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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991_03_26 Coastal Zone Management Commission Minutes• .. ` PL.0_,4(-- Approved. Town of Mamaroneck — Village of Larchmont C COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION r TOWN CENTER: 740 West Boston Post Road, Mamaroneck, NY 10543 • - - — 914-381-6133 4 RECEIVED MAY; 7 1991 . % PATRicm A.n;,, • MINUTES �,� Y E M0 MARCH 26, 1991 10kip • A regular meeting of the Coastal Zone Management Commission (CZMC) was held on March 26, 1991 in Conference Room A of the Town Center, 740 West Boston • Post Road, Mamaroneck, New York. The meeting commenced at 8:00 P.M. • Members Present: Phyllis Wittner, Chairman Elinor Fredston • Lawrence Lowy Angel Martin • C. Alan Mason Howard McMichael Richard Metzner Shirley Tolley Others Present: Cheryl Lewy, Liaison, Village of Larchmont . Claudia Ng, Environmental Coordinator Eliot Senor, Engineer . Christa Diels, Recorder APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of the February 26, 1991 meeting were approved. REFERRAL a. Subdivision, 707 Weaver Street, Diforio (Town of Mamaroneck Planning • Board Referral) . • It was noted that Shirley Tolley, Alan Mason and Claudia Ng visited the property. Mr. Eliot Senor, the engineer representing 707 Weaver Street, • explained to the Commission that Arrowhead Lane is a private road that currently serves three properties. Mr. Senor feels that the street could • • serve yet another lot; therefore, he is seeking permission to create a fourth property on Arrowhead Lane. Dr. Mason responded to Mr. Senor's • proposal by expressing the Commission's concerns regarding the rate of runoff from the area in question and the impact his plan would have on the 140 or so • houses downstream along the Sheldrake River. Dr. Mason has observed as much -- as two feet of water in that area during, or subsequent to, heavy rain. Dr. Mason explained to Mr. Senor that the Town makes some effort to control the waterflow from the reservoir through use of a valve system; however, the . flow from the Diforio property joins the stream below the area controlled by • • CZM Minutes 3-26-91 Page 2 • • the valve; therefore, there would be no impediment to the runoff. Another potential problem is that, as the area becomes built up, the rate of runoff • increases. The Commission favors a more rapid runoff when properties are close to the Sound where they can discharge before the flow from the upper • watershed joins it; however, Arrowhead Lane is high in the watershed. Dr. Mason asked Mr. Senor what provisions were made for meeting the local law's • requirement for zero rate of runoff from the area that is being developed. Mr. Senor said that his original plan shows two dry wells on each property. • Morever, the stream bed itself is at an elevation of sixty-six or sixty-eight feet and the other properties are at seventy feet. Dr. Mason pointed out • that the top of the reservoir dam is at an elevation of 134 feet and Rockland • and Weaver Streets are at seventy-one feet. He wondered how Mr. Senor • arrived at sixty-eight feet and commented that the figure is off by about • fifty feet. Mr. Senor suggested that the discrepancy might be due to their • having different sets of data or different benchmarks. Dr. Mason said that • the Commission uses the real world (i.e. , sea-level) as a benchmark. • Mr. Senor indicated that the original plan shows some dry wells. He • offered to provide details on drainage, if necessary. Dr. Mason noted that • the dry wells are submerged and of no value; therefore, an alternative like • retention basins should be required. Dr. Mason added that gravity systems • are preferred over the two pumped sewer lines on Weaver Street. • Mrs. Wittner entered the discussion to remind those present that the • reservoir is in a Critical Environmental Area, and the Commission is as concerned with water quality as it is with water quantity. As the discussion came to a close, Mrs. Wittner appointed Dr. Mason to write the consistency review letter to the Planning Board reflecting the • • Commission's recommendations and comments. • CHAIRMAN REPORTS A. Correspondence - Incoming: • • 1) 3/6/91 - A letter from Suzi Oppenheimer regarding her role in helping • defeat the Governor's proposal to transfer the Coastal Zone Management • Program out of the Department of State. • • 2) 3-7-91 - A letter from Assemblyman Saul Weprin, Chairman of the Ways • and Means Committee, regarding the Department of State and the Coastal Zone • Management Program. The letter included an analysis of expenditures in order • to maintain services wherever possible. • Ms. Tolley mentioned that she had received a very encouraging letter from • Senator Owen Johnson, Senate Chairman of the Environmental Committee, • informing her that he had opposed the transfer of the Coastal Zone Management • Progam out of the Department of State. Ms. Tolley plans to respond • enthusiastically to Senator Johnson, letting him know how pleased the CZMC is • to have his support. CZM Minutes • 3-26-91 Page 3 Correspondences - Outgoing: 1) 3/13/91 - A letter was sent to Lloyd Peterson, Chief Construction Engineer of the City of New Rochelle Building Department, regarding Critical • Environmental Areas, wetlands, etc. Mrs. Wittner sent him County and local laws, as well as maps, as a followup to the Livingston-Sheldrake Lane • application discussed at the last meeting; however, since that time, the application has been withdrawn. Mr. Joseph Morgan, the Village of Larchmont • Engineer, visited the site and saw that the Livingstons had repaired the retaining wall. He heard Mrs. Livingston say something about using • construction debris and a lot of backfill would be required. Mr. Morgan discussed this problem at a Village of Larchmont Board meeting. The Mayor • advised calling New Rochelle to ask about their laws pertaining to this matter. Mr. Lloyd Peterson advised that building retaining walls without a • permit is prohibited in New Rochelle. Because she received copies of the Morgan-Peterson correspondence, Mrs. Wittner called Mr. Peterson and followed • up with the information noted above. Two days later, Mrs. Wittner received a phone call from Mr. Peterson's • boss, Louis Goodman. Mrs. Wittner told him that she was concerned because the Town and City share many critical areas. She inquired whether New • Rochelle has wetlands laws, and learned that they do not. Mrs. Wittner then contacted Laura Tessier, District Manager of the • WCSWCD, for advice on the above problem. Ms. Tessier explained that New Rochelle does not have to go out and actually map their wetlands. She • advised reading the Model Wetlands Ordinance that she has written for the County. 2) 3/19/91 - Mrs. Wittner wrote a memo to Caroline Silverstone, • requesting that the Town support the master plan and Village of Larchmont Centennial by planting trees along the Boston Post Road from the New Rochelle • border to the Village of Larchmont border. Mrs. Wittner believes that a Department of Transportation permit is required to plant trees along the Boston Post Road. 3) 3/19/91 - Mrs. Wittner wrote a memo to Steven Altieri regarding the need for ownership determination on two or three properties in the Town: Van Guilder Street, Old Hommocks Road, and Ferndale Road. The pressing problem • involves an enbankment on Van Guilder Road that is washing down. Mrs. Wittner requested that the Town do a title search on these properties. • Correspondence - Copies • 1) 2/27/91 - Councilwoman Elaine Price sent a thank you note with a contribution to Terry Backer, the Long Island Sound Soundkeeper, for his • excellent presentation at the Premium Information Meeting. • 2) 3/4/91 - DEC Commissioner Jorling wrote a letter to Mayor Miriam Curnin stating that the DEC has not proposed relocation of the CZM Program • out of the Department of State. The DEC has, however, advanced proposals for improvement of the CMP. CZM Minutes • 3-26-91 Page 4 • 3) 3/7/91 - Councilwoman Elaine Price wrote a thank you note to Alison (:: Beall for her participation in the Premium Information Meeting. 4) 3/7/91 - Councilwoman Elaine Price wrote a letter to Mayor Miriam Curnin, informing her that things didn' t look too good for the Department of State from the perspective of the Governor's Taskforce. 5) 3/14/91 - Dan Schuster wrote a letter to the Village of Larchmont Board in response to a request for more information on waterfront zoning. Mr. Schuster was asked to discuss the basis of minimum lot size of 50,000 square feet, and to discuss establishing a minimum area for club use. 6a) 3/6/91 - Both Mayor Curnin and Supervisor Silverstone sent the CZMC • copies of letters they received from Chairperson Jeanne Richman (Westchester County Planning Board Subcommittee) regarding the updating of County • Assumptions and Goals for the Comprehensive Development Plan. • 6b) 3/13/91 - Mayor Curnin replied to the above letter, letting them know of the concerns regarding the impact of upland communities on lower • watershed municipalities, and that the Village is interested in their plans. • Mrs. Wittner told the CZMC that the Supervisor asked whether the CZMC wants to comment on the above (6a) . Dr. Mason said that he spoke to the • Westchester County Planning Board Subcommitte when the Townhouses were being discussed, but he found that they paid only lip service to his concerns. In • addition, he feels that, although regulation is not a problem, enforcement is. Perhaps there should be stiffer penalties. Ms. Tolley, on the other • hand, felt that the CZM should respond. She agreed to do this and to include the CZMC's previous requests regarding County CEAs. • Ms. Ng responded to Dr. Mason's comment about regulation vs. enforcement by noting that, in an attempt to solve that problem, Yorktown has appointed an Environmental Enforcer, Nick Bianco. Ms. Ng has invited Mr. Bianco to speak at the next CAC meeting. B. Other: 1) Minutes of the Lorenzen Field Master Plan, dated 3/18/91. On March 13, 1991, representatives from the Village of Larchmont, the CAC, the CZMC and the Little League made a site visit to Lorenzen Field.The Village of Larchmont Parks and Trees Committe wants to beautify the area and the Little League wants to add a batting cage and, in the future, expand the ball field. Because of the proximity of the Premium River and Marshes to the ball field, the CZMC and CAC want to be certain that the proposed beautifica- tion and expansion do not adversely affect the river and the marsh. Sven Hoeger, a specialist in the conservation and building of wetlands was in attendance at the request of Mrs. Wittner. He felt that, as far as the field • is concerned, the habitat is already lost. There is a section down near the river that probably requires only removing some boulders to allow the marsh • to expand naturally. Mrs. Wittner asked Ms. Lewy to ask Mr. Morgan what effect removing the boulders would have. CZM Minutes • 3-26-91 Page 5 Mrs. Wittner also mentioned that she had a meeting with Joan Simon, Richard Coico, John Rodriguez, from Tony's Nursery and Joanne, from Larchmont Nursery. The nursery owners seem to be happy to cooperate in the • beautification. • 2) The Annual Report, which Mrs. Wittner distributed to the Town of Mamaroneck and the Village of Larchmont on March 6th and 7th, respectively, • has been very well received. • Mr. Gary Trachtman reported to Mrs. Wittner that the water quality of the reservoir is "A"; however, the water quality of the Sheldrake River flowing • into the reservoir is "C" ("A" is suitable for drinking; "C" is suitable for fishing) . He commented that the Friends of the Reservoir might want to get • the DEC to test the water again. 3) Richard Metzner is the CZMC liaison to the newly-created Town of • Mamaroneck Board of Architectural Review. • 4) Mrs. Wittner spoke with Frank DeVore regarding car storage on a vacant lot on the Boston Post Road. Mr. Devore said that this property is • owned by Alfredo's, whose lawyer claims that their use of the property is "pre-zoning use" and is, therefore, permitted. Mrs. Lewy is uncertain • whether that property belongs to the Village of Larchmont or the Town of Mamaroneck. EROSION AND SEDIMENT CONTROL LAW • On April 2nd, 1991, Phyllis Wittner, Claudia Ng, Richard Young and Gary Trachtman will meet to finalize the proposed Erosion and Sediment Control • Law. LWRP UPDATE DISCUSSION Mr. McMichael thought that the section on dredging should be deleted from • the section concerning the waterfront. Mrs. Wittner concurred. MEMBERS' REPORTS Oil and Battery recycling - Mr. McMichael told the CZMC that he had • received a publication from the gas stations regarding the new inspection equipment. The service stations have been reminded that they are required to • accept up to five gallons of oil per day from an individual. In addition, they are reimbursed $5.00 for each returned battery. Water Quality - Mrs. Wittner informed the Commission that Richard Coico • asked her to report on the plans of the Long Island Sound Task Force. The Task Force and Richard Harris, from Norwalk, plan to write a manual • instructing citizens on how to do simple water testing. Mrs. Wittner felt that further discussion of this topic should be tabled until more information is available. She still queried: "Who will accept and analyze the data?" • CZM Minutes 3-26-91 • Page 6 WCSWCD - Mrs. Wittner enthusiastically reported to the Commission on the Westchester County Soil and Water Conservation District Conference that she attended. She said that it was most informative, covering a range of topics from law to the EPA, the creation and restoration of wetlands, reptiles and amphibians, determination of buffer zones, etc. Because buffer zones are • part of the Village of Larchmont proposed legislation, Mrs. Wittner found that presentation particularly interesting. She realized that one really has to have some idea of what they are trying to protect and achieve. Y g Effectiveness is not simply a matter of distance. • The next CZMC meeting will be held on April 30th, 1991. ;