Homeowners Group Organizes to Fight P’ville Assisted Living Plan
A recently formed homeowners group has launched a website and online petition to fight the proposed Pleasantville assisted living facility.
The group, United Homeowners of Pleasantville (UHP), has mobilized in response to Massachusetts-based Benchmark Senior Living’s attempt to construct its first assisted living facility in New York State, which is planned for the 3.5-acre United Methodist Church property on Bedford Road near Maple Hill Road.
“This development will forever change the nature of our small village,” a message on the group’s website stated.
Calling the proposal “a 4 story monster,” the group outlined a long list of problems that would likely be generated if the 87-unit building is approved and constructed. Among the potential consequences would be an increase in traffic caused by delivery trucks, moving vans and vehicles driven by the facility’s employees that would clog the village’s roads and overwhelmed volunteer emergency services.
An online petition opposing Benchmark has begun to gain some traction, attracting 43 signatures as of Wednesday. The website also encourages concerned residents to contact the village board and planning commission.
“Benchmark is trying to use our small village for developing their first property in New York State,” the UHP website reads in part. “Do they view us as country bumpkins who will readily agree to ‘floating zones’ to get tax dollars from aggressive developers?”
In response to the group and some of the information the group has dispensed, the village board sent a letter to all Pleasantville residents stating that it is aware of the materials being circulated by the homeowners group and that those communications have not been reviewed by the village for “accuracy or fairness.”
“For sake of clarity, we note that Benchmark’s requested zoning does not propose that assisted living facilities could be built ‘anywhere in the village’ (as suggested by a recent flyer),” the village’s correspondence read. “It proposes a floating zone that requires a minimum 3-acre site along a State or County road.”
Benchmark is in contract to purchase the property behind the United Methodist Church to build the four-story facility, much to the chagrin of many neighbors along Maple Hill Road. An official petition to create and implement a new “floating zone” called the Eldercare Community District on the property was received by the village in early February.
Pick up a print edition of The Examiner next Tuesday for more on this story.
