Residents, Business Officials, Blast Conifer's Affordable Housing Plan

Conifer's for downtown Chappaqua is being met with opposition from both community members and businesses, who cite traffic safety and aesthetics.

At the New Castle Planning Board's meeting Tuesday night, the first since the town board referred the 36-unit, five-story apartment plan to it for advisory review, a number of attendees voice concerns that the building will pose safety issues because of its location. The building is proposed for a 0.38-acre site just north of the Route 120 bridge, immediately south of Hunts Lane and the Saw Mill River Parkway's northbound entrance ramp. It is also situated just north of a northern exit ramp from the highway.

Joan Corwin, president of , which operates its busing fleet on Hunts Lane, is worried about proper view while driving on the bridge, which will have a walkway to the building's third story.

“It’s on a danergous curve, coming up from the light at Hunts Place," she said. "It’s on a blind corner and human nature will tell you anyone that comes out on that little sidewalk to the other sidewalk, that wants to go into town, is not going to walk down at the end of the trianagle and cross over four lanes of traffic. And how many people do you think are going to walk down 30 or 40 stairs to get to the base of the bridge?”

Corwin also questioned whether the property has an adequate visibilty distance for the Saw Mill's northbound ramp. In addition, she told the board that she did her own study of traffic on a morning along Hunts Lane, stating that she counted 41 vehicles trying to leave the road.

“This has to be very well thought out before you go through with it," she said, asking for a traffic study to be done. The board and developer Conifer Realty have agreed that a study will be produced.

John Sabalja, owner of , a gymnastics and childcare center on Hunts Lane, is also very concerned about the the traffic safety.

“It sounds like this project has been fast-tracked," he said. "I think we’re just kind of talking. Sounds like it’s a fait accompli. It sounds like we’re going be inviting catastrophe.”

“I think it’s a terrible project," said Chappaqua resident Peter Davidson, who was among those concerned about the safety. "I think it’s shoehorned into a space that’s totally, 100-percent inappropriate for the proposed use.”

Davidson also explained that he is not opposed to providing affordable housing in town - the project, called Chappaqua Station, will help to satisfy Westchester County's federal housing settlement to construct hundreds of such units by 2016 - but he feels that the site is being looked at because the town focused on what is available immediately for development.

“It’s not a way to run the trains, you know, with a gun to your head.”

His son, Peter Davidson, Jr., who lives in a yellow house near the intersection of Route 120 and Hunts Lane, also voiced opposition. He is concerned that the property could contribute to more vehicular backup near the Saw Mill's interchange, near where drivers could be going fast. The younger Davidson also questioned a premise in the plan that driving will not be important for those who would live in the structure.

“There is no grocery store in Chappaqua. No one is going to live in this town without a car.”

Planning Board members expressed their own safety concerns.

Board member Sheila Crepsi asked whether a fire truck could fit on the site. In response, Conifer attorney (and former Westchester County Executive) Alfred DelBello explained that firefighting could be done three ways. They include either stopping on the bridge and reaching the building, reaching it from Hunts, or parking on the Saw Mill's nearby ramp.

“That would be extraordinarily dangerous," Crespi replied.

DelBello emphasized that the ramp scenario would only be if necessary. It was also discussed that Conifer will meet with local firefighters to get their input on the proposal.

Board member Gerard Curran echoed comments made at a recent town board meeting by Councilman Robin Stout, who asked about dealing with the possibility of vehicle drop offs while stopping on the bridge, in front of the third-floor lobby.

“It’s going to have to be no standing, no parking, no stopping, no breathing," Planning Board Chairman Richard Brownell responded.

Additionally, Curran felt that an ambulance won't be able to fit in the area of the building's ground-floor entrance, which would begn at Hunts Place. That small road will no longer be a town road and will be converted into the entrance for the property.

The other big complaint is that the building's aesthetics do not fit properly, with its large dimensions cited.

Shaun Gotterbarn, a junior residential architect who lives in Pleasantville, presented renderings that he created, which show the building from different perspectives in Chappaqua's downtown. He was concerned that such drawings have not been shown by Conifer.

“I really feel that the public needs to understand what it looks like and the scale of it," he said.

Conifer has consented to providing its own viewshed perspectives.

Chuck Napoli, a town resident who in the past has proposed ways to change downtown Chappaqua's built environment, feels that there should be more of a public role in the process. He also told the planning board that the biggest should better fit the quality of the hamlet.

Local architect Wally Tascano, who is also concerned about traffic and safety, warned that the building could provide a precedent for constructing similarly sized structures.

“Once the building is built, the dye is cast," he said.

The proposal for Chappaqua Station will be taken up again by the Planning Board on March 20, when members will discuss drafting a feedback memo on the plan that will be given to the town board. That board will be approving a special permit needed for the site, along with its site plan. The Planning Board's role is merely advisory in this case.

A copy of Gotterbarn's viewshed comparison renderings is attached as a PDF file.