Town of Eastchester, NY: Minutes, Architectural Review Board Meeting, June 7, 2007

2 EASTCHESTER ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD MEETING

JUNE 7, 2007

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MINUTES OF THE

EASTCHESTER ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD MEETING

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10 HELD AT: Eastchester Town Hall

40 Mill Road

11 Eastchester, New York 10709

June 7, 2007 7:00 p.m.

BOARD MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE:

15 Laura Raffiani, Acting Chairman

Enda McIntyre, Member

16 Maria Bonasia, Member

Fernando Papale, Member

19 EASTCHESTER EMPLOYEES IN ATTENDANCE:

LOUIS REDA, Deputy Town Attorney

21 MARGARET UHLE, Town Planner

KERI OULLETTE, Assistant Planner

22 JAY KING, Building Inspector

24 DINA M. MORGAN, REPORTER

25 COLONIAL ROAD

25 BRONXVILLE, NEW YORK 10708

(914) 469-6353

DINA M. MORGAN, REPORTER

1 EASTCHESTER ARB - 6/7/07

2 Ms. Raffiani: Calls meeting to

order.

Pledge of Allegiance.

Ms. Uhle: Calls roll:

Mr. Papale: Present.

Mr. McIntyre: Present.

Ms. Raffiani: Present.

Ms. Bonasia: Present.

Ms. Uhle: States Rose Brescia will

10 not be able to attend the meeting and Ms.

Raffiani will be chairing in her place.

12 APPLICATION 07-36, 14 CROSS HILL ROAD

Mr. Abilama: Tom Abilama,

14 architect for the applicant. States they

are proposing two separate homes on a

15 subdivided lot. Shows houses. States

one house will be a cedar shingle style

16 and the other will have brick and stone

veneer. Shows site plan of 14 Cross

17 Hill. Shows site plan of 16 Cross Hill.

States 14 Cross Hill is the shingle style

18 house. Discusses layout of 14 Cross

Hill.

Ms. Raffiani: Asks to see samples

20 of the materials for 14 Cross Hill.

21 Mr. Abilama: Describes front

elevation. States there is a two car

22 garage, front door with a couple of

steps. Indicates there is a portion of

23 the roof over the garage that goes back a

few feet. Shows dormers. Shows right

24 side elevation. Shows rear elevation.

Shows left side elevation. States garage

25 and portico are veneered with stone and

there is a stone water table. Shows

DINA M. MORGAN, REPORTER

1 EASTCHESTER ARB - 6/7/07

2 sample of shingles, roof and stone.

3 Ms. Raffiani: Asks if the dormers

have the cedar scalloped shingles.

Mr. Abilama: States yes. States

5 they will stain it natural.

6 Ms. Raffiani: Asks what the garage

doors are made of.

Mr. Abilama: States fiberglass

8 with a veneer that can be painted or

stained. Explains they look as if they

9 are barn doors. States it will look like

natural wood.

Mr. Papale: Discusses window trim.

Mr. Abilama: States trim will be

12 brown.

13 Ms. Raffiani: Explains applicant

will present Application 07-37 and then

14 they will open the public hearing on both

applications.

APPLICATION 07-37, 16 CROSS HILL ROAD

18 Mr. Abilama: States this house has

almost the same geometric character as

19 the house next door except it has a brick

veneer to it. States front portico will

20 have half timbers and stucco and to the

right the brick veneer will continue with

21 a header course. Discusses rear

elevation. Shows left side elevation.

Mr. McIntyre: Asks if it's a brick

23 veneer or actual brick.

24 Mr. Abilama: States actual brick.

Shows sample of brick. Shows sample of

25 roof. States windows will have divided

lights.

DINA M. MORGAN, REPORTER

1 EASTCHESTER ARB - 6/7/07

Ms. Raffiani: Asks if garage doors

3 are similar to 14 Cross Hill.

4 Mr. Abilama: States yes.

5 Ms. Raffiani: States she likes the

materials and the details that have been

6 put in.

7 Mr. McIntyre: Discusses topography

of land. Discusses location of garage.

Mr. Abilama: Explains they put a

9 trench drain at the bottom of the drive

way.

Mr. McIntyre: Discusses drainage.

11 Feels from the west elevation there's a

lot of windows. States a concern over

12 the two windows at the basement level.

Feels the three levels of windows do not

13 relate to a residential property.

14 Ms. Bonasia: Feels houses are well

designed. Discusses materials. States

15 first house has four different materials.

Feels with the strong design elements and

16 strong colors it's overwhelming. Asks if

they could re-visit the color of the

17 bricks. Feels with 14 Cross Hill the

scallops are a strong element.

Ms. Raffiani: Asks if the stone on

19 14 Cross Hill is meant to be all the

same.

Mr. Abilama: Explains it is all

21 the same type of stone.

22 Ms. Raffiani: Makes a motion to

open the public hearing on Applications

23 07-36 and 07-37, 14 and 16 Cross Hill

Road.

Ms. Raffiani: Seconds motion.

(All aye.)

DINA M. MORGAN, REPORTER

1 EASTCHESTER ARB - 6/7/07

Ms. Rosenberg: Sybil Rosenberg, 3

3 Brassie Road. States her house is

directly across the street from these

4 houses. States she has lived in her

house over thirty years. Feels these

5 houses are set more forward than the

houses on either side. Asks what is

6 going to happen to the red maples in

front of the current house. Explains

7 they have lived for five years with

construction on this corner and to have

8 two more houses built is asking a lot.

States this was an established

9 neighborhood thirty years ago. Feels

these houses don't show any warmth or

10 blend in with the neighborhood. Feels

these houses are trying to be the biggest

11 houses they could put on these lots.

12 Ms. Raffiani: Asks if the large

existing maples are going to stay.

Mr. Abilama: States yes. Shows

14 landscape plan.

15 Mr. McIntyre: Asks if the maple

tree closest to the corner of 16 Cross

16 Hill is going to remain.

17 Mr. Abilama: Explains it's about

sixteen, seventeen feet away from the

18 corner of the house.

19 Mr. McIntyre: Asks when they dig

the foundation if they are going to

20 disturb those roots and decimate that

tree.

Mr. Abilama: Explains they are

22 trying to keep the tree. States if

something happens to it they will have to

23 deal with it.

24 Mr. McIntyre: Feels landscaping is

a valid concern. Asks how the fronts of

25 these homes relate to the fronts of the

existing homes in terms of alignment.

DINA M. MORGAN, REPORTER

1 EASTCHESTER ARB - 6/7/07

Mr. Abilama: Shows areal view.

Mr. McIntyre: States board would

4 like a better understanding dimensionally

of how these proposed homes relate to the

5 existing homes. States to answer Mrs.

Rosenberg's question it appears the

6 facade of these new homes is on the same

alignment as the existing homes on the

7 eastern side. States square footage of

these homes are twenty-six hundred fifty

8 square feet so they are not mcmansions.

Feels there are quality materials being

9 used as part of the overall aesthetics.

10 Mr. Abilama: Explains this is an

R-6 zone which allows sixty foot wide

11 lots and these lots are seventy-five foot

wide and square footage is a lot less

12 than what an R-7.5 would allow.

13 Mr. Dantano: Nick Dantano, 5

Hillary Way. Explains his house is

14 directly behind 16 Cross Hill. States

his main concern is in the back yard

15 there are eighty-five to ninety foot

Norwegian pines which break and fall down

16 constantly, asks what's going to happen

to these trees once they put the

17 excavation in. Asks why somebody would

want to put a brick house and stone house

18 up in a neighborhood with white beautiful

homes.

Mr. Abilama: Indicates on the back

20 of the property there is one small maple

and some of the pine trees belong to 16

21 Cross Hill. Explains those pines will be

maintained and will remain as they are.

22 Explains the other pine trees are not on

this property.

Ms. Uhle: States the applicant

24 will have a property survey so they can

confirm whether they are Mr. Dantano's

25 trees or their trees.

DINA M. MORGAN, REPORTER

1 EASTCHESTER ARB - 6/7/07

2 Mr. Dantano: States he wants the

pine trees taken out so the danger is

3 taken away.

4 Ms. Uhle: Explains on a couple of

occasions she has retained an arborist to

5 look at the site plans, look at the trees

and either recommend that they should and

6 can realistically be protected and

preserved or that they be removed and a

7 significant tree be put in. States she

can recommend that to the Planning Board.

Mr. Madonna: Fred Madonna, 2

9 Knollwood Road. States he did a

renovation and his goal was to maintain

10 the character and integrity of the

neighborhood. Feels the materials

11 they're using do not match. Feels these

two houses will stick out because they

12 are significantly smaller. Shows house

next door. States it's five thousand

13 square feet. Feels neighborhood was

going in a different direction, all the

14 other houses are significantly larger.

Feels this is taking the neighborhood in

15 the wrong direction. Feels Knollwood and

Brassie are the nicest blocks in town and

16 these are out of character with the

neighborhood. Suggests setting houses