Mount Pleasant Approves Floating Zone for Valhalla Senior Housing Project
A 170-unit senior housing project took a significant step forward last week after the Mount Pleasant Town Board approved enacting a floating zone on an eight-acre portion of a Valhalla property.
The Mount Pleasant Town Board unanimously approved Brightview Senior Living’s rezone request from residential to one that would allow service enriched senior housing for the parcel at 236 Grasslands Rd. The applicant has proposed to build a facility that would bring a variety of senior housing options. The proposal calls for 89 independent units, 45 units for assisted living and another 36 for memory care.
Brightview will now head to the town’s Planning Board for site plan review.
Initially, Brightview asked for the land to become part of the Office Business zone, but town officials preferred to have greater control over where multiple types of senior housing might be proposed.
The applicant’s attorney, David Steinmetz, said Brightview faced a demand in the community for a facility that would provide a continuum of care. The town’s current code can only accommodate assisted living facilities, he said.
“So that is the reason why we presented a floating zone to the town, which would allow for the use but limit its applicability throughout the town and give the Town Board complete control over where it gets mapped,” Steinmetz said.
Under the new floating zone, service enriched senior housing has the requirement to be built in a residential or Office Business zone of more than eight acres and with at least 100 feet of frontage on a state or county road.
If the project is approved, Brightview would make nearly $1 million of water infrastructure improvements, Steinmetz said. The town would expand a municipal water district to connect about 50 nearby homes for water service.
There would also be a widening of Grasslands Road near the entrance to the property, which is located across the street from the Westchester Community College entrance, to accommodate a left-hand turning lane. There would also be a traffic signal installed at that location.
Before the vote, the Town Board completed the public hearing, taking comments from several residents, a couple of whom opposed the plan while others applauded the investment by Brightview to help residents be placed on municipal water.
“I’m really looking forward to the water infrastructure coming in because our water is so horrible here with the wells,” said Ronald Court resident Jerry Adamsky. “They ate our houses alive with all the problems we had over the years and I’m really looking forward for this project to go through so we can all settle on that.”
There was opposition to the concept of granting an applicant a floating zone. Armand Place resident Sean Quigley said it could be a precedent-setting move that could entice other developers to have the regulations bent in their favor.
“I am not against housing for seniors; I am not against housing for veterans,” he said. “I am against changing the rules of the game, the zoning rules that have been in the books for 50, 60 years to try and get a project in.”
Quigley was also upset that an already congested street would have a major operation added. Citing an estimate that appeared in the application for the North 60 project, he said Grasslands Road sees as many as 10,000 vehicles a day.
Bradhurst Avenue resident Glenn Accocella said Brightview’s senior housing plan would probably be the best use of the property, but was dismayed at the possibility of adding more traffic.
“This whole area is just so concerning with the expansion of any roadways and bringing more traffic into the neighborhood,” Accocella said. “It’s tough to deal with as it is.”
The Planning Board determined with the help of its traffic consultant that the project would not contribute to a significant adverse environmental impact because of the road improvements and residents would not be leaving and returning to the site during peak hours.
Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi said town officials had considered the impacts of this project as well as the possibility of having 12 houses developed. It has also been aware of the the water problems in that area.
“This was thought about very seriously, and we are concerned with the neighborhood, we are concerned with our community and we feel that this was the best use of this property,” Fulgenzi said.
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/