Welcome to the second issue of The Open Space Advocate Newsletter, a new online newsletter focusing on open space issues in North Castle. If you missed the first issue click here to read it:
Town Board to Decide Future of Downtown Armonk at Public Hearing this Wednesday
This Wednesday evening at 7:30 pm in the American Legion Hall in Armonk there will be a public hearing at which the Town Board will decide whether to uphold the decision of the Landmarks Preservation Committee and protect our town's only historic district or to grant the developer's request to build a 54,000 square foot development. If the Town Board sides with the developer Antares Real Estate, they will be endorsing the largest project ever proposed for downtown Armonk. This project, Armonk Square, will dominate downtown Armonk and change our town's character forever. The impact this proposed development will have on traffic and parking is discussed below. This is the vote by which this Town Board will be measured. It is very important that each one of us comes to the American Legion Hall and voices our opinion.
Why the Bedford Road Historic District is Important to Our Town
The Bedford Road Historic District is a symbol of a way of life that we embrace and want to preserve for our children. The charming streetscape that includes St. Stephen's Church and Cemetery and the six 19th century village homes next to it epitomizes the character of our small, friendly, Northern Westchester village where kids walk from school to town and neighbors stop to chat. Over the last five years, residents of North Castle have rallied on numerous occasions to ask the Town Board to preserve the small town feel that we treasure by protecting our open space and controlling development. A vote to protect the historic district is a vote to protect the past and the present.
Just two years ago, a crowd of residents packed Whippoorwill Hall to express dismay with a plan by a different developer for this same site called Pembroke Square. That plan for Pembroke Square was less dense than the Antares plan for Armonk Square. Current Town Supervisor Reese Berman and Councilman Gerry Geist voted against Pembroke Square because it was "too dense" and they campaigned for election using that vote as an example of how they intend to control development. Read more...The residents of North Castle trust in them to honor their campaign promises.
The only way to protect the Bedford Road Historic District is by reducing the density of Armonk Square and the Town Board knows this.If the Town Board overturns the Landmarks Preservation Committee's decision, it means the Town Board endorses the size of the Armonk Square project. If the Town Board votes to protect the historic district it means that they understand what we have been saying for the last five years and are willing to take the necessary steps to insure our town's future.
Anyone driving through Armonk on a Saturday or at lunchtime on a weekday knows how frustrating the traffic and parking situation is. How will adding 54,000 square feet of stores, offices, and residences to the heart of downtown impact this?Armonk Square will have 115 parking spaces. The developer's own parking study shows that during peak demand time, Armonk Square will need to have 144 parking spaces per hour on a Saturday and 147 parking spaces per hour during the week. These figures do not account for other shoppers in Armonk parking in Armonk Square and shopping and dining elsewhere in downtown Armonk. The discrepancy between the number of needed parking spaces and the number of actual parking spaces planned for Armonk Square raises the obvious question of where exactly all the shoppers and tenants are going to park.
Similar questions arise over the traffic impact of Armonk Square. The developer's traffic study shows that the Armonk Square development is estimated to generate a total of 172 vehicles (84 entering / 88 exiting) during the weekday peak a.m. highway hour, a total of 322 vehicles (163 entering / 159 exiting) during the weekday peak p.m. highway hour, and a total of 299 vehicles (150 entering / 159 exiting) during the Saturday peak hour. Can our town handle this increase in traffic volume?
The developer's traffic study concludes that regardless of the traffic generated by the proposed Armonk Square, the current traffic conditions in downtown Armonk require a traffic light to be installed at the intersection of Main Street and Bedford Road. The New York State Department of Transportation, the agency that would be responsible for installing a traffic light at this intersection has reached a different conclusion based on the developer's traffic study. In a letter dated January 4, 2007, the NYS DOT denied the developer's request to install a traffic light at the intersection based on current traffic volumes. The DOT stated that they will wait for Armonk Square to be built and then review actual post development traffic counts to determine the need for a traffic light. The DOT's differing interpretation of the developer's traffic data should prompt another review of the validity of the Antares traffic study. Let's not wait until after Armonk Square is built to figure out if there is a resulting traffic problem.
Why the Town Board Should Uphold the Landmarks Preservation Committee's Decision
The Landmark's Preservation Committee (LPC) was appointed by the Town Board and empowered by the Town Code specifically to protect our town's historic and cultural heritage as embodied in the Bedford Road Historic District. New York State General Municipal Law provides the Town Board with the power to enact historic preservation laws and enforce them. Read more... The members of the LPC are all highly respected members of our community, including our Town Historian, who have devoted countless hours analyzing the plans for Armonk Square and the impact of those plans on the Bedford Road Historic District. The LPC's decision to deny approval of the Armonk Square plan is well reasoned and well supported. The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP), New York State's top agency responsible for the state's preservation program, has reached the same conclusion as the LPC, and issued a decision that the proposed road through the historic district should be removed from the project plans. In light of both the LPC's decision and the OPRHP's decision, is it right for the Town Board to overrule the LPC's decision based on a brief presentation that the developer will make at the public hearing this Wednesday? Clearly the answer is no.
Antares claims that the Town Board should overrule the LPC's decision because it causes them a hardship. Let the record be clear that if there is any hardship experienced by Antares it is the result of their own action not a result of the LPC's decision. Antares has known about the town's Landmarks Preservation Law and the need to obtain approval from the LPC from the time they purchased the property. The LPC has expressed its disapproval of the planned road through the Bedford Road Historic District since that time. Instead of complying with the town's Landmarks Preservation Law and changing the plans for Armonk Square accordingly, Antares is attempting to bulldoze right over it by asking the Town Board to overturn the LPC's decision.
Antares has a right to develop its property.
Antares does not have a right to develop its property in such a way that is detrimental to the Bedford Road Historic District.
There is a solution. Reduce the density of the plan.
Emailthe Town Board at: townclerk@northcastleny.com. Tell them to uphold the Landmarks Preservation Committee's decision and protect our Historic District.
The Open Space Advocate Newsletter is written by Kerri A. Kazak, an attorney and open space advocate. Ms. Kazak formerly served as co-chair of the North Castle Open Space Committee. She is co-founder of the North Castle Land Trust, a chapter of the Westchester Land Trust. Ms. Kazak is also co-founder and co-chair of the Citizens' Campaign to Save Seven Springs. This newsletter is an independent publication with no affiliation with the North Castle town government or any other community groups or organizations.
