On February 25 Lloyd Planning Board held a public hearing on the Silver Gardens senior living project. The proposal calls for a three-story, 55,000 sq/ft complex containing 57 units for seniors.

At the hearing, Bridgeview residents sharply criticized the project from a safety perspective because the proposed entrance is on a very sharp turn on Argent Drive just up from Hannafords. Many also complained about the future increase of traffic not only in Bridgeview but out into the Route 9W corridor on the southern side of town. They pointed out that this will be due to the many development projects that are being proposed in this area, all of which will make the Town of Lloyd an undesirable place to live.

Town Engineering consultant Andrew Learn noted that the sharp curve on Argent Drive at the entrance to Silver Gardens will be made a three-way stop in the interest of safety.

Lloyd’s Land Use attorney Paul Van Cott said this parcel for Silver Gardens was approved as a Planned Use Development in the 1980s. At that time a full environmental impact statement was compiled on the parcel when it was being considered for a mix of townhouses and apartments, including also a high-rise structure. He said he agrees with the suggestion that this present proposal should be subject to a Type I action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, which will provide a very thorough environmental review. He added that documentation on this project has been circulated to other agencies, “who have discretionary approval over the project or who might be interested in the project,” with the Planning Board as lead agency.

The board opened the hearing up to public comment and promised that answers would be provided by the applicant, Richard Gerentine as well as the town’s engineer and attorney and would eventually be posted on the town’s website; www.townoflloyd.com.

Residents commented on a wide variety of issues: the project’s setbacks and visual impacts not only will lead to a more built up urban appearance in the immediate area but may negatively impact the bordering Franny Reese Park; Bridgeview residents said it is unacceptable that a second low income project is being proposed by the same developer in their community that may lower their property values; a NYS 2018 traffic study found that the Route 9W corridor and traffic on the Mid Hudson Bridge is already problematic even without this senior living and future development projects that are under consideration by the town; a plan should be developed and released to the public showing how the town is deciding on what projects to allow, how much development is too much and how all of this has the potential to forever fundamentally change the character of the community; questions were also raised about the remaining 8 acres and whether they will be developed in the future and what will be the effect of blasting on nearby homes and upon the park if it is approved.

Jeff Anzevino, Director of Land Use Advocacy for Scenic Hudson, has reviewed the site plan and acknowledged the need in the area for affordable senior housing so people can age in place and be near their children and grandchildren.

Anzevino also spoke of the importance of protecting Franny Reese Park, property that Scenic Hudson acquired and later conveyed to the Palisades Interstate Parks Commission. He said Scenic Hudson would like a better understanding of the building’s visibility and the buffer, especially in leaf off season, from the entrance of the park off of Mack’s Lane. He said a visual analysis using computer generated simulations of the buildings and proposed landscaping mitigation would help to make this clearer to Scenic Hudson and to the Planning Board so that, “peoples’ experiences would not be diminished by the view of the proposed 3 story building, parking lots and access roads when walking along the entrance lane into the state park.”

Anzevino said Scenic Hudson is also concerned about the impacts of the building upon the habitat and connectivity adjacent to the park. He asked how much of the site would remain in its natural habitat, especially near the area of the pond, and what measure would be put in place to permanently protect the part of the parcel that is not earmarked for development, “so that breeding amphibians can move freely between the pond, nearby wetlands in the northern end of the parcel and upland forested portions of the park.”

Anzevino said this parcel is situated on the edge of a Forest Core and is very close to an important area for rare plants and to several bird species that are sensitive to development.

Anzevino concluded by saying that Scenic Hudson would like to work closely with the Planning Board and the developer Richard Gerentine. “to ensure that the visual and environmental impacts of the proposed development are avoided, minimized or mitigated. Please keep us posted as to the status of the application and consider Scenic Hudson an interested party in the State Environmental Quality Review Act process as this application evolves.”

Near the close of the meeting Planning Board Chairman Scott McCarthy said he hears the public’s concerns about traffic and the recent impacts from a growing number of development projects in town upon the quality of life.

“I say on behalf of the board for the number of years that I’ve been involved and all the board members here [that] we do take all of these things into consideration for any decision that we do make,” he said. “If someone [on the board] comes with personal feelings, whether it’s a yes or a no, I guess we make townspeople unhappy with some of our decisions and we make applicants unhappy in our decisions. I just want you to know that it’s not one point where we don’t think of these things and understand the impact that it may have on somebody. So we can’t win all the time and I guess we can’t lose all the time either but I want you to know that with this board and with everybody’s expertise in the thing that they know, we apply all of our understanding to every decision that we make. With that being said, I want everybody to know that I do appreciate their public comments.”

The board approved keeping the public hearing open until next month in order to allow the Planning Board time to review project materials and to receive answers back from the developer on the public’s concerns, “so that we can get a good understanding of what is there and maybe we missed something, we’re people and we need to know what’s going on.”

Councilwoman Claire Winslow made clear that she favors development in the Town of Lloyd. She said she often talks to Scott McCarthy, board member Sal Cuciti and land use attorney Paul Van Cott, “when I’m concerned about how much developing is going on in town...but there has to be development. People have to realize that in order to keep your taxes [low] so we can live here, there will be development, so we have to pick and choose our battles. I know Route 9W right now is just a thorn in our side for everyone but the deal is we have to do some sort of development...I know it’s not going to make everyone happy but we have to do development, we can’t just turn our backs on it.”

Winslow likened the current wave of development in town to a “pain that we all have to face but we have to realize that our Planning Board is doing the best job they can to make sure we get the best development for the town.”