Tarrytown Expansion Continues with Wilson Park’s "Findings" Statement

To the list of major developments now concurrently being completed in Tarrytown, we must now add the acceptance of the Wilson Park FEIS and finally, the drafting of the project’s "Findings" statement.

This completes the New York State Environment Quality Review process. It requires that all questions and issues surrounding the development are put into a final statement. The statement will instruct various contractors and developers in contact with the building of the final l4 homes slated for the area. The next step will be to approve the individual site plans for each home being constructed in Wilson Park.

In effect, the "Findings" represent instructions as to how the final development of the property will proceed. It is a document that was written by the Village, (i.e., Alee, King, Rosen and Fleming of NYC), using all of the questions and problems put forward by the public and all other interested parties throughout the entire State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process.

The current plan calls for an "Enhanced Park Plan" which provides for 11.38 acres of public park on the southwestern parcel, which would provide a direct connection between Wilson Park Drive and the existing walking path.

The Village intends to purchase the 11.38 acres from the developer for 1.2 million dollars. The plan calls for 30.71 acres to remain as "open space." The efforts to improve and save the Tarrytown Lakes will continue to be discussed, but the "Findings" indicate that the Wilson Park plan itself will "not have a significant adverse impact" on stormwater runoff. The document is available online and is on display at Village Hall.

Next on the development list is the plan for the Unification Church’s property in the south end of the Village, known as the "Jardim" properties. The first section is currently being reviewed and four homes out of l5 lots have already received approval. The second section known as "Jardim East" will have 17 or less lots but this property is at the beginning of the approval process rather than the end. Nevertheless, the net at the end of the process is 32 more houses which will be built on what was once open space. One wonders what the continuing demand for land will eventually bring to our river towns replete with demands on run-off, water supplies, sewage, wildlife and traffic.

Finally, almost as a sidebar issue, is a home being proposed by C. M. Pateman Assoc. at the corner of Altamont and Fairview. Pateman has been asked to lower the height of his proposed development by two feet. That was a request by the Planning Board but, in effect, represents a request from neighbors who are concerned that larger-sized homes are outsizing the lots they are built on. The term "McMansion" is being used, in connection with many new homes even though they are within Tarrytown zoning requirements, as is Pateman’s proposed home. Those close to these projects indicate that larger-sized homes, regardless of acreage or lack thereof, are in demand by today’s customers and impact dramatically on resale values.

Some developers have used a system of using a larger number of smaller lots to make up one or two larger-sized lots. That is an issue currently being considered by the Planning Board, with the outcome not yet determined.

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About the Author: Arnold Thiesfeldt