By Carol P. Bartold     

Apr. 15, 2015:  Despite presenting a modified and downsized plan to develop the landlocked former Morgan Manhattan Storage building at 100 Pondfield Road, the developer, Pondfield Court, LLC, still needs to satisfy the Bronxville Planning Board's concerns about pedestrian and traffic safety, the feasibility of safety improvements planned for ingress and egress to the property, and Eastchester Fire Department approval of fire safety plans for the building.

Attorney Michael Zarin, partner at Zarin & Steinmetz, represented the developer at the board's April 8 meeting and sought to obtain a negative declaration of environmental impact under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) as well as a preliminary approval, with conditions, of the site plan presented.

Board chairman Eric Blessing stated that, while the board would not require final construction drawings before making a SEQRA determination or granting preliminary approval for the application, it will need drawings showing more detail than conceptual drawings presented to date. Blessing asked that the application be continued at the planning board's May meeting to give Pondfield Court, LLC, time to prepare and submit those plans for review by board members and village consultants.

According to Zarin, the new plan for eleven condominium units, all under 2,000 square feet and on the building's existing three floors, eliminates the need for most of the variances required by the original four-story plan presented. By reducing the number of parking spaces to 17 from 22, the revised plan complies with the village zoning code with respect to the dimensions of the parking spaces.

Although the developer, in response to previous concerns expressed by board members, has included several high-tech pedestrian and traffic safety devices in the revised plan, board alternate Rene Atayan questioned whether the developer has obtained permission to encumber the easement with such improvements.

Zarin stated that, as the easement owner, the developer has the right to accommodate safe and functional ingress and egress. "We're comfortable that any approval has the condition that we build those improvements and measures," he said.

Mindy Schmidt, senior property manager with Mosbacher Properties Group, the owner of the commercial properties on either side of the easement, stated that, while the owner has no issues with the building's becoming condominiums, there is concern over permission to install some of the planned safety improvements in the driveway easement.

"We're trying to work with Pondfield Court, LLC, to come to some type of agreement," Schmidt said, "but at this point there is none." She asked that the board not grant a preliminary approval for the development plan until such an agreement can be reached.

Board members continued to question issues of fire safety and access despite the scaled down development plan under consideration. Zarin submitted that the developer has formulated an effective plan over multiple submissions that has been "reviewed at length" and approved by the Eastchester Fire Department. "We continue to maintain that we have sufficient fire access," Zarin said. He noted that the developer has provided the fire department with detailed drawings showing entrances, exits, and access points to the building. He stated that, while the department will require final construction drawings before issuing its approval for the plan, the department issued two "very favorable" letters after developers met with officials to review details to date.

Board member Gary Reetz surmised that, in general, the condominium project would present population-density issues that might be insurmountable. "I think you're just going to create more density and more traffic," he said. "You haven't shown anything in the proposals that you've delivered that changes any of that."

Zarin responded that, if the planning board cannot approve this project, which is in accordance with density limits allowed by the village zoning code, "then they should go back to the village board, take our property and condemn it by regulation, and pay us."

The Bronxville Planning Board will meet on Wednesday, May 13, at 7:30 pm in the trustees room at Bronxville Village Hall.

Pictured here:  Bronxville Planning Board member James Murray, Vice Chair Anna Longobardo, Chair Eric Blessing, and board member Adrienne Smith.

Photo by Carol P. Bartold