didn’t keep area residents away from attending of site plan reviews for the proposed CVS in the Chilmark Shopping Center.
While not quite filled to capacity, the crowd was vocal enough throughout the evening, prompting site developer William Biddle to express his discontent with the “clapping and snickers” as “counterproductive.”
With traffic circulation and safety as foremost concerns, the village's planning board engaged traffic engineer Georges Jacquemart, of BFJ Planning to review and assess the site plan.
“From a traffic circulation point of view it is a better circulation plan that we have today. It’s a site with a complicated history,” noted Jacquemart. “We feel it is an improvement over what we have today.”
Jacquemart did express concern, repeatedly, over the potentially hazardous site access point—or cut through—between Pleasantville Road and the adjacent property. The currently empty Chase property does not belong to CVS developer Urstadt Biddle.
Although William Null of Cuddy & Feder—the attorney representing Urstadt Biddle—suggested he would work with the future Chase property owner to rectify the configuration, the traffic engineer suggested otherwise.
“There has to be more than a promise to work together and we would like to seek a legal mechanism to remedy the problem,” proposed Jacquemart. A reciprocal easement, providing one common driveway for the two properties, was also recommended.
Null, on behalf of the developer, was in agreement with a condition regarding ingress and egress, but not an easement.
Residents weighed in as well.
Stephen Smalley of Orchard Road echoed the concerns regarding the cut-through as well as the overall safety of the traffic pattern.
“Traffic will be increased and applications are being made to the Ossining school board to bus children due to increased traffic," said Smalley.
Traffic circulation wasn’t the only contentious topic. Charles Mosello, who resides directly across from the proposed project, elicited plenty of chuckles when he suggested he would use the girth of the CVS wall to project movies. Mosello asserted although the project is within the boundaries of Briarcliff Manor, the major impact is felt by the town of Ossining, which “will bear most of the impact.”
The audience erupted into applause after Mosello suggested that too many adjustments and concessions were being made in favor of the property owner.
Null concluded the review by summarizing, “we’re pretty much at the end of what we can do.”
The planning board will provide the village board of trustees with a list of issues, concerns and recommendations and continue the public hearing next month.
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