White Plains Council Votes to Accept FASNY Settlement Agreement
The White Plains Common Council last night approved a settlement agreement with the French American School of New York (FASNY) with a 4 to 3 vote, bringing the current litigation between the entities to an end and opening the door for FASNY to present a new Site Plan for the school’s development.
Under the proposed Stipulation of Settlement, the Common Council agrees to provide FASNY’s Alternative Plan a diligent and fair review in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, mutually agreed to milestones, Court-ordered oversight for the review process, and the staying of all litigation until the Alternative Plan is determined by the city under its normal public review procedures. The Council is not obligated to accept the Alternative Plan.
The proposed Alternative Plan includes the following features:
- The Upper School (grades 6-12) will be built on the already developed portion of the site (“Parcel A”) where the clubhouse and other facilities of the former Ridgeway Country Club now stand.
- Hathaway Lane will remain open.
- No environmentally sensitive features on the site will be impacted.
- The Lower School (Nursery through 5th grade) is eliminated from the application reducing student population by 33 percent from 950 to 640, reducing building square footage by 35 per cent, and significantly reducing traffic by another 42 percent.
FASNY also recorded and created a 51-acre publicly accessible Conservancy on part of its land with plans to create east-west and north-south pedestrian and bicycle paths for neighborhood residents, as previously proposed. Known as “Parcel D,” the land has frontage on Bryant Avenue, North Street and Hathaway Lane. The conservation easement assures that the property cannot be developed, and will ultimately be open to the public. The conservation easement also will include bike/pedestrian trails.
The reduction in conservation easement from the 78 acres offered by FASNY in the original plan reflects the 35 percent reduction in the size of the school buildings and the 33 percent reduction in the student population under the Alternative Plan.
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