The Curse and Growth of Spot Zoning

ABG has previously written about spot zoning and its perils. In Greenburgh, for instance, Mr Feiner and his Board cavalierly change zoning on his whim to satisfy his developer friends. There aren’t any developers, larger ones anyway, who fear submitting a proposal in Greenburgh as long as Mr Feiner is at the helm with a submissive Board in tow. In fact, smaller contractors and builders have been said to avoid doing business in Greenburgh due to excessive taxes also known as fees and permit costs and extended review processes. The people who suffer are the homeowners, of course, who want to add a bathroom, deck or dormer to their home. The approval process can take up to a year between the different departments, the various fees, meetings etc., only to be refused at any point and force a restart of the entire process.

There is even more going on around us in Greenburgh and elsewhere throughout the County. Here in Greenburgh, the Town Board follows Mr Feiner’s instructions and rubber stamps whatever project he favors. Several years ago he announced he was in favor of an eight story commercial entity being built in a residential neighborhood. He had had the opportunity to simply sell off the property but chose to politicize it and play games against the residents of the area. Is this what we elect our leadership to do? Hardly. Then there was the over-sized assisted living facility to be built on what amounted to a postage-stamp parcel of land in yet another residential neighborhood. While the residents, current taxpayers that government should be protecting from outside interests, strenuously objected to Mr Feiner and the Board, he laughed in their faces and not only approved every aspect of the proposal, but let the projects attorney’s write what would later become the zoning code for assisted living facilities!

Now that an approximately two-year old assisted living zoning code exists, Mr Feiner and his spineless Board are pushing to approve another inappropriate assisted living facility. To top it off, they seek to ignore this recently adopted zoning code to accommodate another developer! Interestingly, this time, while the immediate abutting property owners are against the project, some of the residents in the area have spoken in favor of this sale. We believe they are speaking less in favor of the mega-proposal and more in favor of trying to help the owners complete the sale for retirement income. Regardless of the reason, the facility does not meet the assisted living zoning code and requires variances to proceed.

Rather than wait and follow the process, we believe Mr Feiner instructed his Board to prematurely initiate and subsequently approve a SEQR study/report. This bastardization of “the process” belies the hollow words heard from the dais at various meetings by Mr Feiner and his Board. They parrot him by saying that they want, “the public to have faith in the process”, “that they’ll do their due diligence” and more. The list of hollow expressions is almost unlimited.

Beyond the lies from our own corner office comes a growing trend, an agenda if you will, with housing and spot zoning. Excuses in favor of it abound as developers push community leaders to covertly endorse spot zoning. In North Castle for example, JMF Properties of New Jersey, is seeking to construct 200 high-rental apartments on 22 (of 36) acres on the North White Plains’ Jennie Clarkson school campus. Their argument they use for this is that there is an abundance of multi-family homes that already exist. Here’s their rub: empty nesters are looking to down size and young professionals – often referred to as millennials – don’t want to own a home yet. 60% of these proposed units would be two bedrooms and the remainder would be single bedroom, with twenty units set aside as affordable housing. The moniker might change but the only way to proceed is to pepper the proposal with enough buzzwords so politicians can jump on board: affordable, workforce, low income, welfare, senior, veterans, etc. The final nail in the coffin of the argument is that businesses are leaving the area because of a lack of housing for workers. Could it simply be they are leaving because they are overtaxed and over-regulated? Believe it.

The real issue here is that to build this huge facility would require several zoning changes. And, as luxury units priced at about $2,800 to $3,200, the affordability aspect seems a bit distant if not contradictory. These residents would have, according to one of the spokesman, “…fat wallets and they’re looking to spend in that local community.” That may appear to be justification to some, but to us it seems weak. It certainly does not qualify as a reason to spot zone an area, even if spot zoning is illegal. Using other words for it doesn't make it right.

Similarly, Purchase College, part of the State University of New York system, is proposing to build 385 units of housing for people ages 62 and older on 40 acres of its 500-acre campus. The proposed site — mostly weedy land that had previously been used as a dump for construction debris — is located south of the college's administration complex and west of Lincoln Avenue. The arguments for this project, while not as necessary because this is NY State property and not held to many of the same zoning and other standards as Towns and Villages, include 220 units of one and two-bedroom apartments in a four-story building and single-family, duplex and triplex homes; 36 beds for assisted living and 36 beds for memory care would be offered. The rest of what is being touted is merely window trimmings of sorts to increase the projects attractiveness.

In nearby Harrison, the Brightview “senior steamroller” received approval for their latest proposal for their contentious Brightview Senior Living facility. The necessary-to-proceed zoning amendment was passed by the Village Board, even though the Harrison mayor said, “…the zoning amendment passed Thursday did not constitute a fait accomplis.” He added, “It's all part of the process," he said. "We're not even at the 10-yard line. A lot can happen in 90 yards.” The project must now gain the planning board’s approval. The zoning amendment allows senior living facilities to be built in existing residential zones, with the planning board's approval. This move paves the way for any developer, but in this case, Brightview Senior Living, to build a four-story, Home Depot-sized senior living facility on the Lake Street Quarry site in West Harrison. The 7.3-acre project site is surrounded by a rural neighborhood of single-family homes. Once again residents in the neighborhood say the development would be too big and out of character for the area, comes too close to nearby homes and would cause traffic congestion on an already-busy street. And again, government is pursuing its agenda and ignoring the well-being of the existing taxpayers who have invested in the community from outsiders seeking to ravage it.

In Buchanan, the opposition to affordable housing for seniors was strong last fall. So much so that one of Westchester’s leading builders simply walked away, unwilling to invest any more time or money in pursuing his project. But now, seven months later, things have changed. The Buchanan Village Board, by a single vote, last week agreed to a zoning change that allows the 42-unit project, including 35 affordable units, to proceed for planning board review. Therein is part of the problem. When a developer wants a project to go through, they have resources and time that residents do not and can keep the onslaught going as long as they choose.

Finally, it must be mentioned that if the project is approved, it would help Westchester County meet its federal fair-housing goal. This is another part of the zoning change problem. Without reliving the entire Anti-Discrimination lawsuit against the County, the federal government and its housing monitor continue to insist that local zoning be changed to allow a whole host of zoning possibilities that frankly, zoning laws are designed protect communities from. If you need an example of imprecise zoning, simply look at the 9A corridor from I-287 northbound toward Mt Pleasant. Nothing matches, looks cohesive or has a flow of style that invites you to want to participate and even locate there. Zoning adjustments, such as changing a set back from 10 feet to 7 feet to allow a walkway or a deck to be built are certainly acceptable. Radical changes like the ones we’re being forced to accept because of political agendas, developer’s deep pockets, and a willfully ignorant electorate must stop – especially in Greenburgh. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

Fear of Flooding Makes Fighting HUD Difficult

The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) lawsuit and settlement by former County Executive Andy Spano, has two, maybe three distinct camps whose feelings are absolute. One camp has people vehemently against the settlement, stating it’s a matter of economics that has segregated our neighborhoods; the other camp is in agreement with the settlement and feel there is housing discrimination against certain people of the lower income scale. Finally, there are those who have no clue about the settlement and insist on keeping their proverbial heads in the sand regardless of how it may affect them. Even though this group is a significant one, they are rarely involved and are easy and unwitting prey for the likes of politicians such as Mr Feiner and their schemes, lies and trickery.

This post is not about those groups of people. Rather, its about a splinter group which maintains the land usage in their community is “maxed” out, with no appreciable land onto which they could even build affordable housing. Per the HUD settlement between then Democratic County Executive Andrew Spano and the federal government, Westchester County agreed to participate in the building of 750 affordable housing units in what has been referred to as “white” communities. ABG believes the color is wrong. They should be referred to as “green” communities – segregated only by the ability to afford the housing prices and more importantly the ever-growing taxes in those communities. Simply because someone wants to live somewhere but cannot afford to do so does not constitute discrimination.

The Village of Scarsdale is already congested with existing buildings and claims little to no developable space throughout the village. Regardless of the amount of units mandated by HUD for the Village to construct, the rallying cry has always been, “We have no room to build any affordable housing units.” Whether the assumption of this statement is correct or not, whether the residents who would move into these apartments could afford to live in Scarsdale or not, and whether their children would be ostracized in school for not being able to “keep up with the Jones” or not seems immaterial to the federal government.

The federal monitor only wants units built. The federal government wants Westchester County to supersede local zoning to be able to force localities to build where they see fit. New York State is a home rule state which allows individual communities to determine their destiny. But the federal monitor doesn’t care as these communities took HUD monies and now they want payback. They will probably win by shear size in another case of “might makes right”. And you thought you finally outgrew the school yard bullying syndrome?

Scarsdale is not the only community making the “no room” argument. Yet, Scarsdale with the others, continue to entertain new buildings proposals, new designs and ultimately new buildings to be built. The Town of Greenburgh, ghettoized by Paul Feiner during his 22-year reign, was allowed to be exempted from having to add more affordable housing units. One down side to Mr Feiner’s affordable housing ghettoization that is witnessed in the Fairview area is that businesses are not able to be supported by the residents, close their doors and leave or are driven out by continued crime either directly or from the surrounding area. In the Manhattan Avenue area of Fairview for instance, Caldor’s closed their doors, the A&P closed theirs and this past week Lash Kia across the street closed as well. The deli one block away had a murder committed in it a while back and the apartment buildings have gangs, guns, prostitution and drug activity. Not very inviting and to the general public, a good place to stay far away from. But’s it’s acceptable according to Mr Feiner because he’s been able to control it to one area of the Town and keep it out of the others. That’s what wrong with the settlement’s “pass” for Greenburgh.

Back in Scarsdale, the KOS Building Group, is working with others to gain a six-lot subdivision in an 8-acre site at Cushman, Garden and Woodland roads. The Church of St. Pius X in a bid to renovate classrooms and create a new sanctuary entrance with other expansions, sought and received site plan approval for a house at 2 Brittany Close, a lot created as a result of a cluster subdivision. Two existing houses, at 119 Cushman and 1 Woodland, are slated for demolition. A subsequent subdivision will create four new lots and result in a net gain of two houses. Another two-lot subdivision that would create four new lots at 2 Ogden Road was on the agenda but removed and held over. Two more lots are adjacent to area wetlands were the property buffers the wetlands into the neighborhood. The argument of no space in Scarsdale doesn’t really hold water (pun intended). And that seems to be the various Scarsdale neighborhood’s argument against the increased housing: flooding. Just as is seen in the Fulton Park area with the Bronx River and the Saw Mill River area throughout the opposite side of Greenburgh, nothing is being done to alleviate the flooding for those people while Mr Feiner routinely “green lights” every developer’s proposal.

ABG is not saying Scarsdale (or any other community) should be required to build affordable housing. Greenburgh has mandated 10% of all new housing be required to include affordable housing, we’re just not sure this as a viable solution toward increasing housing options throughout any of our communities. Just having affordable housing, utilizing either DSS (welfare) to pay for the housing or Section 8, where the low wage worker/resident pays up to 30% of their income toward housing and then the balance is subsidized again by DSS (welfare), continues to perpetuate dependencies and never-getting-out-from-under government assistance syndrome.

But the argument that there is no room to build in a community, this time easily exemplified by Scarsdale’s own actions, makes it difficult to say, “No” to HUD and be convincing. Other communities are suffering from the same lack of room problem as well as other issues. In northern Westchester, ABG is told that much of the land which readily appears available is actually considered watershed property that is part of the ecosystem that supplies water to the New York City region. Simply saying there is developable land there just isn’t so. Current County Executive Rob Astorino has been fighting the HUD monitor tooth and nail. We think some of his arguments may be a bit extreme and are election scare tactics. However, it is good that someone is standing up to the schoolyard bully known as HUD, even if for the wrong reasons.