An environmental review is underway for a proposal to subdivide a parcel at 715 Sleepy Hollow Road in Mount Pleasant so that 29 new single-family houses can be built.
ZappiCo Real Estate Development LLC proposes to subdivide a 36.83-acre property into a 32-lot cluster subdivision. Two existing residences would be preserved and one lot in the parcel would be preserved for open space.
ZappiCo, based in Hawthorne, is a builder of single-family houses, townhomes and condominiums. It has projects in Briarcliff Manor, Chappaqua, Ardsley, Yorktown, and Mohegan Lake among other communites. The founder and CEO of the company is Jim Zappi and other Zappi family members are active in the firm.
The Mount Pleasant Planning Board has determined the scope of the environmental review that is required for the project and a full Environmental Impact Statement is to be prepared as required under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act.
ZappiCo has named the project “Meadows at Briarcliff.” In August 2020, ZappiCo purchased 42 acres of land in the town of Mount Pleasant and the village of Briarcliff Manor. Approximately six acres of the 42-acre parcel located in the village of Briarcliff Manor subsequently were sold so they could be developed to support two single-family homes. ZappiCo now proposes to subdivide the existing parcel into a total of 31 building lots ranging in size from 20,012 square feet to 127,327 square feet. It also proposes to set aside approximately 21.56 acres, or approximately 58% of the land, as open space by creating a conservation easement.
ZappiCo says that the residential community will be served by four cul-de-sac roadways that connect with Sleepy Hollow Road. The cul-de-sacs will be private but built to town standards and will be maintained by a homeowner”™s association. Water and sewer lines would connect with Briarcliff Manor infrastructure.
A traffic study by Kimley-Horn Engineering and Landscape Architecture determined that the project would have no perceptible impact on traffic conditions in the area.
An engineering study of the topography found that most of the property is relatively flat but there are portions of the site, which will involve construction disturbance to slopes over 15%. There are four acres of wetlands on the site but plans call for the wetlands and buffer areas to remain undisturbed. The site has frontage on Pocantico Lake but the land within 300 feet of the lake would be undisturbed.
There would be a conservation easement along the lakefront and trees would be kept to provide a buffer. Stormwater would be diverted away from the lake.
In its application, ZappiCo said, “The primary benefits when designing a cluster subdivision include reducing impervious surfaces, less tree clearing and earth disturbance, reduced maintenance costs for road and utilities. The cluster plan allows existing environmental features such as woods, slopes and wetlands to be protected.”
The company said it has had experience building cluster developments in Westchester including the Windsor Farms project in Somers that won a smart growth award with the help of the Westchester Land Trust.
“The town benefits by the taxes on the newly created lots. The community will benefit by the anticipated increase in property values and protection of conservation land,” ZappiCo said. “With the proposed roads to be private and owned and maintained by HOA (homeowners association) ”¦ there is no maintenance burden on the town. HOA would be responsible for all utility and infrastructure maintenance and stormwater management. Cluster benefits the future property owner within the subdivision with less lawn and property maintenance needed.”
ZappiCo said that an existing easement for the New Croton Aqueduct, which runs through the southwest portion of the site, has no impact on the proposed development.
