Hearings Set for Open Space Recreation District
With private golf clubs struggling to survive and government-run recreational facilities falling into the non-essential services category, communities enjoying the green open spaces on which these organizations reside are now seeking to protect them from potential future over development.
The closure and sale of the Ridgeway Country Club to the French American School of New York (FASNY) in late 2010 caused many people living in 10-square-mile White Plains to take notice. There was concern about another regional institution entering the neighborhood, bringing increased traffic and development to a site that had for years been covered in green freshly mowed lawns.
It was considered that if one golf club failed, then other golf clubs in the area might also fail, causing a domino effect of special use permits reverting back to residential zoning. No one wanted the expansive fairways to be turned into housing developments. The two other clubs considered at risk are Westchester County-owned Maple Moor Golf Course and privately-owned Westchester Hills Golf Club.
Because these golf clubs fall within a residential zoning district, they operate with special use permits. If the clubs close, the property reverts back to residential use and special permits are required for any use other than residential allowed within the zoning district.
FASNY currently has an application before the White Plains Common Council for a special permit to run a pre-nursery through grade 12 regional school at its site on Ridgeway. An educational institution is an allowed use by special permit in a residential zone.
The White Plains Comprehensive Plan already identifies the three properties as valuable open space and recommends they be maintained as golf courses if the economic environment allows it. The failure of the Ridgeway Country Club to survive and the decision of the White Plains Common Council not to purchase the property for its own recreational use set off a series of public meetings and general concern about the future of White Plains’ remaining open spaces.
A moratorium on land use decisions in White Plains was established to give the city time to study the situation. Public scoping sessions were held to prepare a document setting parameters on what a new open space recreation zone might entail. The Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS) for a change to the White Plains Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance for a new Open Space Recreation District (OSRD), prepared from the scoping document, has been accepted by the Common Council as complete and ready for public comment.
The analysis includes recommendations for potential land uses including private educational institutions, a reduction in residential density and conservancies on the site, with consideration for environmental impacts, wetlands, stormwater management, traffic, growth inducing influences and conservation of energy resources.
A public hearing has been scheduled on September 4 at 7:30 p.m. or after the close of the regularly scheduled meeting of the Common Council, with adjournment to October 1. Written comments will be accepted at White Plains City Hall through October 11 at 5 p.m.
The complete OSRD DGEIS is available for review at the White Plains Public Library and on the city’s website at cityofwhiteplains.com.
