P’ville ZBA Weighs Mixed-Use Building for Washington Avenue

By Anna Young

A group of Pleasantville residents last week objected to a new mixed-use building proposed for the property that included the old Try & Buy toy store on Washington Avenue in the village’s downtown.

The project, named Washington Avenue Lofts, at 39-51 Washington Ave., calls for construction of a three-story building consisting of five retail spaces on the ground floor, 11 apartments on the second floor, 12 apartments on the third floor and two levels of parking in the rear of the parcel. Due to the substantial slope of the property in the back and planned excavation, most of the parking structure would be below the grade of the neighboring residential district.

Property owner Warren Schloat of Schloat Properties and project architect Michael Gallin appeared at the Dec. 1 Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) meeting to go over details of the proposal.

The applicant needs a variance for insufficient setback because the 66-space parking structure at its closest point would be within eight feet of the residential district in the northeast corner of the property. The parking structure would push building coverage to 89.7 percent, exceeding the 80 percent maximum allowable coverage at the site.

Furthermore, the developer has outlined in the plans a possible lot line adjustment with the Pleasantville Volunteer Fire Department to create four feet of separation between the Scholat property and the fire department’s property instead of six feet, requiring another variance.

Gallin said Schloat Properties will need to demolish about 17,000 square feet of existing structures at 27-45 Washington Ave. to make room for the proposed 35,766-square-foot, mixed-use building, plus basement and parking. In addition to the five ground-floor retail shops, there will be two 428-foot studio apartments, 10 one-bedroom apartments and 11 two-bedroom units.

Additionally, improvements are proposed to the parking lot behind 17-23 Washington Ave. to make it safer and more functional. There would be an additional 26 spaces in that lot.

The plan is to develop the project so it’s less intrusive to Grove Street residents and to create an underground bunker for dumpsters to keep them out of sight and create a more attractive landscape buffer between properties.

Despite the project’s features, Grove Street residents argued last week that tye development would have too many negative impacts on the neighborhood.

Resident Tim Kelly said the volume of traffic it would attract would create more congestion for the neighbors.

“Our block is becoming a circle for the village,” Kelly said. “I can’t park in front of my house most nights and I recently had an incident where I couldn’t get out of my driveway.”

Gallin said street parking shouldn’t be affected because retail shoppers and the building’s residents would use the on-site parking.

ZBA member Erika Krieger appeared skeptical of the parking plan.

“We always hope someone plans for more parking,” Krieger said. “Now someone is providing more parking than it needs in their development and it’s causing more problems with the community.”

Sean Palmer, an attorney from James G. Dibbini & Associates representing Grove Street resident Janine Fischer, said that garbage trucks could cause significant noise and odors that will attract rodents and bring disease into the neighborhood.

Residents Rodger Pollack and Greg Doren agreed with that assertion, adding that the current noise, smell and rodent issue is difficult to tolerate.

Schloat said garbage pickup is Tuesday and Saturday after 7:30 a.m. to avoid disrupting the neighborhood. Dumpster placement will be discussed before the planning commission, which must grant site plan approval.

Despite negative feedback from some of the project’s closest neighbors, one Manville Road resident said the proposal seems like an excellent idea, one that would benefit the village.

The board reached consensus that the project would be beneficial to the village. ZBA Chairman Austin Campriello said he expects a vote on the variances will be taken at the board’s next meeting on Dec. 29.

However, in hopes of avoiding potential litigation, Campriello said he wanted the village to write a formal order to assure that the language for the resolution is precise.

“We’re doing this because if we grant the variances, we want it to be as bulletproof as possible in case someone wants to sue,” Campriello said.