Planning Board Minutes - January 25, 2005

Minutes

Regular Meeting of the Planning Board

Village/Town of Mount Kisco

Tuesday January 25, 2005

Meeting was called to order at 8:30 p.m. at the Municipal Building, Mount Kisco, New York

Members Present: Joseph Cosentino

Anthony Sturniolo

Stanley Bernstein

Ralph Vigliotti

Doug Hertz

Members Absent: Joseph Morreale

Staff Present: Nanette Bourne

Whitney Singleton

Michael Stein

Chairman Cosentino began the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Meeting was called to order at 8:30 p.m.

Chairman Cosentino: This is Tuesday January 25, 2005 and this is a work session of the Planning Board. The first thing on the agenda will be 29 Carpenter Avenue.

Clifford Davis: I represent the United Realty Services located at 29 Carpenter Avenue. This board had granted a site plan approval and also a permit to disturb sensitive natural area. Pursuant to the site plan my client had one year to finish construction on the job. That site plan has expired and we are now before this board and we would like to officially get an extension to finish the job. Mr. Senor is here to address any questions. We submitted a new site plan. The site plan is identical.

Chairman Cosentino: This is the same site plan and nothing has changed?

Clifford Davis: We submitted the plans, and there was only on issue relating to sprinklers. That is more of a administrative building condition.

Chairman Cosentino: We have done this in the past given an extension. There is no reason why we shouldn't now. As long as nothing has changed in the site plan and everything is as it was.

Anthony Sturniolo: Mr. Chairman will make a motion to grant site plan extension to 29 Carpenter Avenue United Realty Services pertaining to their dated request of January 25,2005.

Chairman Cosentino: We have a motion by Vice Chairman Sturniolo. Do we have a second?

Elliot Senor: Can you tell me how long the extension is good for?

Chairman Cosentino: One Year. One year from when it is issued.

Ralph Vigliotti: How far along are you?

Elliot Senor: I wasn't the engineer that developed the original site plan. I only came on in the fall. The foundations are in for the one building. The footings are in for the second building, the foundation walls are not in. We ended up with a stop work order as a result of the permit expiring. One of the reasons that I know of related to me, is that the straight drainage when the original site plan was proposed. There were some catch basins on the street through whatever series of events we found out that they didn't go anywhere. The town was to come in and put drainage down Carpenter Avenue and connect it. They delayed on that. In the fall we put it in ourselves. Designed and installed it ourselves.

Chairman Cosentino: Was that design approved?

Elliot Senor: Yes. The design was approved by the previous engineer.

Michael Stein: There is one thing. On the original requirements to the resolution, they are required to submit weekly inspection reports on both erosion control as well as submit a schedule for all the erosion control. Nothing has been submitted.

Juan Cammachio: We have a report. We actually approached the building inspector Mr. Stein. I believe last week. I am not sure if there was a special form to use. I know we keep a log on a weekly basis of the site. I don't know if the town requires a special form of format. We gave the report last week to Mr. Stein.

Chairman Coasentino: You need to meet with Michael Stein our engineer, to go over it.

Juan Cammachio: We also approached Michael Stein as well.

Chairman Cosentino: I just want to make sure he checks it and everything is up to date. Mike you will follow through with that?

Michael Stein: Yes.

Chairman Cosentino: We have a motion by the Vice Chairman. We have a second by Doug Hertz. Secretary please poll the board.

Board All Ayes.

August Residence - New Pond 151 Sarles Street

Mr. & Mrs. Glen August applicant, Stephen Coleman Environmental Consultant, Jeri Barrett Landscape Architect

Chairman Cosentino: We have a conceptual August residence It is a new pond on 151 Sarles Street.

Stephen Coleman: We are proposing that on this 25 acre parcel to construct a pond. This would be located on the left hand side of the driveway in the deep ravine that runs parallel to Sarles Street. It is about 100 feet in from Sarles Street. We are proposing it to be about 3/4 of an acre pond within that area. The map shows the approximate dimensions of the pond. To give you a perspective it represents about 3% of the property acreage. It is a relatively small amount of acreage to the overall property. The average depths would be about 12 feet for the base of the pond area to sustain it. In term of environmental impact there is small interim water course that is in that area that would be impacted as part of the pond construction. In addition it would require the removal of several trees in the 10-12 inch diameter range. The material we estimated would have about a thousand yards of excess material to used on site. There will be no trucking of the material off site. There is plenty of area that we will be able to use on site to take advantage of the extra fill that is created from the construction of the pond.

Chairman Cosentino: This is the first time someone has come before us to construct a pond. I do not know what code would be.

Nanette Bourne: This requires a natural resource services permit. This is a substantial size pond.

Stephen Coleman: We have researched and I rendered threshold for a DEC permit for the dam. I purposely kept it undersize so that we wouldn't need that.

Chairman Cosentino: Is this something that Mike would have to overlook.

Michael Stein: I will take a look at it.

Chairman Cosentino: The question is do we have a problem with this? I myself do not have a problem with this. I think it adds something to the estate. I have toured the estate and have been up there many times. I think that it would be something that would be attractive.

Stephen Coleman: In terms of procedure do we need to submit a formal application?

Whitney Singleton: Does this application create any set back issues, either in the Village of Mount Kisco or the Town of Bedford?

Stephen Coleman: No. We are outside of those set backs.

Anthony Sturniolo: Where do we stand with the wetland boundary?

Stephen Coleman: I did flag the wetland boundary. It has been surveyed located. I do have a report that we can submit with the formal application. The area where the pond is located it's all stone and gravel and it is a small intermitting channel. Actually when we did test holes to look for water source for the pond, the water course is a perched situation where its really just surface flows from storm events. It had no characteristics of wetland soils. Water just stays there because there is no place go.

Chairman Cosentino: What the board would like to do is make a site visit. We need to set a date for that.

Whitney Singleton: You should wait until you have a Formal Application.

Chairman Cosentino: We need a Formal Application. Once we get the Formal Application we can make a date for a site visit. We will look at it then.

Glenn August: I would just like to say thank you for the opportunity and we are very excited about this.

Chairman Cosentino: You should be it is a beautiful place.

Glenn August: We are very excited about having a pond on the property with the kids for boating, fishing, and ice skating. We are lucky to have a lot of property and it is going to be in place where it won't affect anybody. We will do all the appropriate things with permits and conservation and do everything the right way. Thank you.

Whitney Singleton: Is the water line affected in any way?

Chairman Cosentino: The water line comes up the driveway.

Stephen Coleman: It follows the left of the driveway and goes straight up to the residence.

Whitney Singleton: So the pond is to the left of the driveway.

Anthony Sturniolo: Are there two driveways?

Glenn August: There is one driveway.

Chairman Cosentino: One driveway and it veers of to the service entrance.

Anthony Sturniolo: The service entrance brings you in the back?

Glenn August: Towards the end of the driveway it splits off. One side towards the service and towards the main house. The pond will be all the way down at the bottom.

Anthony Sturniolo: So you would see the pond from the front door.

Chairman Cosentino: Present a formal Application and come back to us and we will set a site visit.

John Partenza representing Northern Westchester Hosiptal, David Paget, and Anthony Montelone counsel for the applicant, Richard Ashcroft.

Chairman Cosentino: Members of the board that have not seen the model of the hospital site, so tonight we want to spend time looking at the model and continuing the scoping at the next meeting.

Viewing of Model

John Partenza: Mr. Chairman this is the model as exists today. Which is phase 2 the ten year plan. What this master plan intended to do is basically fill the needs of the hospital strategically while answering the zoning questions of the village. So what you are seeing here is what we call phase 2 and iterations with the Planning Board we put time frames on five and ten years. This is called ten years but this is really out there. This is what future generations that they have to do something with the hospital this is what it would be. What we are proposing and bringing before the board is really phase 1 of the plan which I apologize for tonight. If I had a little more notice would be able to take the model apart and show it. What we are really talking about in phase 1 is the medical office at the corner of Main and Moore, the parking garage. The Cancer center is here and the new ER possibly built here the new main lobby. That is what we are really talking about in phase 1.

Chairman Cosentino: Continue on what you are going to do on phase 2.

John Partenza: That is primarily it. What the real plans are again, Medical office building, parking garage, ER. Depending on the architect and design of the building we may need to extend the power plant whether or not how the utilities are handled there. What we are talking about is a conference center. This is the main entrance to the hospital, possibly making a visitors center out of that. Those are primarily the main pieces of phase 1.

Ralph Vigliotti: Will there be a new entrance?

John Partenza: The ultimate is if you pull in here this would become the main entrance at sometime in the future. The design of the plan is if you are an out patient you would go to the right; an in patient would go to the left. We would put; an in a new fa�ade to try and tie the architecture together. This really becomes your front door.

Anthony Sturniolo: Mike, one of the things we talked about the last time. We were talking about trying to establish a common language to define floors, stories, and entrances. We kicked it around but I don't think collectively we really addressed that.

Michael Stein: I think we were talking about levels.

Anthony Sturniolo: Levels or just a term that everybody can agree on. The north parking lot structure is how many cars?

Richard Ashcroft: 549

Anthony Sturniolo: The traffic light that is at the Boy's and Girl's Club entrances.

John Partenza: Right here. (Showing on model) In this plan we have done nothing with that intersection. I think the traffic study anticipates aright hand turning lane. Backing up we did a traffic study early on to scale this too, and what were our intention. It wouldn't be the final study but it helped us set perspective here. We went through this and moved pieces off and tried to remove the canyon effect by moving this building back, setting back, parking structure here would be set back. We also talked about architecture to make it not look like a parking structure.

Anthony Sturniolo: A couple months ago when we were talking about and using Dr. Morreale's term “The Canyon effect”, this represents addressing that issue?

John Partenza: We set it back further. We stepped the building up and we talked about a fa�ade. Our original plan I do not have them all here. We were closer to street.

Anthony Sturniolo: So this represents the conversation of the canyon effect.

Ralph Vigliotti: Entering the site and exiting the site can we review that?

John Partenza: In the first phase we are talking about, again I wish I had the ability to pull this out. You would continue to come through the main entrance. We are also asking for an entrance off of Moore. So traffic coming this way would not have to go through this intersection. They would enter the grounds this way. With the ER expansion we are talking about whether you drive through back here. We talked about it at the last meeting. That we would butt the house on Boltis Street that would allow ambulances direct access to the ER and just provide circulation on the campus itself, without having to go out through any main street to circulate the campus.

Anthony Sturniolo: Would that driveway encroach upon the existing lots on Boltis Street.

John Partenza: We talked about it and it would. We had the ability based on the zoning and based on the set backs to encroach on that and not violate the size of the lot. All those houses are owned by the hospital except two.

Nanette Bourne: There are a couple lots that I think have to have a lot line change. So they could still be compliant.

Whitney Singleton: The road would go through a different district, or that portion. It would have to be rezoned.

John Partenza: The zoning condition addresses that.

Ralph Vigliotti: So you don't have three entities emptying out onto Moore. You don't have folks in parking garage who will enter ingress, egress? Then you will have an ER entrance to get you to the ER.

John Partenza: Our thinking is that people that would come this way would rather than coming to this light. This light to enter to come here or here would come this way.

Ralph Vigliotti: That is what they are doing right now and it seems to work. Right now they are coming in from the front entrance to get into this.

Chairman Cosentino: What he is saying is that there will be and egress and ingress on Moore Avenue.

Ralph Vigliotti: I am not sure of that. With the parking garage there, that's something that we would want. You are emptying out onto a whole neighborhood as opposed to coming in through the site on state and county roads and now coming into the site on Moore. You're doing the parking building and doing parking garage and you re doing the emergency services. I don't know if that, will they have the opportunity to get to this building they'll have to enter from the front. That is the way it appears.

John Partenza: That is our thinking, that these people will be coming that way anyhow. They are coming up to this light and making a right to enter. We would basically take the pressure off these two intersections by having entrance here.

Doug Hertz: Can you give me a sense of the square footage space you are talking about right here.

John Parteza: It is in the plan. In total of phase one we are talking about 140,000 square feet.

Doug Hertz: How is that broken up?

John Partenza: It would be broken up into the pieces I articulated. It would be the office building, the new ER, front entrance and possibly the power plant.

Ralph Vigliotti: The construction that is going on right now is it complete?

John Partenza: The cancer center? It will be completed in March and the first patient will be treated in April.

Ralph Vigliotti: Is there another story for that?

John Partenza: The master plan anticipates two more floors above the way it is today.

Ralph Vigliotti: Phase 2 or Phase 1?

John Partenza: Phase 2.

Ralph Vigliotti: The 140,00 square feet, does that include what construction has taken place already?

John Partenza: Yes.

Ralph Vigliotti: So the cancer center is a part of the 140,000.

Anthony Sturniolo: What is the cancer center currently today? Phase 1 is the unoccupied second floor of the building. Phase 2

John Partenza: To continue that with phase 1 would be the medical office building.

Anthony Sturniolo: Phase 2 then is an additional floor.

John Partenza: It would be 2 floors. Floor levels. The ground floor, the first floor and the second floor that exists today. Then it would be 2 more on top of that. Ultimately that is what the plan calls for. That will bring it up to the current level of the North building. Right now it is 2 floors below.

Nanette Bourne: In phase 1 there areas far as the cancer center is concerned they are already occupying the first level.

John Partenza: Right.

Nanette Bourne: You would be occupying the second level and that would be phase 1?

John Partenza: We hope to be.

Nanette Bourne: Phase 2, which is from 2008-2013, then you would add 2 more levels.

John Partenza: If needed. This was the attempt to find the envelope we think it would need to be at that time. Mr. Sturniolo commented that it was kind of out there and it kind of is in some sense. In answer to your question we're zoning that we at the hospital that needs to be in place that would allow us to be whatever we need to be in the future. This master plan and the zoning we may never build that square footage. It may come in somewhere else in the building. This is basically what we think.

Mr. Sturniolo: The overall parking count takes into consideration the ultimate build out of the cancer center, along with everything else.

John Partenza: There is still going to be done in traffic study.

Nanette Bourne: Just to be clear on this. If the hospital chooses not to pursue phase 2, what we see built right now in terms of the cancer center is all that would be built, for phase 1?

John Partenza: Yes.

Chairman Cosentino: Unless they came back.

Doug Hertz: The 2 parking structures are additional?

John Partenza: This would be phase 1 and this would be phase 2 sometime in the future.

Ralph Vigliotti: How are they going to stage all the cars while your constructing the parking structure?

John Partenza: We're talking about that because that's the construction issue and we are talking to the planners now. It's going to be service parking over in the visitors' area.

Ralph Vigliotti: That is almost filled now.

John Partenza: We have a vested interest also. We have to operate, as cars come and go. It is important to us too.

Ralph Vigliotti: Just explain this building is now 4 stories, 4 floors?

John Partenza: The way it is depicted now there is a ground floor.

Ralph Vigliotti: How many floors in total?

John Partenza: 4

Ralph Vigliotti: One on the ground

John Partenza: One on the ground and 3 above it.

Ralph Vigliotti: 4 stories.

John Partenza: If you look at this plan it says 3 above ground.

Ralph Vigliotti: I get the clarification. You should just say what it is. It is 4 stories. To say 1 is on the ground and 3 above that one. Unless that it is below surface or below ground.

David Paget: We are not trying to confuse you.

John Partenza: It is 4 floors.

Nanette Bourne: When you are looking at that building what are we going to see? 3 floors or 4 floors?

Richard Ashcroft: You will see 3 floors.

Nanette Bourne: Ok. That is important. So that there will be 4 levels.

David Paget: The building inspector likes the term levels.

Nanette Bourne: 4 levels, but the 1^st level

(Too many people speaking at one time)

David Paget: The 1^st level is totally below grade.

Richard Ashcroft: Not totally. On this side over here has several feet exposed, of course there are windows there. The only place where the lower level shows and it is behind the screen.

Ralph Vigliotti: What is the total height going to be of that building?

David Padget: Above grade?

Richard Ashcroft: About 40 feet.

Ralph Vigliotti: about is that 44 or 38?

John Partenza: We haven't designed it yet.

Ralph Vigliotti: Will it be in excess 50 feet?

Richard Ashcroft : each floor approximately 13 feet.

Ralph Vigliotti: Then you will have air conditioners and things on top of the roof.

John Partenza: That goes to the power plant and how we support that building. Whether it is on here or on there.

Whitney Singleton: Would it be fair to say that the proposed structure is almost identical to the old con-Ed building? With 3 stories in the front and 4 in the back, and it will be a similar height.

Richard Ashcroft: There are not 4 in the back. It is 3 in that back. There are 3 on all sides with the exception on the front there is a little bit more about 3 1/2.

Whitney Singleton: it is a similar height though to the building next door to it on the corner of Moore and Main.

Richard Ashcroft: It is actually shorter.

Doug hertz: How far is that building to be set back to street roughly?

Richard Ashcroft: I can tell you exactly. The office building itself is 80 feet back on this side from Moore.

John Partenza: The overall plan really puts an acre back in pervious surface. What we are trying to do is eliminate as much surface parking and put more green space back.

Chairman Cosentino: Their plan is to link the property and develop it when you put that building up. That won't be owned by the hospital. That will be on the tax laws.

Ralph Vigliotti: That building really has no connection to the hospital. It's just doctors and services.

John Partenza: That is a way of us financing. We will have say at who goes in and who doesn't. It will have to serve the hospital's needs.

Ralph Vigliotti: It certainly not a necessary need to support the hospital.

John paretenza: It is.

Ralph vigliotti: Financially?

John Partenza: No but primarily you will see that specialists and proceduralists. Surgeons with a particular need to work on campus. They are adjacent to OR's.

Chairman Cosentino: I would assume that when phase 2 goes in effect then that will go up or down.

John Partenza: Again I cannot predict the future, but the real intent is not to put chiropractors or dentists here. There is enough in Mount Kisco. This is for people that need to practice in the hospital. With the developer we will control the rental here, probably by having the master lease on everything. The only need is that the specialist that work in the ICU's and OR's of the hospital be here. Every community hospital that you go to has a medical office building to some degree on it.

Ralph Vigliotti: Having a visual is just wonderful. Why couldn't that square footage be placed on top of the cancer center? You are looking at phase 2 to do the cancer center to see the activity of the center. Why are you creating a whole building?

John Partenza: There is a practical problem, because from a business perspective, I can't lease. The tax exempted building moving this building here. I cannot really lease any floors above it.

Chairman Cosentino: Within the hospital now there is space being leased out.

John Partenza: I can lease it, but not to a developer.

Chairman Cosentino: Ok

John Partenza: My point is, I can't give this to a developer.

Ralph Vigliotti: We have talked about this canyon deal .You can see it on Moore. You really can when you see the visual. Just want to address how you could soften this canyon. For this village to look like a canyon. In White Plains there would be shadows over this, from taller buildings. That is what we see visually. This is big. This is a canyon, but it certainly wouldn't be downtown White Plains, because there are buildings 20-30 stories. As we visually look at this if you were in section of the village are you going to see cars also on top of those roofs?

David Paget: Where are you seeing Canyon? Thia is green and 80 feet back. You are coming down Moore you are not going to be seeing that.

Ralph Vigliotti: The screening is 20 years down the road might be fine.

David Padget: At what elevation will one perceive a canyon here? Certainly not at street level.

Ralph Vigliotti: Go right up to the Boy's Club.

David Padget: If I go up to the Boy's Club I am going to see a canyon effect.

Ralph Vigliotti: Those trees are probably not true to scale.

Richard Ashcroft: Actually the trees are true to scale.

Ralph Vigliotti: I like what I see as far as trees, but at some point they will be at that size.

John Partenza: As for the cars the intent is really the architecture of the side of the parking structure so it doesn't look like a parking structure.

Hopefully you would never really see a car and a structure that doesn't look like a parking structure.

Anthony Sturniolo: I would like to back to a point Ralph that you stared with. The medical center building is how many square feet?

John Partenza: Less that 75,000.

Richard Ashcroft: This building here, 50,000

Anthony Sturniolo: The 2-story cancer center is how much?

John Partenza: It would be another 20,000- 25,000 on top of it.

Richard Ashcroft: The total long range medical office is 12 and 12,000 each floor.

Anthony Sturniolo: I am going back to the point that Ralph made about blending that building on top of the cancer center. Especially since you are not 100% confident as you are with the medical office building, that you may not in the future need the 2 additional cancer center floors.

David Padget: You can't preclude that.

Chairman Cosentino: The other thing is that John says you don't put it there you deal with the tax liens on it. It wouldn't be an outside contract. It is still going to be taxed no matter what.

Richard Ashcroft: I think there was another aspect of that site it enabled us to put in front was building with windows rather than having the garage on Main Street. By using the screening it helped reduce the effect of being a garage.

Anthony Sturniolo: If the building was not ther