French-American School revises plans for White Plains campus
The French-American School of New York has revised its plans to build a campus on the site of the former Ridgeway Country Club in White Plains.
Submitted Oct. 20 to the Common Council by law firm Zarin & Steinmetz, which has represented the school during the zoning process, the revisions include a reduction in the number of parking spaces, a reduction in the size of the campus buildings, changes to the traffic management plan and enhanced landscaping buffers between the proposed school and the neighborhood.
According to a cover letter sent with the revised plans, the size of the buildings has been reduced by 33,000 square feet by increasing the number of classrooms in the upper school and combining some middle and upper school program uses, thus enabling a reduction in the size of the middle school building.
“We trust that the council members will appreciate the significant and substantial changes to the site plan and special permit applications included in this submission,” said the letter, which was signed by attorney Michael Zarin. “Frankly, some of the changes asked of FASNY were very difficult for the school and its community to accept from a financial and programmatic perspective.”
FASNY also further revised the traffic management plan to include corrective actions to take should the city of White Plains identify more than 500 peak-hour car trips to the school three times in a month. Short-term corrective actions would include increases in student carpooling and public transit use, requiring more students to walk or bicycle to campus and the implementation of shuttle van service. If those plans did not reduce traffic, FASNY would then be required to implement private busing through a contracted vendor and take additional unspecified action.
Modifying the plan to close Hathaway Lane between Ridgeway and Gedney Esplanade, the school has proposed to open a portion of the campus driveway on non-school days, or approximately 196 days per year, to provide alternative emergency vehicle access to the neighborhood. The gate closing the street would also be moved 50 feet south of the property boundary for 57 Hathaway Lane to avoid disturbing that residence.
In addition, the school”™s enrollment agreement would detail the traffic management plan to FASNY students’ families and would require that requests for limited exemptions to the mandatory busing plans be made in writing and verified by the school”™s administration.
Thirty parking spaces have been eliminated in the plan, as have two outdoor basketball courts. The areas allotted for those uses would instead be green space, and an additional 166 trees would be planted to protect adjoining residences and enhance the character of the property.
“FASNY certainly believes that it has done everything asked of it in good faith to meet the challenges of its school, and the public review process,” the letter concluded. “(FASNY)Â trusts that a favorable determination on its applications will occur in the very near future.”