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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 14 January 2015

Created: 14 January 2015

Last Updated: 15 January 2015

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The Village Board covered lots of ground at their first meeting of the new year, scheduling hearings on several important proposed revisions to Village Code. The board has been considering revisions to the historic preservation laws to safeguard historic properties for some time. To that end, they plan to commission a study of properties identified as historic in a cultural resources survey conducted by architects and preservationists in 2010. The new study will determine which of these properties are historically significant and should be protected. But until that study is completed the trustees have drafted interim code to clarify and streamline the process for applicants who wish to demolish properties in the Village. The new provisions would continue the operation of the Committee for Historic Preservation as a board to review applications for demolitions.

According to Village Planner Elizabeth Marrinan, changes are needed as the old law is "unnecessarily complicated" and has different criteria for demolition for the CHP, the Board of Architectural Review (BAR) and the Board of Trustees. Under the new law, the BAR will be eliminated from the appeal process; those wishing to appeal a decision of the CHP will go before the Board of Trustees. Marrinan says that "the new criteria for preservation has been under discussion for some time and more accurately reflects what the community wants to measure what is significant." In addition, the new code mandates that properties that are deemed to be historically significant must be maintained.

What are the criteria for preservation? Here is the language in the proposed new law that will be reviewed at a hearing on January 27th:

• In deciding whether or not a building can be demolished the committee will "consider the level of significance in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering and culture present in the building, as well as the integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship:
• The building is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to broad patterns of Village, regional, state or national history or:
• That the building is the work of a master and embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction that possess high artistic value or
• That the building has yielded or may be like to yield information important in prehistory or history
• The committee may consider if the building is list on the National Register of Historic Places, NYS Register of Historic Places or Westchester County Inventory of Historic Places. A National, State or County listing alone is not sufficient to warrant preservation.

Those who wish to demolish a property must still submit an application to the Village and notify the owners of neighboring properties.

If a Certificate of appropriateness (for demolition) is not granted by the CHP, the new law allows for those who claim a hardship to appeal the decision of the CHP to the Board of Trustees.

What if a property is demolished without receiving a certificate of appropriateness? If a property owner fails to comply with the code they will be subject to a fine of not more than $50,000.

A public hearing on the new code will be held at Village Hall on January 27th. To review the proposed law, click here.

Building Moratorium:

The Board will also hold a hearing on a proposed moratorium on building applications that involve gravel on 1-27-15. This moratorium is intended to curb the size of new homes and renovations that would exceed the maximum floor area ratio if the gravel driveway is considered impervious.

More specifically, The Board is proposing a moratorium on building applications involving gravel driveways – whose surface area, when considered pervious would permit the construction of a property that "uses any portion of the proposed gravel surface to meet existing lot coverage requirements under Scarsdale Village code." In addition, application for additions and renovations to a house on a property with an existing gravel surface shall also be prohibited from review and approval ..... when the gravel surface is counted as an impervious surface and the property's impervious surface exceeds existing lot coverage requirements under Scarsdale Village code."

Stormwater Improvement in Crane Berkley

The Board scheduled a public hearing on establishing a special improvement district at Crane Berkley pond to allow for stormwater improvements in the pond and ancillary watercourses. Under the plan, homeowners in the neighborhood would share the cost with the Village to clean up the pond.

-Dredging and the removal of mud, silt and undesirable materials
-Stabilization of embankments with grading and planting
-Maintenance of plantings, ponds, watercourses and adjacent areas.

Costs will be funded as follows:

• The Village will pay for 100% of sump maintenance and for cleaning the open watercourse from the sump to the small pond.
• Costs will be shared 60/40 (residents/village) for cleaning the small pond, re-grading, removal of materials and plantings.
• Residents will be 100% responsible for the cost of cleaning the open watercourse connecting the small pond and large pond which may include removal of materials, regarding and plantings as well as 100% of the cost of cleaning the open watercourse exiting the large pond to Tisdale Road.
• The Board of Trustees will determine how much each property owner will pay based on an assessment formula that may include proximity to the ponds, watercourses, frontage etc.

Subdivision on Circle Road:

The Board approved a property subdivision at 15 Circle Road and ordered the payment of $41,250 for the subdivision recreation fee.

New Acting Village Justice:

The Board appointed a new Acting Village Justice to replace Arlene Katz who was elected to be a Westchester County Family Court Judge after serving 19 years in Scarsdale. Joaquim Alemany was appointed Acting Village Justice for the unexpired term of Arlene Katz, expiring in April 2015.

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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 21 January 2015

Created: 21 January 2015

Last Updated: 21 January 2015

Hits: 5606

In response to residents' concerns about the size of new homes that appear to be popping up all over town, the Land Use Committee of the Scarsdale Board of Trustees agreed to take a look at the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) regulations that were adopted by the Village in 2002 and re-examined in 2006-7. This code regulates the size of new homes and renovations built in the village.

On Tuesday January 20, 2015, Village Planner Elizabeth Marrinan invited architect George Jones, of George Jones Associates who was previously with the Environmental Simulation Center who helped to formulate the original regulations.

Jones told the group that when the original law was drafted, it was not expected to make big changes to home development in Scarsdale -- rather it was intended to offer modest regulation of bulk. He showed the group the following quote from former Mayor Kronlein to illustrate the trustees' intent at the time:

"Big is not necessarily bad and small is not necessarily good. It (FAR) recognizes good design and provides flexibility by permitting a bonus or additional square footage if certain design guidelines are followed. Design factors other than size that contribute to the perception of bulk include shape and massing, roofline, the façade, the location of the garage as well as landscaping. If the house design can successfully hide or mask it bulk the bonus can be earned."

They therefore drafted regulations involving a system of penalties and bonuses that offered rewards in terms of increased space for certain design features and penalties for others that were thought to increase the appearance of bulk.

For example, under the 2002 guidelines, underground garages were penalized while above ground garages earned the builder a bonus. At the time, there was a perception that an underground garage would result in a taller house and an increased appearance of bulk. Also penalized were basements that extend more than three feet above grade and floor to ceiling heights above 14 feet. Oversized dormers would cause attic space to be counted in the floor air ratio equation, while limiting the size of the dormers would allow attic space to be omitted from the equation. Dormered areas above garages were also omitted from the floor area equation as well as basements, explaining why so many new homes today have garages with dormers and fully finished basements extending the entire span of the house. Increasing the side yard setback could also yield a reward of increased square footage.

Initially it appeared that the FAR regulations were causing a modest decrease in home sizes. In the 2006-7 study, experts found that home sizes decreased by 5% while the amount of development remained steady. The 2006-7 found that there was a universal dislike of the design guidelines that were originally accompanied FAR, and they were subsequently abandoned.

Jones then ran through a series of simulations showing the effects of the FAR regulations on an array of homes. He demonstrated how the adjustments mandated by FAR impacted home design and the appearance of bulk.

It was questionable whether or not FAR had been effective. Homes that previously had detached garages in the back of the property or a garage underneath the home were replaced with homes with two car garages with dormered roofs facing the street. Since builders receive bonuses for above ground garages and dormered attics they use that feature over and over again. While detached garages in the back of the house and underground garages are not visible from the street, the new two-car front-facing garages seem to increase rather than decrease the appearance of bulk.

Also discussed were requirements for corner lots, where builders can place the front of the house on the side of the lot, and minimize the setback from the street. While in most areas the setback from the street for the front of the lot is 30 feet, with the side yard setback is 10-15 feet. By facing the front of the house on the side yard, developers can build even bigger homes on corner lots.

Following the simulations, Jones drew a few conclusions:

-Overall, FAR improved the appearance of bulk by 3.3%
-It was marginally to moderately effective at limiting bulk.
-The FAR appear to be more effective on smaller lot that larger lots
-It is possible FAR regulation may have unintended consequences and in some permits may actually increase the appearance of bulk.

In the discussion that followed, Trustee Brodsky noted that though FAR was intended to limit home sizes, in the intervening years FAR has defined not only the maximum home size but the minimum size as well – as builders construct the maximum size homes allowable on the properties that they develop.

What are some alternatives to FAR? Jones reviewed several approaches taken by other municipalities to regulate the appearance of bulk.

A contextual approach would involve surveying existing homes in various zones in town and drafting laws that regulate building size and setbacks to conform to the existing housing stock in the neighborhood. Jones warned against this approach saying that it was not used widely because it is difficult to define the extent of a neighborhood and make contextual decisions on what should be allowed. Marrinan said, "It would be tough to regulate because it would depend on the neighborhood – and other houses on the street. At the time (2002) we thought it was overly complicated."

Form based zoning has become popular as it provides certainty but is inflexible and is often written to regulate styles which can change relatively rapidly. Using this system, laws are writing to define which architectural features can be included including porches, shutters, gables etc. Commenting on form based zoning, Trustee David Lee said, "We are trying to regulate bulk or volume and open spaces between houses. We don't want to regulate style because we don't know what it should be."

Two additional approaches to regulating bulk including defining a pyramid-shaped or angled building envelope in which the home needs to be contained, or using a
"volume" approach, which simply defines the ratio of the volume of the home to the size of the lot to ensure that home sizes are appropriate to lot sizes. Though it was agreed that it would be easy to do this calculation, this approach does not take setbacks and siting into consideration and laws would need to be written to assure that homes are setback from the street and from neighboring homes. Trustee Bill Stern spoke in favor of the volume approach, saying, "I think a ratio of the house footprint to the lot size would take care of a lot of it."

What about simply omitting the loopholes including the bonuses for garages, dormers and setbacks? Would the original code without these "give backs" to builders result in less bulky projects? Jones answered yes – but BAR member Farley Baker disagreed, saying, "I like the design guidelines. Let's keep those but decrease the allowable floor area."

The meeting spanned over two hours and at the conclusion it was evident that this complex issue does not have an easy, one-size fits all solution.

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Published: 06 January 2015

Created: 06 January 2015

Last Updated: 06 January 2015

Hits: 6436

Mark your calendar for Friday, January 23 at 7:30pm, when people of all ages will swarm to the Scarsdale High School auditorium for the fifth annual Friends of the Scarsdale Library Adult and Teen Spelling Bee. Veteran teams will compete against novices, adults will compete against teens, and library trustees will compete against patrons.  In a new acme of town-gown relations, a team consisting of schools Superintendent, Dr. Thomas Hagerman, Board of Education trustee Chris Morin, and Scarsdale Teachers Association President David Wixted will also compete in support of the library.

The fun starts when the doors open at 7:00pm. Silent auction items include an eight-week TestTakers SAT prep course valued at $2195, and a Painter for a Day, donated by A.G. Williams Painting Company, Inc., and valued at $600.  Raffle prizes include fitness classes at FlyWheel, I Train with Juan, FlyBarre, and Pole Position Dance and Fitness, baskets of children’s games, a spa basket, a wool Indian Kashmiri shawl, and more. Raffle tickets can also be purchased at the Library on Saturday, January 10 and Sunday, January 11 from 12-4pm. Ticket holders need not be present to win.

Admission to the Spelling Bee is $5, and refreshments will be available for purchase.  Audience members will be entertained by trivia quizzes served up between rounds. Ed Coleman, the voice of the New York Mets, will once again play emcee. Judges include NYS Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, and Spelling Bee committee member Margaret Smith.

Proceeds from the 2014 Spelling Bee will be used to fund a high-level speaker series, bringing quality programming to Scarsdale and making the library the intellectual hub of the community.

The Friends are grateful for the generous support received from the sponsors of the Spelling Bee.  To date, sponsors at the Diamond Level are Mercedes-Benz of White Plains, and Sara and Richard Werder.  At the Gold Level, sponsors are Houlihan Lawrence, Drs. Renu and Anil Lalwani, Linda and Jonathan Flaxer, and Margaret and Larry Smith. Those who are interested in sponsoring the Bee by making a donation of $250 or more should contact Renu Lalwani at 917-584-8834 or renublalwani@gmail.com, or Carolyn Mehta at 914-584-5903 or kamncar2@aol.com.  In addition, anyone can become a "Friend of the Bee" by making a donation of any amount.  A donation form is available at the Library’s website, scarsdalelibrary.org.