Residents air concerns over Jefferson at Saw Mill project

After hearing a succession of complaints from more than 36 residents who voiced their concerns at last night”™s public hearing in front of the Greenburgh Town Board, the developers of a 272-unit residential complex in the village of Ardsley are undeterred.

Neil J. Alexander, an attorney and partner at Cuddy & Feder representing the developer, JPI Multifamily Communities, said the meeting went as expected.

“We see the scoping process as a way to further drill down what we will need to expand upon based on our prior studies,” Alexander said. Despite Wednesday night”™s negative feedback, he said there has been a lot of support and inquiry from people who may want to move there.

The meeting, which was attended by 369 people, sought the public”™s feedback and suggestions on a draft scoping document that highlighted many components of the project, including traffic mitigation measures like nearby road expansions, upgrading the adjacent South County Trailway, building a four-story parking garage, and that the more than 200 apartment units, 10 percent of which will be at affordable rates, will be a combination of studio, one- and two-bedroom spaces.

The theme at the Jan. 13 meeting that resounded among the speakers, all of whom were against the project, was that the Jefferson at Saw Mill proposal was wrong for this location, citing, among other items, existing traffic issues and concern for increasing the enrollment numbers in the Ardsley school district.

Joanne Sold, school board president of the Ardsley Union-Free School District, said, “This is the wrong place at the wrong time for a development of this nature and that it will have a significant, adverse impact on our schools.”

Sold and George Holt, a trustee on the school board, raised four main issues. They were: school enrollment projections, which they fear would drastically increase from the multiple developments in the area, including Rivertowns Square going up across the Saw Mill River Parkway; not enough tax revenue to fund the schools and the potential for increased expenses; and suggested mitigation measures including withdrawing the application or developing an age-restricted residence geared toward empty-nesters.

Texas-based JPI submitted an environmental assessment form in May outlining the numerous studies it has conducted, two of which found that the development will generate about 32 students into the school system and tax revenue could increase to as much as $2 million annually.

The applicant has also proposed spending millions of dollars to clean up the property, which is a brownfield zone that had been the site of the Azko Nobel chemical plant and now contains a variety of carcinogens in the soil.

Ardsley Mayor Peter R. Porcino said traffic and flooding are main concerns with the Jefferson project, particularly as it affects emergency services like ambulances or fire trucks.

“Our volunteer ambulance corps went on 700 calls last year. Adding this burden, (it) has to be determined what the effect on those emergency services is going to be,” Porcino said.

Dina Cardoso, a resident of Ardsley who started a petition of supporters against the Jefferson, said the necessary addendums to the application include a new elementary school, add downtown parking and sidewalks and build a pedestrian bridge at Lawrence Street over the Saw Mill River Parkway.

“Without these essential infrastructure items, our village simply cannot sustain this development,” Cardoso said.

A second public hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 10.