By Carol P. Bartold

Mar. 16, 2016:  By a three-to-two vote, the Bronxville Planning Board, at its March 9 meeting, approved the Pondfield Court LLC preliminary site plan to develop the former Morgan Manhattan storage building at 100 Pondfield Road into eleven residential condominium units.

Board chairman Eric Blessing, along with members James Murray and Adrienne Smith, voted to approve the preliminary site plan, approximately the eighth version of the plan over a four-year period, while board vice chair Anna Longobardo and Gary Reetz voted no.

"I feel we've come to the end of the line," said Smith. "We've gone on and on with this. I think our attorney has given us the maximum protection that we can have for this project."

Longobardo and Reetz cited safety concerns at the intersection of the building's narrow easement and the Pondfield Road sidewalk as the primary reason for their opposition to the preliminary site plan. The 15-foot wide easement provides the only ingress and egress for the property.

Longobardo expressed doubt that the developers understand the large number of students from The Bronxville School who would be crossing the easement over an extended lunch hour during the school day.

"I do think that it constitutes a great problem for the village," Reetz stated. "It creates density and traffic flow patterns in an area where we already have problems. I just don't see how it makes sense."

Attorney Michael Zarin of Zarin & Steinmetz, representing Pondfield Court LLC, pointed out to the board that, despite the increase in village population and vehicular traffic on Pondfield Road over the years, and despite the fact that the school allows students to leave campus for lunch, the village has never voted to change the use of the property.

The condominium development, Zarin said, is a permitted use on that site. "And, I respectfully submit, that's the starting point," he added.

Pondfield Court LLC presented a safety plan to the board that includes warnings to alert vehicular traffic approaching the sidewalk of pedestrians crossing the easement and to alert pedestrians crossing the easement of approaching vehicles.

In-pavement LED lights, angled to be visible to drivers in the easement, would begin to flash when pedestrians are within 10 to 15 feet of the easement to alert them that the crossing is active.

Bollard devices at the building's garage exit would activate LED lights on a warning sign mounted near the Pondfield Road sidewalk to warn pedestrians that a vehicle is approaching. The sign would read, "Watch for Vehicles Exiting Garage." In addition, the developer would install a reddish-brown-stamped concrete surface on the sidewalk approaching the easement. The change in sidewalk color, along with a change in its surface, would provide pedestrians with an additional level of awareness about the active easement driveway.

Zarin reminded members of the planning board that residents of the condominium units would be citizens "who are going to care about the use, enjoyment, and maintaining the values of this community," and, as such, they would also care about the safety of children in the village.

Although the conditioned negative declaration issued by the planning board in July of 2015 called for the easement to be designated and striped as a fire lane, village attorney James Staudt reported that designating the driveway as "No Parking/No Standing" is the functional equivalent of the fire-lane designation. He stated that, under fire code, a fire lane must be at least 22 feet wide, comply with a designated strength of construction, and be paved with a surface that provides a specified grip for the tires of fire equipment.

According to Staudt, the Eastchester Fire Department would bring hoses and equipment, rather than trucks, into the easement to fight fires.

"I would suggest that, while it's a hard vote," Zarin said to the board, "I think we've done everything to live up to your charge to make this a respectable project that's the best it can be under the conditions."

Pictured here:  100 Pondfield Road (building rising behind the stores).

Photo by N. Bower