Good to See Change of Heart From Chappaqua Form Based Code Opponent
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
I was shocked to see the letter from Scott Le Vine actually supportive of building new housing in Chappaqua (“In Support of New Castle’s Proposed Housing Law,” June 6, 2022).
Mr. Le Vine is a board member of “Residents United to Save Chappaqua Hamlet” (RUSCH), founded when Chappaqua debated the adoption of the Form Based Code (FBC) to allow new apartment building construction on a dilapidated downtown block. RUSCH scared residents with specious predictions of greedy developers, overwhelmed schools, crazy traffic jams and uncontrolled taxes. Le Vine protested the FBC at Town Board meetings and in letters to The Examiner. When the Town Board seemed close to approving the FBC, Le Vine berated and bullied a board member publicly at a meeting. Hoping to prevent a quorum for a vote, he demanded the board member’s recusal.
Flash forward a few months and Chappaqua learns that the anti-FBC Unite New Castle slate, which won last fall’s Town Board election, was funded heavily by two developers. RUSCH refuses to reveal how it received thousands of dollars to pay for its expensive misinformation campaign and energetic support of Unite New Castle. The new Town Board is suddenly considering four-story apartment buildings, and Mr. Le Vine is now a big fan of new housing, both without the FBC constraining developers.
I welcome Le Vine’s sudden change of heart. So do the developers.
Chandak Ghosh
Chappaqua
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