“The proposal for the full build-out is too large in my opinion,” Cortlandt Town Supervisor Linda D. Puglisi told a packed public hearing as Cortlandt”™s Town Board on Jan. 14 resumed looking into a zoning proposal and planned development.
The hearing had been adjourned from Nov. 17, 2019, and dealt with the creation of a Medical Oriented District (MOD) and fulfilling requirements of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) for the MOD as well as developments that have been proposed for the new zoning district. The MOD would cover approximately 34 parcels totaling 105 acres in the area of Route 202, also known as Crompond Road, including the NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital.
Two developers have submitted proposals for projects within the proposed MOD.
Ossining-based VS Construction is proposing a mixed-use project for approximately 28 acres consisting of a 17-acre parcel at 2003 Crompond Road, formerly known as the Evergreen Manor Hotel, and an adjacent 11-acre parcel. The Evergreen Manor property is immediately south of the hospital.
Gyrodyne LLC of St. James, New York, has proposed a project for 13.8 acres with approximately 450 feet of frontage on Route 202 and 770 feet of frontage on Lafayette Avenue.
The Evergreen Manor project would include a 120-unit assisted living residence, a 90-room hotel with 13,000 square feet of retail space, a mixed-use building with 9,000 square feet of retail and 18,000 square feet of office space, a 166-unit apartment component with 152 one-bedroom units and 14 two-bedroom units and approximately 550 parking spaces for the various uses.
The Gyrodyne proposal includes 100,000 square feet of medical office space, 4,000 square feet of retail, 200 residential units totaling approximately 200,000 square feet with 20 studios, 160 one-bedrooms and 20 two-bedrooms. There would be 180 parking spaces in a structure along with 383 spaces at-grade. The proposal would include indoor and outdoor space for community events along with improved open space around Orchard Lake.
Puglisi said a report in a local newspaper misstated how the development proposal came about.
“It states in this article that the town went to these developers, to the applicants, and that is incorrect. We did not seek them out,” she said. “They were the property owners of these two parcels and they came to the staff and us with their proposals.”
She also explained that her opinion about the proposal being too large came from reading emails from residents, reading environmental study documents and “my own personal beliefs.”
Attorney David Steinmetz of the White Plains-based law firm Zarin & Steinmetz, speaking on behalf of both applicants, said it was the town”™s comprehensive plan “Envision Cortlandt” that talked about zoning for medical uses and provided encouragement for the proposal.
“The two projects would generate between $4 million and $5 million in property taxes for the town,” Steinmetz said. “We have spent the better part of two years and probably a quarter of a million dollars studying the traffic that exists right now and the deficiencies that exist right now. You have two major developers at the table who are willing to help the town deal with the traffic situation, mitigate the impacts of their own projects and fix the problems that exist today.”
Steinmetz said the town”™s traffic consultants have proposed improvements that would cost about $3 million and the developers are willing to pay those costs.
“There are a variety of intersection improvements, traffic light improvements, road widening, road striping and adaptive traffic techniques that the town”™s consultants have suggested,” he said.
Resident Stacy Rivera told the hearing, “These proposals I don”™t think are going to improve the quality of life because of the magnitude.”
David Weinberger, who also lives in the area, said, “Building stuff doesn”™t get better (health) care, doesn”™t lower costs, doesn”™t improve patient outcomes. If we want to think about improving patient outcomes and improving the quality of our lives in this community, then we need to think about something other than building things.”
Puglisi called for the hearing to be adjourned until the board”™s meeting on April 17. Steinmetz pointed out that a three-month adjournment might not be appropriate since SEQRA discourages lengthy delays in the review process. He urged the board to resume the hearing in February. The town”™s attorney, Thomas Wood, said that not resuming until April is justified because a lot of information still needs to be received and reviewed. The board voted to adjourn the hearing until April 17.
