North Castle Tree Removal for Armonk Park Hits Raw Nerve
Plans to turn an underutilized Armonk parcel into additional park space progressed last week but not before several complaints surfaced about the removal of trees from the site.
The Town of North Castle moved ahead with clearing trees and brush from municipal land near the corner of Maple Avenue and Bedford Road, which is now referred to as Wampus Brook Park South. The bid for $64,100 was approved by the town board at its Sept. 25 meeting.
It is the same site that saw dozens of trees fall during Superstorm Sandy. In the months following the storm, a majority of the town board pursued a dog park for the location but that plan was abandoned after community outcry.
Town officials are now planning to turn it into a park with a large lawn ringed by new tree plantings, said Councilman John Cronin. The plans were also unanimously approved by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, he said.
Cronin said the town would be replacing the roughly 35 trees taken down last week with about twice that number, transforming an overgrown and rundown location into a beautiful space. Another bid for the landscape work is scheduled to be awarded at Wednesday night’s town board meeting.
“It’s something that’s already approved and is underway,” Cronin said of the plans.
However, when tree removal crews arrived at the site last Thursday some residents weren’t aware that work had been scheduled. Resident Tom Arnold, who lives at Wampus Close, a development across the street from the parcel, said he was alarmed when he noticed that most of the remainder of the trees were taken out with little or no outreach to the community.
“If they want to repurpose the area and build a park that’s fine, but they need to let the neighbors know,” he said.
Arnold said when he approached a crew member to learn what was going on, he was told they were building a parking lot, which was further distressing.
Cronin mentioned that last week’s tree removal was for the creation of the park. There had been discussions with the owner of the neighboring Elide Plaza about creating more parking but that would have to be taken up by the new town board, if it chooses to, next year, he said.
Another Wampus Close resident, Norma Hill, said she was aware of the proposal but there’s a level of mistrust between some of her neighbors and the current town administration after the plans for the dog park were aborted earlier this year. During that episode, the Wampus Close residents said they weren’t consulted about the former proposal.
However, possible miscommunication between neighbors and the town wasn’t the only source of criticism last week. Open Space Committee Chair Kerri Kazak sent a letter last Friday to the town board stating that the committee had “strong objections” to the work because various other boards and committees weren’t consulted to participate in state Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process.
The committee called for all work to immediately cease until all levels of SEQRA review and compliance with the town code is completed.
“If a private property owner was proposing this kind of work and change of use of its property, they would be required to comply with all the provisions of the Town Code,” Kazak’s letter stated. “The entire project would have to be reviewed and approved by the relevant boards and agencies and a SEQRA review would be done. The Town is not exempt from complying with the same requirements.”
However, Cronin said there was no need for the town to take any of those steps on its portion of the land.
The majority of the estimated three acres is controlled by the town while the remainder is state land. The board is expected to vote Wednesday night on a resolution transferring a half-acre from the state to the town.
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/
