND MAYBE IT'S MORE FOR YOUR ATTORNEY TO ANSWER, UH, WHY THAT CAN'T BE REVOKED.
HI, ANOOP, MR. AGAIN, THAT'S A GREAT SUGGESTION, MR. BASS.
WE LOOKED AT IT LEGALLY, THIS DEED HAS BEEN IN PLACE FOR OVER A HUNDRED YEARS.
IT SAYS CLEARLY NO A APART, NO APARTMENTS ON THAT FRONT PIECE THAT FACES, UH, VILLARD AND BUTTS
[01:35:01]
UP ONTO WHITMAN.BUT FOR THE BACK PIECE WHERE THE TWO APARTMENT BUILDINGS ARE, IT SAYS THAT MULTIFAMILY IS PERMITTED.
NOW THIS IS PUT IN PLACE A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, AND WE DISCUSS THIS WITH THE CHURCH AND THEY DISCUSSES WITH THE, UH, UH, UH, THEIR, I GUESS THEIR ATTORNEYS.
AND IT'S GONNA BE A MAJOR CHANGE TO GO BACK TO THE SUPREME COURT IN NEW YORK TO GET THAT CHANGED AGAIN.
UH, I DON'T SEE IF, IF THAT'S AN IMPEDIMENT AND YOUR DESIGN SOLUTION IS SO, UH, DISLIKED, I THINK YOU NEED TO CHANGE THAT AND CHANGE DESIGN.
THERE'S A WORKABLE WAY TO MAKE THIS A BETTER PROJECT.
UM, I FIND THAT NOT ACCEPTABLE.
SO WE DID LOOK AT, IN ALL FAIRNESS, WE DID LOOK AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD AROUND VI AVENUE CORNER, UH, ALL AROUND US ARE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.
IF WE BUILT A SIX, SIX STORY BUILDING, THEY'LL HAVE MORE OBJECTIONS TO THOSE SIX STORY STRUCTURES.
RATHER THAN HAVE APARTMENTS SNUCK AT THE BACK, AGAIN, COME BACK WITH A DESIGN SOLUTION THAT HOLDS THAT CORNER.
UH, BECAUSE ON THE, UH, THE EAST SIDE OF BROADWAY IS A PARK, UH, THERE WON'T BE A, A, UH, A VISUAL CORRIDOR CONCERN IF THAT CORNER WAS HELD, UH, BY DESIGN.
AGAIN, I HOPE YOUR ARCHITECT IS GOOD ENOUGH TO COME UP WITH A SIX STORY BUILDING THAT FITS THIS VERY, VERY LONG SITE, A LITTLE BIT BETTER THAN WHAT YOU HAVE HERE.
YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE WELL RECEIVED AND WE'RE GONNA LOOK INTO THAT.
AND, AND IF YOU WANT, PLEASE SHARE THE DEED RESTRICTION WITH, WITH OUR ATTORNEY.
ANY OTHER, HOW TO, UH, NOT ALL BOARD MEMBERS HAVE SPOKEN.
NOT THAT YOU HAVE TO, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE WE ALL, 'CAUSE WE'RE AT KIND OF AT A, YOU KNOW, JUST OUR SECOND MEETING.
I JUST WANNA REMIND THE BOARD THAT THERE'S, THERE ARE NEIGHBORS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS, THE DOWNHILL SIDE OF THIS AS WELL.
YEAH, I WAS GONNA SAY, I HAVEN'T SPOKEN YET.
UM, ANGELINA, I WAS JUST GONNA SAY I APPRECIATE MY COLLEAGUES' SUGGESTIONS TO TRY FOR A SOLUTION THAT DOESN'T BLOCK THE VIEW TO THE EXTENT WITH THE MASSING.
SO I'M GONNA SAY, UM, WITHOUT BEING DIRECTIVE ABOUT HOW TO COME UP WITH THE SOLUTION, 'CAUSE I THINK THAT'S THE APPLICANT'S JOB.
UM, BUT I, I THINK THAT MY OVERALL COMMENT IS THAT THE DESIGN IS NOT RESPONSIVE ENOUGH TO THIS VERY LIMITED OR LIMITING, UM, UNUSUAL SITE.
I THINK, UM, IT, IT READS TO ME, UH, LIKE A PROJECT THAT IS NORMALLY CITED ON A MUCH LESS CONSTRICTED SITE AND IT'S, I THINK, UM, RICHARD'S WORDS, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO SHOEHORN THE TYPICAL DESIGN OF A PROJECT LIKE THIS INTO A VERY UNUSUAL SITE THAT IS NOT ONLY VERY NARROW AND DIFFICULT TO BUILD ON IN THE SENSE THAT IT'S, IS SO LONG AND NARROW, BUT ALSO, UM, I'M GOING TO SPEAK UP FOR THE PEOPLE IN WHITMAN 'CAUSE WE'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT THE IMPACT OF PEOPLE IN, IN THE CO-OPS, BUT WHITMAN IS A STREET OF SMALL HOMES WITH BACKYARDS VERY CLOSE TO THIS PROJECT.
AND THEY ARE ACTUALLY, IN MY VIEW, POTENTIALLY GONNA BE MORE AFFECTED THAN THE CO-OPS BECAUSE THEY ARE, THEY'RE GOING TO BE RIGHT.
THE, THIS PROJECT IS BUILT RIGHT UP OVER THEM.
UM, AND, AND THAT WAS WHY I MADE THE COMMENT AT THE INITIAL MEETING THAT IT WAS TOO MASSIVE OF A LONG STRETCH OF BUILDING.
I THINK BREAKING IT UP BY NINE FEET STILL DOESN'T REALLY ADDRESS, UM, THE CONCERN ABOUT THIS BEING BETTER, UM, SITUATED IN TERMS OF ITS NEIGHBORS, UH, ON WHITMAN.
AND SO IN ADDITION TO THE OTHER COMMENTS I JUST WANTED TO MAKE, MAKE THAT COMMENT.
SO I THINK, I THINK THERE IS, IN MY VIEW, MORE WORK TO BE DONE ON THE DESIGN.
UM, AND I, AND I DO WANNA COMMENT ON THE, THE OVERALL, UM, PROPOSITION THAT THE, THAT THIS, THE VARIANCES ARE INEVITABLE BECAUSE OF THE SITE.
I THINK THE VARIANCES REQUESTED ARE THERE BECAUSE OF TRYING TO DEVELOP, UM, TO THE EXTENT THAT THE APPLICANT WANTS.
SO 60 UNITS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT.
UM, AND THEY WANT TO, YOU KNOW, BUILD TO THE MAXIMUM WHILE IT'S, IT'S OBVIOUSLY CREATING, IT'S CREATING THE NEED FOR THE VARIANCE BECAUSE OF ALL, AND THEY'VE LAID OUT ALL THE REASONS, BUT THERE ARE, THERE ARE WAYS TO REDUCE THE INTENSITY OF THE SITE IN ORDER TO, UM, COMPLY WITH ZONING.
SO I KNOW IT'S ALL A PUZZLE, UM, BUT I THINK THE
[01:40:01]
PUZZLES PIECES HAVE NOT COME TOGETHER YET.UM, AND I'M SURE THE PUBLIC WILL HAVE A LOT MORE TO SAY ABOUT IT, BUT I JUST WANTED TO FRAME THOSE OVERALL COMMENTS AS FEEDBACK.
UM, WE APPRECIATE THE, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE WAS A RESPONSE TO OUR COMMENTS, BUT IT'S STILL NOT IN MY VIEW, NOT REALLY THERE YET.
UM, I HAVE A QUESTION ON HISTORY.
YEAH, I DIDN'T WANNA INTERRUPT YOU.
UM, I, BECAUSE I WASN'T AT THE INITIAL MEETING, UM, WHERE THE SOLUTIONS TO PARKING EVER ANYTHING BUT BELOW THE, THE TWO MAIN BUILDINGS, NO PARKING HAS ALWAYS BEEN BELOW THE STRUCTURE WITH A SMALL EXTERIOR LOT HERE.
SO BASICALLY, AND, AND YOU BROUGHT UP UPGRADES, SO JUST, UH, TALK ABOUT THAT FOR A SECOND.
VI LARGE SITS MUCH HIGHER THAN CHRISTIE TERRACE.
SO WE'RE BASICALLY DESCENDING THE ENTIRE WAY THROUGH THE SITE, WHICH LEADS TO RETAINING WALLS ON THE NORTH PART OF THE PROPERTY.
WE'RE ACTUALLY ABLE TO ACCESS UNDERNEATH THE BUILDING FROM THIS DRIVEWAY HERE.
SO WE DO HAVE A FEW EXTERIOR SPACES, BUT PREDOMINANTLY WE'RE PARKING UNDER THE BUILDING.
AND THEN EVEN IF IN A NEW SCHEME, UM, I GUESS WHAT I'M SAYING IS LIKE FOR A PRODUCTIVE BACK AND FORTH, KNOWING SOME OF THE, LIKE WHAT THE FLEXIBILITIES ARE, AND I'M JUST ASKING THIS QUESTION, I'M SUGGESTING IT LIKE, WOULD HASTINGS RATHER HAVE A PARKING GARAGE ON THE SITE? AND I'M NOT SAYING, I'M JUST SAYING LIKE, HAS THERE, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE PREFERABLE IF THEY COULD OPEN UP THE VIEWS OR WE'RE ALL LIKE, YES, WE WANT THE PARKING UNDER THE, YOU KNOW, UNDER THE BUILDINGS.
AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT THAT WOULD BE A GOOD SOLUTION.
I'M JUST SAYING OUR THOUGHT PROCESS ON WHAT WOULD BE BETTER, AND WE DON'T KNOW THAT NOW OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE, THIS IS LIKE KIND OF A WIDE OPEN DESIGN PROBLEM, BUT UM, UH, LIKE POINTS OF FLEXIBILITY, YOU KNOW, TO TO, TO REMA THE SITE OR BREAK UP THE BUILDINGS OR HELP GET ON THE VIEWS A LITTLE BIT.
I'M ASSUMING WE WOULD NOT WANT ANY SORT OF MULTI-STORY PARKING STRUCTURE.
AM I CORRECT IN THAT ASSUMPTION? LISA? THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT DESIGN SOLUTIONS.
WE WE'RE, WE'RE, YEAH, NO, I NI NIBBLING AT THE EDGES.
THEIR DESIGN, THEIR CURRENT DESIGN IS SO FLAWED THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO PULL THREADS OUT TO MAKE IT SENSE, WHETHER IT'S PARKING OR PICKLEBALL OR, OR WHATEVER.
I, I THINK THEIR, THEIR PREMISE IS SO WRONG THAT WE'RE JUST NIBBLING AT THE EDGES.
THEY NEED TO COME BACK WITH A DIFFERENT DESIGN SOLUTION THAT ADDRESSES ALL THESE CONCERNS.
IT'S, IT'S NOT THE PLACE TO, TO PONTIFICATE ABOUT THE OPTIONS.
BUT, UM, I THINK GENERALLY JUST LISA, JUST, JUST TO, UM, YOU KNOW, TO SHARE IN TERMS OF WHEN WE'VE GONE THROUGH THIS PROCESS ON OTHER COMPLICATED PROJECTS.
YEAH, I MEAN SOMETIMES WE'LL HAVE SUGGESTIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING VERY SPECIFIC LIKE RICHARD, BUT I, I THINK IT IS OUR JOB IS TO COMMENT ON WHAT, WHAT WE SEE THE MAJOR ISSUES ARE AND THEN ASK THEM TO COME UP.
I THINK I'LL JUST, I'LL JUST LOOK UP OF WHAT THE, I JUST DIDN'T WAS LOOKING INTO WHAT HAD ALREADY BEEN DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF OPTIONS, UM, TO MOVE THINGS RELEVANT.
AND, UM, ANY OTHER, I HAD ALSO, I MAYBE YOU PROVIDED 'EM AND I MISSED IT.
I HAD ASKED FOR COPIES OF THE PHASE ONE AND THE PHASE TWO.
ARE THEY, DID YOU PROVIDE THEM TO THE VILLAGE? NOT YET.
COULD YOU DO THAT FOR ME? IT IS, IT IS ON THE LIST, PLEASE.
AND SO BEFORE WE GO ON TO PUBLIC COMMENT, I'M JUST GONNA SAY THAT, UM, WHAT I SAID PREVIOUSLY, WHICH IS THAT I THINK WE'RE STILL AT A STAGE, UM, BASED ON THE COMMENTS THAT WE'VE HEARD FROM FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS THAT, UM, WE STILL THINK LAYOUT AND DESIGN AND MASSING NEED TO BE WORKED ON.
SO BEFORE GETTING INTO DETAILED ENGINEERING AND VIEW, I, MY MY SUGGESTION IS COME BACK TO US WITH, UM, WHAT YOU THINK IS THE BEST SOLUTION TO OUR COMMENTS.
THAT WOULD BE MY, MY SUGGESTION.
SO THAT WE ARE EFFICIENT IN TRYING TO MOVE THIS FORWARD.
UM, BUT WITH THAT I WILL, I I AM YES, GO AHEAD.
CHAIR, I JUST REAL QUICK BEFORE I FORGET AND BEFORE WE MOVE TO PUBLIC COMMENT, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S CLEAR BEFORE WE END TONIGHT, WHEN WE DO COME BACK WITH A DIFFERENT PLAN, WE WILL STILL HAVE VARIANCES.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S CLEAR.
I JUST, I, I KNEW YOUR COMMENT EARLIER.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S NOT GONNA BE A SURPRISE TO THE BOARD AT ALL.
THAT THERE ARE A COUPLE ITEMS THAT LITERALLY CANNOT BE OVERCOME.
SO WE, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT'S, WE, WE, WE UNDERSTAND SOME PROJECTS DO REQUIRE VARIANCES AND WE TRY TO BE SENSITIVE TO THAT.
I JUST WAS, I WAS COMMENTING THAT SOME OF THE HARDSHIPS HAVE BEEN CREATED BY WHAT THE APPLICANT IS TRYING TO PUT ON A SMALL SITE.
AND SO, UM, JUST UNDERSTOOD, BEAR THAT IN MIND.
WE'RE GOING TO, IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A BALANCING ACT.
BUT THERE'S, I YEAH, THERE'S JUST A COUPLE OF VARIANCES THAT LITERALLY WILL NEVER LEAVE THE SITE.
THAT'S ALL, THAT'S ALL I HAVE.
[01:45:01]
GOING TO, UM, I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE VERY INTERESTED IN SHARING THEIR THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS.SO WE'RE GOING TO INVITE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO COME, UM, THREE, THREE MINUTES EACH.
AND UM, I GUESS WHAT WE'LL DO IS WE'LL CREATE A LINE SINCE, UM, TO MAKE IT EFFICIENT AND WE WILL, UM, INVITE YOUR COMMENTS.
AND LIKE I SAID EARLIER, IF YOU COULD, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU HEAR YOUR NEIGHBORS OR SOMEBODY, UM, MAKING A LOT OF THE POINTS YOU WANTED TO MAKE, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EMPHASIZE THEM.
BUT WE'RE, WE'RE HERE TO HEAR YOUR, TO YOUR THOUGHTS.
SO YES, WE NEED YOU TO PRINT YOUR NAME ALLEGEDLY ON THIS SHEET OF PAPER.
EVERYBODY HEAR ME? PRINT YOUR NAME, A LEGIBLY ON THE SHEET OF PAPER, AND PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU'RE SPEAKING INTO THE MICROPHONE.
AND, AND SO, AND TO MAKE AN EFFICIENT, WE'VE DONE THIS BEFORE, JUST HAND THE BOARD BACK TO THE PERSON WHO'S GONNA SPEAK NEXT SO THAT THEY CAN ALREADY BE SIGNED IN.
WHEN, UM, WHEN THEIR, THEIR TURN IS WE CAN COME PULL THAT DOWN.
I, WE LIVE AT 24 WHITMAN, UH, AS VOCIFEROUSLY OPPOSED TO THIS PROJECT AS I AM MY DAUGHTER, MAX IS EVEN MORE SO, SO I'M GONNA LET HER SAY HER PIECE AND THEN I WILL BUILD ON IT.
A FEW THINGS TO SAY ABOUT THE NEW BUILDINGS.
YOU'RE BASICALLY BUILDING IT IN MY BACKYARD.
YOU ARE GONNA CAUSE TOO MUCH TRAFFIC ON WHITMAN STREET, SO I WON'T BE ABLE TO RIDE MY BIKE WITH MY, MY FRIENDS.
PLUS ALL THE HONKING WILL KEEP ME UP AT NIGHT.
TWO, YOU'RE GONNA DESTROY THE SCHOOL BECAUSE OF THAT.
ME AND MY FRIENDS WON'T BE ABLE TO BUILD A SNOW FORTS IN THE WINTER THERE.
I LIKE MY STREET JUST THE WAY IT IS.
WE CRASH, LANDED ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.
WE LOVE OUR HOME, WE LOVE OUR COMMUNITY, WE LOVE OUR STREET.
THERE ARE A FEW THINGS WE DON'T LOVE.
AND TO ECHO THE BOARD, I FEAR THIS MONSTROSITY IS GONNA MAKE ALL OF THOSE THINGS SUBSTANTIALLY WORSE.
FIRST, I THINK AS THE BOARD HAS NOTED, WHITMAN STREET IS TINY.
IT IS A TINY STREET FULL OF SMALL HOMES.
IT BACKS RIGHT UP ONTO THIS THING.
I WOULD ARGUE OUR STREET SHOULD ALREADY BE A ONE-WAY STREET WITH SUBSTANTIALLY LARGER SIDEWALKS.
IT IS A DANGEROUS STREET AS IT IS.
UM, THE TRAFFIC PLANE AS PROPOSED HERE, IN MY VIEW, IS A COMPLETE FAILURE.
ANYTHING THAT INCREASES TRAFFIC ON WHITMAN IS A DISASTER FOR OUR KIDS.
IT'S ALREADY SOMEWHAT UNSAFE TO LET THEM RIDE THEIR BIKES.
IT'S ALREADY SOMEWHAT UNSAFE TO LET THEM WALK UP AND DOWN OUR STREET.
I KNOW THERE ARE OTHER FOLKS FROM WHITMAN WHO ARE GONNA ECHO THOSE CONCERNS AS WELL.
SECOND, I ENJOY A SELF-SERVING LANDSCAPING PLAN AS MUCH AS ANYONE, EVERY SINGLE TREE ON THAT LOT HAS BEEN MARKED AS DISEASED, INCLUDING ALL OF THE ONES THAT PROVIDE ANY PRIVACY TO US.
AND AS WE CAN SEE FROM THESE PLANS, THIS THING IS GONNA BACK DIRECTLY UP ONTO OUR LOT AND LOOM OVER OUR HOUSE SHINING THE LIGHTS.
AND I REALIZE THE LIGHTING PLAN HAS BEEN REVISED, BUT THOSE LIGHTS FROM THOSE APARTMENTS WILL SHINE DIRECTLY INTO OUR HOME.
THERE'S NO MITIGATION FOR THAT WHATSOEVER THAT I SEE IN THESE PLANS.
MAX WOULD LIKE TO NOTE THAT OUR BABY'S NAME IS JACK.
HE'S ONE, HE'S GONNA BE VERY UPSET ABOUT ALL OF THIS
UM, THERE WILL BE A LITERAL PICKLEBALL RACKET INTO OUR HOMES EVERY SINGLE DAY.
YOU CAN SEE WHERE THOSE COURTS ARE.
YOU CAN SEE WHERE OUR HOUSES ARE.
IT WILL BE DIRECTLY INTO OUR HOUSE.
WE'RE GONNA PUT UP SIGNS SO THAT ONLY SIX SENIOR CITIZENS CAN PLAY PICKLEBALL FOR THREE HOURS A DAY.
WE SHOULD JUST NOT HAVE PICKLEBALL COURTS.
I DO SUPPORT THE IDEA OF MORE HOUSING AND HASTINGS.
THIS IS MY OPPORTUNITY TO SAY OUT LOUD, NOT IN MY BACKYARD.
I'M NOT TAKING THAT OPPORTUNITY.
I WANT TO, I WANT TO SEE THIS SITE DEVELOPED.
IT IS PRIME REAL ESTATE IN A PART OF TOWN THAT NEEDS ADDITIONAL HOUSING IN A PART OF TOWN THAT COULD USE MORE PEOPLE BUYING THINGS IN OUR EMPTY STOREFRONTS.
BUT I WOULD URGE THIS COMMITTEE TO COME OBSERVE THE TRAFFIC ON WHITMAN AND SEE IF EVEN A SINGLE ADDITIONAL CAR IS APPROPRIATE OR WHETHER WHITMAN NEEDS TO BE SUBSTANTIALLY REWORKED IN ORDER TO SUPPORT ANY MORE PEOPLE.
UM, SO MANY OF THE THINGS THAT MY NEIGHBOR AND MAX AND I MET WHEN THEY FIRST MOVED IN ARE EXACTLY THE WAY THAT I FEEL THEY PLAY ON THE STREET.
WE HAVE A COMMUNITY AND IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THIS MANY PEOPLE CAN FIT IN SUCH A SMALL SPACE.
IN THE ANSWER TO THE BIG BUILDING.
UH, RICHARD, MR. BASS, UM, AT THE CORNER, UM, IT SEEMS LIKE THE PARK IS RIGHT THERE, BUT VILLARD GOES UP.
SO THERE'S THE HOUSES THAT ARE BEHIND THAT PARK, AND THEN BEHIND THAT ACTUALLY DO GO UP.
SO THE TALL BUILDING WOULD OBSTRUCT
[01:50:01]
THE VIEW FOR ALL THE HOUSES THAT ARE ON THE NORTH AND SOUTH SIDE OF V LARD ACROSS FROM BROADWAY.AND THEN THE PICKLEBALL COURT IS JUST, IT'S SO EASY TO TALK ABOUT.
I MEAN, IF THEY WANNA BE PART OF OUR COMMUNITY, THESE PEOPLE, THEN THEY CAN WALK TO MCO, WHICH IS LIKE ACROSS THE STREET OR WALK TO THE TENNIS COURTS.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE IF WE WANNA HAVE MORE PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY, THEY SHOULD BE PART OF OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THEN AS FAR AS THE TRAFFIC GOES, I MEAN, I SEE THE TRAFFIC ON WHITMAN.
THE PEOPLE, THE PEOPLE THAT DRIVE UP VILLARD WHEN THEY SEE THAT GREEN LIGHT, FOR SOME REASON THEY THINK THEY'RE SPEEDY GONZALEZ AND THEY DRIVE SO FAST.
AND IT, IT'S, IT'S, I THE KIDS ARE AT THE BUS STOP AND THE THE BUS IS THERE AND PEOPLE STILL DRIVE CRAZY.
I JUST CAN'T IMAGINE PUTTING MORE PEOPLE AND MORE CARS ON THAT STREET.
IT'S A NEIGHBORHOOD WITH SENIOR CITIZENS, MIDDLE AGED PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF AND, YOU KNOW, YOUNG FAMILIES.
AND IT JUST SEEMS LIKE YOU'RE PUTTING A LOT OF, TOO MANY PEOPLE IN A SMALL SPACE.
5 6, 5 BROADWAY, FOUR E LIKE MANY OF MY NEIGHBORS, I JUST WANNA PREFACE, I'M NOT OPPOSED TO HAVING HOUSING HERE, BUT I DON'T THINK THIS IS THE RIGHT PROJECT FOR THIS LOCATION.
I WANT TO EMPHASIZE ALL THE PREVIOUS CONCERNS THAT MY NEIGHBORS HAVE COMMUNICATED.
NUMBER TWO, ANY STUDY DONE BY THE APPLICANT.
I WOULD LOVE FOR THAT TO BE VERIFIED, WHETHER THAT'S INDEPENDENTLY OR THE VILLAGE ITSELF.
OVERALL, I FEEL THIS DISRUPTS THE PEACE AND TRANQUILITY OF THIS VILLAGE THAT IT SO PROUDLY PRIDES ITSELF ON IN TERMS OF THE CONSTRUCTION NOISE, THE INCREASED TRAFFIC AND ACTIVITY, THE PICKLEBALL AS WE ALL ALL BEEN MENTIONING, ET CETERA.
AND IN TERMS OF VARIANCES, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE AVERAGE AMOUNT OF VARIANCES ALLOWED ARE, BUT WHAT KIND OF PRECEDENT DO WE WANNA SET IF WE ARE GOING TO START ALLOWING VARIANCES HERE? THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MARK SAMATH.
VERY BRIEF REMARKS, UH, TONIGHT.
AND I'M GONNA SEND YOU ALL, UH, CHAPTER IN VERSE AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS BY EMAIL.
WE LIVED IN ONE OF HASTINGS WONDERFUL OLD HOUSES FOR 23 YEARS BEFORE SELLING LIKE MANY, WE HAD TO BRING IT UP TO CODE.
PART OF THAT STEMS FROM MY HAVING LOST A BELOVED COLLEAGUE WHO PERISHED ALONG WITH HIS WIFE IN A HOUSE FIRE IN NEW ROCHELLE IN 2008.
AND SO PLEASE HEAR MY COMMENTS IN LIGHT OF THAT HISTORY.
YES, SHIFTING THE PROJECT TO VILLARD TO FRONT ONTO VILLARD WOULD BE A MAJOR PLUS BECAUSE THE PROJECT AS PROPOSED RESTS FOR VERY GOOD REASON ON ACCOMPLISHING A SECONDARY MEANS OF EGRESS INGRESS FOR FIRETRUCKS.
AND THE CHALLENGE IS WITHOUT VARIANCES CODES DISALLOW OR COUNTER INDICATE CHRISTY AS THAT ROADWAY ALL AGREEING.
90 DEGREES WON'T WORK BECAUSE CARS COMING DOWN THE SLOPE WOULD BE HEADED DIRECTLY FOR THE BUILDINGS ACROSS THE STREET.
UNFORTUNATELY, 45 DEGREES DOESN'T SEEM TO WORK EITHER.
IT'S A REAL CHALLENGE WITH DUE RESPECT TO THE PROFESSIONALS ON THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM.
ALTHOUGH IT'S A CRITICAL SAFETY CONCERN THAT THERE NOT BE ACCIDENTS ON THE EGRESS PATH.
THE GEOMETRY OF THE PROPOSED ROADWAY, MULTIPLE NON-COMPLIANT 45 DEGREE TURNS ON A DOWNWARD SLOPING ROADWAY AT AS MUCH AS AN 8% GRADE.
IT MEANS RESPECTFULLY, THE DEVELOPER WOULD BE PROVIDING THE LEAST SAFE, BUT WITH VARIANCES.
ALLOWABLE ROAD THEN FOR VE VEHICLES, EGRESSING, CHRISTY, A BLIND SPOT IN FRONT OF 48 WOMEN TO THE RIGHT POTENTIAL FOR CONFLICT WITH VEHICLES ON WHIPPING TO THE LEFT, POTENTIAL FOR CONFLICT WITH VEHICLES EXITING THE GARAGE BEHIND 45.
MAIN POTENTIAL FOR CONFLICT WITH INEVITABLE, WRONG WAY.
MOVEMENT VEHICLES ATTEMPTING TO INGRESS THE EGRESS PATH.
HAZARDS EXACERBATED ACCORDING TO THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION BY THE FACT THAT MANY OLDER DRIVERS EXPERIENCE A DECLINE IN NECK AND HEAD MOBILITY, WHICH ACCOMPANIES ADVANCING AGE AND MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE SLOWING OF PSYCHOMOTOR RESPONSES.
THAT'S A PROBLEM BECAUSE THE OF THE CRITICAL SAFETY CONCERN THAT THERE NOT BE ACCIDENTS HERE.
AND FINALLY, IN THE EVENT OF A FIRE, THE CHALLENGE OF CLEARING
[01:55:01]
THE EGRESS PATH.HOWEVER MANY CARS, AMAZON, UPS, DELIVERY AND MOVING TRUCKS, TRADESPEOPLE, UBERS, INSTACART AND MEDICAL TRANSPORTS MIGHT BE IN THE PROCESS OF COMING DOWN.
THEN PUTTING THOSE VEHICLES ON WHITMAN WHILE FIRETRUCK ARE WAITING TO ASCEND.
HOPING THERE ARE NO DISABLED VEHICLES ON THE EGRESS PATH PLACES, IN MY OPINION, TOO MUCH RELIANCE ON GOOD FORTUNE.
THE PROSPECT OF AN EVERGREEN COURT HOME FOR ADULTS TYPE FIRE SHOULD GIVE US PAUSE AS REGARDS THIS DIFFICULT TO REACH PARCEL OF LAND.
EVERYONE HERE, APPLICANT, DEVELOPER, PLANNING BOARD, EVERYONE KNOWS AND APPRECIATES THAT CODES ARE MEANT TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC.
THE CHALLENGE COMES WHEN COULD YOU, COULD YOU WRAP IT UP? 'CAUSE THE, THE CHALLENGE COMES WHEN WE FACE A CHOICE BETWEEN ONE GOOD AND ANOTHER.
I, I SUPPORT DIVERSE HOUSING OPTIONS, VERY MUCH SUPPORT AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
BUT WHEN IT COMES FOR VARIANCES THAT TOUCH ON SAFETY, THE FUNDAMENTAL BASELINE HAS TO BE FIRST DO NO HARM.
S 5 65 BROADWAY, APARTMENT TWO B AS IN BOY, FIRST AND FOREMOST, WHAT RICHARD SAID, EVERYTHING THAT RICHARD SAID.
I ALSO REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR POINT.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S EVA OR AVA, EVA, EVA ABOUT THE VARIANCES.
I MEAN, YEAH, WE'VE ALL SEEN THAT HAPPEN, BUT THE NUMBER OF THEM, EVEN WITH THE REDUCTION, IT'S JUST TOO BIG.
IT'S TOO BIG FOR THAT LONG, SKINNY LOT.
AND FINALLY, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU REMEMBER I SPOKE LAST TIME, BUT YEAH, I'M WEST FACING, I HAVE A VIEW OF THE RIVER AND IT'S WHY I BOUGHT THE APARTMENT.
I WORK FULL-TIME PERMANENTLY FROM HOME.
THE PICKLEBALL COURT IS ABSURD.
IT IS A SMALL, QUIET RESIDENTIAL AREA.
THERE IS A REASON THAT THE TENNIS COURTS AND THE PICKLEBALL COURTS ARE DOWN ON THAT HUGE PUBLIC LOT BY THE RIVER.
IT, IT'S JUST, IT GOB SMACKS ME ALSO, BECAUSE I WORK IN BOOK PUBLISHING, WORDS ARE IMPORTANT TO ME.
AND I THINK THERE'S SOME VERY IMPORTANT WORDS IN THEIR LATEST APPLICATION SUMMARY THAT POINT TO THE DISINGENUOUSNESS OF WHAT THEY THINK HAS NOW SOLVED THE PROBLEM.
JUST A QUICK CO QUOTE HERE AND THERE FOR FROM A FEW SENTENCES.
THE NEW RENDERINGS, THE REVISED CONFIGURATION, WHICH REFLECTS A SIGNIFICANT REDESIGN UNDERTAKEN TO PRESERVE, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
THE SEPARATION BETWEEN THE TWO BUILDINGS CREATES A GENEROUS CENTRAL VIEW TOWARDS THE HUDSON RIVER.
THIS OPEN BREEZEWAY CONFIGURATION PROVIDES VIEWS OF THE PALISADES TO THE LIMITED NUMBER OF UNITS IN HASTINGS TERRACE CONDOMINIUMS, WHOSE CURRENT VIEWS MAY BE IMPACTED.
THERE'S REALLY NOTHING MORE TO SAY.
SAY IT IS NOT MAY, IT IS WILL, AND IT'S A LOT MORE THAN A LIMITED NUMBER.
HI, PAM'S ON FROM 5 55 BROADWAY.
AND, UM, I AGREE WITH RICHARD BASS, I HAVEN'T SEEN IN A WHILE.
AND, UM, MY OTHER NEIGHBOR WHO, UH, ABOUT THE, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE, HAVE SPOKEN VERY CLEARLY ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON.
AND SO I'M NOT GONNA REPEAT ANY OF THAT.
HOWEVER, SOMETHING LIKE THIS BELONGS ON A DIFFERENT SITE.
THIS IS TOTALLY THE WRONG SITE FOR THIS KIND OF DEVELOPMENT.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE TWO BUILDINGS, WE'RE RIGHT BEHIND THEM.
YOU'RE GONNA ADD 60 MORE, AND THEN YOU'RE ADDING ALL THOSE OTHER UNITS DOWNTOWN.
IT'S, AND IT'S NOT QUIET WHEN IT GETS LIKE THAT.
SO, YOU KNOW, I'M VERY, UH, CONCERNED.
I'VE LIVED HERE FOR MANY YEARS.
UM, ANYWAY, THIS IS MY 55 AND OLDER COMMUNITY
[02:00:01]
FIVE, YOU KNOW, THE BROADWAY, THE TWO BUILDINGS RIGHT BEHIND THERE.I'M TOO OLD FOR THE 55 COMMUNITY.
UM, I'M DAN KER AND I LIVE ON, ON WHITMAN STREET.
UM, I MAINLY WANT TO APPRECIATE WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE SAID.
I'M, I'M REALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE KIND OF SKEPTICISM I'M HEARING.
IT'S REALLY TOUCHING ON MOST OF THE POINTS, SO I'LL KEEP IT PERSONAL.
UM, REALLY WITH TWO THINGS, TRAFFIC AND PICKLEBALL.
UM, I WALK OUR, UH, 4-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER FIVE DAYS A WEEK ON THAT BLOCK.
WE DON'T HAVE CONTIGUOUS SIDEWALKS ON EITHER SIDE, SO THERE'S A LONG STRETCH RIGHT THERE.
THERE'S A DANCE PICKUP AND DROP OFF THAT HAPPENS RIGHT THERE.
THEY DIDN'T DIRECTLY STUDY THAT TRAFFIC.
UM, IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT MUCH MORE CAREFULLY.
UM, CARS WHIZ BY VERY QUICKLY.
ALREADY EVERY PARENT I'VE TALKED TO CONSIDERS THAT A CANDIDATE FOR ONE WAY SPEED BUMPS, UM, CONTIGUOUS SIDEWALKS, ET CETERA AS IT IS.
UM, AND THEN THE PICKLEBALL, IF YOU'VE EVER INTERACTED WITH A COMMUNITY THAT DEALT WITH THIS, YOU KNOW, MY IN-LAWS HAVE THIS IN SOUTH JERSEY.
IT'S YEARS OF COMPLAINTS AND IT'S STILL GOING ON.
SO TO INVITE THAT INTO OUR COMMUNITY IN THE KIND OF THE CENTER OF DOWNTOWN, I THINK EVERYBODY HAS SAID IT, BUT IT SEEMS ABSURD.
MAYBE IT COULD BE INDOORS, I DON'T KNOW.
BUT, UM, THIS IS ALSO, IT'S NOT JUST RESIDENCE.
THIS WOULD ALSO BE PEOPLE DINING IN THE DOWNTOWN THAT WOULD BE HEARING THIS.
UM, I ALSO THINK THE GETTING RID OF THE MATURE TREES, YOU KNOW, AND CALLING THEM ALL DISEASED, IT'S JUST OBVIOUSLY KIND OF DISINGENUOUS AGAIN.
UM, SO AGAIN, I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE NOISES I'M HEARING.
I I'VE NEVER BEEN TO A MEETING LIKE THIS BEFORE, SO THIS IS MY DEBUT.
I DON'T REALLY WANT TO HAVE TO DO THIS, UH, A BUNCH MORE TIMES.
WE'RE BUSY PARENTS AGAIN, I JUST WALK HER IN THE STREET, RIGHT? LIKE, WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO TAKE THE VFW ROUTE AROUND.
SO WE'RE WALKING IN THE STREET AS IT IS.
PLEASE DON'T ADD A LOT MORE CARS TO THAT IF YOU CAN FIGURE OUT A WAY.
NEXT PERSON WANTS, THANK YOU EVERYBODY.
I LIVE AT 45 MAIN STREET, AND I AM A 68-YEAR-OLD ACTIVE ADULT.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO YOU, ALL OF YOU TONIGHT.
AND I'D LIKE TO ECHO WHAT THE LAST SPEAKER JUST SAID.
I'M, I'M IMPRESSED WITH HOW MUCH YOU HEARD FROM ALL OF US AT THE LAST MEETING.
AND RICHARD, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS TONIGHT.
ESPECIALLY, UH, THURSDAY, APRIL 23RD, TWO, 2026 WAS A MILD SPRING DAY WITH TEMPERATURES REACHING A COMFORTABLE 70 DEGREES.
IF YOU WOULD'VE ASKED ANYONE ON THE STREET IN HASTINGS, THEY WOULD'VE SAID IT WAS A PERFECT DAY.
APRIL 23RD, 2026 IS ALSO THE DAY THAT THE DEVELOPERS OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT AT 16 VILLARD CONDUCTED THEIR TRAFFIC STUDY FOR THEIR APPLICATION TO ALL OF YOU.
ACTUALLY, THEY CONDUCTED THAT STUDY FOR ONLY FIVE HOURS, TWO HOURS IN THE MORNING AND THREE HOURS IN THE AFTERNOON.
SO I WON'T DISPUTE THAT CONCLUSION THAT ON A PERFECT DAY THE PROPOSED TRAFFIC FLOW FOR THE NEW DEVELOPMENT TO ENTER ON VILLARD AND TO EXIT ONTO CHRISTIE TERRACE AND WHITMAN MIGHT NOT POSE ANY DANGER TO PEDESTRIANS OR TO VEHICLES.
BUT THERE ARE VERY FEW PERFECT DAYS, WHICH I HOPE YOU CONSIDER CAREFULLY IN YOUR DECISION MAKING PROCESS.
IF YOU DROVE NORTH ON WHITMAN TOWARD VILLARD IN LATE JANUARY, AND AGAIN IN LATE FEBRUARY, YOU KNOW, THE STREET WAS VIRTUALLY IMPASSABLE FOR WEEKS DUE TO SEVERAL FEET OF PLOWED SNOW THAT PINCHED THE ROAD TO A SINGLE CAR WITH AND CREATED MASSIVE BLIND SPOTS.
AND IF YOU WERE REALLY BRAVE DURING THOSE MONTHS AND DROVE SOUTH ON WHITMAN TOWARD MAINE, YOU KNOW, THAT STEEP HILL WAS A BOB WAS BOBSLED SLICK, CAUSING MANY VEHICLES TO SLIDE INTO THE ALREADY DANGEROUS UNMARKED PEDESTRIAN CROSSING BETWEEN BRETT AND BRIAN IN 25 MAIN.
BUT IT DOESN'T TAKE EXTREME WEATHER LIKE WE'RE HAVING TONIGHT TO MAKE THAT ROAD HAZARDOUS ON ANY GIVEN DAY AT ANY TIME OF DAY.
SANITATION TRUCKS, UPS AND AMAZON DELIVERY VANS, FRESH DIRECT TRUCKS, FUEL OIL TRUCKS, UBER
[02:05:01]
EATS, DRIVERS, LANDSCAPER, PICKUP TRUCKS.IF I GET MY SECOND PAGE AND EQUIPMENT TRAILERS, EXCUSE ME, AND OTHER SERVICE VEHICLES BLOCK HALF OF WHITMAN TRANSFORMING THE NARROW TWO-WAY STREET INTO A ONE-WAY OBSTACLE COURSE.
IT'S NO WONDER THAT VILLAGE SCHOOL BUSES REFUSE TO DRIVE ON IT.
ROUTING ALL TRAFFIC INTO, UH, ROUTING ALL TRAFFIC THAT GOES INTO 16 VILLARD OUT THROUGH CHRISTIE TERRACE.
AND WHITMAN WILL ONLY MAKE THE SITUATION WORK WORSE IF YOU'VE EVER WALKED BEHIND THE VFW.
AND YOU'LL KNOW THERE'S A DANGEROUS BLIND CURVE THERE WITH NO SIDEWALK OR SHOULDER, WHICH IS ALREADY A SAFETY HAZARD TO JOGGERS, DOG WALKERS, BICYCLISTS, AND THE DOZENS OF YOUNG CHILDREN WHO POUR OUT OF MK DANCE IN THE EARLY EVENING, WHICH THE DEVELOPERS FAILED TO NOTE.
I WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE ALL OF YOU AT THE DEVELOPER'S EXPENSE TO, UH, CONDUCT AN OBJECTIVE INDEPENDENT TRAFFIC STUDY OF THIS AREA THAT TAKES ALL OF THESE THINGS INTO ACCOUNT BECAUSE I THINK THAT THE TRAFFIC STUDY THAT WAS SUBMITTED WAS INSUFFICIENT FOR ALL OF US WHO LIVE AT 45 MAIN STREET.
WE'RE GONNA BE TURNING, WE'RE GONNA BE TURNING, UH, DIRECTLY INTO TRAFFIC AND WE WILL NOT HAVE ANY WAY TO GET IN AND OUT OF OUR GARAGE.
HI, COURTNEY CHANDLER FROM 45 MAIN STREET.
UM, I DO WANNA MENTION THAT WE HAD AT ONE POINT, AT LEAST 15 PEOPLE FROM OUR BUILDING HERE TONIGHT.
NOT ALL OF THEM ARE GONNA TALK BECAUSE THERE ARE JUST A FEW OF US WHO'VE BEEN SORT OF IDENTIFIED.
UM, BUT WE'RE ALL CONCERNED, ESPECIALLY ABOUT A HANDFUL OF THINGS.
THE PICKLEBALL IS ONE OF THEM.
UH, THE USE OF CHRISTIE TERRACE THOUGH IS A MAJOR CONCERN FOR ALL OF US.
THE SAFETY OF THE TRAFFIC ON WEB GOING, BEING FUNNELED ONTO WHITMAN IS A MAJOR CONCERN.
I'D LIKE TO MENTION ONE THING ABOUT THAT IN PARTICULAR, UH, THE SAFETY CONCERN IS KIDS RUN ACROSS THAT STREET, UH, THAT, UH, AT MAIN STREET, THE INTERSECTION WITH WHITMAN KIDS RUN ACROSS THAT.
AND IF YOU DON'T KNOW THAT, LIKE AN AMAZON DRIVER, YOU DON'T KNOW TO STOP EARLY AND MAKE SURE NO PEDESTRIANS ARE COMING.
SO IT WOULD BE VERY DANGEROUS TO BE HAVING PROBABLY MORE THAN TWICE AS MUCH TRAFFIC.
NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE AREA GOING THROUGH WHITMAN.
UM, I ALSO WANNA MENTION SPECIFICALLY A CONCERN FOR 45 MAIN STREET.
UM, IF THEY CHANGE CHRISTY TERRACE TO BE THE EGRESS FOR THIS PROJECT, WE WILL LOSE ANY PLACE TO PUT OUR DUMPSTERS.
WE ALSO LOSE OUR LOADING ZONE, WHICH I'M PRETTY SURE WAS A REQUIREMENT TO GET OUR BUILDING APPROVED.
WE HAD TO HAVE A LOADING ZONE.
THAT IS CHRISTIE TERRACE FOR US.
THAT'S WHERE CONTRACTORS PARK THEIR VANS.
THAT'S WHERE ANYBODY DOING ANY KIND OF DELIVERY FOR THE BUILDING PARKS UP ON CHRISTY TERRACE.
BUT WE NEED A, YOU KNOW, WE'RE AN OLDER BUILDING, WE GET A LOT OF MAINTENANCE.
WE HAVE A LOT OF PLUMBERS AND HVAC SYSTEMS PARKING UP THERE FOR LARGE AMOUNTS OF TIME DURING THE DAY.
AND THERE'S NOT AN OBVIOUS FIX TO THAT.
WHERE, WHERE DID THEY PARK? THERE'S NOT STREET PARKING.
WHICH BRINGS ME TO ANOTHER CONCERN.
THIS DEVELOPMENT HAS, I BELIEVE, 87 PARKING SPACE FOR A BUILDING THAT HAS OVER A HUNDRED BEDROOMS. THAT DOES NOT FEEL SUFFICIENT TO ME, EVEN IF YOU ASSUME THAT A LOT OF THOSE MULTI BEDROOM UNITS ARE JUST GONNA BE ONE PERSON OR ONE COUPLE, JUST 'CAUSE THEY'RE ACTIVE OLDER ADULTS, DOESN'T MEAN THEY DON'T, AS, AS A COUPLE HAVE TWO CARS.
THEY ALSO MIGHT HAVE ROOMMATES, THEY MIGHT SHARE THE SPACE.
WE ARE SO TIED ON PARKING ALREADY ON STREET PARKING.
AND I CAN TELL YOU A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE BUILDINGS, IN THE EXISTING APARTMENT BUILDINGS AROUND THE AREA, IF THEY DON'T HAVE A SECOND PARKING SPACE, THEY'RE PARKING THEIR SECOND CAR ON THE STREETS.
THAT'S GONNA BE A EXACERBATED CONSIDERABLY IN AN ALREADY TIGHT SITUATION.
UM, AND I WANNA JUST QUOTE ONE MORE THING IN REGARDS TO PICKLEBALL, UM,
SO A STUDY WAS DONE BY THE AMERICAN AMERICAN ACOUSTIC ASSOCIATION.
I THINK THAT BASICALLY SAID THAT ANYTHING LESS THAN ABOUT A HUNDRED A THOUSAND FEET FROM A RESIDENCE IS LIKELY TO CAUSE ISSUES FOR THE RESIDENTS.
AND THIS PICKLEBALL WILL BE A LOT CLOSER THAN THAT.
[02:10:06]
HELLO, I'M LAUREN BERMAN.I'M A RESIDENT AT 45 MAIN STREET AND I'M NOT GONNA SPEAK ON THE ISSUES.
UH, SOME OF MY OTHER NEIGHBORS FROM 45 MAIN HAVE SPOKEN ON.
I'M GONNA SPEAK OF SOMETHING MORE, UH, PERSONAL.
UM, I LIVE, UM, WITH NORTH FACING WINDOWS IN MY MAIN LIVING ROOM AREA AND BEDROOM THAT LOOKED DIRECTLY INTO THIS SITE.
I AM LOCATE LOCATED DIRECTLY ABOVE THE GARAGE AT 45 MAIN STREET IN CREATING A SLOPED CURVED ROADWAY BLASTED THROUGH THE GREEN AREA, KNOWN AS CHRISTY TERRACE, WHO WOULD BRING HEADLIGHTS DIRECTLY INTO MY LIVING SPACE AT NIGHT.
AND DANGEROUS TRAFFIC, GARBAGE, DUMPSTER NOISE, AND PICKLEBALL CACOPHONY STEPS AWAY FROM MY WINDOW WITHOUT ANY BUFFER.
CHRISTY TERRACE IS CURRENTLY, CURRENTLY INCLUDES A PLEASANT GREENWAY WITH AN APPROPRIATE BUFFER TO THE PARKING LOTS AT THE BROADWAY APARTMENTS.
I ENCOURAGE THE PLANNING BOARD TO THINK ABOUT A MORE APPROPRIATE USE OF THAT PUBLIC LAND.
I'M AN URBAN PLANNER, UH, ASSISTING THE RESIDENTS OF 45 MAIN STREET.
IN THE REVIEW OF THE 16 VILLARD, UH, APPLICATION, UM, THE BOARD NEEDS TO REALLY TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT THE SCHOOL IS GONE AND THIS SITE NEEDS A FRESH LOOK.
ANY COMPARISON TO ANY OF THE IMPACTS THAT THE SCHOOL MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE HAD.
UM, IS, IS NO ARE ARE NO LONGER, UH, SENSIBLE.
UH, THE PROPOSED USE NEEDS TO BE REVIEWED AS A NEW USE.
THE PROPOSED USE WILL CREATE A FIVE WAY INTERSECTION AT THE INTERSECTION OF VALARD AND BROADWAY.
SO WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN ACCEPTABLE, UM, FOR A SCHOOL WHEN THE SCHOOL WAS BUILT IN THE PAST, UH, IS NOT ACCEPTABLE NOW, SHOULD NOT BE ACCEPTABLE.
NOW, THE ANYONE THAT IS CHEATING UP TO MAKE A RIGHT TURN, UH, POTENTIALLY BLOCKS SOMEONE COMING INTO THE SITE AT THE INTERSECTION AT VILLARD.
UH, AND THAT IS, I THINK, ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS GIVEN THE VOLUME OF TRAFFIC ON, ON BROADWAY.
UH, THE BOARD NEEDS TO AGAIN, REALIZE THAT, UM, THIS IS A DIFFERENT USE THAN THE SCHOOL SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
UH, RATHER, THE SCHOOL WAS ONLY FIVE DAYS A WEEK.
IT WAS, THERE WAS NO TRAFFIC IN THE EVENING.
DELIVERIES WERE LIMITED, TOTALLY, TOTALLY DIFFERENT.
USE ANY COMPARISON, UM, TO THE SCHOOL USE IS JUST SIMPLY NOT APPROPRIATE.
UM, THE EGRESS DRIVE ONTO CHRISTIE TERRACE IMPACTS THE PROPERTY RIGHTS OF THE OWNERS AT 45 MAIN STREET AND 5 55 BROADWAY.
BOTH OF THOSE, UM, BOTH OF THOSE PROPERTIES, UH, POTENTIALLY HAVE ADDITIONAL ACCESS TO A MAPPED VILLAGE STREET.
THE PLACEMENT OF, UM, A RETAINING WALL AND CUTTING OFF, UH, THOSE PROPERTIES, UH, THOSE OTHER PROPERTIES RIGHTS TO ACCESS THE STREET IS AN IMPORTANT FACT THAT THE BOARD SHOULD BE LOOKING AT, UM, AS SOMEONE ELSE, UM, MENTIONED.
UM, THE ISSUE WITH ALL OF THE DELIVERY SERVICES, UH, ESPECIALLY BECOMES INTERESTING.
UH, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE NARROWNESS OF THE DRIVEWAY AS YOU DESCEND TO CHRISTIE TERRACE.
UM, HOW IS A RESIDENT OR A UPS PACKAGE CAR EXPECTED TO BACK UP UPHILL OUT OF THE WAY OF A FIRE ENGINE COMING UP ON THEIR EMERGENCY ACCESS FROM CHRISTIE? UH, EVEN IF YOU ARE ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY BACK UP, WHERE DO YOU GO? WHERE DOES THAT CAR GO? UH, IF THEY'RE ABLE TO BACK UP? UM, THERE WAS NO MENTION ABOUT, UM, IF THERE WOULD BE A NEED TO REMOVE ANY OF THE PARKING ON WHITMAN STREET TO ACCOMMO.
A COUPLE MORE COMMENTS, UH, TO ACCOMMODATE ANY OF THE, UH, TURNING OF THE EMERGENCY VEHICLES COMING IN THERE.
THAT IS A VERY COMMON THING THAT HAS TO HAPPEN WHEN ONE GETS INTO THE WEEDS, UH, OF A SITE LIKE THIS.
AND THEN YOU FIND THAT THERE, UM, THERE IS, UH, A NEED TO REDUCE THE ALREADY, UM, UM, TIGHT PARKING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
OKAY, SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO WRAP UP.
YOU CAN SEND IT TO, I WILL SEND, I WILL SEND THE REST OF MIKE.
UH, ONE, ONE MORE COMMENT, IF I MAY.
UH, IN MY EXPERIENCE, DENS AS DENS IN APARTMENTS, WHEN, UH, A BOARD IS TOLD IT'S GONNA BE TWO APARTMENTS IN A DEN, UH, THOSE DENS VERY OFTEN BECOME A THIRD APARTMENT AND THAT IS SOMETHING
[02:15:01]
THAT THE BOARD NEEDS TO TAKE, UH, INTO ACCOUNT.I LIVE AT 50 WHITMAN STREETS AND I'LL HAVE A FRONT ROW SEAT OF THE PICKLEBALL COURTS.
HI, ANYTHING ELSE? UH, CHRISTOPHER MEAL, UH, TO WHITMAN STREET.
I JUST WANTED TO SHARE AND, UH, ECHO A LOT OF THE COMMENTS THAT MY NEIGHBORS ON WHITMAN STREET HAVE ALREADY STATED.
UH, MY DAUGHTER ACTUALLY HAPPENS TO BE MAX'S BEST FRIEND, SO, YOU KNOW, WE DEAL, WE KNOW WHAT THE TRAFFIC IS LIKE ALREADY ON WHITMAN STREET.
UH, AND JUST IMAGINING THIS BEHEMOTH AS BECOMING OUR BACKYARD IS JUST UNIMAGINABLE FOR US.
BUT I ALSO WANNA POINT OUT THAT, YOU KNOW, THE SCALE THAT THIS, OF THIS PROJECT, YOU'RE, THEY'RE ASKING FOR A VARIANCE AND I DON'T THINK I'VE HEARD ANYTHING FROM THE PREVIOUS ME MINUTES FROM THE PREVIOUS MEETING OR FROM FOR OR FROM TODAY THAT DEMONSTRATES A REASONABLE NEED WELL, FOR THE, FOR THE VARIANCE TO BE GRANTED.
TIM SERINO FROM 45 MAIN STREET.
UM, ALL EVERYBODY'S COMMENTS HAVE BEEN GREAT.
TOTALLY AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT'S BEEN SAID SO FAR.
IT JUST OCCURS TO ME AT THE MOMENT.
UM, IS THIS THE ONLY USE, LIKE WOULD IT MAKE SENSE FOR THE VILLAGE TO PUT OUT LIKE AN RFP FOR LIKE, WE HAVE THIS PROPERTY, IT'S NOT VILLAGE PROPERTY, IT'S PRIVATELY OWNED PROPERTY.
BUT, UM, I FEEL LIKE IT'S A CHOICE OF ONE THING THAT IT'S, IT'S ZONED FOR HOUSING, SO, YEAH.
BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S MANY POSSIBLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS THAT COULD WORK.
HI, DANIEL FOUND 45 MAIN STREET.
SO I'M HAPPY THAT THE ISSUE OF SAFETY HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP.
I I LIVE IN 45 MAIN STREET PARK IN WHITMAN.
I'VE BEEN WALKING AS A PEDESTRIAN DOWN WHITMAN FOR 18 YEARS.
THERE'S NO SIDEWALK, THERE'S NO VISION.
WHEN YOU'RE DRIVING DOWN WHITMAN, YOU COME TO THE, UH, VETERANS OF FARM FOREIGN WARS, YOU, YOU DON'T SEE WHAT'S AHEAD OF YOU.
AND AS IT IS, AT THE BEST OF TIMES IT'S PROBLEMATIC, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE LEAVING WHITMAN GOING ON ONTO MAIN STREET.
PEOPLE RUSH ACROSS ON THE WAY TO THE TRAIN STATION.
THERE'S NO, YOU CAN'T SEE UPCOMING TRAFFIC WHEN THE PEOPLE ARE PARKED
SO TO ADD ALL THESE ADDITIONAL VEHICLES, I, I BELIEVE'S GOING BE PROBLEMATIC.
I, I DON'T THINK IT'S BEEN DULY ADDRESSED.
AND, AND I HEAR, AND I THANK YOU MR. BASS.
AND I HEAR LIKE, IT'S VERY DISINGENUINE WHEN YOU HEAR LIKE, OH, PICKLEBALL IS HERE TO STAY, OR THIS AND THAT.
BUT LIKE, WHAT ABOUT LIKE, IN, IN UNDERSTANDING, LIKE, YOU KNOW, BUILDING A GREAT COMMUNITY FOR YOUR, YOU KNOW, TENANTS, BUT LIKE, WE HAVE A GREAT COMMUNITY AND IT'S LIKE, ALL I HEAR IS LIKE ALL OF THESE, A RETAINING WALL, LIKE OUR FIRST FLOOR AND SECOND FLOOR, LIKE RESIDENTS, THAT'S THEIR, THAT'S THEIR VIEW NOW, YOU KNOW, AND YOU GO TO THE THIRD FLOOR AND IT'S LIKE, WELL, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE VIEWS WILL BE SKEWED AND SOME AREN'T.
BUT LIKE, IT, IT JUST, IT DOESN'T TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION LIKE THE SIZE OF THIS BUILDING AND, AND US AS, AS RESIDENTS, WE ARE HERE.
I MEAN, I DON'T WANT TO SAY WE ARE HERE FIRST, BUT LIKE, YOU HAVE TO REALLY INCORPORATE THE FACT THAT WE'RE PART OF THIS COMMUNITY AND YOU'RE BUILDING SOMETHING RIGHT ON TOP OF US.
ANYBODY ELSE? ANYONE ELSE? TERRY ARD? UH, 5 5 5 3 C.
UH, I ALSO WORK IN ATHLETICS AND SO I WANNA SHARE WITH YOU ABOUT PICKLEBALL.
EVERYONE THAT'S SAYING ABOUT PICKLEBALL IS RIGHT, BUT WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT PUTTING A PICKLEBALL BETWEEN BRICK BUILDINGS, IT IS ASTRONOMICAL IN TERMS OF SOUND.
AND THE PICKLEBALL IS A FAD, NO LONGER A FAD.
IT HAPPENS AND THEY PLAY ALL NIGHT AND ALL MORNING.
SO WHEN YOU PUT A PICKLEBALL PLACE, THE LOCATION OF IT, IT'S NOT TO SOMEONE ELSE'S COMMENT, IT WILL GO DOWN INTO TOWN.
SO I SHARE WITH YOU THE VIEW THAT I HAVE.
WE WILL BE LOSING THE INVESTMENT INTO THIS COMMUNITY.
AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT EVERYONE SHOULD LOOK AT.
IT'S AN INVESTMENT IN PEACE, TRANQUILITY, AND COMMUNITY.
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR COM, YOUR COMMENTS.
AND THANK YOU FOR HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK MAYOR LISA,
[02:20:02]
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.ANYONE ELSE? ANYONE ELSE SPEAK HERE? ANYONE ELSE? OKAY, THANK YOU.
ALRIGHT, SO WE HAVE HEARD, UM, WE'VE HEARD A LOT OF COMMENTS.
UM, YOU'VE, THE APPLICANTS HAVE HEARD FROM US, FROM THE PUBLIC.
I'M GONNA SAY GET RID OF THE PICKLEBALL COURTS.
GET RID OF THE CRINKLE BALL COURT.
YOU CAN MAKE THIS A LOT EASIER.
JUST DO NOT, THEY ARE NOT APPROPRIATE THERE.
I'M JUST GONNA SAY IT LOUD AND CLEAR.
LIKE THEY ARE NOT APPROPRIATE IN THIS SITE NEXT TO HOMES.
AND IT JUST, I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU'D WANNA FIGHT THAT BATTLE.
BUT ANYWAY, UM, WITH THAT
WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING YOUR, YOUR, OR SEEING YOUR NEXT ITERATION THAT HOPEFULLY ADDRESSES, UM, SOME OF OUR MAJOR COMMENTS.
SO, UM, WITH THAT WE HAVE A EXIT.
DO YOU WANNA GIVE THEM 10 SECONDS? WHAT'S THAT? DO YOU WANNA GIVE THEM 10 SECONDS? SURE.
OH, I DON'T THINK I NEED TO STRETCH.
DO YOU ALL WEAR YOUR ADULT DIAPERS?
'CAUSE IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A, UH, AUGUST MEETING.
I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA KEEP GOING.
ALRIGHT, SO OUR NEXT, UM, OUR NEXT APPLICATION IS FOR VIEW PRESERVATION ADVISORY FOR THE APPLICATION OF MAX NODO FOR VIEW PRESERVATION, UM, ADVISORY UNDER SECTION 2 95 DASH 82 TO ALLOW FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A 90.
HEY GUYS, I ALSO NEED YOU TO BE QUIET.
IF EVERYONE COULD QUIET DOWN EXITS QUIETLY, I'D APPRECIATE IT.
SO IT'S FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A 90 SQUARE FOOT, SECOND FLOOR EDITION ABOVE THE EXISTING FIRST FLOOR OF A RESIDENTIAL BUILDING LOCATED AT 65 WASHINGTON AVENUE.
SAID PROPERTIES IN THE MR DASH 1.5 ZONING DISTRICT AND IS KNOWN AS SBL 4.70 DASH 51 DASH 11 ON THE VILLAGE TAX MAPS.
UM, I'M JUST GONNA NOTE THAT I WAS NOT HERE.
I, AS THE BOARD CHAIR WAS NOT HERE LAST MONTH, BUT I UNDERSTAND THAT THE BOARD ASKED THE APPLICANT TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE VIEWS FROM THE NEIGHBOR'S WINDOW, WHICH THEY NOW PROVIDED.
SO WOULD THE APPLICANT LIKE TO PRESENT? SURE.
I'M THE ARCHITECT FOR 65 WASHINGTON AVENUE.
UM, I THINK SOMEBODY NEEDS TO GO OUT AND TELL EVERYBODY THEY HAVE TO, THEY HAVE TO EXIT.
UM, SO YEAH, WE PRESENTED LAST MONTH.
UH, THE BOARD HAD SOME COMMENTS AND, UM, OH, I'M SORRY.
AND, UH, WE, UH, FURNISH A SUPPLEMENTAL PACKAGE, WHICH I'M ABOUT TO SHOW YOU.
UM, JUST FOR THE BOARD MEMBERS THAT WEREN'T HERE.
UH, WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING IS A CURRENTLY IS A, IS A TWO FAMILY PROPERTY.
WE'RE CONVERTING TO A ONE FAMILY AND WE'RE ADDING A BATHROOM UP TO THE SECOND FLOOR, WHICH, UH, YOU KNOW, WE ARE IN A VIEW PRESERVATION ZONE.
SO THE BATHROOM, UH, THIS ADDITIONAL IS, UH, TRIGGERING THAT.
UM, SO WE PRESENTED A FEW, UM, UM, PHOTOGRAPHS BACK THEN.
UH, I'M JUST GONNA GO THROUGH QUICKLY.
THE, UH, YELLOW AREA ON THE SECOND FLOOR PLAN IS, WHAT WE ARE ADDING IS ROUGHLY NINE BY NINE IS A 81 SQUARE FEET, UH, SIZE.
THE, UH, WE ARE ADDING TO THE, TO THE SECOND FLOOR.
UM, THERE IS A CURRENT, UH, ELEVATIONS AND, UM, AGAIN, WHAT WE ARE ADDING, WHICH YOU CAN SEE THERE, IT'S A, A SEVEN FOOT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, UM, UH, LOWEST PART AND THEN IS, YOU KNOW, IT GOES UP TO, UM, I WOULD SAY APPROXIMATELY LIKE EIGHT FOOT SIX, BUT IT DOESN'T PASS THE REACH OF THE, OF THE HOUSE.
UM, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE, UH, STUDIES WE PRESENTED LAST TIME.
UH, YOU KNOW, FROM, UH, VIEWS FROM THE, FROM WASHINGTON LOOKING TOWARDS THE HOUSE VIEWS FROM THE BACKYARD.
AND THEN, UM, UH, THAT WINDOW, IT'S WHAT TRIGGERED THE CONVERSATION LAST TIME AND, UH, HOW THE ADDITION WILL IMPACT THE VIEW FROM THAT WINDOW OR NOT.
UM, SO WE SPOKE WITH THE NEIGHBOR.
UM, WE DIDN'T, I DIDN'T GAIN ACCESS TO THE HOUSE, BUT THE NEIGHBOR, I SENT A DIAGRAM OF PHOTOS WE, WE NEED THEM TO TAKE AND THEY, THEY'RE KIND ENOUGH TO TAKE THOSE PHOTOS FOR US.
AND, UH, SO YEAH, THAT'S, THAT WAS THE DIAGRAM.
SO, UM, THERE'S, SORRY, THIS DIAGRAM REALLY CONFUSING, BUT THERE IS TWO WINDOWS ON THE SIDE.
THERE'S ONE THAT IS LOWER, THAT'S THE KITCHEN, LIKE ON THE FOURTH FLOOR.
YOU DON'T REALLY SEE FROM THIS PHOTO.
YOU'LL SEE IN A, IN A, IN A, UM, YOU KNOW, IN ANOTHER SLIDE.
UM, SO WE ASKED THEM TO TAKE PHOTOS, LIKE LOOKING STRAIGHT TOWARDS THE ADDITION, UH, LOOKING, UH, YOU KNOW, MORE TOWARDS THE, THE PALISADES, WHICH, UM, YOU KNOW, TOWARDS THAT DIRECTION.
AND THEN ALSO FROM THIS WINDOW THAT IS ON THE FIRST FLOOR, WHICH IS A KITCHEN WINDOW.
AND THEN THE BOARD ALSO, UH, RE UH,
[02:25:01]
REQUESTED PHOTOS FROM THE WINDOWS THAT ARE FACING NORTH.UM, SO THO THAT'S THE PHOTO MAP.
SO THE FIRST PHOTO, UM, LOOKING TOWARDS THE PALISADES, YOU CAN, I MEAN, UNFORTUNATELY, UH, OR I SHOULDN'T SAY UNFORTUNATELY, BUT WE ARE IN THE SUMMER NOW, SO WE HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TREES ARE FULL, SO WE CAN'T REALLY APPRECIATE IF, UH, WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE THE LEAVES, IF YOU, IF YOU HAVE SEA VIEW OF THE, THE PALISADES.
BUT YOU CAN, UM, IF YOU ARE TO FOLLOW THE LINE OF, UM, WHERE THE PALISADES LINES ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHERE AROUND HERE, UM, WHICH, YOU KNOW, GOING TO THE PHOTO MONTAGE IS, UH, YOU KNOW, IS THE IMAGE ON THE BOTTOM.
UM, WE WOULD BE JUST BELOW THAT.
UM, AND THEN, UH, THE SECOND, UM, PHOTOGRAPH IS, UM, LOOKING MORE, UH, DIAGONALLY TOWARDS THE PALISADES.
UM, YOU SEE THE ADDITION LIKE JUST ON THE CORNER, AND THEN THE, THE PHOTO NUMBER NINE HERE IS THAT FROM THAT WINDOW ON THE FIRST FLOOR, THAT'S IN THE KITCHEN LEVEL, UM, AND, UM, SHOWING, YOU KNOW, BEFORE AND AFTER.
UM, AND THEN THE PHOTOS NUMBER 10 AND 11 ARE THE ONES FROM THE NORTH WINDOWS, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT DON'T REALLY LOOK TOWARDS OUR ADDITION, BUT LOOKS TOWARDS NORTH IS, IS REALLY TO ADDRESS, UH, THE BOARD'S REQUEST.
AND ADDITIONALLY, I JUST WANNA SHOW YOU THOSE PHOTOS.
UM, THIS IS, WE STANDING ON THE, OUR ROOFTOP AND OUR NEIGHBOR HAS A VERY SIMILAR ADDITION THAT WAS DONE, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, WAS ALREADY BUILT.
I MEAN, I DIDN'T GET TO GO TO THE, TO THE NEIGHBOR'S PROPERTY TO REALLY MEASURE, BUT UH, UH, HEIGHT WISE IS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE ARE PROPOSING.
UM, AND THEN, UH, THIS IS JUST A PHOTO TO SHOW WHAT, YOU KNOW, THIS, UH, BOTTOM WINDOW WAS REFERRING TO WHERE, WHERE THAT'S LOCATED IN THE, IN THE, UM, NEIGHBOR TO THE EAST SIDE THAT WE ARE DOING THIS, UH, SITE STUDY.
AND THOSE ARE SOME OTHER FIELDS JUST LOOKING TOWARDS THE PALATES FROM OUR ROOFTOP.
THAT'S, UH, THAT WAS THE PACKAGE SUBMITTED.
UM, BEFORE I GET, UH, BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS, PAT, DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS FOR US ON THIS ONE? NO COMMENTS ON THIS AT ALL.
SO, UM, FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS, ESPECIALLY THE ONES WHO WERE HERE LAST, LAST MONTH, THANK YOU.
I'M SURE IT WAS A LITTLE BIT FRUSTRATING TO BE ASKED TO DO THIS LAST MONTH, BUT THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE ASKED FOR AND IT ALSO, AT LEAST TO ME, LOOKS LIKE THE IMPACT ON THE VIEW IS QUITE MINIMAL.
SO, UM, ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WANNA SPEAK ON THIS? NO.
[IV. NEW PUBLIC HEARINGS ]
TWO NEW MATTERS FOR THE EVENING THIS EVENING.THE FIRST ONE IS THE SUBDIVISION AND STEEP SLOPES APPROVAL OF THE APPLICATION OF ED AND MARCY PUNGA, I HOPE I'M PRONOUNCING THAT CORRECTLY.
FOR THE SUBDIVISION OF A 24,825 SQUARE FOOT PARCEL INTO TWO LOTS, THE EXISTING RESIDENCE WOULD REMAIN ON LOT ONE, AND A NEW DWELLING IS PROPOSED ON LOT TWO, LOCATED AT 33 JEFFERSON AVENUE.
SAID, PROPERTY IS IN THE R 10 ZONING DISTRICT AND IS KNOWN AS SBL 4.80 DASH 74 DASH SIX ON THE TOWN OF GREENBURG TAX MAPS.
AND, UM, BEFORE I ASK THE APPLICANT TO, UH, TO PRESENT, I'M GOING TO SAY THAT, UH, JUST WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE WE'VE RECEIVED A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE PUBLIC ON THIS MATTER, INCLUDING, UM, SEVERAL REQUESTS THAT WE NOT HEAR THIS MATTER TONIGHT, UM, AND ALLOW FOR MORE TIME.
I JUST WANNA NOTE THAT WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'RE GONNA, UM, HEAR THE MATTER AS IT WAS NOTICED ON TIME, WE WANNA GIVE THE APPLICANT OR PRELIMINARY FEEDBACK, UM, GET THE PROCESS GOING.
WE ARE CERTAINLY NOT APPROVING THIS MATTER TONIGHT, SO ANYONE WHO'S CONCERNED THAT IF THEY WERE OUT OF TOWN, THEY WERE ON VACATION, IT'S, THIS IS THE START OF THE PROCESS.
UM, AND THE PUBLIC WILL HAVE ADDITIONAL TIME TO REVIEW AND MAKE COMMENTS AT FUTURE MEETINGS.
UM, AND I WANNA ALSO, UM, I SAY THAT OUR VILLAGE ENGINEER AND VILLAGE PLANNER HAVE ALREADY STARTED THE REVIEW OF THIS.
I KNOW THERE WERE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW WE GO ABOUT OUR REVIEW.
NOT ONLY DO WE TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AND WE LISTEN TO PUBLIC COMMENT AND WE STUDY THE, UM, ISSUES AT HAND OURSELVES, BUT WE DO HAVE, UH, THE VILLAGE ENGINEER AND THE VILLAGE PLANNER.
UM, SO, AND I'M GOING TO ASK OUR VILLAGE PLANNER, UM, PATRICK CLEARY TO, UM, HE, HE WROTE A VERY DETAILED MEMO, BUT I'M GONNA FIRST LET THE APPLICANT PRESENT AND THEN I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO PATRICK TO LAY OUT ALL THE, UM, ISSUES AND, AND MATTERS THAT HE'S IDENTIFIED ON THIS APPLICATION.
UM, UH, I'M MIKE JACOBS WITH JACOBS CHANG ARCHITECTURE.
I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF, UM, ED AND MARCY PONGA, UH, THE OWNERS OF 33 JEFFERSON, AND WE'RE HERE REQUESTING CONSIDERATION
[02:30:01]
FOR A SUBDIVISION APPLICATION ON A SINGLE FAMILY PROPERTY.UM, I'M GONNA GIVE A QUICK BRIEF, UH, OVERVIEW OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
UH, JEFFERSON IS UP ON MOUNT HOPE.
UM, IT'S A HILLSIDE, AND SO, UH, STEEP SLOPES WILL COME INTO CONSIDERATION ON THIS.
AND THE PROPERTY IN QUESTION IS ON THE DOWNHILL, UH, SIDE OF THE SLOPE.
SO, UH, THE HOUSE AND THE PROPERTY, UM, PITCHED DOWN FROM THE STREET, YOU CAN SEE FROM THIS AERIAL, IT'S A MIXTURE OF FAIRLY DENSELY PACKED, UM, UH, FAIRLY TYPICAL NEIGHBORHOOD FOR HASTINGS.
UH, VARIED HOME SIZES, VARIED PROPERTY SIZES, AND 33 JEFFERSON IN A SORT OF BASIC OUTLINE IN RED IS A FAIRLY LARGE PROPERTY FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO THE EXISTING SITE PLAN, UH, REFLECTS, UH, THE, UH, HOUSE THAT WAS, IS LOCATED.
UH, I'LL TRY AND USE MY CURSOR HERE ON THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE PROPERTY.
THERE'S A, A SINGLE CAR FREESTANDING GARAGE, UH, VERY CLOSE TO THE SOUTH PROPERTY LINE.
UH, THE HOUSE WAS BUILT IN IN, UH, 1918, AND WHAT WE SEE HERE IS, UM, KIND OF A MORE LEVELED AREA IN THE FRONT YARD BETWEEN THE STREET AND THE FRONT DOOR OF THE HOUSE, MOST LIKELY BACKFILL FROM WHEN THE HOUSE WAS BUILT AND LEVELED OFF.
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SORT OF STREET SIDE OF THE PROPERTY, WE SEE SOME KIND OF WHITISH AREAS AND THESE KIND OF SQUIGGLY LINES, THOSE ARE STONE GARDEN WALLS, UM, THAT WERE BUILT AT SOME POINT IN THE PAST.
OOPS, SORRY, KIND OF WENT BACKWARDS HERE, UM, TO LEVEL OFF SOME OF THE YARD.
AND THEN THE REMAINING AREA OF THE PROPERTY, WHICH IS TO THE NORTH AND ALSO DOWN TO THE WEST, UM, IS THE KIND OF UNDEVELOPED, SLOPING, UH, AREAS OF THE HILLSIDE.
WHEN WE LOOK AT A PROPERTY SURVEY, UH, AGAIN, WE CAN BEGIN TO SEE SOME OF THE INCREMENTS OF, UM, THE INITIAL PARCELING OF THE HILLSIDE, WHICH DATES, UH, PROBABLY PREDATES ALL THE KIND OF JOINT PARCELS.
THIS PARTICULAR PARCEL IS MADE UP OF 7 25 FOOT WIDE PARCELS.
THEY'RE ALL JOINED, THEY'RE NOT SEPARATED.
UM, BUT IT DOES SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO WHY WE'VE, UM, PROPOSED THE, THE TWO, THE TWO PROPOSED PROPERTIES, HAVING BOTH A 100 FOOT, UH, WIDE STREET FRONT, AND THEN A 75, UH, FOOT WIDE STREET FRONT.
AND I'LL, I'LL GET INTO WHY, UM, WE FEEL LIKE THAT MIGHT BE CONTEXTUAL AND ALSO APPROPRIATE.
SO FOR, UH, SUBDIVISION APPLICATIONS, WE ARE ASKED BY THE VILLAGE TO PROVIDE A SPECULATIVE, UM, BUILDING PROPOSAL THAT SHOWS VIABILITY FOR THE SUBDIVISION SUBDIVIDED, UH, PROPOSED SUBDIVIDED PROPERTY.
AND SO WHAT WE'VE DONE HERE IS GONE THROUGH AN EXERCISE OF SPECULATIVE DESIGN, UH, ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE PROPERTY, WHICH CAN DEMONSTRATE WE HOPE THAT THE PROPERTY CAN HANDLE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE, WHICH IS APPROPRIATE FOR THE VILLAGE ZONING FOR OUR 10 ZONES, UH, AND THAT IT FITS WITHIN THE SETBACKS FOR, UH, OF THE VILLAGE CODE, AS WELL AS THE HEIGHT LIMITATIONS, UH, DESCRIBED IN THE VILLAGE CODE.
WE'VE ALSO PUT A PROPOSAL TOGETHER THAT WE FEEL MEETS THE DEVELOPMENT COVERAGE, UH, MAXIMUMS OR MINIMUMS. AND ALSO WE HAVE, UH, BEGUN TO ADDRESS STORM WATER AND, AND SOILS, UH, INVESTIGATIONS, UH, WITH A STORM WATER DESIGN, UH, SYSTEM FORTHCOMING.
UM, THE PROPERTY IS PITCHED AND SO IT IS, IT IS, UH, PART OF THE STEEP SLOPES ORDINANCE.
UH, WE HAVE THREE BASIC GRADIENTS, UH, OUTLINED IN THE, IN THE CODE.
ONE IS THIS LIGHTEST GRAY, WHICH IS FROM ZERO TO 15% GRADE, UH, A SMALL AREA IN THIS PORTION OF THE PROPOSED LOT, WHICH WOULD BE THE MIDDLE GRADE OF 15 TO 25% GRADE.
AND THE REMAINING PORTION, THIS DARKER GRAY, UM, FALLS INTO THE CRITERIA OF 2020 5%, UH, GRADE AND GREATER.
SO MOST OF THE, MOST OF THE SITE IS IN THAT GRADING.
UH, AND WE CAN GO THROUGH A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, OUR CALCULATIONS ON THE STEEP SLOPES.
AND PATRICK, I'VE GOTTEN, I'VE RECEIVED YOUR COMMENTS AND WE CAN CERTAINLY GO THROUGH THOSE IN THE COURSE OF PREPARING THE APPLICATION.
WE'VE HAD SOME SOILS TESTS, UM, PER PER TEST DONE ON THE PROPERTY.
UH, THE TWO RED DOTS, UH, IN THE BACK OF THE PROPERTY ARE TEST PITS THAT WERE DUG BY MACHINE ABOUT SIX AND A HALF FEET DEEP, UH, BASED ON THE CRITERIA OUTLINED IN IN THE VILLAGE CODE.
UH, AND THEY WERE POSITIONED THERE, UH, MOSTLY BECAUSE IT'S ON THE DOWNHILL SIDE OF THE PROPERTY, BUT ALSO THE GREEN DOTS REFLECT SOME EXISTING TREES ON THE PROPERTY THAT REQUIRE SOME DISTANCE FROM THE PITS.
UM, THE FINDINGS WE RECEIVED WERE,
[02:35:01]
UM, I KIND OF EXCEEDED OUR EXPECTATIONS IS, IS ONE WAY TO PUT IT, IT DOES NOT REFLECT A DESIGN FOR STORMWATER YET, OR SIZE OF CISTERNS, BUT, UM, THE PERK RATE WAS QUITE FAVORABLE FOR STORMWATER.UM, BUT, UM, I THINK WE'RE REQUIRED TO PUT TOGETHER A STORMWATER DESIGN FOR THIS, WHICH WILL, WHICH WILL COME A LITTLE BIT OF THE CONTEXT.
UH, THIS IS JEFFERSON AVE LOOKING TO THE, TO THE LEFT LOOKING SOUTH.
UM, YOU CAN SEE HERE THE HOUSE ON THE LEFT IS 33 JEFFERSON, AND ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE PROP, UH, EAST SIDE OF THE STREET, WHICH IS THE UPHILL SIDE, MOST OF THE HOUSES ARE RAISED UP A LITTLE BIT ABOVE THE STREET.
AND ON THE WEST SIDE, UH, MOST OF THE HOUSES ARE EITHER AT STREET LEVEL OR SLIGHTLY BELOW STREET LEVEL.
IF WE LOOK MORE SPECIFICALLY AT 33 JEFFERSON, I'M JUST GONNA KIND OF BRING YOU THROUGH GOOGLE STREET FROM SOUTH TO NORTH.
SO THE SOUTH END OF THE PROPERTY, SHOWING THE HOUSE THAT'S EXISTING FROM, FROM 1918, SORT OF TOWARDS THE MIDDLE OF THE PROPERTY AND THE NORTHERN END OF THE PROPERTY.
IF WE MOVE ONTO THE PROPERTY, WE CAN SEE HERE ON FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, THE MORE LEVELED AREA OF THE PROPERTY, WHICH IS, UH, KIND OF LEVELED THROUGH THOSE LITTLE GARDEN WALLS.
UH, THE MIDDLE IMAGE IS LOOKING BACK FROM THAT AREA BACK TOWARDS THE STREET.
AND THE, THIS IS REALLY JUST TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THE STREET IS A COUPLE FEET ABOVE, UM, THE PROPERTY ONCE YOU STEP THROUGH IT.
AND SO THERE'S A LITTLE RETAINING WALL THERE HOLDING UP THE STREET.
AND THEN ON THE RIGHT SIDE, AS WE STEP DOWN FURTHER INTO THE PROPERTY, ON THE TOP IMAGE THERE, LOOKING NORTH, YOU CAN SEE A FAIRLY STEEP HILLSIDE, WHICH STARTS TO LEVEL OUT A LITTLE BIT, UH, LESS STEEP AS WE MOVE TOWARDS THE MIDDLE OF THE PROPERTY.
UH, SO THIS, THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER IS LOOKING SOUTH.
SO JUST A VERY QUICK, UM, OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENT AND BUILDING IN, IN THE VILLAGE.
I'VE USED THESE THIS SLIDE BEFORE, SO FORGIVE ME.
I'VE USED IT IN FRONT OF YOU GUYS, I'M JUST GOING TO GO QUICKLY THROUGH IT.
BUT, UH, 19TH CENTURY HASTINGS, WE SEE IT'S VERY, UM, BUCOLIC, VERY UNDEVELOPED, UH, AND VERY RURAL.
UH, SO HOW, HOW DOES THAT RELATE TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD HERE IN QUESTION? UH, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND WE THINK ABOUT WHAT'S LEFT, UM, FROM, FROM THE HOUSES THAT WERE BUILT IN, THE EARLIER WE SEE TWO HOUSES, UH, IN THE FIRST DECADE OF THE 20TH CENTURY, THEY'RE STILL THERE.
UH, AND AS WE MOVE DECADE BY DECADE, WE SEE THAT 1910 TO 19 19 14 HOUSES WERE BUILT THAT STILL EXIST IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, 1920 TO 1929, ANOTHER 13 HOUSES THAT STILL EXIST.
WERE BUILT IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO WE CAN SEE A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN ONE PER YEAR ON AVERAGE.
AS WE MOVE INTO THE 1930S, WE SLOW DOWN A LITTLE BIT.
THREE HOUSES THAT STILL REMAIN.
WERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, 1940S, ONE HOUSE, AND THEN A BIG JUMP.
1950 TO 1959, WE START TO SEE 22 HOMES THAT STILL EXIST IN THE PROPERTY WERE BUILT IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
1960 TO 1969, THERE WAS ANOTHER EIGHT BUILT.
AND NOW WE CAN REALLY START TO SEE A REFLECTION IN THIS, UH, MAP OF KIND OF WHAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD LOOKS LIKE TODAY.
AND REALLY FROM 1970 TO THE PRESENT, ONE HOUSE 1982 WAS BUILT, UH, IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND I THINK WHAT WHAT I'M TRYING TO CONVEY IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE THESE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT FEEL VERY BUILT UP AND FINISHED, UH, SO TO SPEAK.
AND WE CAN, WE SEE THAT REFLECTED IN THE WAY THAT THE, THE NEIGHBORHOODS EVOLVED.
UM, BUT THERE ARE STILL PARCELS THAT ARE DEVELOPABLE IN THESE NEIGHBORHOODS, AND THESE NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE DEVELOPED INCREMENTALLY OVER TIME, OVER THE LAST 120 YEARS.
WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR IS NO DIFFERENT.
WE ARE ASKING FOR VARIANCE ON STREET WIDTH.
SO IN THE R 10 ZONE, WE NEED 10,000 SQUARE FEET OF AREA MINIMUM.
WE'VE ACHIEVED THAT IN THE APPLICATION.
UH, BUT WE ALSO NEED, UM, A 100 FOOT LOT WIDTH IS HOW IT'S DEFINED.
AND IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, ONE OF THE PROPERTIES, WHICH, WHICH HAS THE EXISTING HOUSE ON IT, WILL, WILL MEET THOSE CRITERIA.
SO THAT WON'T CREATE A NON-CONFORMING CONDITION.
BUT WE ARE ASKING FOR A 75 FOOT STREET FRONTAGE FOR THE PROPOSED LOT.
SO WE BEGAN TO THINK ABOUT LIKE, ARE WE ASKING FOR SOMETHING UNREASONABLE OR IS THIS SOMETHING THAT MIGHT FEEL MORE CONTEXTUAL? WE LOOKED AT 71 PROPERTIES IN THE, IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, WE SEE THAT 38 OF THOSE 71 HAVE CONFORMING LOT WIDTHS, MEANING THEY'RE 75 FEET, OR SORRY, 100 FEET OR WIDER.
UH, THAT'S, THAT'S JUST OVER HALF.
AND THERE ARE 33 THAT ARE NON-CONFORMING.
SO LESS THAN 100 FEET IN WIDTH WHEN YOU KIND OF PUT THEM TOGETHER.
THERE'S NO PATTERN TO THIS, THERE'S NO CLUSTERING.
IT'S ALL JUST A KIND OF, UM, ACCRETION OF DIFFERENT LOT SIZES AND ZONING CODE REGULATIONS
[02:40:01]
THAT HAVE HAPPENED OVER THE LAST 120 YEARS WHEN WE ACTUALLY LOOK SPECIFICALLY AT 75 FOOT WIDE LOTS WITH IF, IF THE, UH, SUBDIVISIONS APPROVED, IT WOULD BE SEVEN OUT OF THOSE 71 THAT, THAT MEET THAT EXACT CRITERIA.AND LASTLY, UH, WE'RE NOT ASKING, UH, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR A LOT WITH BEAR, A LOT AREA VARIANCE.
BUT WE WERE ALSO CURIOUS, UM, TO THINK ABOUT HOW MANY OF THE LOTS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, UM, ARE IN AND AROUND 10,000 SQUARE FEET.
THIS ONE, THE ONE THAT'S PROPOSED, IT WOULD BE JUST OVER 10,000 AND THE EXISTING HOUSE WOULD HAVE A PROPERTY OF ABOUT 14,000.
UM, BUT IF WE LOOK AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD AGAIN, 39 OF THOSE LOTS, UH, DO HAVE, THEY EXCEED 10,000 SQUARE FEET, 32 OF THEM DO NOT.
AND AGAIN, KIND OF A, A COLLECTION OF DIFFERENT SCALE PROPERTIES.
SO WE FEEL VERY, VERY MUCH IN KEEPING WITH THE SCALE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE CONTEXT.
UM, WHY DON'T WE START WITH PATRICK, WOULD YOU LIKE TO OUTLINE YOUR, WHAT YOU RAISED IN YOUR MEMO? SURE.
SO, UM, A LOT WITH ISSUES, A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE, UM, IN CREATING THE SUBDIVISION, THE EXISTING HOME.
THE, AS BUDDY MENTIONED EARLIER, THE FAR ISSUE, THE MATERIAL MIKE THAT YOU PROVIDED WASN'T, DIDN'T GIVE US ENOUGH INFORMATION ON EXISTING SQUARE FOOTAGES.
OKAY? SO THE EXISTING BUILDING MAY BE A FOUR STORY BUILDING, COULDN'T REALLY GET THE SQUARE FOOTAGES OF THAT BUILDING.
SO IN REDUCING THE SIZE OF THAT PROPERTY, THE FAR APPEARS TO BE EXCEEDED, BUT WE NEED THE VERIFICATION OF THOSE SQUARE FOOTAGES.
SAME THING IN EXTRAPOLATING FROM THE THEORETICAL BUILDING ON THE, ON THE NEW LOT MAY ALSO HAVE AN FAR ISSUE.
THAT WOULD BE AN ISSUE WHEN YOU FILE YOUR BUILDING PERMIT IN THE FUTURE LOT WITH HOWEVER, IS AN ISSUE FOR YOU NOW AS WOULD BE THE FAR FOR THE EXISTING LOT.
THOSE WOULD BE ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SUBDIVISION.
UM, WITH RESPECT TO THE NEW BUILDING, UM, THE DRIVEWAY AS DESIGNED, MIKE DOESN'T MEET A COUPLE OF REQUIREMENTS, SO I THINK YOU PROBABLY COULD FIX THAT.
THAT'S FOR WHEN THEY FILE A BUILDING PERMIT FOR THAT LOSS SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE.
THE PRIMARY ISSUE WITH THE SITE IS, IS IS THE APPLICANT INDICATED IT'S A, IT'S A CHALLENGED PROPERTY.
IT'S ABOUT 60 FEET OF ELEVATION CHANGE FROM JEFFERSON DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PROPERTY.
UM, AND THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF POTENTIAL, UM, IMPACT TO THAT PROPERTY.
I THINK YOU UNDERESTIMATED THAT IN THE MATERIAL THAT WAS SUBMITTED.
SO WE NEED TO DIG DOWN ON THAT.
I THINK YOU'VE INDICATED 600 SOME ODD SQUARE FEET OF SLOPE DISTURBANCE.
IT'S 80% OF THAT LOT WOULD PROBABLY IMPACT STEEP SLOPE.
SO I THINK WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT, EVEN THOUGH THAT BUILDING MIGHT BE ON PIERS OR IT MIGHT BE A RAISED, THERE'S STILL EXCAVATION, THERE'S STILL BASEMENTS, THERE'S STILL THINGS THAT WOULD BE NECESSARY.
SO OKAY, WE WOULD NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THAT'S RELEVANT IN PERSPECTIVE TO THE SUBDIVISION.
IF WE'RE CREATING A LOT THAT'S PROBLEMATIC IN THE WAY YOU WOULD ULTIMATELY DEVELOP IT, WE WOULD NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THAT AT THE MOMENT.
UM, YOU ALSO SPEAK ABOUT, UM, AMOUNT OF CUT AND FILL, WHICH WAS THAT IMAGE YOU JUST HAD.
UM, I THINK YOU SAID THERE'S ABOUT 170 SQUARE FEET OR CUBIC YARDS HAVE FILLED THE EXPORTED.
THE MAP JUST DOESN'T EQUATE THAT HOLE IN THE GROUND AND WHETHER OR NOT YOU WERE EXPORTING IT ON SITE AND SPREADING IT AROUND, THAT'S AN IMPACT TO STEEP SLOPE.
SO WE HAVE TO GET A BETTER HANDLE ON THAT.
DOUG HAS PROVIDED SOME COMMENTARY WITH RESPECT TO THAT.
SO THE STEEP SLOPE IMPACTS ARE OF CONSEQUENCE IN THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE.
IT'S NOT A SIMPLE ENGINEERING ISSUE THAT CAN BE ADDRESSED DOWN THE FUTURE.
IT'S A, IT'S A FUNDAMENTAL ISSUE WITH RESPECT TO THE CREATION OF THE SUBDIVISION.
SO, UM, I THINK WE NEED TO GET OUR ARMS AROUND SOME OF THESE ISSUES, SOME MORE, UM, SPEC SPECIFICITY REGARDING SQUARE FOOTAGE OF THE EXISTING BUILDING AND SO FORTH.
AND I, I SHOULD NOTE, UM, SO PATRICK WAS, UH, REFERRING TO OUR VILLAGE ENGINEER DOUG HAHN, AND HE DID ALREADY PROVIDE A MEMO WITH A NUMBER OF ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED.
UM, OKAY, SO WITH THAT, UM, I'M GONNA OPEN IT UP TO YOUR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS.
A PROCEDURAL QUESTION QUICKLY, JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS NOT HAPPENING TONIGHT, BUT SHOULD WE APPROVE THE SUBDIVISION? UM, THERE THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION OF THE CHALLENGES AND POTENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, ENGINEERING ISSUES AND, UM, ASSOCIATED WITH BUILDING A HOUSE ON THE SITE.
WOULD, UH, LIKE IF, IF THERE'S A FUTURE PROJECT TO, TO BUILD A HOUSE ON THE SITE, WOULD THAT THEN ALSO REQUIRE STEEP SLOPES APPROVAL? IT WOULD, AND THE POINT OF THAT IS YOU SHOULDN'T LEAVE THAT TO BE BUDDY'S PROBLEM AT THE FILING THE BUILDING PERMIT.
IF YOU'RE CREATING A PROBLEM BY
[02:45:01]
CREATING THE LOT, WE SHOULD DEAL WITH THAT NOW.SO YEAH, AND THAT'S WHY WE MAKE THEM SHOW A HOUSE AND HOW IT WOULD WORK AND HOW IT CAN WORK.
AND JUST TO THAT POINT, IT COULD BE THAT YOUR APPROVAL OF THIS REQUIRES A CERTAIN TYPE OF HOUSE TO BE BUILT ON THAT PROPERTY.
SO, UM, IT'S NOT JUST CREATE A LOT AND BUILD WHATEVER YOU WANNA BUILD IN THE FUTURE.
YOU MAY TELL 'EM YOU CAN'T DO CERTAIN THINGS, THE DRIVEWAY MUST BE IN A PARTICULAR LOCATION.
YOU CAN'T HAVE A BASEMENT, FOR EXAMPLE.
THOSE ARE THINGS THAT YOU COULD CONDITION YOUR APPROVAL ON.
UM, OTHER, I AGREE WITH THE VILLAGE CONSULTANT THAT I THINK THE STEEP SLOPES ARE, IS THE, A KEY ISSUE, MAYBE THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE.
I WAS JUST CURIOUS, UM, MR. JACOBS, IF, YOU KNOW, I I I NOTICED THAT THE CURRENT HOME IS SORT OF FLUSH IN A CORNER OF THE EXISTING PARCEL AND, AND IT WAS BUILT OVER A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, BUT I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF YOU KNOW WHY IT WAS CITED THERE IN THAT ONE CORNER OF THE PARCEL INITIALLY? I DON'T HAVE THE HISTORY ON IT, BUT UH, YOU HAVE TO COME UP AND STATE YOUR NAME IF YOU, IF YOU HAVE A COMMENT.
I, THIS, HI, I AM MARCY PANAY.
UM, FROM WHAT I HAVE HEARD, UM, I THINK OUR LOT WAS OWNED BY JULIUS CHUKA AND UM, HE OWNED, I THINK THE WHOLE, THERE WAS LIKE, I DON'T KNOW, SIX OR SEVEN PROPERTIES.
SO I THINK HE WAS BUILDING 'EM OUT THAT WAY.
UM, I'M NOT, OR HIS FAMILY OR, UM, HAVE HIS PARENTS, HIS MOTHER RELATIVE YEAH.
RELATIVE MAYBE HIS PARENTS OR SOMETHING.
I COULDN'T REALLY FIND, I COULD FIND IT
ANYWAY, I THINK IT WAS BUILT HOMEWORK.
I GUESS I KNOW THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO FIND THAT ANSWER.
I THINK BECAUSE HE OWNED MULTIPLE GOT, HE OWNED A BIG PIECE OF PARCEL AND HE WAS SUBDIVIDING IT AS HE WENT.
IT, IT, IT'S A VERY COMMON CONDITION WHEN FOLKS OWNED BIGGER PARCELS BACK IN THE DAY AND BUILT THEIR ESTATE, THEY PUT THE HOUSE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.
WHEN YOU START CHOPPING IT UP, IT DOESN'T ALIGN PROPERLY.
ANY OTHER? YEAH, I MEAN THE, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE WERE IN IOWA I WOULD HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THIS.
UM, IT WOULD BE IF WE WERE IN YEAH.
UM, UH, I, SO I MEAN THE, THE, IN TERMS OF THE LOT SIZES AND THE 75 FOOT FURNITURE, I DON'T SEE THAT AS A FUNDAMENTAL ISSUE THAT LOOKING AT THE PROPERTIES IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, THEY WOULD BOTH NEW LOTS WOULD, WOULD FIT WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER.
YOU GOT, YOU GOT A REAL PROBLEM WITH THAT, THAT GRADE THERE IN THE MIDDLE.
UM, THAT I, WE, WE OBVIOUSLY WOULD NEED TO RESOLVE, UM, ANY SENSE FOR HOW DEEP BEDROCK IS.
THEY DIDN'T HIT IT AT SEVEN FEET.
IF I WAS A DOWN SLOPE NEIGHBOR, I WOULD BE WORRIED ABOUT RUNOFF DURING CONSTRUCTION AND HOW IT WOULD AFFECT MY YARD.
SO I MEAN, LIKE I SAID, I I THIS, IF IT WERE FLAT, I WOULD'VE NO PROBLEM AT ALL.
BUT OBVIOUSLY WE NEED, THERE'S A LOT OF QUESTIONS THAT NEED ANSWERED.
YEAH, I THINK WE RECOGNIZE THAT.
AND JUST A CLUE, PATRICK, WHEN YOU SEE THE, JUST LOOKING AT THE TOPOGRAPHY YEAH.
THAT ABRUPT STOP WHERE THEY FOUND DEEP SOIL.
THAT'S SOMETHING'S CHANGING RIGHT THERE.
THE APPROPRIATE WAS 103 INCHES PER MINUTE.
WHICH IS, THAT'S DOWN THE BOX, WHICH IS PRETTY, BUT WHAT'S GOING ON UP TOP, SO, WHICH IS LIKE SURPRISINGLY PERKING.
SO THERE'S DEFINITELY A SUBSURFACE FISSURE SOMEWHERE.
I'M GUESSING THAT'S THE CONTACT BETWEEN THE 2D AND ROCK TYPES.
THAT'S WHY, THAT'S WHY I WAS ASKING.
I WANNA ECHO MY ALIGNMENT, MY AGREEMENT REGARDING THE LOT WIDTH.
I MEAN, I DON'T, I PERSONALLY DON'T FEEL LIKE WE SHOULD BE SHACKLED BY MID-CENTURY ZONING HERE, YOU KNOW, AND UM, I THINK, UH, BUT I MEAN IT, IT, YOU KNOW, MY SENSE IS JUST LOOKING AT THE TOP OF THE TOP OF HERE, THIS IS A TOUGH SITE AND THERE'S SOME REALLY BEAUTIFUL HOUSES, UM, HERE IN HASTINGS AND IN OTHER PLACES THAT ARE BUILT ON REALLY STEEP SITES.
BUT IT WOULD NEED TO BE A SPECIAL HOUSE PROBABLY WITH A SPECIAL ARCHITECT AND A SPECIAL STRUCTURAL ENGINEER.
SO I DON'T KNOW HOW WE ADDRESS THAT THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
SO MIKE'S PRETTY SPECIAL
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? NO, I'M GONNA HOLD MY COMMENTS UNTIL WE GET THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
I MEAN, I, I AGREE WITH MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS.
I THINK, I THINK, UM, SOMETHING
[02:50:01]
CAN BE BUILT HERE, BUT IT'S GONNA REQUIRE DEEP ANALYSIS AND CAREFUL THOUGHT.AND SO THIS IS PROBABLY THE WRONG BOARD TO ASK THE QUESTION, BUT, UM, IT'S MORE OF A ZONING QUESTION.
BUT WITH A 30 FOOT SETBACK FROM THE STREET PLUS ANOTHER EIGHT TO 10 FEET FROM THE CURB TO THE PROPERTY LINE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CLOSE TO 40 PLUS FEET FOR THE FRONT YARD SETBACK ON A SLOPE THAT COMES PRETTY, PRETTY QUICKLY OFF THE STREET.
AND SO WE CAN THINK ABOUT EXAMPLES OF RECENT HOUSES THAT WERE BUILT UP IN RIVERVIEW MANOR, WHERE TO GET TO THE HOUSE REQUIRES AN APPROACH LIKE THIS.
UH, WE WORK IN MANY HILLSIDE, UH, COMMUNITIES AND OFTENTIMES THE ZONING CODES WILL ACKNOWLEDGE PARTICULARLY DOWN SLOPE PROPERTIES WHERE YOU TAKE PREVAILING SETBACKS FROM CORNER TO CORNER AND YOU BEGIN TO GET AVERAGES.
AND SO THERE IS A PROVISION OF, YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT AVERAGE ALIGNMENT.
I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT IS, SO MAYBE, MAYBE I NEED TO LOOK HARDER TOMORROW SHOT.
BUT I THINK THOSE TYPES OF THINGS, OF COURSE WOULD HELP TREMENDOUSLY ON THE DEVELOPMENT, NOT JUST VISUALLY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT I THINK OF ALSO LIKE THE DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL AND THE AESTHETIC APPEAL OF NOT KIND OF BRIDGING 40 FEET TO A HOME FROM THE STREET, YOU KNOW? OKAY.
UM, WELL IT IS A PUBLIC HEARING, SO WE'RE GONNA, UM, ALLOW FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE WE HAVE AS MUCH OF A PACKED ROOM AS LAST TIME, BUT I AM STILL GONNA ASK FOR THE SAME PROCESS TO BE FAIR.
SO IF ANYBODY WANTS TO SPEAK, CAN THEY, UM, GIVE THEIR NAME AND ADDRESS? UM, WELL WRITE THEM DOWN ON THE PERSON AND THEN, UH, SPEAK LOUDLY.
AND I KNOW THIS IS THE, THE FIRST MEETING THAT WE'RE HEARING ABOUT THIS PROJECT, SO I'M NOT GONNA REPEAT MY REFERRING TO OTHER PEOPLE'S COMMENTS.
THEY'RE ALL FRESH FOR THIS ONE.
SO, GOOD EVENING CHAIRWOMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE PLANNING BOARD.
I'M KRISTEN WILSON FROM MARKS D PALMERO AND WILSON.
UM, I AM HERE REPRESENTING A HANDFUL OF PROPERTY OWNERS, UH, IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT PROPERTY OWNERS ACROSS THE STREET AND NEXT DOOR.
AND WE ARE JUST BEGINNING TO DIG INTO THE APPLICATION MATERIALS, AS IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE AS WELL.
BUT I WOULD SUBMIT THAT THIS IS A UNICORN OF A SITE.
IT WOULD, I WOULD ACTUALLY RESPECTFULLY CHALLENGE THE, THE STATEMENTS THAT THE LOT WITH YOU DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH A LOT WITH, THIS IS NOT 10,000 SQUARE FEET OF LAND IN IOWA.
IT IS 10,000 SQUARE FEET OF STEEPLY SLOPED PROPERTIES.
SO ONE ANALYSIS I THINK WOULD BE HELPFUL IS THAT, UM, THE ARCHITECT MENTIONED HOW MANY LOTS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD WERE 10,000 SQUARE FEET, WERE A LITTLE BIT LARGER.
BUT REALLY THE QUESTION SHOULD BE HOW MANY ARE 10,000 SQUARE FEET THAT HAVE THIS TYPE OF TOPOGRAPHY? THAT'S THIS STEEPLY SLOPED.
AND THAT'S THE REAL APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON.
UM, ONE LOT HAS BEEN CREATED, ONE HOME, I BELIEVE HAS BEEN BUILT PER THE, UM, THE DIAGRAMS THE ARCHITECT SUBMITTED IN THE LAST 55 YEARS.
AND THERE MIGHT BE A REASON WHY THIS ONE LOT HAS REMAINED UNDEVELOPED.
UM, I, I DO HAVE A COMMENT LETTER.
I WILL EMAIL IT TO YOU ALL, UH, TOMORROW.
I DO HAVE HARD COPIES IF YOU WOULD LIKE IT TONIGHT.
BUT INITIALLY, UM, CERTAINLY THE STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PLAN, THE NUMBER OF CALL TECHS WHERE THEY COULD BE PLACED, AND THE AMOUNT OF, UM, DRILLING, BLASTING, MECHANICAL ROCK REMOVAL THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO EVEN MAKE THIS A POTENTIALLY BUILDABLE SITE.
I THINK THOSE TYPES OF, THAT TYPE OF INFORMATION TO MR. CLEARY'S POINT AND TO MS UH, WHITEHEAD'S POINT, THAT TYPE OF INFORMATION MAY BE TYPICALLY DONE AT THE BUILDING LATER ON IN THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.
BUT GIVEN HERE, GIVEN THE SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES, THAT INFORMATION SHOULD BE DETERMINED NOW TO SEE IF BEFORE YOU START DESECRATING A BEAUTIFUL LOT THAT'S FULLY GROWN RIGHT NOW.
CAN YOU EVEN GET A HOUSE THERE? SOMETHING BIGGER THAN A TEEPEE AT THE END OF THE DAY.
SO I CERTAINLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO ALL THAT DUE DILIGENCE NOW.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO REVIEWING IT.
I KNOW THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING, BUT WE WANNA PUT SOME OF THESE INITIAL THOUGHTS ON THE RECORD.
I WANT TO ASSURE YOU THAT THIS WILL GO THROUGH A THOROUGH REVIEW.
SO WE WILL BE LOOKING AT ALL, ALL THE TECHNICAL MATTERS AND WE WON'T BE APPROVING A LOT THAT IS NOT BILLABLE TO OUR SATISFACTION.
I RESIDE AT 41 JEFFERSON AVE, WHICH IS IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT
[02:55:01]
TO THIS PROPERTY.UM, IN FACT, IF YOU LOOK AT THIS MAP, PLOT MAP THAT'S UP HERE, UH, YOU SEE THE
IF YOU GO TO THE EXACT, YOU KNOW, UM, NORTH WE ARE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT PROPERTY LINE.
SO THE PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION IS VERY CLOSE TO THE PROPERTY LINE OF OUR HOUSE.
UM, THE, OUR ONLY OUTDOOR SPACE AS A MATTER OF FACT IS ON THAT SIDE OF THE HOUSE.
SO, UH, IT WOULD DEFINITELY IMPACT US STRONGLY.
BUT I THINK THE CONCERNS WE HAVE GO BACK TO THE FACT THAT THIS IS A VERY COMPLEX LOT.
AND AS SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE POINTED OUT, THE SLOPES ARE INCREDIBLY STEEP.
SO STORM WATER IS A PROBLEM RIGHT NOW, TODAY FOR OUR HOUSE WHEN WE HAVE THESE NOW INTENSES AND IT'S GETTING, IT'S GETTING WORSE NOW.
'CAUSE WE HAVE THESE INTENSE RAINSTORMS AND IT OVERFLOWS FROM THE STREET, IT FLOWS STRAIGHT DOWN, ANY KIND OF PAVED, UM, SURFACE, IT POURS DOWN THE STAIRWAY THAT IS TO THE LEFT OF OUR HOUSE.
IF YOU LOOK OUT TOWARD THE STREET WHERE THE ANA GATES ARE ON THE RIGHT, IT POURS DOWN OUR DRIVEWAY.
IT'S PRACTICALLY LIKE A RIVER.
AND SO PAVING MORE OF THAT, THAT SLOPE IS GOING TO EXACERBATE THAT PROBLEM FOR EVERYONE AROUND, PARTICULARLY THE PEOPLE WHO ARE DOWNSTREAM OF IT.
I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THE STABILITY OF THE SLOPE.
I MEAN, WE, WHEN WE DID, UM, SOME RENOVATION A COUPLE YEARS AGO, WE WERE REQUIRED AND WE DID PUT IN STEEL BEAMS THAT WENT STRAIGHT DOWN TO THE ROCK, AND THEY WENT DOWN A LONG WAY TO REACH ROCK.
WE THEN COVERED THE SPACE UNDERNEATH OUR DECK WITH LARGE ROCKS TO PREVENT MORE SOIL BEING CARRIED OFF BY THE STORM WATER.
SO THAT'S AN ONGOING ISSUE THAT'S ONLY GONNA GET WORSE.
AND THEN OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALL THE QUESTION OF WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE SEVERAL YEARS THAT WILL BE REQUIRED TO CONSTRUCT SOMETHING ON THIS LOT, SOMETHING THAT'S COMPLEX.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE, THERE ARE HUGE ISSUES TO BE CONSIDERED HERE.
AND WHAT WE DON'T WANNA HAPPEN IS THAT THE PROPERTY IS SUBDIVIDED AND THEN IT, IT'S LEFT UP TO, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY HAS INVESTED SIX OR $700,000 TO BUY THE LOT, A DEVELOPER 2, 3, 4 YEARS FROM NOW.
THEY SAY, OKAY, TIME START BUILDING.
AND UH, ALL OF A SUDDEN IT BECOMES SOMEONE ELSE'S PROBLEM, RIGHT? SO THEY, THERE'S A VESTED INTEREST WHO'S PAID A BUNCH OF MONEY, WHO'S NOW GOING TO DO SOMETHING NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS TO THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORS.
AND I THINK, SO THAT'S WHY WE NEED TO CONSIDER ALL THESE THINGS UPFRONT TODAY.
UH, I'M AT, UH, 44 HAMILTON, UM, DIRECTLY WEST OF THE PROPOSED PROPERTY.
UH, ALL THE CONCERNS HAVE BEEN VOICED, I THINK, UH, SPECIFICALLY BY, UH, MR. DIGGINS.
UH, AND, YOU KNOW, I I I THINK IT'S JUST DUE DILIGENCE.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THIS IS SAFE AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT ANY PROCESS THAT DOES HAPPEN, WE UNDERSTAND WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO THE SURROUNDING PROPERTIES, PARTICULARLY DOWNSTREAM.
I KNOW THERE'S A, A NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON, UH, HAMILTON ON THE, UH, ON THE WEST SIDE OF HAMILTON THAT COULDN'T MAKE IT HERE, BUT THEY, YOU KNOW, SAME CONCERNS FOR THE SAME REASONS.
IT'S JUST EVERYTHING FLOWS DOWNHILL
UH, YOU KNOW, YOU GET THE LETTER IN THE MAILING AND YOU DON'T KNOW, UH, HAVING NOT GONE THROUGH THIS, WHAT THE PROCESS IS.
SO WEREN'T SURE IF THIS WAS JUST GONNA GET A STAMP TONIGHT AND
IT'S GONNA BE, UM, YOU KNOW, FINE TOOTH COMB AND, UH, I JUST WANT TO GET EVERYTHING ON THE RECORD, SO THANK YOU.
UM, I'VE LIVED IN HASTINGS FOR A LONG TIME.
I'VE LIVED IN HASTINGS FOR A LONG TIME, AND I JUST WANNA RAISE A COUPLE OF POINTS.
ONE OF THEM IS THAT A LOT OF NEIGHBORS COULDN'T BE HERE.
AND SO THERE WERE PEOPLE IN HAMILTON WHO I KNOW BECAUSE I'D LIVED AT HAMILTON FOR A LITTLE WHILE, THEY'VE BEEN HERE A LONG TIME, AND THEY HAVE ENORMOUS CONCERNS ABOUT, UM, WATER ISSUES AND DESTABILIZATION.
AND I KNOW THAT THERE WAS A LOT UP ON JEFFERSON WHERE THERE WAS AN ATTEMPT OR THERE WAS A DESIRE TO SUBDIVIDE THAT AND BUILD ON IT THAT WAS REJECTED BECAUSE OF INSTABILITY ISSUES ON THE, ON THE CLIFF.
UM, I, I WANNA SAY THAT I WISH THIS WAS IN IOWA TOO, BUT WHAT IT WILL BE, AND MY REAL CONCERN, MY MAJOR CONCERN IS THAT I'M LITERALLY CATTYCORNER TO THIS, TO THIS, UM, TO THIS LOT.
IT IS REALLY ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SITES IN HASTINGS.
I MEAN, IT'S UNIQUE, PRETTY MUCH IN HASTINGS, THEY'RE LIKE VISTA VIEWS.
AND SO I CAN UNDERSTAND ON A CERTAIN LEVEL, WANTING TO BUILD ON THAT SPACE.
I ALSO BELIEVE, UM, AND FEAR THAT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IS THAT
[03:00:01]
THIS IS A PROJECT THAT'S GONNA TAKE YEARS.APPARENTLY MARCY AND ED HAVE SPOKEN ABOUT.
THEY'RE NOT WANTING TO BUILD ON IT FOR A WHILE BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT BE CONVENIENT FOR THEM TO DO IT.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT A PROJECT THAT, AS I UNDERSTAND, IS PROBABLY YEARS IN THE MAKING, NOT SOMETHING THAT THEY'RE GONNA LIVE THROUGH AND SOMETHING THAT I'M GONNA HAVE TO LIVE THROUGH.
UM, AND WHAT I ANTICIPATE IS THERE'S GONNA BE A BIG CONSTRUCTION SITE THAT IS GONNA LOOK LIKE A BIG CONSTRUCTION SITE.
IT'S GONNA BE NOISY, IT'S GONNA BE UGLY, AND IT'S GONNA TAKE YEARS TO BUILD ON.
IT'S GONNA BE HARD TO SELL MY HOME WHEN I WANNA SELL IT.
AND I ALSO WANNA POINT OUT THAT IT IS HARD TO PARK.
IT'S A ONE WAY STREET JEFFERSON, AND IT'S, AND IT IS ON, UM, IT'S, IT'S CURVED AND VER AND, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE ACTUALLY CAN'T PARK IN THEIR DRIVEWAYS BECAUSE OF THE SLEEP, THE STEEP SLOPES.
SO PEOPLE ARE PARKING THE RESIDENTS NOW ON THE STREET AND IN THE WINTER TIME.
AND, YOU KNOW, IN BAD WEATHER, WE ALL REALLY PARK ALONG THE STREET.
SO I DON'T KNOW HOW THERE'S GONNA BE CONSTRUCTION IN THAT.
I DON'T KNOW WHERE, I DON'T KNOW HOW IT'S GONNA HAPPEN ON THAT PARTICULAR SPOT.
AND I THINK THE NOISE IS GONNA BE ENORMOUS AND THE KINDS OF TRUCKS THAT ARE GONNA BE NEEDED TO BE INVOLVED ARE GONNA BE IMMENSE.
AND IT'S NOT IOWA
SO ANYWAY, I, I'M, I'M REALLY, REALLY DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT THIS IS GONNA FEEL LIKE, WHAT THIS IS GONNA LOOK LIKE, AND ALSO WHAT IT'S GONNA DO TO MY ABILITY WHEN I WANNA SELL.
THIS CAN AFFECT MY LIFE FOR YEARS.
I'M AT THE BOTTOM, MY BACKYARD, UH, ABUTS 33 JEFFERSON.
SO WE ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THAT SLOPE.
AND ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS, I WILL HAVE A POOL OF WATER IN MY BACKYARD RUNNING DOWN THERE.
SO ANY FUTURE CONSTRUCTION, WELL, THAT NEW BUILDING MIGHT NOT BE DIRECTLY BEHIND ME.
IT IS PROBABLY GONNA AFFECT THAT SLOPE, I THINK.
I WOULD THINK YOU ALSO HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF WHY NOTHING WAS EVER BUILT THERE IN A HUNDRED YEARS, BUT THE BUILDING NEXT TO IT WAS, SO THEN MAYBE THERE IS AN UNDERLYING PROBLEM WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT.
I KNOW YOU'RE VERY EARLY IN THE PROCESS.
I KNOW YOU'LL DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE ABOUT THIS, BUT WE DID WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT AND MENTION OUR CONCERNS.
UM, WELL, UM, SO OBVIOUSLY THE APPLICANT HAS, UM, SOME WORK TO DO TO RESPOND TO THE COMMENTS AND, UM, MEMOS THAT THEY'VE RECEIVED THAT WE'VE GOTTEN FROM OUR, UM, CONSULTANTS.
SO, UM, WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THIS AT A FUTURE MEETING.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO ADD, I'M GLAD WE'RE NOT IN IOWA AND, UH,
I THINK MY LEGACY IS GONNA BE IOWA.
SO, UM, THIS EVENING WE HAVE ONE MORE NEW, UM, SITE PLAN APPROVAL.
UM, AND IT'S THE APPLICATION OF MEYER PROPERTIES ONE NORTH STREET LLC FOR INTERIOR ALTERATIONS.
UM, IF EVERYONE COULD JUST KEEP IT QUIET BECAUSE WE ARE STILL IN A MEETING.
UM, FOR INTERIOR ALTERATIONS TO AN EXISTING OFFICE BUILDING, INCLUDING CONVERTING THE EXISTING FIRST AND SECOND.
CAN YOU TAKE OUTSIDE PLEASE? EXCUSE ME, SIR.
WE'RE WE'RE STILL IN A MEETING.
WHERE WAS I? APPLICATION OF MEYER PROPERTIES ONE NORTH STREET LLC FOR INTERIOR ALTERATIONS TO AN EXISTING OFFICE BUILDING, INCLUDING CONVERTING THE EXISTING FIRST AND SECOND FLOOR OFFICES INTO FOUR DWELLING UNITS AND THE BASEMENT OFFICES INTO COMMERCIAL SPACE AND MODIFICATIONS TO THE EXISTING PARKING LOT LOCATED AT ONE NORTH STREET.
SAID PROPERTY IS IN THE MRC ZONING DISTRICT AND IS KNOWN AS SBL 4.30 DASH 21 TO ONE DASH ONE, SORRY, ON THE TOWN OF GREENBURG TAX MAPS.
AND, UM, I JUST WANNA SAY THAT THE, THE BOARD WILL RECALL THAT, UM, WE PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED THIS MATTER IN CONNECTION WITH MAKING A RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES ON THE REZONING OF THE PROPERTY FROM CO TO MRC.
AND THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES HAS NOW REZONED THE PROPERTY.
AND SO THE APPLICANT IS BEFORE US FOR SITE PLAN APPROVAL.
THAT'S WHY IT'S A NEW HEARING.
UM, SO WITH THAT, WOULD THE APPLICANT LIKE TO PRESENT? YES.
THIS IS, UH, I'M JIM GIBBONS WITH GIBBONS ENGINEERING REPRESENTING THE OWNER OF THIS PROJECT.
SO WE HAVE AN EXISTING BUILDING THAT IS A TWO STORY WITH A BASEMENT.
WE HAVE ABOUT SEVEN OFFICES BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND FLOOR
[03:05:01]
THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO CONVERT INTO FOUR APARTMENTS EACH HAVING TWO BEDROOMS, A MASTER AND A SMALLER BEDROOM, UM, IN THE BASEMENT.WE HAVE TWO OFFICES RIGHT NOW, AND WE'RE CONVERTING THAT TO ONE OFFICE AND A, UH, AMENITY AREA FOR THE, UH, TENANTS OF THE BUILDING.
UM, WE'RE NOT CHANGING THE FOOTPRINT, UM, WE'RE TRYING TO WORK WITH THE EXISTING PARKING SITUATION, WHICH IS, UH, PREEXISTING NONCONFORMING.
UM, BUT WE UNDERSTAND FROM, UH, MR. CLEARY'S COMMENTS THAT WE, WE MAY SETTING UP SOME BUFFER BETWEEN THE, UH, THIS COMMERCIAL TYPE PROPERTY AND THE RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD.
UH, SO WE HAVE TO WORK THAT OUT.
AND, UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAVE SOME OTHER WORK TO DO WITH, UH, SOME LIGHTING CALCULATIONS AND A FEW OTHER THINGS.
BUT, UH, WE RECEIVED THOSE COMMENTS TODAY.
WE'RE AWARE OF WHAT WE HAVE TO DO AND, UH, WE THINK WE CAN WORK OUT THE PROJECT WITH A COUPLE OF VARIANCES.
WELL, UM, WITH THAT, IF, IF YOU'RE DONE, MAYBE PATRICK, YOU CAN JUST GO THROUGH YOUR, YOUR MEMO AND, UM, POINT OUT WHAT YOU, WHAT YOU FOUND.
SO, UM, I THINK YOU CHARACTERIZED, YOU RECOMMENDED TO THE VILLAGE BOARD TO REASON ON THE PROPERTY.
WE KNEW IT WAS THIS FOR THIS PROJECT.
SO I THINK THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE HAD ANTICIPATED WOULD BE GOING ON THE PROPERTY.
UM, A COUPLE OF MINOR, NOT MINOR ISSUES, BUT ISSUES.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT NEEDS TO BE CLARIFIED IS THE MATERIAL THAT WAS SUBMITTED INDICATED THAT THE BASEMENT SPACE WOULD BE USED AS COMMERCIAL SPACE.
SO YOU JUST MENTIONED OFFICE SPACE.
WHAT IS COMMERCIAL SPACE? IF IT'S RETAIL, IF IT'S OFFICE, THERE'S DIFFERENT PARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH OF THOSE.
SO YOU'D HAVE TO CLARIFY THAT.
SO WE COULD VERIFY THE PARKING REQUIREMENT ON THE SITE AS WHOLE.
THE, THE PARKING LAYOUT IS THE SAME SPACE, BUT THEY'RE RECONFIGURING IT.
SO RIGHT NOW IT'S ONE WAY, BUT THEY'RE 90 DEGREES SPACES, THEY'RE RECONFIGURING IT TO BE 45 DEGREES SPACES.
SO IT'S A BETTER CONFIGURATION.
HOWEVER, THE SPACES DON'T MEET OUR SPACE WIDTH REQUIREMENT, THE AISLE WIDTH, AND WE HAVE A, A PROVISION IN THE CODE WHERE A PARKING AREA IN A COMMERCIAL ZONE ABUTS A RESIDENTIAL ZONE.
THERE HAS TO BE A 10 FOOT SPA, UH, BUFFER.
NOW THAT'S AN EXISTING PARKING AREA, SO I DON'T KNOW, BUT WOULD'VE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT TO SEE IF IT'S A NEW REQUIREMENT BECAUSE THEY'RE RECONFIGURING THE PARKING LOT IF THAT PARKING REQUIREMENT, IF THAT'S IF THE BUFFER WOULD BE TRIGGERED OR NOT.
SO IT'S SOMETHING FOR US TO, TO THINK ABOUT MM-HMM
UM, BUT IF, IF IT, UH, I THINK YOU NEED, BASED ON WHAT YOU'VE SAID, THERE'S 12 SPACES REQUIRED, 12 SPACES THERE.
SO YOU DON'T HAVE ANY ROOM TO LOSE A SPACE, OTHERWISE YOU'D BE NON-CONFORMING.
SO I THINK YOU GOTTA THINK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT ON HOW YOU'RE GONNA DEAL WITH THAT.
UM, EVERYTHING ELSE WAS VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
AGAIN, EXISTING BUILDING, NO CHANGE TO THE EXISTING BUILDING.
SO MY COMMENT THAT WE ALWAYS SAY WE HAVE A GREEN BUILDING CODE, IS THERE ANY PROVISION TO ACCOMMODATE THE GREEN BUILDING CODE AND THE MODIFICATIONS TO THE BUILDING? OTHER THAN THAT, IT'S A, IT'S A WONDERFUL REVISION TO THE SITE AND A MODIFICATION TO THE BUILDING.
UM, ALSO I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE HAVE A MEMO FROM THE CONSULTING ENGINEER WITH A FEW COMMENTS, WHICH WE'LL ALSO NEED TO GET ADDRESSED.
UM, BUT THANK YOU PATRICK, FOR LAYING OUT THE, THOSE ISSUES AROUND THE PARKING AND THE COMMERCIAL VERSUS RETAIL USE.
UM, DOES ANY, DO ANY BOARD MEMBERS HAVE COMMENT? YEAH, GO AHEAD RICHARD.
I WISH YOU, YOU HAD A VISUAL PRESENTATION.
UH, THE EXISTING CURB CUT IS, UH, WAY TOO WIDE FOR A RESIDENTIAL CURB CUT.
UM, WHEN PEOPLE WALK PAST THERE, IT IS JUST TOO WIDE.
THE TREATMENT, UH, BETWEEN THE, THE, UH, THE BUILDING AND THE STREET NEEDS TO BE FIXED.
UH, THE PARKING COULD USE, UH, SOME VISUAL SCREENING.
UM, UH, SO THAT WHEN YOU WALK, WHEN YOU SAY RICHARD, WHEN YOU SAY BETWEEN THE BUILDING AND THE STREET, DO YOU MEAN ON THE FRONT? ON THE, ON THE FRONT, UH, THE, UH, BETWEEN THE CURB AND THE SIDEWALK.
UH, THERE'S LOOKS LIKE SOME BRICK, UH, IT COULD BE NICE IF IT WAS GRASS, UM, AND BE MORE PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY, MORE RESIDENTIAL FRIENDLY.
UM, UH, THE PARKING IS FULLY EXPOSED, UH, HAVING, UH, SOME TYPE OF FENCE SO THAT, UH, IT DOESN'T IMPEDE THE TRAVEL LANE, BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO SEE THE PARKING.
UH, AGAIN, UH, THIS IS THE ENTRANCE TO OUR DOWNTOWN, UH, IT'S NOT VERY ATTRACTIVE NOW.
AND YOUR SITE PLAN DOESN'T MAKE IT ANY BETTER.
UH, JUST BECAUSE IT EXISTING DOESN'T MEAN IT HAS TO EXIST.
UM, THERE'S A PARKING SPACE THAT'S
[03:10:01]
RIGHT UNDERNEATH ONE OF THE RESIDENTIAL WINDOWS.UH, THERE'S AN AIR CONDITIONER STICKING OUT THERE NOW.
UH, IS THAT REALLY THE MOST APPROPRIATE PLACE FOR PARKING SPACE? IT COULD BE SHIFTED TO THE EAST SO YOU DON'T HAVE A CAR RIGHT NEXT TO A LIVABLE WINDOW.
UM, AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S THERE, BUT THAT, THAT CAUGHT MY EYE.
UM, MY SUGGESTION IS PUT YOURSELF IN THE POSITION OF LIVING THERE AND WALKING PAST THERE.
WOULD YOU LIKE THIS SITE PLAN? AND THE ANSWER WOULD BE NO.
UH, IT'S NOT DR VERY DRAMATIC, BUT, UH, THOSE, THOSE TYPE OF SMALL DETAILS WILL MAKE OUR DOWNTOWN A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
ALRIGHT, WELL YOU'VE GOTTEN FEEDBACK ON, UM, THE REMAINING ISSUES, MAINLY WITH PARKING AND SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS WE MENTIONED.
SO WE'LL, WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO A REVISION AND SEEING YOU BACK.
THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
[V. DISCUSSION ITEMS]
LAST DISCUSSION ITEM TONIGHT, WHICH IS THE EXTENSION OF FINAL SUBDIVISION AND SITE PLAN APPROVALS FOR THE APPLICATION OF GRAHAM WINDHAM ELECTRIC OWL HOLDINGS, LLC CONTRACT EE MADAM CHAIR, SORRY, BEFORE YOU BEGIN, I'M GONNA RECUSE MYSELF IN THIS MATTER BECAUSE OF A POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST.THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME KNOW.
UM, CONTRACT VANEE FOR THE CREATION OF A MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTION STUDIO LAKE, LOCATED AT ONE SOUTH BROADWAY.
SAID PROPERTY IS IN THE MPSO OVERLAY ZONING DISTRICT AND IS KNOWN AS SBL 4.1 30 DASH 1 39 DASH 1.1 LY ON THE TOWN OF GREENBURG TAX MAP.
WOULD THE APPLICANT LIKE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE? GOOD EVENING, MADAM CHAIR.
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD STAFF MAXIMI ALAK FOR THE LAW FIRM OF CUTTING AND FADER.
UH, AS ASSERTED ON THE AGENDA, WE ARE HERE FOR REQUEST OF THE SITE PLAN APPROVAL EXTENSION TILL OCTOBER 17TH, 2027.
AND A REQUEST FOR THE SUBDIVISION APPROVAL EXTENSION TO MARCH 8TH, 2027.
THERE ARE ONGOING CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN THE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND VEOLIA
UM, TO KIND OF SUMMARIZE IT, WELL, NOT TO KIND OF TO SUMMARIZE IT.
THE COUNTY WENT THE WILL SERVE LETTER FROM VEOLIA IN A CERTAIN FORMAT, AND VEOLIA'S ATTORNEYS WANT THE WILL SERVE LETTER IN DIFFERENT FORMAT.
THERE'S NO ISSUE AS TO PROVIDING WATER TO THE SITE.
IT'S LITERALLY THE FORMAT OF THE LETTER.
UH, THE COUNTY PROVIDED THEIR COMMENTS IN THE FALL OF 25 FROM THE FALL OF 25, UM, TO MAY OF 26.
VEOLIA'S, UH, COUNSEL WAS UPDATING THEIR LETTER.
WE RECEIVED THAT IN MAY OF 26, FILED IT WITH THE COUNTY AND LAST WEEK WE GOT ADDITIONAL COMMENTS FROM THE COUNTY.
SO AT THIS POINT,
MY PARTNER AND I WENT FOR THE ADOPTION PROCESS, ADOPTED A NEWBORN BABY
UM, SO AT THIS POINT WE ARE CALLING FOR A MEETING WITH THE COUNTY TO SIT DOWN AND TRY TO GET EVERYONE IN THE ROOM AND TRY TO GET THIS SITUATED.
AND WITH THAT WE RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THE EXTENSION
UM, I'M GONNA OPEN IT UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, BUT I THINK WE ARE ALL PREPARED TO
SO DO, DO I, UM, HAVE A MOTION TO GRANT AN ADDITIONAL TWO 90 DAY EXTENSIONS OF THE SUBDIVISION APPROVAL TO MARCH 8TH, 2027 AND AN ADDITIONAL 12 MONTH EXTENSION OF THE SITE PLAN APPROVAL TO OCTOBER 17TH, 2027.
THANK YOU MEMBERS OF BOARD AND THANK YOU STAFF.
YOU GOT, YOU GOT A FEEDING COMING UP HERE.
WELL, WE HAVE FOR THREE HOURS JUST TO GET THIS PART ANYWAY, GO AHEAD.
WE, UM, WE HAVE NO MATTER OTHER MATTERS ON THE AGENDA FOR TONIGHT.
SO, UM, AND OUR NEXT MEETING IS SEPTEMBER 17TH, 2026.
DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? SO MOVED.