Chap Crossing Rezone, Findings Statement Vote Eyed for August
Votes on the potential rezone of the Reader’s Digest property and a findings statement regarding the Chappaqua Crossing retail proposal could take place next month by the New Castle Town Board.
Town officials said last week both actions relating to the 120,000-square-foot retail project are tentatively scheduled for Aug. 13 pending the receipt of several critical documents and whether the town board can adequately review those elements this week. The town board would need about a week to analyze the documents in advance of a July 30 public hearing on the project in order to maintain that timeline.
Adoption of the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) could also take place following next Tuesday’s hearing.
Town Attorney Clinton Smith told town board members at a July 16 work session that he anticipated they would receive a package that includes both portions of developer Summit/Greenfield’s response to the public’s comments and the town’s planning staff comments on the applicant’s replies; the town’s comments regarding plans for management of stormwater and invasive species along with Summit/Greenfield’s responses, the latter of which were due by the end of last week; and separate studies from the developer and the town on the impacts of the proposed retail on the Millwood and Chappaqua hamlets’ business districts.
Summit/Greenfield’s response to public comments and both parts of the town’s replies, which came in two parts, have already been received and posted on New Castle’s website.
“By next Tuesday (July 23) you will have all the different pieces of the package; (it) will be completed and put together for you to get a one-week review,” Smith told board members.
Should the board approve the findings statement and the rezone next month, the application would then get sent back to the planning board for site plan review. The retail plan features a full-service supermarket of between 36,000 and 66,000 square feet as the anchor establishment, with the remainder of the space occupied by a variety of smaller shops no larger than 5,000 square feet each. A rezone of that portion of the property is needed to accommodate the retail uses.
At previous hearings, many local residents and merchants criticized the proposal, arguing that it threatens to increase traffic on the already congested Route 117 and Saw Mill Parkway and would likely jeopardize the Millwood and Chappaqua business hamlets.
For a portion of last week’s work session, officials focused discussion on the market analysis studies that have been conducted regarding impact on the town’s two business hamlets. Summit/Greenfield paid for a study completed by HR&A Advisors, which concluded that there would be no negative impact on the hamlets caused by the Chappaqua Crossing retail plan.
Meanwhile, New Castle paid for its own study, the results of which are expected to be released in time for the town board’s weeklong review leading up to the July 30 hearing.
Councilman Robin Stout said the board should wait until it examines the town’s study to determine whether there is sufficient commercial capacity in New Castle for Summit/Greenfield’s plan.
“The HR&A report comes to the conclusion that there is,” Stout said. “I think the town board wants to make sure that conclusion is correct and we want to double-check that conclusion, but number two (and) equally important is to try to figure out how, if possible, that retail at Chappaqua Crossing at least be neutral, if not positive, in terms of the success on the commercial activity in both of our hamlets.”
Councilman Jason Chapin said a draft of the town’s study, from a firm called AKRA, keys in on “leakage,” the term for money that is being spent elsewhere, including neighboring communities, that could be spent in New Castle.
Smith said that another piece needed for the project, the preliminary development concept plan, can wait to be finalized by the town board until after the FEIS and rezone have been approved.
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/
