Clarkstown Planners OK Nursery School at St. John's Episcopal Church

After securing a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals last month, St. John's Episcopal Church in New City is now allowed to reopen a nursery school on its grounds after getting approval from the Clarkstown Planning Board Wednesday night.

The group needed a special permit because the building in which the school will operate is 91.8 feet from Strawtown Road, while town regulations typically call for schools to be 100 feet from the nearest street. The stipulations for the school that were approved by the Planning Committee were suggested at the ZBA meeting July 26.

One was that the school has to have a morning session and an afternoon session, and each session has to be capped at 20 kids. The school, which will run Monday-Friday, also has to operate out of just two classrooms designated by the ZBA in the current office area attached to the church. The school is open to children ages 2-5 from the community.

Some residents of the Strawtown Road area had raised concerns about the school, including traffic, but it was approved to beging sessions in the fall. One reason the board approved the school was because the church congregation had previously operated a nursery school on its grounds until the school closed in 2006.

"If there hadn't been a school there before, it might've been a horse of a different color," said Shirley Thormann, the chairwoman of the Planning Board. "They've already had a school, and one that had more people than are going to be at this one."

There were four other public hearings on Wednesday night as well. Another was for property near Davies Farm in New City, which called for approval for a 15 lot residential subdivision on the intersection of New Valley Road and Little Tor Road.

The plan has been in the works for a few years, said Scott Milich, the owner of the land, but has been pushed back due to a few reasons, including the economy.

The board unanimously passed the preliminary and final approvals for the land, and no one spoke regarding the proposal at the hearing.

"We're not sure what we're going to do yet," he said. "We just wanted to get approval."

The next public hearing was for approval of a commercial garage in Central Nyack, on the west side of Central Avenue, north side of Cindy Lane and the New York State Thruway. The plan there called for a reconfiguration of lot lines for two existing properties. The final approval for that was granted without anybody speaking at the public hearing, as well.

The last two hearings were for properties in Nanuet. One was for Mavis Discount Tire, on the west side of South Street a bit south of the Smith Street and Route 59 intersection. While the board stressed the need for a fence to separate the store from the adjacent residential property.

The last public hearing was for another property near Smith Street in Nanuet, the McDonald's at the Rockland Center just off Route 59. The proposal calls for the demolition of the current building, and replacing it with a new, more modern McDonald's. One thing looking to be upgraded, besides the general appearance for the restaurant, is the drive-thru.

The new proposal calls for as many as 11 cars to wait comfortable on the drive-thru without the backup spilling out onto Smith Street or into the shopping center parking lot. It also calls for the enlarging of the restaurant.

The board told the group representing the McDonald's they should have the proposal reviewed by the town zoning board as well.  The Planning Board members voted to keep the public hearing open so more information could be gathered on the project.

But not all current issues ended up being discussed Wednesday night. Jim Sullivan, of New City, showed up to the meeting because he thought the board was going to discuss a lot on Harvest Road in New City that is being developed. He has a plot of land in that development and wants to build a house on it, but has to wait until some of the other plots are already developed before he can build. He wanted to change the plot to a different one so he can build in that development.

"It's starting to get frustrating," Sullivan said. "I'm trying to write a check and nobody will take it."

The board pushed back, or "tabled," the discussion on the property until the next meeting so they can learn more about the land and proposal before then. The next meeting isn't for another month.

"We've got the money in the bank just waiting to give it to someone," Sullivan said. "They say they want to get housing going to help the economy, but here we are, and we can't build this house that we've been trying to build for around a year already."