Trustees Move Forward with Terms of Land Sale Agreement

Trustees are moving forward with negotiations for the sale of village owned land at 2-4 Weaver Street to developers Frederick Fish and Stephen Oder. The strip of land would be incorporated into the development of an apartment building on the site of the current parking lot behind Massa Restaurant. At the Village Board meeting on Tuesday June 28, Trustee Jonathan Mark, Chairman of the Land Use Committee, announced that the Committee has asked Village staff to draft a non-binding term sheet that will be forward to the developers. Once these terms are agreed to, Mark said there will be a public meeting on the terms of the sale. Assuring residents that the term sheet “does not signify a commitment” Mark said that if the terms were agreed to, the Planning Board will act as lead agency, conducting an environment review, and studying the land sale, zoning changes, parking variances, and conducting a project site plan review.

Also, at the meeting:

Mayor Flisser responded to a letter from resident Howard Golden about the watering restrictions. He said that one of pleasures of living in Scarsdale was the “joy of a nice garden and lawn,” and said that it was “unreasonable that this problem has not been resolved.” Flisser relayed that watering can be done from 12 noon-midnight any day, and that an upgrade to the water system is ongoing. She said that the Ardsley Road Pumping Station should go online in 4-6 weeks and after that, the Reeves Newsome station will be renovated. Completion of the Ardsley Road Pumping station will allow for better adjustment of the water pressure.

In public comments, Toril Hanna of 138 Saxon Woods Road spoke about her work to document the history of a neighboring home, dubbed “the Dollhouse” at 140 Saxon Woods Road which could be demolished. Following up on her presentation to the Committee on Historical Preservation, she said that, “tearing down the dollhouse would be historically irresponsible without full grasp of the facts.” She asked for “time to explore legal and funding issues.,” saying that "African American heritage represents a great chapter of Scarsdale history.”

Helen Parnell Daniels of 136 Saxon Woods Road also asked for more time before the house is demolished as Saxon Woods Road was the only area of town where blacks owned their own homes. As 140 Saxon Woods Road is the only original house that remains of runaway slave Robert Purdy’s property, she asked for the Trustees to “Use their influence to delay demolition to give those of us who are interested the opportunity to preserve it.”

The Trustee also passed a resolution regarding 2 Drake Road, a home owned by Scarsdale and leased to the County to be used for transitional or long-term housing for a family in need. The original lease has been renewed four times since 1987 and the Village has waived the annual fee of $5,112. A family from the Philippines with disabled children has been housed there, but they no longer meet the eligibility requirements for residency. Trustees voted to extend the lease for one year until May 2012, to give Westchester County time to consider alternative housing for the family and then to return the house to its original use as transitional housing.

Trustee voted to hold the annual sidewalk Sidewalk Sale in Scarsdale Village on Thursday July 28 through Saturday July 30th. Chase Park to be used for entertainment on Saturday July 30th.

In addition, the Village will provide $242,175 for their share of the funding for the Scarsdale and Edgemont Family Counseling Youth Service Project. The organization is also funded via the Scarsdale school budget.