https://sleepyhollow.localarchives.org/files/original/62e93f017098c6c1e8f026cbd6fbbcb5.pdf 8e1b4ecc66a0013938433774d0801933 PDF Text Text Village of Sleepy Hollow Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting February 19, 2025 Chairman Church called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. Present: Timothy Church, Chairman Gorete Crowe Sandra Tripp Dennis Xenos Craig Lis Also Present: Sean E. McCarthy, Village Architect Absent: Pamela Kroll, Secretary to the Zoning Board of Appeals Thomas Chang Carol Lyden Agenda: 1) 131 Beekman LLC, 131 Beekman Avenue, Proposed basement apartment- Continued public hearing, Requested adjournment 2) SDC Lighthouse Landing Communities, LLC, Edge-on-Hudson Riverfront Development, 1,3,5 Legend Drive, Proposed medical office building with attached parking structure- Public hearing- requested adjournment 3) Approval of minutes, January 15, 2025 1. 131 Beekman LLC, 131 Beekman Avenue, Proposed basement apartment- Continued Public hearing Chairman Church stated that the Board is continuing a public hearing from December and described the additional information received on February 18, 2025. Maximillian Mahalek stated that he is an attorney from Cuddy + Feder LLP, who is representing the applicant. Mr. Mahalek stated that the application proposes to add the lower level studio dwelling unit to an existing two-family residence where (5) parking spaces are required and (2) standard spaces and (1) compact parking space are proposed. The compact space was increased to be 8 feet wide by 17 feet long and shifted to the east to provide 2 feet of egress in front of the parking space. The maneuvering diagram shows that vehicles can access the garage and the parking area of 129 Beekman Avenue while a car is parked in the compact parking space. Mr. Mahalek presented a survey from 1919 and described the history of the easement and the shared driveway. Mr. Mahalek presented the photograph of the two-car garage to confirm that it is used for tenant parking. Mr. Mahalek said that November submission requested interpretation requests 1 (ZBA 2/19/2025) �and in the alternative variance requests. Based on the Board’s determination at the December meeting, the Applicant is requesting the atternative variance requests. Chairman Church stated that the number of parking spaces is consistent with the neighboring buildings. The applicant is seeking to add a studio dwelling unit where it is unlikely the tenant would need more than one parking space, and a bedroom could be added to the two-family dwelling without additional parking space requirements. The demarcation of the compact parking space would provide more safety on site. The proposed third dwelling unit will not impact the physical or environmental conditions of the neighborhood. An approval would include a condition for the applicant to designate (1) off-street parking space for each unit without charging an additional rental fee and restrict the owner and tenants from renting parking spaces for other purposes. The applicant may return to the Board if they object to the condition related to the parking without a public hearing. Mr. Mahalek stated that he would review the condition with the Applicant. Chairman Church moved to approve the application with the conditions. Moved: Chang Seconded: Crowe Vote 5-0 Timothy Church, Chairman- yes Gorete Crowe- yes Craig Lis- yes Sandra Tripp- yes Dennis Xenos- yes Vote 5-0 2. SDC Lighthouse Landing Communities, LLC, Edge-on-Hudson Riverfront Development, 1, 3, 5 Legend Drive, Proposed medical office building with attached parking structureContinued public hearing Chairman Church stated that this is a continuation of the public hearing. The Board received supplemental submissions for the January meeting and tonight's meeting. Chairman Church invited the applicant to present the updates. Mark Weingarten stated that he is a partner with the law firm DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr, LLP, representing the applicant to request two area variances for the proposed medical office building and related parking structure on Block A of the Edge-onHudson project. Mr. Weingarten stated thathe board requested additional information at the November 20, 2024 meeting. A letter was submitted on January 9, 2024, and a presentation was made at the January 15, 2025, meeting to respond to the Board’s requests and comments. The public hearing was adjourned so they could address the Board’s additional comments and requests. Simone Development submitted a letter and plans to address concerns about accessible parking spaces, garage floor-to-floor ceiling heights, and the sprinkler and ventilation system. 2 (ZBA 2/19/2025) �Chairman Church stated that public comments were received requesting the applicant to confirm the proposed height of the building. Brooks Slocum, the project architect from G3 Architecture Interiors Planning, stated that the proposed building height is 52 feet from the top of the parking deck to the highest portion of the inside part of the garage. There was a discussion about the heights of the building, bulkheads, parapet, and where the highest point is 58 feet. Dennis Xenos asked if the garage is attached to the medical office building. Mr. Slocum stated the garage is attached to the medical office building but will not provide accessibility to the building from inside the parking structure. Chairman Church asked what the height would be if the garage's top level were eliminated. Mr. Slocum stated that the highest point of the garage building would be 47.6 feet. Mr. Weingarten stated that the extra garage level was added at the request of the Planning Board due to public concerns. The shared parking analysis showed adequate parking without the extra garage level. The request to add more parking activated the need for the requested variances. Mr. Weingarten stated that Northwell Health and John DeCicco submitted letters stating that there would be adequate parking for their facilities. There was a discussion regarding the height comparisons of neighboring buildings in the development, previously granted variances and prospective views from other Village areas. There was a discussion regarding the site circulation for the typical medical office building visitor and pedestrian. Mr. Weingarten stated that the applicant is working with John DeCicco on limitations for convenience parking spaces. Northwell Health would encourage its staff to park on the top garage levels. As part of the approval, a Parking Management Plan will be worked out with the Planning Board to ensure spaces are available for those who should be using them. Signage for parking space limitations will also be part of the Planning Board's approval. Gorete Crowe asked how parking limitations would be enforced without parking meters. Mr. Weingarten stated that, as part of the Planning Board's signage approval, they could tow vehicles that violate private property. Megan Guy is Simone's Senior Vice President of Development. Ms. Guy stated that they would have someone mark the tires with chalk. Surface parking is a common element that the Condominium Board, including Simone and DeCiccos, would manage. 3 (ZBA 2/19/2025) �Chairman Church asked if Northwell Health provided projected estimates for the medical office building's parking needs and occupancy. Umberto Annuniziata is Simone's development manager. Mr. Annuniziata said Northwell projects serving 418 patients per day or 42 patients per hour, and project to have 135 staff members per day, which includes 23 doctors and 112 non-doctor staff. There was a discussion on how the required parking spaces for the shared site are calculated based on square footage and the proposed use of the spaces. Mr. Weingarten stated that the parking ratio requirements for medical office use in Sleepy Hollow are higher than those in neighboring Westchester County communities, and off-street parking spaces provided throughout the development are not counted. Based on the proposed medical office building's square footage, 285 parking spaces are required. Brian Dempsey is an engineer with DTS Provident Design Engineering, LLC, representing the applicant. Mr. Dempsey described the shared parking analysis. Ms. Crowe asked if there are plans to rent the parking spaces at night. Mr. Weingarten stated that the private parking is strictly for commercial use. Mr. Weingarten said the applicant is before the Board because they are adding parking. If the Zoning Board doesn’t grant the variances, the applicant's only choice is to go back to the Planning Board and tell them they must approve the application with the original 378 parking spaces. Northwell will not build the smaller building, so the applicant requires the size and the parking. Chairman Church Tim asked Mr. Weingarten to provide supporting details that Northwell would not rent a smaller building. Mr. Weingarten stated that Simone Development provided a letter stating Northwell would not consider a smaller building. Simone Development will not construct the building without a financially feasible return and could walk away from the current owner of the condominium site. Mr. Annunziatta stated that they would have to reduce the medical office building to 22,500 square feet so as not to require variances. Ms. Guy stated that a smaller building would not be a financially feasible investment for Simone Development. Chairman Church asked Ms. Guy if there was a feasible alternative to the structure's height. Mark Gratz is an engineer from DTS Provident Design Engineering LLP. Mr. Gratz presented the site plan and described why the building layout couldn’t be spread out on grade. 4 (ZBA 2/19/2025) �There was a discussion relating to the proposed height of the building and views from different locations. Chairman Church moved to open the public hearing. Moved: Church Seconded: Crowe Vote 5-0 Chairman Church solicited comments from the public. There were no public comments. Chairman Church moved to close the public hearing. Moved: Church Seconded: Lis Vote 5-0 Chairman Church stated that DeCiccos has endorsed the proposed number of parking spaces. The parking appears adequate for the projected number of employees and patients expected to be on site. However, he has concerns about requiring the employees to park on the top level of the parking structure. Mr. Weingarten said that they had discussed employee parking with Northwell, who agreed to have their employees park on the top level of the garage and that there would be signage that limited the amount of time they could spend on the surface lot. John DeCicco will work out the employee parking requirements with their staff. Church suggested that a condition should include working with the Building Department to manage parking. Mr. Weingarten stated that the Parking Management Plan will be a part of the Site Plan approval. Chairman Church stated that the application satisfies the required number of accessible parking spaces and has a plan for managing patient drop-offs. Removing the fifth parking garage level would eliminate the proposed 48 additional parking spaces. Mr. Xenos stated that the parking area is a private location serving the three tenants. It will not be accessible to or serve the Village. The Board is reviewing the parking requirements to determine if the site would be detrimental to the Village. Mr. Weingarten stated that the property owner and the developer are more concerned about creating a parking issue because they still need to build and construct expensive residential and commercial spaces. Discussions related to the proposed building mass, what was approved in the master plan, and concerns about setting precedents when granting variances for building height were held. Chairman Church stated that the Board has granted variances for residential building heights from 42 feet to 48 feet. The height of the parking platform in the center of the building drives an 5 (ZBA 2/19/2025) �additional 4 feet. It will not be visible from standing next to the building and conforms with the view from Beekman Avenue as it slopes down. The requested building height would not produce a substantial or undesirable change in the neighborhood's character nor have a detrimental effect on the neighboring properties. There is no other feasible method to reduce the height of the building and come close to the zoning parking requirements. It is a minimum variance to achieve the benefits sought by the application to meet the physical parking needs of DeCicco’s and the medical facility. The parking structure will not have an environmental impact on the neighborhood. A commercial space was planned in this location so it would not impact the neighborhood's character. Although it is a self-created hardship, it is not the only factor the Board considers. A condition of the approval will require the Planning Board to review the site parking management plan and signage plan as part of the site plan approval. Chairman Church moved to approve the application with the conditions. Moved: Church Seconded: Lis Timothy Church, Chairman- yes Gorete Crowe- yes Craig Lis- yes Sandra Tripp- yes Dennis Xenos- yes Vote 5-0 3. Approval of minutes, January 15, 2025 Chairman Church tabled the minutes of the March 19, 2025, meeting. Chairman Chang moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:38 PM. Moved: Church Seconded: Tripp Vote 5-0 Respectfully Submitted, Pamela Kroll Secretary to the Zoning Board of Appeals 6 (ZBA 2/19/2025) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Zoning Board Minutes & Resolutions-2025 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource MINS_ZONING_2025-02-19 Approved ZBA Minutes Subject The topic of the resource Zoning Board Minutes & Resolutions-2025 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2025 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Village of Sleepy Hollow All Rights Reserved. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text