issues

Brentwood Preservation Committee, Inc.

A neighborhood association serving the Brentwood and the Town/Village of Harrison, New York

At the September 15th, 2005 Town Board meeting, the Town Board once again unanimously voted to change the maximum lot coverage on new construction from 35% to 30%, affecting the B zone (two family, 50' x 100' minimum lots.) This change will effectively reduce the size of new two-family homes in any B zone neighborhood by 18% (examples: Brentwood, Franklin Park and downtown West Harrison) and help preserve the integrity of our neighborhood by forcing builders to scale back plans to build oversized homes.

The BPC, Inc, along with the West Harrison Neighborhood Association, Inc. are extremely satisfied with these law changes and want to thank the Mayor and Town Board for affecting such a much needed modification.

At the July 26th meeting of the Harrison Planning Board, a referral from the Town Board was discussed. The proposal calls for an increase to the required setback from a minimum of 5 feet to 20 feet on the side yard setback facing the street on corner lots in the B zone (two family, 50'x100' lots.). This would require newly constructed homes sit 20 feet back on both street sides of a corner lot. The Planning Board members were split on this referral and have decided to discuss it again at their September 27th meeting.

This proposed change will effectually limit the amount of subdivisions and over development of corner lots in the B zone and maintain the visual integrity of our neighborhoods. The BPC, Inc. along with the West Harrison Neighborhood Association, Inc. are strongly in favor of this proposed change and encourage our members and residents to attend the Planning Board meeting and voice your support for this proposed change.

At the February 11, 2004 BPC, Inc. Board of Directors meeting, the Board voted to adopt a resolution. The resolution states that the BPC as an organization would support the current method used by the Town/Village of Harrison that requires tax apportionment issues be directed through the Planning Board for initial approval before being sent for final approval by the Town/Village Board through the Assesor's office. The resolution further states that the current process that involves the Planning Board review seems to provide more protection by giving notice to neighbors of a project and takes into account issues (like environmental eg. wetlands) that may not be provided to the assesor's office or to the Town/Village Board. The extra scrutiny and review provided by the Planning Board process is in our view far more important than the extra time and expense to the applicant, especially when you take into account the potential impact on the neighborhood and the value of a building lot that may eventually be realized through the process.

At the March 11th Town/Village Board meeting, the proposed bill to change the current Apportionment Law was defeated by a 3 to 2 margin. The Brentwood Preservation Committee, inc., which lobbied to defeat the bill, is extremely happy with the outcome and applauds those who voted it down. We continue to believe that every precaution should be taken when it comes to subdividing and tax apportionment issues. The current law provides for those protections, albeit minimally, by utilizing the Planning Board.