Planning Board mulls garden center improvements

By NEAL RENTZ

The Lewisboro Planning Board came to a unanimous consensus Tuesday to instruct town staff to prepare a resolution for the reapproval proposal from Copia Home and Garden.

The board will consider this resolution to approve the application for reapproval of the site development plan for unfinished improvements to the existing garden center located at 475 Smith Ridge Road, South Salem, and its planting operations on an adjacent tax parcel at its next meeting Tuesday, May 20.

The project was originally approved by the planning board in 2017.

Architect David Coffin told the planning board that the pandemic “really shut things down.” 

In his Feb. 22 letter, Coffin stated that representatives of his client met with town officials and consultants in March 2022 to discuss open work items and the need to resubmit the application to the planning board. 

“Planning board reapproval was required to renew the expired building permit and complete all open work improvements,” Coffin stated in his letter.

Board Chair Janet Andersen said at this week’s meeting, April 15, that the Westchester County Department of Health stated in a memorandum that the Farmer’s Grind, a take-out food establishment, with an apartment above the business, needed to address water quality issues at the site, located at 475 Smith Ridge Road. Simone Petromelis, an attorney representing the garden center, told the planning board this week that a young family currently occupies the apartment. The owner is working with the Department of Health and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets to address this issue.   

Coffin agreed to the instruction from Andersen to provide a floor plan of the take-out establishment, which has no seating. 

The planning board agreed, with the applicant, to issue an approval addressing the nursery center, the Farmer’s Grind and the use of the adjacent parcel in a single resolution, rather than in phases. Planning board member Charlene Indelicato said she wanted the project to be approved all at once. 

Town building inspector, Kevin Kelly, noted that the take-out facility received county Department of Health approval under different ownership in the 1960s, but he was not certain if that approval applies to the business today.

Town staff will research to find out if the take-out facility is a change of use that would entail additional review by the planning board. 

Restaurant parking plan approved

Also at the meeting, the board voted unanimously to approve the proposal from Bacio Trattoria to amend its previous approval to reconfigure parking spaces on the restaurant site.  

The board provided site development plan approval for the project in April 2024. The restaurant’s new plan is to reconfigure the new spaces.

The request was made at the March 18 planning board meeting by Marcelo Alarcon, an engineer from Site Design Consultants. 

The restaurant is located at 12 North Salem Road, Cross River.

In his Feb. 25 letter to the planning board, project engineer Joseph Riina stated why his client wanted to reconfigure the new spaces. 

“The changes are due to the difficulties and conditions imposed as part of obtaining the approvals from the Westchester County Department of Health,” Riina stated. “The latest parking layout reflects avoiding the approved existing septic expansion area.” The proposed changes in parking would mean his client would not require approval from the Health Department, Riina wrote.