Mamaroneck REVIEW THE
August 5, 2016 | Vol. 4, Number 32 | www.mamaroneckreview.com
IAC seeks funding for zoning analysis By JAMES PERO Staff Writer
The First Lady? Hillary Clinton accepted the nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, July 28, becoming the first female ever to be nominated for president by a major political party. For more, see page 6. Photo courtesy Twitter
Town considers amending construction law By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer In light of complaints from residents about noise and heavy vibrations, the town of Mamaroneck is considering amending a law that requires construction companies pursuing the removal and excavation of rocks to file for a permit. According to Town Administrator Stephen Altieri, the Town Council is currently reviewing the law as it exists and is deliberating about possible ways to make it more restrictive on rock removers by no longer allowing
construction without a permit. The proposal would require a permit for rock removal, regardless of the total amount of cubic feet of land disturbed by construction, according to town officials. The town code currently mandates that any rock removal work that will disturb more than 2,000 cubic feet shall be illegal unless a permit is issued for the subject property. Following the issuance of the permit, construction will be allowed only within 15 days, except weekends and public holidays listed in the New York state general
construction law. However, Altieri said if the removal of rock includes construction for sewers and storm drains, projects are permitted to exceed the 15-day limit. “By nature, [those construction projects] take longer than 15 days,” he said. If the new proposal is eventually approved, the 15-day limit would remain in effect. The rock removal law was originally created in 2007 to address disturbing the peace concerns over excavations in the town that lasted for an extended period of time, according to
Town Supervisor Nancy Seligson, a Democrat. “Our intent was to have [companies] finish construction within 15 days [because] rock removal in general is upsetting to neighbors,” she said. However, despite the current 15-day regulation against rock removal, Seligson told the Review that some construction companies work their way around the law with a loophole. She said that rock removers could simply propose to disturb just less than 2,000 cubic feet of LAW continued on page 8
A $100,000 state grant being sought by the village of Mamaroneck will allow a vision to reshape Mamaroneck’s industrial area of Washingtonville to move forward. The grant, which was considered on Monday, July 25 during a village Board of Trustees meeting, would help build on a plan unveiled earlier this year by the Industrial Area Advisory Committee that re-envisions Mamaroneck’s historically manufacturing-based area of Washingtonville into a hub for business and entertainment. According to Assistant Village Manager Daniel Sarnoff, who has worked closely with the committee, the money would go toward helping the group move forward with its analysis of zoning, branding, marketing and traffic in the area. “It would fund the next phase of the study,” Sarnoff said. Another facet Sarnoff says the grant will help address is current zoning regulations, what he says is one of the first aspects of the industrial area that must change before anything outlined in the committee’s plan moves forward. “It’s part of the process,” Sarnoff said in regard to altering the zoning. “You have to know what the market supports in terms of the zoning.” Currently, zoning in the area is classified to allow only man-
ufacturing businesses; a classification which prohibits much of what the committee has proposed. In October—after more than a year of planning—the industrial committee unveiled its plan to redevelop the district. According to the plan drafted by the committee, the industrial area features 700,000 square feet of unused development space. This untapped space, the study indicates, could be used for a diverse number of businesses; from restaurants and art galleries to office and living spaces for cutting-edge IT companies and startups. And while the committee looks mostly to the future when it comes to the industrial area, according to Spatz, it will also attempt to retain businesses that are already there. “We’re just opening up the variety of businesses,” he told the Review in October. “We’re not looking to proliferate a certain type of business.” Mayor Norman Rosenblum, a Republican, said that while he supports the plan, this step is important to figure out just what kind of demand such a plan would have amongst business owners. “The whole purpose is to take that area and look at it as a blank slate,” Rosenblum said. “But you have to figure out what the market is before you rezone.” CONTACT: james@hometwn.com
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