New Castle Town Planner Ready to Tackle the Big Issues
Sabrina Charney Hull certainly knows her way around Westchester County, especially when it comes to planning issues.
For a decade she tackled some of the toughest matters for the Westchester County Department of Planning, immediately followed by the past six and a half years as Somers‘ town planner. Never did she think she would get an opportunity to work in New Castle.
But on April 30, Hull took over the same position in New Castle, looking to lend guidance and expertise to a town that has several critical questions looming about its future direction.
“I have known about New Castle for my entire working career in Westchester,” said Hull, a Newtown, Conn. resident, during a meeting last week at town hall to introduce her to the local media. “I’ve known about Chappaqua. I never thought 16 years ago, ‘Would I be working here’? No, but if the opportunity and if the stars align and everything’s in play, here I am and I’m happy to be here.”
While Hull is thrilled with the new job, it won’t take her long to become fully immersed in the key issues facing New Castle. Like most municipalities in the region New Castle is looking to reinvigorate its downtown in hopes of enticing new commercial development and broaden its tax base. The town has gotten off to a good start with refurbishing the gazebo and the remodeled parking lot behind South Greeley Avenue stores but more needs to be done.
“I think everyone is looking for that Norman Rockwell, quaint little village,” Hull said. “I think it can be done. I think there’s a willingness to talk to the owners downtown, at least upon the tone of things, to work together and we approved the parking lot project and I can only hope we can further that.”
Hull, who worked in Wisconsin for the first four years of her career after completing graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said she would like to see officials move forward on an update of the town master plan, which will address both commercial and residential planning issues. Assembling a representative yet manageable steering committee is one of the first and most important tasks, she said.
The master plan should address large properties, public properties and parks. She said town representatives need to decide the direction they want to take New Castle but must consider today’s economic reality, which has changed the focus for municipalities.
However, she called it “a perfect opportunity” to update the plan and incorporate the changes that policymakers would like to see.
One of the most difficult struggles facing New Castle and many of the county’s municipalities is the need to create more affordable housing, not only to help satisfy the terms of Westchester’s settlement with the federal government but to provide critical and much needed housing stock.
Hull said in her discussions with officials and residents there is interest in having affordable housing in New Castle. The issue is whether there is the will to get it done and whether proposed projects pass muster with the regulatory boards and the zoning code.
While Hull has yet to reach an official conclusion on the controversial Chappaqua Station, a proposed five-story, 36-unit apartment building near the Metro-North train station, she has some concerns about the multiple variances–15 in all–and how it would fit in with the community.
“The apartment building that you see down in Mount Kisco or White Plains is not what we see in New Castle,” Hull said. “I think there is a way to make affordable (units) look like they belong in the community and still take advantage of all the funding incentives that are out there.”
Moving forward, the challenges for Hull will be plentiful but she is grateful to arrive in New Castle, which was looking for and values a planning professional.
“It was refreshing to find a town that was interested in planning,” Hull 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/
