Owners of the Enclave condominium in Eastchester don”™t want a developer to build a larger apartment building across the street.
The condo”™s board of managers sued the Eastchester Zoning Board of Appeals on March 18 for granting Augustus Development LLC rights to construct a building behind the Shoppes @ Eastchester that will exceed neighborhood height restrictions, in a petition filed in Westchester Supreme Court.
The proposed 5-story, 21-apartment structure “will constitute an eyesore” and grant “an unjustified windfall on a sophisticated and experienced developer,” according to a petition filed in Westchester Supreme Court.
“The board was very thorough in its review of the matter,” Town Attorney Louis Reda said. “The town will defend the zoning board ”¦ and it will be up to the court to decide.”
The Enclave is a 24-unit condominium at 24 Ray Place, around the corner from the White Plains Road commercial strip.
When Augustus Development of Pleasantville bought a vacant 0.59-acre parking lot at the crest of Ray Place for $1 million in 2019, developer John Saraceno calculated that he had to build a fifth floor to “realize the full potential and value of the property,” according to zoning records.
Augustus Development asked the zoning board for 10 variances that would allow a larger, higher structure, as well as other concessions. Four public hearings were held.
The zoning board determined that the apartments would be consistent with the character of the neighborhood, according to its findings:
Ӣ It would be slightly taller than the Enclave.
Ӣ It would not appear out of place or out of scale in the busy, mixed-use commercial corridor.
Ӣ The requested variances are not substantial.
Ӣ The building would not have an adverse physical effect on the neighborhood or the environment.
The zoning board also found that Augustus Development”™s alleged financial difficulty that prompted the request for variances was self-created. But that issue alone does not preclude granting the variances.
The zoning board approved the variances on Jan. 12 by a 3-2 vote.
The Enclave board of managers, led by Srishantha Malagoda, disputes most of the zoning board findings.
The board”™s job is to prevent construction of inappropriately large structures, the petition states, grant the minimum variances necessary, and protect the character of the neighborhood.
A portion of the property may have no more than 2.5 stories, under the zoning laws, and the variances let the developer add from 17.5% to 67% height.
The parking lot is 25 feet higher than White Plains Road. The top of the apartment building would be 80 feet higher than the road and would tower over the commercial district on one side and a residential neighborhood on another side.
The board also allegedly failed to consider the impact of the building on the stormwater runoff and on the aged sewer system.
The Enclave claims it was denied due process. Augustus was allowed to present more information after the last public hearing was closed in November, according to the petition, but town officials would not allow the zoning board to consider a legal analysis presented by the Enclave”™s attorney, Andrew D. Brodnick.
That analysis, the petition states, “may well have affected a single vote, which would have changed the outcome.”
The Enclave is asking the court to annul the 10 variances.
