WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. From The Rosedale Association. July 3, 2021:
In solidarity with our neighbors in North St. and Gedney Farms, it is important that we support their opposition to the 701 Westchester Ave project.
If we allow the city to rezone at will, provide special permits, and approve projects like this one, they will continue to approve projects that impact our neighborhood without our input. We may eventually see a similar process playout at the 1311 Mamaroneck Ave corporate park across from Saxon Woods. This will drastically change the character of Rosedale and the south end of WP. This is also a reason why we and many other neighborhoods are pushing for maximum input in the city’s new Comprehensive Plan and the process to create a new plan.
Please review the following letter from the North St. Association and contact our leaders with concerns that you have about development in and around Rosedale that will impact traffic and safety throughout our neighborhood.
PUBLIC HEARING – CHANGE IN ZONING – 701 Westchester Ave
255 Main Street, 2nd Floor
July 6th at 7:30PM
Public Hearing Part 2 : 701 Westchester Ave Re-Zoning
Dear North Street Association Residents & Friends:
The Public Hearing to determine if 701 Westchester Ave (“701”) will be approved to be rezoned as a Campus-Office Overlay District (“C-O”) will reconvene at Common Council Chambers on Tuesday, July 6 at 7:30pm. This C-O zoning allows high density residential buildings to be constructed in locations where it was previously prohibited. The C-O zoning circumvents and violates the White Plains Comprehensive Plan which clearly states that the City should “Maintain the range of residential uses that currently exist in the Outer neighborhoods.
Please either attend the Public Hearing on Tuesday, July 6th 7:30pm at Common Council Chambers City Hall or email the Mayor and Common Council members to express your opinion on (1) high density development in low density neighborhoods (2) Ridgeway Firehouse Ladder 34 continued outages, (3) vehicular congestion, (4) pedestrian safety, and (5) maintaining quality of life in the South End.
We want to assure you that we want to see White Plains continue to evolve and encourage appropriate development in suitable locations.
Sincerely,
The North Street Association Board Members
Public Hearing 701 Westchester Ave Re-Zoning:
• Senlac Ridge has petitioned to construct a 360 residential rental unit building (high density) at “701” with an estimate of 611 resident vehicles.
• As part of the rezoning application, Senlac Ridge submitted a traffic study that concluded the proposed redevelopment “will not have a significant impact on traffic operations within the surrounding area.” It is our belief that this project in conjunction with others planned nearby, will result in an additional 2,100 vehicles that will be utilizing Bryant Ave., North St., Ridgeway, Maplemoor –Sammis Ln.
• Additionally, Senlac Ridge stated there would be no impact to pedestrian traffic or safety. We continue to have an ongoing dialogue with White Plains City officials about pedestrian safety due to the both the complete absence and lack of continuous sidewalks, increased vehicular traffic, speed zones greater than 30 mph, and insufficient crosswalks and traffic signals in the South End.
• We have additional concerns on the impact to our municipal services, particularly the Ridgeway Firehouse and Ladder 34 which continue to operate at part-time status.
• Overall, the South End of White Plains is a low density, single family area that we do not feel is a fit for these high-density rental unit projects. We feel these rental units fit in with the downtown area close to the Metro North station, bus terminals and walkable retail. Notwithstanding, there are already over 5,500 multi-family units slated to be constructed in White Plains, so we question do we need to add an additional 360 units in what seems to be an already saturated market.
We urge you to attend the meeting and/or email the Common CouncilMayor Thomas Roach
[email protected]
Justin Brasch
[email protected]
[email protected]
Nadine Hunt-Robinson
[email protected]
[email protected]
John Kirkpatrick
[email protected]
John M. Martin
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Jennifer Puja
[email protected]
Victoria Presser
[email protected]
