Residents Ask for a Moratorium on Development in Sensitive Drainage Areas, New Eateries Opening and More from the Village Board

Developers are proposing an 8 home subdivision in a wetlands on Garden RoadThere was promising news from the` Village Board about eating options in the Village at their first meeting of the new year. The Mayor announced the “imminent” opening of the long awaited One Rare Steakhouse in the space formerly occupied by Zachys on East Parkway. The restaurant, from the owners of Ben and Jack’s Steakhouse on East 44th Street, will feature dry aged steaks, pasta and seafood.

The Mayor also said that the owners of Martines on East Parkway plan to open Mimis -– an artisanal gelateria, serving gelato, waffles and hot lava cakes. The new shop will be at 51 East Parkway in the space once held by Webster Bank.

With little discussion, the Board also passed two amendments to Village code regarding permeable vs. impervious surfaces for lot coverage and another regarding grading for stormwater management. However residents who live in a sensitive drainage area near Garden Road were not satisfied that these changes would do enough to safeguard their homes. See below:

Budgeting Software

In an update from Village Treasurer Ann Scaglione, she unveiled new budgeting software called ClearGov, which will be accessible to Village personnel as well as the public via a link on the Village website. The software will enhance the budgeting planning process by permitting Village staff and trustees to track iterations of the Village budget, by department as it evolves.

Village Manager Rob Cole congratulated Scaglione on the implementation and said this new software was a substantial improvement over previous practice and should be easy to navigate for trustees and the public. Trustee Ahuja suggested that the Village produce a video tutorial on how to use this new software.

Speed Limit

Cole discussed the implementation of the new speed limit, which will be lowered to 25 mph on most streets throughout the Village. He said new signage will be posted at the end of the month and the Village will undertake education to inform the public of the new law. In the interim, he suggested that everyone get used to the lower limit by driving at a maximum speed of 25 mph.

Tax Cap

In other business, the Board approved a resolution to allow the passage of a budget which exceeds the tax cap, if necessary. According to the Village Treasurer, the Village must stay below a 3.28% increase in order not to exceed the cap.

Security at Village Hall

Trustees approved $392,000 for access control and security improvements at Village Hall plus $27,000 for electric work for a total of $419,824.

Gifts

The Board accepted two gifts – one for the police department and another for the fire department.

Gifts are as follows:

The Bowman Family Foundation gave $2,000 to the Police Department for projects selected by the Police Chief and approved by the Village.

Sang Han of Paddington Road gave a $1,000 donation to the fire department for training of career firefighters and volunteers.

Village Election

The Board passed a resolution to hold the village election for Mayor and Trustees on Tuesday March 21, 2023 from 6 am to 9 pm at Scarsdale Public Library.

Bonds

The Board approved a resolution to issue $1,709,472 in bonds to purchase trucks and equipment for use by the Department of Public Works.

Lot Coverage

The Board approved a resolution to amend Village code to “align the runoff curve used to determine whether a surface is permeable or impervious with the predominant soil type on a property.”

Stormwater

The Board approved an amendment to Village code to limit the changing of grades which will encourage the maintenance of natural topography and natural water flow to avert flooding of neighboring properties.

Letters

Some did not think that the two resolutions regarding lot coverage and stormwater did enough to safeguard their properties.

Helen Maccarino wrote to the Village Board regarding a proposed 8 home subdivision at 80 Garden Road, now referred to as “The Gardens.” Her letter says, “ The Gardens" is an enormous project covering over 6 acres, the equivalent of nearly 5 football fields. If you are unfamiliar with the plan, it calls for clear-cutting hundreds of trees, raising the terrain by approximately 4 feet, and installing a retaining wall just 6 feet from the adjacent property lines. Not only is there no APB, there is a retaining wall instead of a "tapered slope", a wall that runs the length of the entire site. The subdivision plan also ignores the findings of NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation which the Chapter 254 code cites prominently from the outset. The NYS DEC states that clear-cutting and terrain-raising risks altering drainage patterns across property lines, cause erosion and "have significant impact on the health, safety and welfare of the community."

Another letter was received from the law firm of Mintzer, Mauch PLLC who represents a group of 29 residents who would be affected by the development on Garden Road. They urged the Board to adopt a temporary moratorium on the processing of development applications within sensitive drainage areas while the Board makes substantive changes to land use code.