Neighbors sue White Plains to bar French-American school

Neighbors have filed a lawsuit against the city of White Plains, claiming Common Council members illegally approved an environmental findings statement allowing the French-American School of New York to relocate to the grounds of the former Ridgeway Country Club.

Concerned over the impact a 950-student campus would have on the grounds, the Gedney Association ”“ representing a neighborhood of 455 households ”“ filed a lawsuit late February requesting the New York Supreme Court re-examine the environmental review process used to pave the way for the school’s arrival.

According to complaint, council members allegedly failed to properly investigate the environmental impact, ignoring “seriously questioned” busing and traffic plans. The council also allegedly adopted the site’s environmental findings statement without adequate public review.

“Regrettably, the Common Council violated many of the environmental review requirements mandated by the state law and its own city land-use procedures,” said Terence Guerriere, Gedney Association president, in a written statement. “We felt obligated to challenge the decision.”

In 2010, the French-American School paid $11 million for the 129-acre property to consolidate its three Westchester County campuses into one location. Previous plans for the $70-million project proposed creating a campus with several school buildings, athletic fields and playgrounds on 46 acres, leaving the remaining 83 acres on the property open to the public.

Currently the school leases campuses in Larchmont, Mamaroneck and Scarsdale. It teaches bilingual and bicultural education in French and English from pre-school to 12th grade levels.

The project has garnered tense opposition that cited concerns that the development would take away historic land and create traffic and drainage issues. However, school officials contend its plans incorporate positive features and designs to minimize the impact of the school.

“The study and scope of the environmental review of our school”™s planned campus on the defunct Ridgeway Country Club property was the most thorough ever conducted by the City of White Plains,” school officials wrote in a prepared statement. “This multi-year, multi-million dollar review constitutes thousands of pages and encompasses virtually every conceivable aspect of the plan and its potential impacts.”

School officials say their plan, approved under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, significantly reduces traffic overall, shifts school traffic to main arterial roadways, requires mandatory busing, limits the total number of students and includes extensive green technology and building practices.

The environmental findings statement, they say, is a 129-page document that involved more than two years of review and analysis.

Council members voted to adopt the final statement Dec. 16, moving the approval process closer to finalization. A site plan approval and special permit are needed next.

School officials say they’re confident in the review process followed and will proceed in advancing its application plans. Few environmental reviews have ever been overturned by a court, they say. The lawsuit will not delay any site plan or permit reviews.

“As we respond to the lawsuit, we will continue to reach out and work with the many supporters of the school both in the Gedney neighborhood and across the city,” school officials wrote. “We look forward to joining the many high-quality educational entities that are privileged to call White Plains home.”