On Wednesday, May 11, 2016 the Town Board will hold a public hearing regarding the environmental review process associated with a special permit (Town Board approval) application submitted by Shelbourne Senior Living, for a property located at 448 Underhill Road, P.O. Scarsdale (currently Sprainbrook Nursery). The proposal consists of the elimination of the Nursery (which is for sale) and the construction of a four story, 80 unit, 70,000 sq. ft. assisted living facility building, with off-street parking, landscaping and related amenities.

Approvals needed include: (Special Permit – Town Board; Area Variances – Zoning Board of Appeals; Site Plan, Steep Slope and Watercourse Permit – Planing Board). Some of the benefits associated with the project include: providing long time senior citizens who live in Edgemont/Ardsley and surrounding areas to age in place; providing families with a chance to encourage elderly family members who need assisted living services to move close to them; lowering the intensity of the use at the site (the traffic generated from an Assisted Living Facility is projected to be lower than the traffic generated from the existing nursery use); proposed infrastructure improvements (the Applicant proposes to build new sidewalks along portions of its frontage and in areas that would connect to sidewalks that will be built along Sprain Road this spring at the Preserve at Ardsley “Toll Bros subdivision”; the applicant proposes to mitigate flooding issues along the site’s frontage with Sprain Road).

tax revenue (at full capacity, over a 10 year period, Shelbourne is projected to generate approximately $5,000,000 in total property taxes – which would include $3,000,000 to the Edgemont School District $500,000 to the Greenville Fire District and $900,000 to the Town – this can be compared with $1,000,000 in total property taxes over the same 10 year perdiod with the present use of the property - which equates to $620,000 to the Edgemont School District, $50,000 to the Greenville Fire District and $180,000 to the Town). An assisted living facility would enable the Edgemont school district to raise significant revenues with no school children. If the property is sold to a developer of homes the school district will have additional expenses educating the children who go to the schools.

Some of the noted concerns people have raised regarding the assisted living facility proposal that will be reviewed by the Town Board include impacts related to the projected calls for emergency services, allowing a large building to be built at this location, delivery times and traffic issues, and the impacts of the proposal to surrounding properties. 

What do you think?  E mail: Townboard@greenburghny.com and attend the hearing on May 11th if you can.

PAUL FEINER