No SEQR Determination Yet in CVS Proposal

The Briarcliff Manor planning board has not yet determined whether proposed changes to the Chilmark Shopping Center will adversely affect the area.

After several public hearings, residents and some board members continue to express concern over traffic patterns and pedestrian safety in the sloped center that borders the Village of Ossining.

The board and representatives of Urstadt Biddle—the developer proposing a 13,000-square foot CVS on the site adjacent to Pleasantville Road—walked through the site over the weekend and recommended changes prior to a public hearing on Tuesday.

Rob Aiello, of John Meyer Consulting, showed modification to the parking lot grade (currently 12 percent with a proposed reduction to 8 percent), a retaining wall, landscaping and sidewalks to the portion of the center near .

"There is no parking from Carvel to the point of the new building," he pointed out on the new proposal, referring to the proposed 3,500-square foot addition to the one story building behind Carvel housing and .

Jay Neveloff of the planning board expressed repeated concern Wednesday night over the 25-foot-wide roadway proposed to bring two-way traffic to and from the Carvel and new building's parking areas near Orchard Road.

He contested that while current traffic patterns may be sustainable through the road, a higher volume of customers brought to the center if CVS opens may make it insufficient.

"There is a lot going on in that 25-foot area," he said. "That's what continues to concern me."

Meadow Road resident Charles Bradley agreed and said, "Its just going to be a mess."

He also said he found the rendering of the proposed CVS building to be "as ugly a building...as anything I've ever seen," which he contended would destroy the Pleasantville Road facade.

"This doesn't work and it shouldn't be approved," he said.

Board member Stuart Halper asked if developers had "overlooked the elimination of some of [the Carvel] building to increase the size of the 24-25-foot passegway."

However, William Null of Cuddy & Feder—the law firm representing Urstadt Biddle—and Aiello said 25-feet is typical for a two-way passage in a shopping center and added it could not be widened given its proximity to Carvel.

"It's routine in a target shopping center," said Aiello, stating the opening is comparable to those in the Cross County Shopping Center in Yonkers.

Board member Shelley Lotter said making the road too wide may increase pedestrian danger.

"As a practical matter, it's very difficult to control pedestrian traffic," she added.

Other issues brought up included parking and truck regulations, as well as possible hours of operation for the CVS, many of which will be discussed during the site plan review phase.

Stephen Smalley of Orchard Road urged the board to recommend truck weight limits be imposed on residential streets in the neighborhood, including Orchard Road, Macy Road and Apple Lane.

Bridget Cumiskey, a 10-year employee of Chilmark's , stated she drives into the center through the Orchard Road entrance and said the area is "very dangerous," especially when trucks making deliveries to Carvel and  infringe upon a driving lane.

Null reminded the board of the applicant's need for a State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) recommendation, which in turn would be passed along to the village board, which is responsible for issuing (or not) a special use permit for the project.

"This is the package and we're asking you to act on it tonight," he said.

Ultimately, following an executive session, the board stated it will develop one or more memorandums for the SEQR determination by the next meeting (Jan. 10, 2012) before making any recommendations to the village board.

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