Planning Board Gives the Nod to Retail Building at the Five Corners

The Scarsdale Planning Board met on December 16th to reconsider plans to build a two story retail building at the Heathcote Five Corners, in place of the current Citgo Station.  The meeting focused on the reconfiguration of Secor Road and the Balducci’s parking lot to allow access to the new retail building and underground parking from Secor  Road, which is a one-way residential street adjacent to the current Balducci’s lot.

Plans call for a 10,900 square foot building on two levels which will be built over an underground parking lot.  The owners of the property, Doug Brout and Brad Perkins went before the Board to seek permission to move ahead with the site plan. They stated that the building would have no negative impact on the environment, that they have revised the plans to meet the Board’s concerns and contended that it is difficult to be specific about what tenant(s) would occupy the building without having an approved building plan.

On the Secor Road side of the lot, developers will build access for delivery trucks to Balducci’s and a cul de sac to allow large vehicles to turn around. This was a big cause for concern among the few residents who attended the meeting. They questioned what would occur if several trucks arrived at once for deliveries - where would they wait? The also questioned the width of the access road and were assured that the road would have mountable curbs to allow trucks to ride on top of the curbing. The owner of a home on Secor Road , Joseph Menton, asserted that the parking lot setbacks to Secor Road had been reduced to only 4 feet, and that the new lot would “take away the value of his property” as his home would no longer be shielded from commercial traffic.

He also stated that the current plan was not specific enough about the siting of the new lot in comparison to the present site and asked for clarity.  He also requested that the Board require a ten foot screen between Secor Road and the parking lot. He vowed to go to the Board of Appeals if the Planning Board gave the go ahead to the developers.

Martin Kaufman of Heathcote Road said they he found the plan “disturbing” and said that the Board did not have sufficient information on the environmental and noise impact of converting Secor Road, a residential street,  into an access road for the parking lot.

Chris Corrini, also of Heathcote Road voiced his concern about the possibility of a high-volume store, such as CVS coming to the Five Corners. David Karp, the Chairman of the Planning Board assured him that two traffic studies had been done and that both showed minimal impact. He asked the community to bring evidence to the contrary to the Board.  In addition, Elizabeth Marrinan, Village Planner, told the group that large drug chains, like CVS,  require more square footage on one level than will be available at the new building.

Following the public hearing, the Board met in a closed session and approved a “negative declaration” which will allow the developers to proceed with a site plan.