Planning Board sets site visits for Evergreen townhomes and storage-yard expansion

The Cortlandt Planning Board scheduled September 24 site inspections for the proposed 96-townhome Evergreen development and an expanded self-storage and contractor-yard operation, keeping both applications under review at its September 1 meeting.

The evening also brought extensions for the Pomona Development subdivision and Cortlandt Manor Hotel. Those approvals gave existing applications more time; the board’s decisions on Evergreen and self-storage were referrals and site visits, rather than final construction approvals.

Evergreen: ownership, trails and site layout

Evergreen’s application at 2003 Crompond Road proposed 96 townhomes, including 10 percent affordable units, on approximately 17.6 acres. The larger subdivision layout also included a homeowners’ association lot, a commercial parcel and open space around an existing wetland.

The discussion went beyond the number of homes. Board members asked how the individual house lots, commercial parcel and assisted-living parcel would relate to one another. The applicant’s representative described individual ownership of the townhome lots, a townhome association for common infrastructure, and a possible master association to share responsibility for open space. The legal structure still needed discussion.

Members and engineering staff also questioned the proposed walking trail’s steep grades, its route through a non-disturbance area and how users would be warned if it was not accessible. The applicant said the intent was a largely natural, unpaved path and agreed to revisit its alignment.

The board set the Evergreen inspection for September 24 at 5 p.m. and referred the application back to staff for further development and technical meetings. Members wanted road centerlines and some building locations marked so they could understand the layout and terrain on the ground.

Storage proposal: separating customers and equipment

At 44 Regina Avenue, Cortlandt Self-Storage sought an additional 8,000-square-foot storage building and outdoor contractor equipment areas. The applicant described moving the proposed building away from a conservation-easement line and revising its entrances, elevations and utilities.

A central concern was how people visiting storage units would be separated from heavy machinery. The applicant’s engineer said equipment would go out to jobs and be returned to its place. Planning staff said machines had been observed moving around the site and asked for fencing or another way to prevent conflicts with customers. The board discussed partial fencing, but did not adopt a final fencing design.

Staff also sought clearer building-access details, a note about keeping mechanical work off the outdoor pavement, and confirmation of wetland boundaries. The discussion left the method of wetland flagging and verification for staff and the applicant to confirm.

The resulting motion was corrected in two important ways before the vote: the board declared its intent to be lead agency, rather than declaring that status already established, and corrected the site-visit date from October to September 24. The visit was set for about 5:45 p.m., and the application went back to staff for further comment.

After the vote, the applicant asked to schedule a public hearing for the October meeting. The chair said the site inspection and unresolved issues needed attention first, so no hearing was scheduled that evening.

More time for two existing approvals

The board granted Pomona Development a sixth six-month extension of preliminary subdivision approval. Its representative reported a pending town engineering discussion about water-main extension details as the project continued through Health Department review.

Cortlandt Manor Hotel, proposed for 2054 East Main Street, received a third one-year extension of conditional site-development approval. Its representative said sewer-inspection work, monitoring reports and outstanding approval conditions still needed to be addressed. The extension did not announce a construction or opening date.