Brynwood Public Hearing on Zoning Change to Reconvene May 27
The public hearing on Brynwood Golf & Country Club’s requested rezone of its 156-acre property on Bedford Road in Armonk will resume on May 27 after having been adjourned nearly two years ago.
Last week the North Castle Town Board voted to accept the project’s Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) as part of the state’s required environmental review process and reconvene the hearing on Brynwood’s proposal to redesign its golf course, build 80 age-targeted luxury residences and renovate its clubhouse.
Frank Fish, of BFJ Planning, the town’s planning consultant on the project, said he believed that the revisions made to the FEIS based on previous public comments was sufficient.
“We felt the changes made are really adequate and it is up to you, though, the town board, it’s your document, so if you are sort of reasonably accepting of it, you can accept the document,” Fish said.
Resumption of the hearing next month is to receive feedback from the public on the zoning text amendment requested by Brynwood for a Golf Course Community Floating Overlay District, a unique zone that has been proposed by the applicant to accommodate the project.
Although the hearing reconvenes next month, there is still a long planning process awaiting Brynwood, said Town Attorney Roland Baroni. For the project to move forward following closure of the hearing, the board would have to adopt a findings statement and decide whether to adopt the zoning text amendments, Baroni said.
If the board agrees to do that, another hearing would have to be scheduled on applying the floating zone to the property followed by board approval. Then Brynwood would need its special use permit for a membership club amended. Also, if the applicant decides to join the water district, another hearing and approval from the town board is required.
Should all of that be in place, then Brynwood would need to appear before the planning board for site plan review.
The hearing, which was adjourned in July 2013, was before Brynwood revised its proposal that reduced the number of units from 88 to 80 and offered a conservation easement to ensure the property is used only as a golf course or passive open space in perpetuity.
The developer also proposed a benefits agreement, which would require the owners of the project’s 63 condominium units to pay the town the difference in between condo taxes and what a single-family homeowner would pay for a residence of similar value.
Debate over condominium tax rates, which are roughly half of a similarly priced single-family house, was one of the key arguments against the plan.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
