Disputed Sports Field on Croton Ave in Cortlandt Nixed
A sports field that was proposed in conjunction with a luxury housing project on Croton Avenue in Cortlandt has been eliminated as part of an agreement between the developer and the Town Board.
Cortlandt Supervisor Linda Puglisi announced last week an alternative plan had been reached where the developer of Hanover Estates, a proposed 25 to 27-home project on the former 36-acre Croton Egg Farm, would pay $6,000 per housing unit for recreation purposes for the town to design an all-purpose field elsewhere, possibly at Sprout Brook Park where a former swimming lake and water slide once existed.
“We feel it’s a win-win for the community,” Puglisi said after the Town Board voted to grant the Planning Board clustering authority for the project.
An all-purpose grass field with 89 parking spaces that was only conceptual and was not originated by the developer had nearby residents at odds with community coaches and other recreation proponents.
A public hearing earlier this year also included assertions that a Planning Board member should recuse himself from the deliberations since he had supported the field in the past as chairman of the town’s recreation advisory council, and a newly elected town councilman misused his office by sending out an email blast encouraging youth sports coaches and parents to attend the meeting.
Many homeowners along Croton Avenue maintained the roadway was already congested and unsafe, and building a field that would be heavily used by soccer and lacrosse teams was a recipe for disaster.
“It was clear the town needed sports fields. It was also clear this was a problem spot,” Councilman Richard Becker said. “This Town Board came up with a very Solomon-like solution. It’s kind of a win-win solution to the problem.”
Originally, the developer had agreed to provide the land to the town in lieu of paying approximately $150,000 into a recreation fund. If the town accepted that offer, it would have had to develop the land into a sports field, which carries an estimated cost of about $750,000. The homes being proposed at Hanover Estates will be marketed for $850,000 apiece.
The Planning Board has been waiting for the submission of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement and asked the Town Board for cluster authority in order to consider three separate options for the project, two of which included the field.
Planner Bob Foley said he was unaware the Town Board had been talking with the developer and noted the clustering authority gives the Planning Board another option to consider when reviewing the application.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
