WP Planning Board Gives Nod to Leffell School Special Permit Request
During the Jan. 23 meeting of the White Plains Planning Board, members agreed to send a letter to the Zoning Board of Appeals stating their support for a Special Permit allowing the Leffell School (formerly Solomon Schecter Private Elementary School) to run summer camps at 148-302 Rosedale Ave., White Plains.
A representative for the school explained it had been approached by numerous entities wanting to operate summer camps at the location. While no specific request was in place, the school is seeking the Special Permit to run summer camps in advance of further requests by outside entities, which would lease the space on weekdays during the summer vacation months when school is not in session.
Legal counsel explained the limited facilities of the school would only attract summer camps interested in using classroom space such as chess camps and STEM camps. Some outdoor activity would utilize the playground areas, but there would be no formal sports activities.
No physical changes have been proposed for the site.
On meeting with the Rosedale neighborhood association the night before the Planning Board meeting, the school was informed by neighboring residents that their primary concerns related to traffic. Specifically, residents said the existing transportation management plan used by the school was not being enforced.
That same plan would carry over to summer drop-off and pickup at the school and residents requested something be done about parents not sticking to the plan and driving on roads in the neighborhood.
Vehicle movement would include both buses and cars coming and going from the property.
Acknowledging the problem, school administrators are working on the problem and said they would come back with a compliance plan. They also decided to change the camp capacity from 500 campers to 100 campers, with the option to be able to up that number in the future.
Planning Board chairman John Ioris said the modified request was a “good idea.”
Board member Lynn Oliva recommended the school talk with the headmaster of the German School in White Plains, which had similar problems enforcing its traffic management plan, but had worked out compliance issues.
