FASNY Development to Move Forward in White Plains
The Special Permit and Site Plan Application submitted by the French American School of New York (FASNY) was passed by the White Plains Common Council Monday night with five yes votes and two no votes, the super majority needed to pass the application on an environmentally sensitive site.
After nearly seven years of discussion, debate and court actions, modifications to the original plan resulted in significant reductions in the size and scope of the project, which all councilmembers voting for the project cited.
Councilwoman Nadine Hunt-Robinson, who had voted against the project in its previous incarnations, voted yes Monday night, swinging the decision in FASNY’s favor. “Elected officials have to consider the rights of everyone involved,” she said. “This is how it is supposed to work, with push and pull.”
Looking at the revised application that had addressed objections on public safety, traffic, and impact on the neighborhood, Hunt-Robinson explained that she had no further objections and would vote to advance the project.
Councilwoman Beth Smayda said the FASNY plan as it exists today is the result of public input and that 51 acres of public conservancy, part of the agreed upon plan, is a rarity in southern Westchester.
Councilman John Martin agreed that the project before the Council was better for the community, and that a no vote by the Council would result in costly litigation to the city and its taxpayers. “The result would be that the school would be built anyway,” Martin said.
Councilman Dennis Krolian, who has been steadfastly against the FASNY project, repeated his concerns about traffic in the surrounding neighborhood that might impact emergency response times.
All city departments including Public Safety had submitted their review of the project and determined they had no objection to it moving forward.
Councilwoman Milagros Lecuona said she would vote no, and that she believed the application as it was could not be accepted as complete.
Lecuona again expressed her concern that the regional school, although now restricted to only one of four parcels, could not be compared to a local public school, because students mostly come by car or bus.
She was also concerned about the possible development of the remaining three parcels even though there is a 15-year moratorium on building on those sites, specifically for school use, built into the application.
Councilman John Kirkpatrick voted yes for the application, passing his time for comments on to the mayor.
Mayor Tom Roach noted that the process had not been easy and that the decision made Monday night would not make everyone happy. He said that a school population of 640 students is similar to many of the pubic elementary schools in White Plains.
Roach also commented that a 51-acre conservancy was larger than all the public parks in White Plains combined, the largest being Delfino Park at 17 acres.
Regarding the monitoring of vehicular trips in and out of the campus, a counting device would remain on site to record bus and car activity during peak hours. The cap on trips in and out would be fully enforced.
