P’ville Residents Raise Environmental Issues on Toll Bros. Project

July 14, 2014 Examiner Media Pleasantville

Pleasantville residents voiced concern last week over the likelihood of wetlands disturbance on the site where Toll Brothers is proposing to build a 68-unit townhouse complex on Washington Avenue.

Attorney David Cooper, who represents the developer, said one-tenth of an acre of the wetlands and wetlands buffer would be disturbed by the construction of the homes, about 15 percent of the total wetlands on the property.

Toll Brothers is currently seeking site plan approval for the project as well as a wetlands permit, which residents urged the board to deny.

“What we’re very concerned about is the building that’s going on in and around this wetland and this disturbance that’s going to be caused,” said Helen Meurer, chair of Pleasantville’s Conservation Advisory Council during the public hearing which opened July 9 on the project before the Planning Commission. “This is a small village with limited space. We need to stop covering it all in houses and tarmac.”

Meurer also said that a village ordinance states that work cannot be done within 50 feet of the wetlands.

However, Susan Favate, of BFJ Planning, a consultant retained by the village, noted that the land is not part of a wetlands protection district, which means that work can be done but needs to be regulated.

One of the proposed homes in the complex would be built in the wetland. Resident Lisa Brown requested that the Planning Commission honor the ordinance and prevent construction of that unit in that location.

In addition to the construction of buildings, the stormwater mitigation plan presented by Toll Brothers would also affect the wetlands, with 60 feet of water main pipe running through the area. There are also several retaining walls proposed within the buffer.

“The wetlands themselves, their main purposes, at least in terms of the point of view of the Village of Pleasantville, is to absorb and slow down stormwater, and if they have this major disruption of the wetlands … it may move the flooding problem from where it is right now,” said resident Matt Brennesholtz.

Cooper noted that one of the purposes of the wetlands is flood mitigation and sediment trapping, an issue which the developer would improve.

He said the concerns voiced by residents are valid but were addressed during the SEQRA review, which stated that the disturbance of the area doesn’t present a significant adverse impact. Cooper added that a study also revealed that there are no endangered or rare species, although many still considered the disturbance of the ecosystem undesirable.

“It may not be a habitat for a rare species, but it’s a rare habitat for the village and there’s value to maintaining it for the village,” said Planning Commission member David Keller.

Keller said that the previously completed ecological assessment in the area fails to describe the types of wildlife in the area, except to say the wildlife isn’t rare.

In addition to objections from residents regarding wetlands, commission members voiced concern with several other aspects of Toll Brothers’ proposal. Joseph Potenza raised the issue of whether there would be adequate lighting for the complex, saying that the three proposed streetlights would be insufficient.

The commission noted that it may be dangerous to rely on ambient light along the roads, because many people turn off their outdoor lights after they have gone to sleep.

Favate said the issue of ambient light late at night may not be a problem, as many people aren’t in the street at that hour. But Keller countered that he was concerned about late-night dog walkers who might be difficult to see by drivers.

The developers’ representatives said they don’t necessarily want to include more lighting fixtures throughout the property, but would be willing to make additions if the board felt it was needed.

The commission also revisited the issue of a sidewalk on the property, which was discussed in depth at a recent joint meeting with the village board. Toll Brothers presented a meandering walkway that would span for 1,500 of the 1,700 square feet of the complex’s frontage. They proposed using grass, as opposed to mulch or other materials, which could be washed away in heavy rain and result in debris clogging the county collection system.

“If we put a path there with debris-causing material, the DPW is going to object…so what we’re trying to do is get a pedestrian refuge, something that people can walk along, that the county will be okay with,” Cooper said.

Commission members stated that was an improvement over the previous plans, but requested that the developer re-examine the property’s grading to see if a path that would span the entire length of the frontage could be created.

The hearing will reconvene at the Planning Commission’s next meeting July 23.