o An assisted living facility located on property in Scarsdale with an access road passing through the Ethical Culture Society at 7 Saxon Woods Road.
History:
25 Saxon Woods Road is an interesting site from both a political and environmental standpoint.
The Mamaroneck River, which is the border between White Plains and Scarsdale, runs through the 6.97 acre lot. Back in 1998 or 1999, Realm LLC proposed constructing a 90-115 unit, Assisted Living Residence for the Elderly on the lot. Since the site is environmentally sensitive, it is adjacent to Saxon Woods Park, the Mamaroneck River flows through it, and it has wetlands on site, White Plains and Scarsdale disputed which municipality would be the lead agency in conducting an environmental review. In January 1999, the DEC determined that Scarsdale should be the lead agency to conduct the environmental review. The DEC determined that since construction would be almost entirely within the portion of the parcel in Scarsdale, the impact would be most felt by Scarsdale; this despite the fact that no Scarsdale residents would be remotely close to the site.
In 2001-2002, Scardale granted approval of the project, but because the site required access to White Plains roads and services, it required Zoning approval. The proposal was apparently halted due to White Plains denial of Zoning approval preventing access to the site. Based on information from White Plains CitizenNet, the developers sought an easement from the Ethical Cultural Society to build the driveway to the Assisted Living Facility on the Ethical Cultural Society property. The project was apparently stalled over the next couple of years. In June 2006, it was reported that Realm LLC reached an agreement with the Ethical Culture Society to use its entrance to gain access to the wooded site Realm plans to develop into a 131 unit Assisted Living facility for seniors. Elizabeth Marin, Planning Commissioner for Scarsdale confirmed
“[Realm, LLC has] applied for an amendment to their site plan approval which provides for elimination of the driveway originally proposed where the original bridge is currently on the site. Instead, they would provide access to the site across the Ethical Culture Society bridge along their driveway and then an additional portion of the (Ethical Culture) driveway would cross over into the site.”
With the apparent easement from the Ethical Cultural Society, the final hurdles to this development are apparently whether White Plains Planning and Zoning Boards will grant variances to allow this project. Given the past history, we presume White Plains is opposed to the project but it is important that area residents voice their concerns regarding the impact on our community.
07-03-06 AllBusiness Article
06-21-06 White Plains CitizeNet Reporter Article
12-12-05 Jamil v. Village of Scarsdale Planning Board-Appeal
06-08-04 Jamil v. Village of Scarsdale Planning Board
01-30-02 White Plains CitizeNet Reporter Article
04-17-01 Letter to Village of Scarsdale Planning Board and Village Planner
01-19-99 Village of Scarsdale v. City of White Plains