By JEFF MORRIS
When a plan for a 23-lot housing subdivision on the former site of the Bailey Hall School in Katonah was last the subject of public discussion in 2011, the planning board held two contentious public hearings, and more than 50 residents signed a letter critical of the proposal.
When the plan was revived at a planning board meeting in July, Chair Deirdre Courtney-Batson said that while there had been a lot of public interest in the proposal in the past, the neighbors “may now be different people.”
And indeed, some of those who spoke at the public hearing held by the planning board on Monday, Oct. 28, said they had lived in the area for 10 years or less. But that did not seem to change the overall result.
What has changed is the technology available. More than 60 people filled the town courtroom for Monday’s hearing, but unlike 2011, as many as 53 others watched the meeting on Zoom. And a petition posted on Change.org in opposition to the plan has gathered 327 signatures, at last count.
By the time the hearing was adjourned for the evening, more than a dozen individuals had spoken in person, with only one in favor of the proposal; about a dozen had spoken negatively via Zoom. In addition, the planning board had received 18 written comments, all in opposition, through Oct. 25.
The board had not intended to, and did not, take any action on the application. The public hearing was extended through the next board meeting on Nov. 12, with the deadline for written comments possibly going past that date.
Located at New Street and Harris Road, the property is owned by Cosimo Tripi. As explained by Jennifer Gray of the town’s attorney, Keane & Beane, the application process began in 2006, with the planning board declaring itself lead agency for the State Environmental Quality Review. That study found that there were environmental impacts. The Environmental Impact Study went through several drafts and was the subject of those 2011 hearings, but it has not yet been accepted by the board.
The EIS was still under review by the board in 2018 when the project stalled due to issues with New York City Department of Environmental Protection, which at the time was requiring variances.
According to the current application, a new project engineer, Catizone Engineering, was retained in 2023, and worked with DEP to address comments and concerns, and move forward with site design. On March 27, 2024, DEP confirmed that a variance is no longer required for the project.
Gray said the purpose of Monday’s hearing was to elicit additional public comments, stating that all comments from the meeting or in writing must be replied to by the board as part of the revised EIS. She said the next step after a final EIS is accepted by the board would be a findings statement as the last step in the SEQRA review.
The application is for a 23-lot conservation subdivision and conservation development. The conservation development concept groups all the homes together in a single area, preserving the rest of the property. Under this plan, a total of 22 new single-family residences would be created, with one lot retaining an existing residence. The new residences would be on a looped road surrounding a community septic system.
Courtney-Batson noted that the board has received “quite a lot of correspondence” on the proposal, and that many residents said they were not aware the board had already held two meetings on the application, one on July 22 and another brief discussion on Sept. 9. She assured people that the only things determined at those meetings were that planning board members who were unfamiliar with the site should go there for a visit — which they did, on Sept. 27, along with residents — and that the board would get public input, which was the purpose of this meeting.
Courtney-Batson also said board members will look carefully at stormwater management, because they are aware of drainage issues in the neighborhood. And, indeed, stormwater runoff was one of the main concerns expressed by those who spoke; a number mentioned flooding that had occurred a number of years ago and knocked one home off its foundation. Speakers noted that climate change has led to an increase in extreme weather, and that even in typical rainstorms the water in the area is constantly draining, cascading, and overflowing.
The letter that was circulated in 2011 cited concerns about possible blasting, adequacy of the community septic and storm water management systems, aesthetics, and the number of schoolchildren who might be added to the Katonah-Lewisboro district.
People also spoke about traffic and safety concerns, and were unhappy with the prospect of staged construction, which could mean it would take up to 15 years to complete all the houses in the subdivision.
Some wondered why, when the town had just installed sewers because of the unreliability of septic systems, this development would rely on a septic system instead of connecting to the new sewers. Others were upset that the town was planning to widen New Street and take nine feet off their property. Questions were also raised about the plan’s use of a single entrance from New Street, with an emergency-only access off of Harris Road, and wanted to know why the traffic burden could not be shared.
Neighbors again raised the issue of long-term noise and traffic from the staged construction, and doubted the estimate of only 16 students being added from 22 new homes. They questioned the idea that traffic has decreased in the area, saying it has picked up again since the pandemic, and noted there are now many more vehicles delivering packages from online shopping.
One speaker went against the negative grain, emphasizing the need for more residences to ease the housing crisis. That was also the closing message from Courtney-Batson, who recalled the transit-oriented development mandate that had been proposed in Albany last year.
“If we don’t act, somebody else will do it for us,” she cautioned.
The other board members seemed amenable to seeing what could be done to alleviate some of the plan’s more problematic aspects.
Diane Lewis wondered if there would be a way to utilize excess water runoff resulting from rain after a dry spell like the one the area is now experiencing.
Michael Tierney said they needed to see turning circles depicted on a new traffic study to accommodate truck access, especially fire trucks.
“Let’s get the runoff and traffic resolved and welcome some new families,” said board member Nilus Klingel.