[0:09] Okay. Good evening everyone.

[0:13] I call this march. I call this march 30th, 2026, A special meeting of the common

[0:19] council of the city of White plains to order. Councilwoman santiago, please Lead us in the pledge of

[0:25] allegiance to our. Rise for the pledge.

[0:30] I pledge, pledge allegiance to The flag of the united states of america and to the Republic for which it stands.

[0:37] one nation under god, Indivisible, with liberty and

[0:42] justice for all.

[0:50] madam clerk, could you Please call the roll? Mr. Caruso.

[0:56] present. Mr. Fry pearson. Here.

[1:00] miss presser. Here. Mrs. Santiago. Present. Miss simmons here. Mr. Wolff.

[1:06] here. Mr. Mayor. Here. Before we get on to the First item of business, I just want to say that this is A regularly scheduled work

[1:13] session, which often becomes A special session of the white plains council.

[1:19] these are scheduled every month. And I just want there was a Little bit of confusion, and I wanted everyone to know that This is standard procedure for

[1:26] the way we run city government In white plains, and if you have any questions, you can

[1:32] certainly ask me or Any of us afterwards. Now, our first item of business Is a communication from the

[1:37] commissioner of public safety In relation to an agreement with winifred madison burke Rehabilitation hospital to use

[1:42] property located at 7085 Mamaroneck avenue to conduct

[1:47] fire department training. I moved to file and Spread the communication.

[1:53] I second the motion. All in favor?

[1:58] I carried. I asked unanimous consent to Offer an ordinance entitled

[2:03] ordinance of the common council Of the city of white plains, to the white plains, to white Plains, authorizing the

[2:10] commissioner of public safety To enter into an agreement with winifred masterson.

[2:16] burke rehabilitation hospital To use property located at 785 mamaroneck avenue to conduct Fire department training.

[2:23] unanimous consent is granted. I move the adoption of The following ordinance.

[2:30] I second the motion. Madam clerk, please Call the roll.

[2:35] mr. Caruso. Yes, mr. Pearson? Yes.

[2:41] miss presser. Yes. Mrs. Santiago. Yes. Miss simmons? Yes.

[2:46] mr. Wolfe? Yes. Mr. Mayor. Yes.

[2:50] just so that everybody Understands that was so that we can use the burke Rehabilitation center for some

[2:55] fire department training, Which is stated clearly anyway. Our next item is a capital Project entitled traffic light

[3:02] pole replacement. The commissioner of public Works intended to report on

[3:07] this but was unable to make it. I was given this background On this capital project.

[3:11] two vehicular accidents Occurred last year, one at the intersection of hamilton avenue And cottage place, and another

[3:18] at fisher avenue and bank Street, both of which resulted in the destruction of Traffic signal poles.

[3:24] this capital project Encompasses the design and construction of the new Poles at these locations.

[3:30] the project was initially Estimated at $470,000. The department of public works Put the construction portion of

[3:37] the project out to bid, and Received bids that exceeded the original estimate due to Inflation and tariffs.

[3:42] accordingly, the department Requests an additional $125,000 for this project, bringing The total project to 595,000.

[3:50] our next item is a capital Project pertaining to the proposed acquisition of The city center garage.

[3:57] I'd like to call mike kelly, Senior assistant corporation counsel to the podium.

[4:04] good evening. Kelly, senior citizen Corporation counsel.

[4:09] uh, proposed capital projects C5687 is for the proposed acquisition of the white Plains city center garage.

[4:17] city staff have been working To lay the groundwork for the acquisition of the garage, Including the negotiation of an

[4:23] agreement with the owner of the City center retail development and performing the legally Required environmental reviews

[4:29] of the transaction. Staff is now attempting to Finalize negotiations over the

[4:34] acquisition of the garage. The acquisition of the garage Will enable the city to remove

[4:39] the garage from the challenging Financial and operational situation it is now in, and Further enable the city to make

[4:45] much needed improvements To the garage. The proposed draft capital Project would involve the

[4:51] issuance of $8.3 million of Bonds of the city to finance the acquisition.

[4:58] this number was based upon Information available to the city, as the amount of the Principal and interest on the outstanding garage bonds, The amount owed to the bonds

[5:05] insurer, as well as amounts Being held by the bond trustee. This past friday, the bond Trustee and the bond insurer

[5:12] informed us of their position That the amount to pay the principal and interest on the Bonds would be higher than

[5:18] expected, approximately $11 million. Staff is working with the Insurer and the trustee to

[5:24] account for this increase, and Is staff's intention that a more accurate amount will Be ready for the council's

[5:30] approval on april 6th. That being said, even if the City were required to pay more

[5:35] to retire the bonds, the amount Would still be well within the value of the garage and Would continue to result in a

[5:41] substantial savings to the city. Thank you.

[5:47] I just want to thank you in Particular for all of your hard work on this.

[5:52] this is a very difficult and Complicated project, and it is imperative and a great thing Ultimately for the city, that

[5:56] we will take over the city Ownership of the city center garage and get things on an

[6:01] even keel and fix Up those problems. So thank you. All right. Thank you very much.

[6:07] our next item is a presentation From commissioner of planning chris gomes on downtown Revitalization initiatives.

[6:13] good evening. Good evening, mayor And common council.

[6:18] I have the exciting privilege To present again the downtown

[6:23] revitalization initiative award That the city did receive just a couple of years ago now.

[6:31] it was a $10 million Grant award the city got. If you all recall, there Are multiple rounds.

[6:35] the cuomo administration At the state level. I had this $10 million option Available to certain as a

[6:40] competitive grant for Many municipalities. It was like a hunger games Esque kind of competition with

[6:44] her neighbors. And I was part of many of the Applications for many years.

[6:50] and just recently, in round Seven, the city was awarded the $10 million.

[6:57] many of you here and in the Audience, I know we're very excited, attended a lot of the Public meetings and hearings we had on some of the proposed Ideas, but I'm going to give

[7:03] you a refresher, because we're Getting to the point now. We're at your april Council meeting.

[7:09] you're going to have the first Contract with new york state to fund two of these Specific projects.

[7:13] so we all deserve a Round of applause. It's been a long road. Yes. And I want to Celebrate with this picture.

[7:18] this was again the $10 million check. We tried cashing it, But alas, it was.

[7:22] just a piece of cardboard. And this is full disclosure.

[7:27] this is my image that we took, The official image that the governor's website Press release had.

[7:33] you can see I'm behind The governor there. Behind. I'm right there With my eyes closed. So every.

[7:38] picture literally. One of the most exciting Moments in our planning career here in white plains.

[7:44] and I do want to thank The planning department. I mean, everybody was involved In this, but I would be remiss if I didn't point out judy As our deputy commissioner,

[7:49] christy knecht, we had eileen Mclean, katie crawford, uh, ingrid's here as Well in the picture.

[7:56] so a lot of the administration Worked on this with the planning department. So and I can see many of you In the photo here as well with

[8:00] your eyes open. Um. So this is what happened.

[8:05] we submitted back in 2023. Uh, we were awarded the grant Excitedly in 2024, as I noted.

[8:09] and then we embarked kind Of on the tail of the city's comprehensive plan outreach, Which was multiple years on,

[8:16] kind of a parallel track of Outreach and engagement, both in the spanish speaking Community as well as the

[8:21] business community, to really Kind of get ideas to shape the types of projects.

[8:27] we were going to fund This $10 million grant. Um, so we had, as you can Imagine, a lot of digital outreach and some great Feedback from the community.

[8:33] um, this all kind of culminated In the purpose of the outreach, I should say, was to really Have an open call for projects.

[8:39] so while the $10 million was For a lot of city projects I'll get into in a moment.

[8:46] there was also the opportunity For people in the public, business owners to apply for a Portion of those grants funds. So there was a public Kind of call for projects.

[8:53] we also established a Local planning committee. So there were six Total meetings.

[8:59] these were people that were Members of the community. That really helped kind of suss Through the applications for the use of these grant funds.

[9:07] and so here we are the last Few steps, the lpc, the local planning committee, in Consultation with the

[9:13] consultants that we hired Through new york state or we were basically forced to hire, They're wonderful, but they

[9:17] were part of the grant. Uh, they were very wonderful.

[9:21] I shouldn't say it that way. And they helped us with the Local planning committee, prepare a cip, a strategic Investment plan that went up to

[9:26] new york state for approval. That was essentially us Identifying what we wanted to

[9:32] fund, how we're going to fund Them, and how it was going to really revitalize Downtown white plains.

[9:36] we did find out that Was in december. In may of last year, we found Out that we had city projects

[9:41] that'll get into the moment. Seven of them were funded and The kind of smaller, private,

[9:46] not for profit applications. Five of them were funded.

[9:51] and as I said, as of march And coming up in next week's council meeting, we're going To have our first contract with

[9:55] new york state for the city Council, the common council's authorization to get This project moving.

[10:00] so this is the. Downtown revitalization area That in the aerial photography,

[10:05] all the red outline is kind of What we identified as kind of the project specific area.

[10:11] and these are essentially the 7 or 8 projects we kind of combined, two of them that were Actually funded, and I'm going

[10:18] to hit each of them very high Level now for the benefit of the public.

[10:23] and these are things, again, You'll be seeing in the coming months as the contracts get to The council and these projects move along.

[10:30] incidentally, the amount to About 8.5 million of the $10 million grant are all directly Against state grant funding to improve and enhance our Already wonderful downtown.

[10:37] so we had $1,000 we'd put In for installation of new

[10:41] windows, handicap accessible Bathroom and new paint, a fresh coat of paint or so, maybe More at the slater center.

[10:49] so that's a $600,000 Grant we're excited about. Pretty straightforward there.

[10:55] um, one of the larger ones was, Uh, we've been looking at, uh, for a long time in the Comprehensive plan, additional

[11:00] east west bike access and enhancing our bicycle Infrastructure.

[11:05] so the hamilton avenue Corridor, which planning departments offices look right Out on, and we see people kind

[11:10] of biking through there, we Think would be a wonderful idea to have a two way bike lane.

[11:14] very challenging. We've been talking About this for years. Even the transit district Plan from a decade ago.

[11:19] um, but this is something we've Finally gotten funded to some extent to 2.7 million.

[11:23] lots of designs still to go. But it's something that, you Know, we've put out there in the past.

[11:29] this one I'm very excited about. This is our water Street connector. We're going to brand it.

[11:33] this is. Just. The east of the pepe Cadillac dealership. Um, off water street.

[11:40] this really connects what was Or is an unused right of way that the urban Renewal agency owns.

[11:46] uh, back way back during urban Renewal, martin luther king boulevard here was to extend Under ferris avenue, under the

[11:51] train tracks, out towards The bronx river parkway. Uh, that was Obviously never built.

[11:57] so the urban renewal agency Does have these two sort of, uh, parcels here out parcels, I Should say, where we've looked about greening for a long time.

[12:05] we've thought about if you Go out there now, you'll see images of people with these Desire lines of crossing from

[12:09] hillside terrace, walking down Into our downtown through this nice little kind of Green, informal oasis.

[12:15] and the goal with the funding And our grant ideas, uh, and working with some design Concepts with the consultants

[12:21] already, is to really create an Engaging, safe, uh, connector pathway between the ferris Avenue community and downtown,

[12:28] which includes lighting, Potentially some, you know, new trees or canopies, maybe even a Playground at the flatter area.

[12:36] so this is exciting coming To a theater near you. We've gotten state funding to Really enhance what is a very

[12:42] used piece of green space in The heart of our downtown.

[12:46] similarly, the carhart neighborhood is Famously under parked.

[12:51] we've looked at This for a while. How do we provide more public Park opportunities here? So this is off waller avenue.

[12:57] if you blink, you might miss it. But the city doesn't own a Surface parking lot, which is used, but not, you Know, kind of sparsely.

[13:05] and so the thought with Commissioner livingston and others was, could we green this And create an opportunity for a public park facility?

[13:11] so we've gotten $745,000. It's right behind the td bank Off of mamaroneck avenue behind the cvs.

[13:18] kind of. So it is kind of a nice Opportunity for kind of an infill pocket park and same Idea to be designed fully.

[13:23] but this is an example of, You know, water bottle filling stations if we can afford it.

[13:30] um, dog park play equipment, That kind of stuff will be a nice kind of opportunity With state funding.

[13:35] I should have ended on this Because this is the most exciting one of all.

[13:40] everybody. I kind Of wish howard. Waldman was here and our Friends in fisher hill, and we've heard about This for a long time.

[13:46] uh, the clock does not work. I mean, it's I think it's right. Twice a day, we're Not sure, but it is.

[13:51] and so. This clock tower. Um.

[13:55] we. Have grant money in here, $270,000 to both fix the actual mechanism so the Clock will work again.

[14:02] and then we also have this Concept during this process to reimagine and kind of refine it.

[14:07] so is there a way To beautify it? Is there a way to Think outside the box? Um, and in speaking with the Mayor recently, you know, it's

[14:13] beyond just kind of looking at Sort of artistic competition or ways to kind of wrap or be Creative and from a visual

[14:19] perspective, but also the Base of the clocktower. I mean, it's really something That you're seeing thousands of

[14:25] people a day traverse. There's no seating, there's no Opportunity for, you know, kind of signage or kind of maybe It's stuff about the community.

[14:31] so we've had a lot of ideas and And the mayor had a great one on that regard as well.

[14:36] so we did have a Public idea session. The deadline was march 20th.

[14:42] a lot of people have responded with what they Would like to see. And as we move forward, the Thought was, and I've seen this

[14:47] on social media, there was a Lot of excitement around around branding this like Saving our clocktower.

[14:54] we're not tearing it down. This isn't my, well, kind of My idea, but I saw it on social

[14:58] media as well that when we Opened this thing, we maybe the city should have like a

[15:03] lookalike competition Or something. That kind of really brand that Marty mcfly and doc brown have been there.

[15:10] so just to close, um, this Is two actual projects. This is both streetscape Improvements right to our

[15:15] downtown sidewalks and then Something that again, the city for at least a decade, uh, I've Been here, we've talked about

[15:20] ad nauseam, and that's a real branding campaign For our signage.

[15:25] so folks both have directional Signage, but also a real true brand to the city.

[15:30] so this was something that we got over $1 million, 1.3 million. And, you know, just examples Of illustrative examples.

[15:35] these aren't, you Know, sussed out yet. But this is what was in our Application from planners

[15:39] enhancing our planner stock To maybe creative benches, uh, even bike racks.

[15:46] there's many ways to look at sort of the bike infrastructure, even so far as Artwork on garages.

[15:52] you know, we have to, again, Get into the weeds on this. But other communities have done Things to sort of beautify and kind of create this cohesive

[15:58] vision, even Decorative lighting. This is the handler Walk, as everybody knows. Uh, right there, that goes To a chester maple garage.

[16:04] so is there a way to do Some creative lighting or architecture there?

[16:08] and the same idea, thinking outside the box For court street. Um, and then, you know, this Is, again, they're not going to

[16:15] look like this, but this is Sort of like the kind of things that, you know, we could Potentially do, you know,

[16:21] branding, even identifying Parking facilities. So using this money both to Design and be creative with

[16:25] infrastructure for signage in A way that, uh, you know, is quite costly, frankly.

[16:32] we used to have something there. But, you know, how do we brand On the train bridge and have information kiosks?

[16:37] so all to be decided. But this is something as well As the clock tower that you'll be seeing coming to april Meeting, just authorizing us to

[16:43] enter the city, to enter in a contract to finally Get this money.

[16:47] that's been a long time coming. And last but not least, there Is a small project fund we put

[16:52] in for. This is kind of individual Grants for sort of business

[16:57] owners and the like up to $75,000 to, you know, look at outdoor seating opportunities For art in the community in

[17:04] facade enhancement. So this is something we Have to work through.

[17:08] we have $600,000. But frankly, I've been involved In these projects in other communities in terms Of facade grants.

[17:14] and depending on how much Interest we get from the community, you know, the City has to administer. We'll see, because It is reimbursable.

[17:19] folks have to go out and spend the money and then Be reimbursed. But we're hoping that there

[17:25] could be some Takers here as well. And that's it. There's any questions?

[17:29] well, I'll just say thank you. I know that you and I had a Very long meeting recently

[17:34] about it. And these are really, you know, That many of us worked hard.

[17:38] I know vicki pressler, our Council president, as well, to get this funding.

[17:43] and it's really going to Beautify our city, make it better, safer and give Us more green space. So I want to thank you and Deputy commissioner mizzi for

[17:48] all of your efforts on this. You're here.

[17:54] so item six is a presentation On the proposed application submitted on behalf of f45 Training white plains for a

[17:59] proposed health club at 25 north lexington avenue. I'd like to invite philip

[18:05] future of architects To the podium. Nice to see you.

[19:28] I should be working.

[19:47] right. Okay.

[19:52] okay. Reboot sometimes Means a boot.

[20:14] good evening, mr. Mayor. Members of the common council.

[20:23] interesting. I'm philip proctor Of pep architects, p.c., um

[20:29] representing um vital lifestyle F45 training white plains.

[20:36] uh, in this special use permit Application for an existing um

[20:41] in an existing demise. 2250 square foot retail space On the ground level of 25 north

[20:49] lexington avenue.

[20:54] I apologize. For visuals.

[21:00] um, this is, uh, on the hamilton Avenue side of the building.

[21:07] um, that's hamilton Avenue in the foreground. Uh, I apologize for That, uh, cut off shot.

[21:15] um, the, um.

[21:20] the proposed space is an Existing demise area and it is

[21:27] below parking in the building And above parking, and it has

[21:33] retail on either side. It is not adjacent to any

[21:38] existing residential Occupancies. The proposed use is an Instructor led group fitness

[21:45] studio operating exclusively On a scheduled class model.

[21:49] the facility does not Operate as an open gym. Class attendance is limited By pre-registration, and

[21:57] controlled class capacity Is limited to approximately

[22:01] 30. Through an online Registration system, walk ins

[22:06] or unscheduled use is not Permitted and there is no spa

[22:10] or food service in the proposal. The studio is located within a Dense, walkable mixed use area

[22:19] and is expected to primarily Serve individuals who live or work in the immediate Surrounding area.

[22:26] um. At the march 17th uh Planning board meeting, the

[22:31] planning board voted to provide A positive recommendation to

[22:36] the council on this matter. Um, I'm happy to Answer any questions.

[22:47] seeing none. Thank you so much.

[22:51] looks like a nice thing. It's not a giant space. Looks like having an additional Health club in our city is a good idea, so thank you.

[22:58] thank you. Good evening. Good evening.

[23:04] our last item for this evening Is a presentation for a proposed application At one sycamore lane.

[23:11] I'd like to invite commissioner Of planning chris gomez and deputy commissioner judy metz To the podium for an overview.

[23:23] thank you, mayor and council. So this evening I'm going to Give a brief overview of sort

[23:29] of and I have a nice Little nifty chart. You've seen these probably in The past on the galleria mall

[23:35] to hopefully distill what Is a fairly complex, uh, environmental review process, Site plan, process, etc.

[23:42] into, you know, just a few Bullet points at a general high level this evening.

[23:47] I'll do that fairly quickly. And then we're going to Hear from the applicant. We thought it kind of Necessary, frankly, with a

[23:53] newly constituted council with A few new members, of course, to get an update from the Applicant in terms of the the

[23:59] site plan that has been Submitted for the site, um, and then via zoom, we do have the Independent wetland consultants

[24:06] that the common council had Retained to really look at the wetlands issues.

[24:12] both analyze. Their scope of work was to both Analyze the applicant's sort of wetland analyses and their Studies, as well as kind of

[24:18] guide the council moving Forward in terms of recommendations for any, any

[24:24] sort of mitigation Or work, etc.. So I'll start and then I'll Hand it over, I guess, to mr.

[24:28] steinmetz on the applicant, And we'll finish again with the independent consultant The city has retained.

[24:34] um, so here we are to date. Um, I'm going to go through Quickly and then kind of some

[24:39] general next steps so You can follow along. But there was an application And you'll get more detail in a

[24:43] moment from the applicant, uh, For the buddhist temple at one sycamore lane.

[24:49] uh, that was back on January 10th of 2025. Um, and there are multiple Variances that are also

[24:54] associated with that Site plan, parking, etc.. Again, the applicant can get Into some of that detail on a

[25:00] site specific basis. But that was submitted to the council way back In january of 2025.

[25:04] now in february, at the Regularly scheduled council meeting, there was an action By the common council to, uh,

[25:11] declare themselves lead agency Under secre, which is a state environmental quality Review act for a coordinated

[25:18] environmental review. Now what does that mean?

[25:23] that means that because there's A site plan to redevelop the site that has associated Variances that are required from the zoning code.

[25:31] both you, the common council And the zoning board have some jurisdiction in the approval Of any type of project in the

[25:36] future on the site. So when there's more than One approval agency that has

[25:41] jurisdiction, in this case, The new york state law really recommends and for this type of

[25:46] action, frankly, Requires a coordination. And having one established lead Agency or approval agency that

[25:51] will conduct the environmental review to study the Kind of impacts.

[25:57] you know, by virtue of this Redevelopment may occur. Traffic, parking, wetland Disturbance, all those things.

[26:02] so the council, by action on February 3rd, declared the intent to say we're going to Be the lead agency for the

[26:08] environmental review Of this entire project. Now, the project Is obviously again.

[26:14] what's being proposed is to Build a buddhist temple, but the action includes analyzing What the impact of any

[26:19] variances granted will be, as well as sort of site Specific concerns.

[26:24] so you are the common council Declare their intent on february 3rd and you also in April, established with no

[26:32] objection to the zoning board Of appeals, that you are, in fact, the lead agency under The state environmental quality

[26:38] review act to review the entire Action so I can get into the weeds if there's questions.

[26:45] but essentially, that's the Important key here that this project, you know, cannot Move forward until such time.

[26:49] there's a conclusion on the Environmental review by you as lead agency.

[26:55] in february, there was also The action to retain this independent wetland consultant, Which you'll hear from again,

[27:00] we'll medlin from from woodard and curren is on um And read as well.

[27:05] and then also where we are this Evening again is march 30th,

[27:09] and we're going to hear from The results of that which have been posted as part of this Agenda, that independent

[27:14] wetland analysis. So next steps in a Very general sense.

[27:19] um, the common council, you Know, at some point moving forward, can clearly refer to a Complete site plan application,

[27:26] making sure everything is Complete prior code, like we always do in a site plan Application process to all city

[27:31] departments, boards and commissions for Review and comments.

[27:36] so that's an important step. Um, and then ultimately, Based on that sort of referral

[27:41] process and moving along And getting the requisite information, this body needs To make environmental kind of

[27:46] analysis moving forward and Conclusions, ultimately, this common council will have to Weigh in, make a determination

[27:52] and findings essentially on All the potential environmental impacts by virtue of the Variances, site plan, etc., for

[27:58] this application. And then, and only then would The zoning board of appeals

[28:03] have the ability to consider And take action formal action on any variances.

[28:10] and then once assuming Variances, it got to that point where granted, then the Application would come all the

[28:15] way back to the common council To consider what would then be a conforming site plan, because The requisite variances have

[28:20] been granted. So it's a long road. This is a very general.

[28:25] um, those are the Different steps. I can't put time on those Steps, but I just want to let you know kind of where we Are and what's ahead so I can

[28:30] answer any questions and dive Into the weeds any further. Yes, I.

[28:36] have, because I'm brand new. I have a very simple question. Um, so what exists there now

[28:40] versus what they're Planning to build? You'll hear in great detail, But it was a single family home

[28:47] with, uh, you know, some other Outbuildings and such, you know, tennis court or Padel tennis court.

[28:53] so it's been vacant For some time. And they're proposing a Buddhist temple and some other, um, you know, I want to steal The applicant's thunder, but.

[29:00] okay, quite a few Resources there. Um, it is an environmentally Sensitive site.

[29:05] I should have said that from The beginning in the sense that there is wetland presence on Site, as well as outcroppings,

[29:11] a flowing watercourse. So under the zoning code of the City, it is classified as an

[29:16] environmentally sensitive site, Which really does two things. One, it requires sort of a Level of scrutiny as a type one

[29:23] action under secre, which is A little bit higher level of scrutiny, of course, but it Also down the road for any site

[29:28] plan approval would require A supermajority of the common council as the approval agency To approve a site plan, which

[29:35] means five votes as opposed To a typical majority of four. So thank you.

[29:42] but yeah.

[29:46] so the area you said already Was a prior previously a home and outbuildings for those Built on the wetlands, the environmentally sensitive area.

[29:53] I'll let the applicant in our Consultant weigh in on that. But know that there's buffer Areas around the actual they're

[29:58] not on the wetlands but There's actually buffers. And that's part of what the Action is going to be, is how

[30:03] do you, as the common council Define in our independent consult will weigh In on that later on.

[30:08] um, what type of buffer? We have different types of Buffers in our zoning code. Restrictive. Protective.

[30:14] a lot of the mapping of that, as you all is the Approval agency. The determinations frankly made On whether the wetlands have

[30:20] been disturbed previously, what The current condition is, etc.. So, um, you know, upon our Independent consultants

[30:26] recommendation and other Factors, you, as the common council, will make the Determination of where that

[30:31] buffer should be. Um, but no, not the Actual wetland itself, but encroachment into the buffer In any case, however that gets

[30:37] defined is obviously part of I Shouldn't say obviously is part of the applicant's proposal.

[30:42] you'll see in a moment. Can you? Just one quick thing.

[30:48] can you give a quick, quick Overview of how we hire the independent consultant And how that works? Yeah. So the city I it was Actually my recommendation.

[30:55] um, again we have some very Competent staff of course, but we don't have necessarily Wetland hydrologists on site or

[31:00] within sort of city Staff resources. So which is typically done During the environmental review

[31:06] of these types of projects. The common council basically Authorized the establishment of

[31:12] an escrow account so the City didn't pay for it. The applicant.

[31:17] much like in all environmental Reviews, puts money into an escrow account and the City independently finds a consultant that we believe Is sort of has the right

[31:24] resources, staff, expertise. What an intern who you hear

[31:30] from, um, is well Known to the city. They've been used quite Frequently on large environmental reviews for the City, uh, working with dpw.

[31:37] so, for example, analysis of Just recently the environmental review process for The gallery of mall.

[31:44] we have consultants woodard and Kern, a different division of woodard, but so they're well Familiar with westchester as

[31:48] well as these sorts of issues. So it was, again, our choice as A city to select the consultant

[31:53] and get an independent review. Thank you.

[32:01] I believe that you will be Introducing the applicant. Mr. Commissioner?

[32:08] yes. So this is, uh. Mr. Steinmetz, on behalf of the Applicant who will introduce

[32:12] the team.

[32:28] while paulette is Teeing us up here. Good evening, mr. Mayor.

[32:34] members of the common council, David steinmetz from the law firm of zahran and steinmetz. Very pleased to be here this Evening on behalf of the pro

[32:39] ghassan foundation and the buddhist temple at One sycamore lane.

[32:45] I am joined here by paulette Dmowski, our project architect, and angela tang from the Buddhist temple is here, along

[32:54] with several members of the Foundation and some of the buddhist monks.

[33:16] you all have the materials that We provided in advance in front of you.

[33:22] regardless if we have Some difficulty here. Yes. So I'm going to keep going. So we use our time efficiently.

[33:27] so we're here tonight in Connection with the repurposing of this four acre Property at sycamore.

[33:34] rosedale. And I appreciate the introduction from Commissioner gomez.

[33:40] one thing that I would mention, Just so I know so many of you are new and have not Heard this before.

[33:45] um, this actually has been Pending since well into 2024. Um, it came before the Common council in 2025.

[33:52] once the wetland issues were Identified as significant and we began to seek a coordinated Environmental review.

[33:59] the application actually began In 2024, in front of your zoning board of appeals For a variety of variances.

[34:06] I say that just because I want All of you to know that this applicant has been at it for a While, has been quite patient,

[34:12] and I'm really happy to be here Tonight because I'm pleased that you finally got This wetlands analysis.

[34:19] um, I'm delighted that your Wetlands consultants are on screen because it is a really Important issue and it's one of

[34:24] your primary concerns As lead agency. So the property is located in The r-1 30 zoning district.

[34:32] the significance of that Is that makes religious institutions a Permitted lawful use.

[34:38] so we are not seeking anything With regard to the legality of having a house of Worship on this property.

[34:44] a house of worship Is indeed permitted. Responding to the question About what's there.

[34:51] um, there is a single family house, A pool, an outbuilding, a

[34:57] tennis court and a variety of other things that Were developed?

[35:02] I think this goes back Into the 40s and 50s. It's a really kind of a neat Old large house, which has

[35:07] paulette will explain In a little while. The concept is to reuse That particular structure.

[35:13] however, responding to the Second half of your question, there actually are a number Of those improvements that are

[35:19] either in the wetland or the Wetland buffer are here we go. And

[35:26] I'm going to let the wetland specialists tell You what's there. And I'm going to speak a little

[35:31] bit about it Briefly in a moment. But the good news for all of Us in the city is that the

[35:35] ultimate conclusion, I'm not Going to I'm not going to hide the the conclusion here.

[35:42] the conclusion is that much of What's being proposed in this application actually improves The wetlands, removes

[35:46] encroachments from the buffer, Things that have been there literally for decades.

[35:53] and we think actually forget What I think your consultants have concluded there's No significant adverse

[35:58] environmental impact to the wetlands as a result Of this application. So what we're looking at Here is that slide two okay.

[36:05] what we're looking at here is The location of the property. You've got rosedale kind Of going on an angle.

[36:11] and sycamore which is a private road here in the city coming in.

[36:15] and that's our site on the left. The four acre site immediately on the opposite Side of sycamore.

[36:22] many of you may know, is a Church and a montessori school. Um, significant, because this Is not the only potential

[36:28] institution that would be Located in this neighborhood. As I would speak to a Little bit more in a moment.

[36:34] next slide. Please.

[36:38] that's okay. There we go. There's the stream.

[36:45] there is a stream that meanders Sort of on a north south basis,

[36:49] coming down sycamore and Slicing through this. This property been There for obviously.

[36:56] for. It predates the House that's there.

[37:00] um, it's been there since before the neighborhood Was was created.

[37:04] but the significance is that When you go beyond us or upstream, there are several

[37:10] properties that This stream crosses. It crosses lawn area that's

[37:14] fertilized and homes That are there. It crosses under and I mean Under one of the houses on

[37:21] sycamore that bridges The the stream. And the property immediately Adjacent to us has a manmade

[37:28] impoundment or some other Structure that I'll defer to the experts in terms of the Significance of something that

[37:35] was built into And on the stream. This is not a Pristine wetland area.

[37:40] this is a neighborhood that has Historically, for decades lived in connection with the wetlands.

[37:47] and some folks are actually Right up against, if not on top of the wetlands.

[37:51] again, significant for what We're trying to do on this property and how it fits Into the overall context.

[37:56] um, because I don't know if we Skipped the development team, did we skip the Development team slide?

[38:01] you can go to the next one. Perfect. Well, you've got The project architect. Pull that behind me And me here tonight.

[38:08] I want you all to know in terms Of what we've been doing for 18 or more months.

[38:14] um, there is a project engineer From hudson engineering, our civil engineers, traffic Engineers from dts provident,

[38:18] because there were Questions about traffic. Um, our wetlands consultant, Paul janey prepared the initial

[38:25] wetlands report. The application is sort of Impending long enough that paul

[38:29] has since retired. So the good news for me is that Steve marino from tim miller

[38:34] associates was good Enough to take the baton. And I've worked with steve.

[38:39] and some of you may know, Steve, I'm a highly regarded wetlands biologist in the County and in the region.

[38:43] steve has agreed to come on and Basically assume what paul's work is and paul's Work is significant.

[38:50] you all hired an independent Consultant at substantial and I mean substantial expense to The buddhist temple to review

[38:57] paul's work. That was done.

[39:01] that report is Now in the record. I think you have like a 40 Page report from these folks. And I'm again, I'm delighted They're here tonight.

[39:08] we also have a landscape Architecture firm, benedictine ticehurst, significant because With a wetland application, the

[39:14] subsequent plantings that go On to the site, the removal of invasives, the removal of Species that are not helping

[39:20] the wetland, and the Replanting of the wetlands with appropriate species is critical To the life and the vibrancy of

[39:27] the wetlands. We're proposing that.

[39:31] why this site, angela, and the Foundation found this four acre site, found it to be in a in A lovely area and thought with

[39:39] the stream and the Existing structure. It was a wonderful bucolic Place for a buddhist temple.

[39:45] what's a buddhist temple? Um, buddhism as some of you may Know, fourth largest religion

[39:51] in the world. Over 300 million Followers of buddhism.

[39:56] buddha. Tibetan buddhism is not Your typical, for me, typical

[40:00] congregational Religious practice. It's more of a private Meditative practice.

[40:05] buddhist temples Tend to be smaller. Not always.

[40:11] they tend to not attract large Congregational gatherings. It's more as you learn and you Can read where people actually

[40:16] go for their own private Meditation in front of the buddha statue.

[40:23] so this, this application is To build a buddhist temple or shrine, a place for some of the Monks to actually reside, to

[40:29] study, to learn, to teach, And for parishioners to come.

[40:34] you're going to have Hundreds of people coming. It's a small operation with a Handful of folks who would be

[40:40] there at any one time. It's why it's conducive to This particular location.

[40:45] let's go to the next Slide with the two more.

[40:49] perfect. And this is a little hard to See on the screen, but you all

[40:54] have it on in front of you. We put this together because as Someone who lives and works in

[41:01] the city of white plains, I'm Quite familiar with the north street corridor.

[41:08] I drive it every single day, Sometimes multiple times a day, from westchester Avenue to the hutch.

[41:13] there are 13, I repeat, 13 Religious institutions along the north street corner.

[41:19] they're all listed On your page there. I say that because this mile And a half stretch of our

[41:23] county, of our city is one Of the most densely populated areas with religious Institutions in the county.

[41:30] there are a lot of them. There are a lot of them In residential areas. They're permitted in Residential areas.

[41:36] we have 13 of them Prior to this. Another reason why angela, when She was looking, found this to

[41:41] be an attractive potential Place for a peaceful and quiet

[41:47] religious institution.

[41:54] let's go to our next slide.

[41:58] so what we have here is a site Plan that lays out the site.

[42:04] now I mentioned that this Application has been pending for 18 months or more.

[42:10] as a result of the back and Forth that my architectural team, my client's architectural Team, engineering team and

[42:15] others have had with the Building department, the department of public works, the Planning department, the zoning

[42:20] board of appeals. There have been changes That have been made to this

[42:24] application as a result of Interaction that has been conducted with the neighbors.

[42:30] there have been reductions, There have been some of the buildings have Been made smaller.

[42:34] some of the buildings have been Pulled further away from the wetland buffer area. And most importantly, there was An attempt to avoid a direct

[42:40] connection to sycamore lane as The primary means of ingress

[42:44] and egress. Originally, my client and the Team showed it an access to the

[42:50] site from sycamore. There was objection from Some of the neighbors.

[42:54] we evaluated the site Distance along rosedale. Determined that appropriate Lawful it institute of traffic

[43:01] engineer site distance could be Established and they relocated

[43:06] the the access point. This site plan that you have Before you shows a connection

[43:11] to rosedale. It shows a small parking Area off of rosedale.

[43:16] it shows the adaptive reuse Of the existing home that's

[43:21] presently visible from rosedale As sort of the rectory or the

[43:26] monks residence. You can see the square or Rectangular building with the

[43:32] green area in the middle. That's the proposed shrine or Temple, and the reason that

[43:38] there's an open Area in the middle. Again, this is not a large Church or synagogue or mosque

[43:46] where a number of people would come in and pray simultaneously.

[43:51] it's largely an open air Building that's quiet, peaceful, and you have an Opportunity to come in and and

[43:58] meditate before The buddha statue.

[44:03] paul, that's going to Explain some of the details. I'm going to let you go to The next slide and just talk a

[44:10] little bit about the buildings, And then I'll take it back. Perfect.

[44:15] so let's start with this slide. You got it. Okay. Thanks.

[44:19] good evening mayor, council members, thank you So much, david. I just want to walk you Through the three buildings.

[44:25] and I know there was some question about what's there now. And right now, there's an Existing two and a half story

[44:31] single family dwelling Which we will repurpose. We we plan on doing an interior Renovation there, which will

[44:38] house the parish rectory. So there'll be a teacher Living there full time.

[44:44] it's very conducive for that. It's got a kitchen, bedrooms, And we're going to, um, modify

[44:49] the outside a little bit just To accommodate the entrance to the new driveway.

[44:56] but that building Will stay intact. Our second building Is the building.

[45:00] is this building right here, Which is an we're calling it an

[45:04] artifacts building. It's a much smaller building.

[45:09] it's a single storey and It's a split level building. So you enter it at the the main

[45:14] level of where the Parking lot is. And because the site cascades Down, the topography dips down.

[45:19] you will exit the building On the lower level. So it's a split level so it's

[45:26] half the size of the Existing dwelling.

[45:30] the main building which is our primary building, is the temple.

[45:35] and as david said, it's a Rectangular building with an open courtyard in the middle.

[45:40] this will house visiting monks. There's some sleeping rooms For some three visiting monks.

[45:46] the main shrine proper for the Buddha will be there where they do the worship and meditation.

[45:52] and there are some meditation rooms in that, in that building. So I just want to point out.

[45:59] what's the approximate Capacity of that. Great question.

[46:05] three monks is the Capacity of people. Visiting, people visiting.

[46:10] just so we have an idea, there are 150 people coming To this facility. There's going to be about 15 to

[46:15] 20 people at any Given time in there. Could you mention the number of

[46:20] square feet in the Original house? Yes, the.

[46:24] second building and The third building. How many? So the main the existing House right now is 2600ft.

[46:32] the other accessory structure That we're proposing, the artifacts building is 4400ft,

[46:39] so it's half the square footage. And then the principal Building is 6800ft.

[46:45] so it's two levels. Yes, two levels.

[46:51] so if I give you, you know, Length and width of these because I think that would be

[46:56] very helpful to Understand the scale. The existing house is About 55ft by 80ft.

[47:00] and it's I'll show You the plan of that. I think it will Be helpful to see.

[47:07] I'm just going to jump ahead. This is the the plan Of the existing house.

[47:12] so from this point to this Point, it's about 80ft. From this point to this Point, it's about 55ft.

[47:20] the plan of the

[47:24] temple is about 64ft by 90.

[47:29] so very similar in footprint. And then the artifacts Building is about 32ft by 46ft.

[47:38] so half. I'd like to just mention that

[47:44] again that this is A four acre site. All the surrounding properties Along sycamore are one one acre

[47:51] across rosedale. There are about, I think there Are either a quarter or a half

[47:56] an acre, so much smaller. So when we think about the Property in these buildings, we

[48:01] think about density. How dense is this Site going to be?

[48:05] and if I just show you the. Just show you

[48:12] this. This. Site plan.

[48:17] this was prepared by Our landscape architect. You could see how much Green space there is.

[48:21] so when we talk about building Coverage and density by code, we're allowed 20% Building coverage.

[48:27] we're proposing 4.5%. So much less.

[48:32] than. So when we think about Building coverage. Would you put the microphone?

[48:38] sorry. There you go. How's that? Okay. How about that?

[48:42] okay. So when we talk about Density and building coverage on a property, we think Of it in percentage.

[48:48] so the zoning code allows 20% in this district of Building coverage.

[48:54] we're proposing Only 4.5% coverage. So we have a lot more that we Could potentially build, which

[49:01] were not because we want to Maintain that open space, that beautiful landscaping.

[49:08] if you look at this, um, this Site plan, you can see I don't know if you could see my cursor.

[49:13] uh, there it is. So this is the main temple. Everything in that light Brown color is building.

[49:20] this is the artifacts building, And this is the existing house. So you could see how much green

[49:27] space we're maintaining On this property. And like I mentioned earlier, The property does go down slope

[49:34] from sycamore. So what you're perceiving at

[49:39] that level is just The single story. You won't really see much of That building as it's built

[49:45] down in that lower Portion of the property. You were talking before about Capacity for the building being

[49:52] 15 to 20 against worshippers. How much turnover is That then like in a day?

[49:59] what are we actually Talking about. Because people are not going To be there I assume, for the

[50:03] entire day. You know.

[50:09] I have a similar question and I Don't know how buddhism works. If there's a man, you know, Like I'm catholic, so you go to a mass or service, you know.

[50:16] so how do you mitigate, um, Preventing or having just 20 people at a time versus, you

[50:23] know, 40 people Parking in an area? So.

[50:28] okay, so, um, we didn't bring Our traffic consultant with us this evening because we were Told to try to keep this short

[50:34] and introductory, but we did a Rather extensive analysis and had our traffic consultant Draft that into a traffic

[50:39] report that was Previously submitted. And angela is here if we Need to answer any specific

[50:45] questions, my understanding is That we have, first of all, 34 parking spaces, am I right?

[50:51] yeah. 37 parking spaces. Um, we have more than enough Parking, in our opinion, for

[50:55] the operation there. There's no desire to spend the Time, the effort and the money

[51:00] to do this and have an Inability for folks to enjoy,

[51:05] um, being parishioners in terms Of the number of people in a given day, probably under 50, If it turned over two times

[51:14] behind the initial, it Doesn't get used a lot. It really is something that I Would urge you, as we do this

[51:22] together and go through this Process to gather as much empirical data as we can On tibetan buddhist temples

[51:29] because again, this is not something I'll speak for myself.

[51:34] um, I haven't been To your congregation. You maybe not have not been to

[51:39] mind, but it's It's not like mine. It's probably not like yours. And it's unique.

[51:44] it's something that you all Have to take into account. Because we are not building a Church like probably 11 of the

[51:50] other 13 on the corridor. I say 11 of the other 13.

[51:56] I'll come back to the fact That one of them is a buddhist temple of a slightly different

[52:02] nature, but at a Buddhist temple. And I'll come back to you, mr. Mayor, do you want To ask something?

[52:06] well, I just I think It's a fair question. I mean, and I know I'm putting You and your client on the spot, but could the applicant Just give us some idea of how

[52:11] how it works with us? Absolutely. Angela. Did you

[52:18] know, could you please go up to The microphone and just tell us your name, please? Thank you. We just want to understand.

[52:24] a lot of new faces. But thank you for you.

[52:28] don't be nervous. We want. We want to hear it from you. Nicely into the Mic now and then. We'll hear.

[52:33] that is better. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Yes, this is angela, So I'm kind of. Kind of volunteer to support This project financially and

[52:39] also operationally. So we have a few Months here, you see.

[52:44] so we have a very similar place In brooklyn, um, like a one

[52:49] acre place. And every day they receive like A maximum 10% because tibetan

[52:55] buddhism is like a Private consultation. It's not like, not like a Group chanting or group prayer.

[53:02] we don't do that. That's why we estimate 10 to 15 people, maximum visitors and

[53:09] only one, the only one big Celebration day is april 15th,

[53:16] which is a buddha birthday. That's the only day probably We will see like 30 people.

[53:21] and for regards to the operating hours We are looking at.

[53:26] we try to avoid the school time. You know, we have a pretty Decent neighbors there, the

[53:31] kids, school bus or whatever. So we are considering operating Hours from 10 to 4:00 and from

[53:37] monday to saturday and sunday. Because the church Has activities.

[53:43] we try to mitigate the traffic With our neighborhood church. So we are closed on sunday.

[53:49] so you can be closed on sunday? Yes. And you're going to be 10 To 4 monday through saturday.

[53:53] that's right. This is a very specific Question, but it relates to

[53:59] what council member Santiago raised. How long does somebody I mean, I know it's individual, but

[54:04] like, does somebody sit there For 7 hours or 2 hours or how does that work?

[54:10] and that affects the flow of traffic and the Neighbors concerns. Yeah. Regarding the so we Don't we don't do that.

[54:15] tibetan buddhism is just Self meditation at home. But normally the people come Over to see the master to

[54:21] receive the instructions, The infraction? Probably. We know in the

[54:26] current broken we Have a broken branch. It's basically people come over Like 1 or 2 hours, but we have

[54:31] to reserve online because We follow the orders. We finish one person because We are not sharing the privacy

[54:38] with each other. So if it's first come first.

[54:42] so they have to book online For their reserved slot. Normally some people half An hour, but if some more

[54:49] difficult questions probably Make them two hours per person for a slot.

[54:55] yeah, I have a question. What is your one.

[54:59] celebration. Day? You said you have. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So does. That.

[55:04] bring a lot of people? Yeah. Um, so the both the Buddha's birthday, we call in us, we call vesak.

[55:09] vesak day. Right. Um, in the lunar year is April, and for the western is

[55:13] like, may 16th. That is the only day in a year.

[55:19] what kind of crowd Does that attract? I'm sorry.

[55:24] how many. People and how do you handle any extra people Who would come that. Way?

[55:29] yeah. So we will put that Like, you know, because it's a birthday celebration. We will put a small golden Buddha there and people come

[55:34] over for the flower there, or Just put some water clean as a

[55:39] buddha statue and leave. They're not going to be there, Like for the whole day eating

[55:44] or things. It's just a very quiet And peaceful activity.

[55:49] council members. How many people maximum.

[55:53] would come. 3030. On that day? Yeah. Yeah. Thank you.

[55:57] yeah. Because in united states, we don't have the Public holidays. Only the people who have to Take their personal leave as

[56:03] they come over. We don't see a big group.

[56:08] but if you see singapore, it's A public it's a government official holiday.

[56:14] we will expect more people. Yeah. Council president presser.

[56:19] yeah, I just I think that for The purposes of understanding the how this

[56:24] will be used. To think of it more as a Retreat than as a church.

[56:29] mhm. Yeah. Yeah.

[56:35] there are people who go to. People would not Reside overnight. There. Right.

[56:40] there are, there are people who Will go to monasteries for a day of meditation as. So I'm thinking that that's

[56:46] more of, of what We're talking about. But no, people are Not staying overnight.

[56:51] this is not an inn. Right. Councilman caruso?

[56:56] yes. So my understanding is you're Talking about having three visiting monks and residents And one monk pretty much

[57:02] permanently there. So would that mean there'd Never be more than if people

[57:08] are coming for instruction only There would never be more than four people there at a time.

[57:14] no we don't. So normally. No. So the master.

[57:19] right? The master Will stay here. But also he has other visiting Plans around the year.

[57:24] so when he is away. We will invite the Visiting monk as a backup.

[57:29] you know, the one we Have over there will be. Come over to backup.

[57:34] yeah. So I think we have Determined that. And you can correct Me if I'm wrong.

[57:41] it's been a while since We were in the numbers. At the worst case, daily Scenario would be 12 people on

[57:46] on campus at any one time. Is that correct?

[57:51] that's. I wouldn't say no from the monk. Right. Because when we define It as a temple, the volunteer,

[57:55] we are not allowed to leave. Only the monk can Live on the site.

[58:00] that is a religious requirement. But if you ask me to tell People, we will probably have a

[58:04] volunteer drive over to Cleaning, you know, to do the administration this kind of Thing, but they are going to

[58:10] leave end of the Day, end of each day. How many people are volunteers?

[58:15] I would call probably a uh, maximum for for like one For cooking, cleaning and the

[58:22] reception for. Yeah.

[58:27] yeah. Yeah. Correct. And then there's The visiting people.

[58:32] yeah. Oh, you are talking About the visitors?

[58:37] yes. Our visitors. Yeah. Yeah.

[58:41] yeah. Sorry. Yeah. It's okay. Yeah. We're trying to just. Get the. Approximate maximum.

[58:45] number of. Yeah. 15. Yeah. 15. Yeah.

[58:50] thank you. 15. So one. Monk. Uh, 3 to 4 volunteers, Plus the ten visitors. We are talking about 15 People maximum a day.

[58:56] so. Yeah, quite a bit, we believe. Yeah. Um, that the site is over.

[59:01] I've said it all along. We believe the site Is over parked. We we have, um, attempted to Minimize the parking and would

[59:07] be delighted to explore ways to Reduce the parking, but we have parked the site for more people

[59:15] then conceivably would be there. The monks are not Driving in and out.

[59:20] um, the parishioners may or May not come in small groups. There's not again.

[59:25] you're asking. You're asking the same Questions we did a year and a half ago.

[59:30] there's not this typical. Oh, well, there's the 9 to 10 Group, and then there's the 10 to 11 group, and it turns Over multiple times a day.

[59:36] again, I urge you, as we go Through this process together to ask your questions and To do some homework with us.

[59:43] and I'm sorry, just One more point. Before.

[59:48] I come to my seat. So the broccoli. Stay here by. The mic. Yeah. So, um, so I think in our Application, we particularly

[59:53] put a brooklyn branch Office address. So if people have any concerns To see really to validate what

[1:00:01] what is a tibetan buddhism Temple looks like, you can feel free to visit.

[1:00:08] it's only like an Hour drive from here. It's exactly the same tibetan Buddhism branch, same teaching, same number of the monks.

[1:00:14] all these kind of things. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Thank you.

[1:00:20] um, just to try to move it along and get to the Wetlands consultant. One of the things that I want To underscore, because we just

[1:00:27] saw the wetlands report, um, Within the last couple of days, chris, chris and eileen know I've been asking to to see this

[1:00:33] report for some time, and we Really appreciate the fact that it was now made publicly Available that would incur and

[1:00:38] completed it. I want to remind all of you the Analysis that your consultants

[1:00:43] did was done last, I think, april. They were out on the site With our team and several city

[1:00:48] officials for over two hours Doing, um, walking the site, doing auger tests of the soil.

[1:00:54] they did a rather Extensive analysis. What my key takeaways, and I'll Let the experts speak to it in

[1:01:00] terms of the conclusions. A the project will not result In a significant adverse impact

[1:01:05] to the wetlands, which is a really important Threshold issue.

[1:01:09] be much of what's proposed Here in terms of removing the invasives, removing lawn area And planting native and wetland

[1:01:16] species will serve to only Improve wetland a and wetland

[1:01:20] b, as you'll read in the report. And c and probably most Importantly, this is an issue,

[1:01:27] a legal issue that we have been Discussing and making written submissions to the city Over the last year.

[1:01:34] there is no legitimate basis For a, quote, restrictive buffer here.

[1:01:40] a protective buffer Is appropriate. Um, while I think our Consultants feel it's probably not even necessary, there's a Big difference under our white

[1:01:46] plains code between a Restrictive buffer and a protective buffer.

[1:01:51] restrictive buffer. Could you. Sorry, mr. Steinmetz. We have a lot of New people here.

[1:01:55] could you just describe in Short order the distinction? Absolutely. Just again, Thank you, mr. Mayor.

[1:02:01] um, the restrictive buffer Would actually prohibit certain things from being Built within them.

[1:02:06] period. The end. Nothing could be built in the Restrictive buffer that would preclude our development.

[1:02:13] certainly aspects Of our development. We have been waiting for your Consultants to opine on that.

[1:02:17] our consultant opined On that over a year ago. A protective buffer warrants Protection and analysis by

[1:02:26] government, but certainly Not a prohibition. And again, you read your report.

[1:02:32] my client waited a long time And paid a lot of money for you to go out and get your Own independent analysis.

[1:02:37] it confirms what paul janey Told us over a year ago, and it tells us, actually, that The improvements that we're

[1:02:43] proposing, not the least Of which is the extensive plantings that are being Proposed, will ultimately

[1:02:48] improve the wetland. So we were pleased to To finally get this.

[1:02:53] in terms of religious uses, I've not appeared in front of several of you.

[1:03:00] some of you have known me For for quite some time. Some of you may not know we Represent a wide variety of

[1:03:05] religious institutions Throughout the county, from churches and synagogues to the Archdiocese of the state of new

[1:03:10] york to islamic centers. So I am not unfamiliar with the Law that that governs your job

[1:03:16] when you're reviewing A land use application. Religious uses, as your legal Team will explain to you, are

[1:03:23] presumed to have a beneficial Effect on the community. The case law, one of the Leading cases, cornell versus

[1:03:30] bhagwati, talks about religious And educational uses, religious and educational institutions.

[1:03:37] as a matter of law, you've got To weigh the benefit against the detriment of the community, And the law presumes a benefit to the community.

[1:03:44] that's why you have 13 Religious institutions in residential zones along The north street corridor.

[1:03:48] they are not anathema to to Sound government and existence.

[1:03:53] and folks, I was amazed when I Came across this new york times

[1:03:57] article from may 10th, 1992.

[1:04:02] they say history repeats itself. Well, history is Repeating itself.

[1:04:06] in 1992, the white plains common Council was wrestling with a

[1:04:11] neighborhood group that was Opposing a buddhist temple on north street and councilman, I Think then councilman shulman.

[1:04:18] he ultimately became mayor. Correct. Then councilman Shulman took on the cause of

[1:04:24] trying to understand the issues and try to mediate Between the parties.

[1:04:30] it was a multi year process With the neighborhood there opposing that buddhist temple, Our buddhist temple that's here

[1:04:38] in our community today. The same community organization Had opposed the trinity church

[1:04:44] in the 50s that's sitting At bryant at north street. So again, people have every Right to come to the microphone

[1:04:50] and speak their mind. I know that I'm at too many Meetings, too many nights a

[1:04:55] week, but I'm going to tell you This virtually every meeting I do with regard to a religious Institution, there's concern,

[1:05:00] there's confusion, There's mystery. Now try taking on a Tibetan buddhist temple.

[1:05:05] you're going to have a lot Of people who don't really understand and ask Your questions.

[1:05:10] but I'm telling you this as a Matter of law, under new york state common law and the Federal statute, you all have

[1:05:15] to give them the benefit of the Doubt because they're presumed to have a beneficial effect.

[1:05:21] the exact same thing Happened 30 years ago. It's there now.

[1:05:26] it was lawfully approved. I say that because I want to Make sure you all understand.

[1:05:30] angela and her group are not Unaware of of what has been

[1:05:35] going on. They have tried to work and

[1:05:40] make some adjustments For the community. They have tried to make some Changes to their design and most importantly, they've Cooperated with the city, the

[1:05:45] neighbors, and I don't know if all of the new Members know this.

[1:05:51] the neighbors were not happy With your building department's interpretation that they issued With regard to their review of this application.

[1:05:57] she submitted building plans. The building department Did what they do. Daimon and his team did what They do on every application. They reviewed it.

[1:06:04] they issued a have Denial letter. And they told us what variances We needed in terms of parking, location, setbacks, etc..

[1:06:09] okay. The neighbors felt that Damon and his office did not interpret the code correctly.

[1:06:14] they challenged it in their own zoning board of Appeals application.

[1:06:19] the zoning board unanimously Upheld damon's determination, and the neighbors then sued The city and challenged that.

[1:06:26] you need to know that because, Again, I would like nothing more, and I think my client Would like nothing more than

[1:06:33] peaceful, amicable coexistence With the neighborhood. That is their goal.

[1:06:38] that's kind of what they Sort of stand for in terms of peaceful existence. And go read about Buddhism as I have.

[1:06:43] it's really kind of interesting. It's a lot different from Some other religions. Having said that, you need to Know we're doing everything we

[1:06:48] can to cooperate. The neighbors are going to Do what they have to do.

[1:06:52] I'm sure they will. We are simply asking For a fair shake. That's it.

[1:06:59] finally. Chris knows I've been asking for that wetlands report. Thank goodness we got it Because it says what I was told

[1:07:03] over a year ago. My client had to pay, I think, Over $40,000 for the city to

[1:07:08] get their own report, but It's now part of the record. Having said that, we are here Tonight to hear the wetlands

[1:07:15] report proposed and or Presented by your consultant. We're here to answer Your questions.

[1:07:21] I'm delighted that your Council is the lead agency. I'm sorry that you're going to Have to deal with some of the

[1:07:26] baggage that comes along with This application, sort of that you guys didn't Listen to cy shulman.

[1:07:34] he would have told you 34 years Ago that this this may well happen once again. It's here again.

[1:07:39] um, we will do what's asked of Us by your professional staff. I don't think any of them are Going to tell you that our team

[1:07:44] has been anything other than Cooperative and responsive, so I'm happy to answer any other Questions other than that.

[1:07:49] this was our initial introduction of This application.

[1:07:54] so you know what it's about. And you understand why We're here with a full team. And we're doing everything We can to bring a peaceful

[1:08:00] religious institution into The city of white plains.

[1:08:05] good. Are we going to hear from The wetland consultants now?

[1:08:09] okay.

[1:08:16] thank you. Thank you.

[1:08:35] can you guys hear me now? Yes, yes.

[1:08:40] hello. Good evening, Common council. Thank you for having us today.

[1:08:45] my name is bill medlin. I'm a senior principal and Senior technical leader with woodard and I manage our National environmental planning

[1:08:53] permitting practice area. I have worked with me and my Partner senior level ministry.

[1:09:00] thank you again for the opportunity to talk With you tonight.

[1:09:05] I'm going to start by going Over the scope of work that we engaged with the city of white Plains on initially back in

[1:09:11] march of last year. And uh, and then I'll go into Some of the key findings.

[1:09:17] and I do want to say thank You again to chris gomez and eileen, uh, as well As data to their team.

[1:09:23] I appreciate the, um, The feedback so far. So where we started, in terms Of our scope of work was a

[1:09:32] wetlands focus, um, field Assessment, desktop assessment

[1:09:36] and permitting support for this Project that included review of

[1:09:41] the project, documentation Provided by the client, by the

[1:09:46] applicant on to include civil Engineering design plans that

[1:09:50] were current at the Time we received them. Uh, landscape plans, um, Environmental documentation and

[1:09:58] also a review of other publicly Available documents, um, to

[1:10:03] support our wetlands Focus analysis. Uh, our scope included Geospatial mapping, which if

[1:10:11] you look at the report, you'll See, um, we also had a site

[1:10:15] visit, uh, as david Alluded to earlier. Um, a site specific assessment That we did on april 24th of

[1:10:23] last year. Uh, with the whole team there.

[1:10:28] uh, and then all of this Information was synthesized into a technical memorandum and Had multiple rounds of comments

[1:10:34] and coordination, uh, with The city, uh, and our team.

[1:10:39] um, so what were Our key findings? Uh, so we completed the desktop Assessment, and when we were

[1:10:47] looking at the information that Was publicly available, we did see national wetlands Inventory, uh, and national

[1:10:53] hydrography data set. Um, information there on the Site related to the stream

[1:11:00] system that was there. Um, but there were no Previously mapped, uh, new york

[1:11:05] state dec wetlands. Um, additionally, we completed Our site visit, as I mentioned,

[1:11:12] in april of 2025 during that site visit.

[1:11:20] as david mentioned, we did our Own independent wetlands and water body delineation, uh, Following the appropriate

[1:11:26] local, state and Federal methodologies. Uh, we found consistent with What the applicant's consultant

[1:11:34] found, one stream or Watercourse and two wetlands,

[1:11:40] wetland, a wetland we didn't find that was Completely consultant or

[1:11:46] completely consistent. Was wetland b had a small

[1:11:50] difference in area Where we delineated. Towards the north side of the Site, that was about a, you

[1:11:56] know, less than a 10th of an Acre difference just north of the elevated paddle Tennis court on site.

[1:12:02] um, we noted, as paul noted, Um, the wetlands consultant for

[1:12:08] the applicant, but the site Is previously developed and disturbed and that the Resources there are

[1:12:14] historically altered. Um, interesting.

[1:12:21] we were just provided with The, uh, october 23rd, 2025.

[1:12:26] um, new york state d.c. Freshwater wetlands Jurisdictional determination,

[1:12:32] which we have been Asking for for a while. And that letter found that the New york state edc determined

[1:12:39] that there are no freshwater Wetlands on the site. That's an important Thing to mention

[1:12:47] based on our assessment. It is our professional opinion, As david alluded to, that the

[1:12:55] city of white plains should Utilize a protective rather

[1:12:59] than restrictive Buffer on this project.

[1:13:05] our opinion is that the project Does not have a significant adverse effect

[1:13:11] under secret, with respect to wetlands and watercourses Specifically.

[1:13:17] I would remind everybody that Our scope of the environmental assessment was related Directly to wetlands.

[1:13:21] finally, from a planning and Permitting perspective, um,

[1:13:27] while we are suggesting a Protective buffer, the the

[1:13:32] wetlands that we delineated on Site may likely require a corps

[1:13:38] of engineers permit, uh, which would be known as Nationwide permit or general

[1:13:44] permit, uh, for the wetland Impacts associated with the removal of the elevated paddle Tennis court and other work to

[1:13:51] be done within the limits of Disturbance and potentially an

[1:13:56] associated clean water act. Section four of or excuse me, Clean water act of 1st march.

[1:14:00] water quality certification. These are the most relevant and

[1:14:07] high level findings From our report. Um, if others have questions, I'm happy to take those.

[1:14:13] at this point in time. Councillor pearson I guess so.

[1:14:19] in looking at it, there's. One stream and two Wetlands, right? Correct.

[1:14:26] and if I understood your report Correctly, and I appreciate all the work that went into it, and I certainly appreciate that,

[1:14:32] that we have a religious Institution that would be very beneficial to the city.

[1:14:39] but if I understand it Correctly, what you're saying is that all of the building That would come with building this temple and would come with Disturbing kind of stuff that

[1:14:46] was built in the 1940s and 1950s and wasn't so sensitive, would ultimately not create any Increased risks of flooding.

[1:14:55] and just to belatedly preface This question, we have a community that's been hit With a lot of extreme weather

[1:15:02] events, a lot of flooding. So there's a lot Of concern here.

[1:15:06] can you just give us a little Bit more comfort on that point. In terms of an engineering Analysis for flooding?

[1:15:13] you know, that was not part of The scope that we assessed from

[1:15:18] a wetlands perspective, Specifically the building footprint.

[1:15:25] and the disturbance will be Within the buffers, but the wetlands themselves may indeed Actually be expanded when they

[1:15:32] remove the elevated paddle Tennis court and the footers and foundation, um, materials That are beneath it.

[1:15:41] there wasn't a Replant that area. The wetlands may actually Expand on the site.

[1:15:46] so then let me ask you a Question, which is probably born out of my ignorance.

[1:15:51] and I appreciate the Wetland expansion. There was no looking into what

[1:15:56] this will do with Increased and flooding. Might be an extreme word, But increased runoff?

[1:16:00] it's going to cause problems For people when we have our, you know, once in a century

[1:16:05] storms that we now Get once a year. We did not evaluate it from A floodplain management

[1:16:11] perspective or a civil And resource engineering perspective, sir.

[1:16:17] okay. Thank you. Commissioner gomez. Yeah. If I could. Just chime in.

[1:16:22] um, yeah, I know the The consultants, right. I mean, this was a very narrow Scope, mainly because as we do environmental review Comprehensively on any of these

[1:16:29] applications, we have very Sophisticated flood, you know, sweep requirements through the Department of public works.

[1:16:34] and so we're well versed in Looking at, you know, flooding issues, what any sort of, you Know, watercourse issues are so

[1:16:39] kind of outside of What they're studying. But that is definitely part Of any sort of environmental

[1:16:44] review that will be Conducted by the city. So I apologize.

[1:16:49] so we'll get information On that later. Yeah. Well just like everything. So any time any large Environmental review, the

[1:16:53] stormwater prevention pollution Plan, pollution prevention plan sweep is a very voluminous Document that's provided by

[1:17:00] applicants to the city. Anything over an acre of Disturbance, our city, either

[1:17:04] internally through our Department of public works, engineering bureau or Consultants, depending on the

[1:17:10] scale of the project, analyzes Flooding impacts of every project in the city.

[1:17:16] so frankly, that's probably The biggest part of any environmental review the city Ever does is looking at these sweeps, which are, again, Incredibly voluminous, very

[1:17:22] technical documents that Look at existing conditions, hydrology conditions, what May or may not be impacts of

[1:17:28] proposed development, what Sort of mitigation is required before any sort of approval by Our public works department?

[1:17:34] um, so yeah, it's a much Broader issue than, you know, wetland a and b in this Specific thing, which I know is

[1:17:40] a very sensitive in terms of The actual building footprint. So absolutely part of any sort Of approval or moving forward.

[1:17:46] um, so I don't want you to Think that there's any sort of it wasn't included here For as an oversight.

[1:17:51] it certainly will be studied. No. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you for The clarification.

[1:17:55] when does that. Councilman wolf. Commissioner gomez. So review.

[1:18:00] so. The full review, just like Any site plan application. Um, you know, they have Submitted a formal site plan

[1:18:06] before it gets referred out to All the city departments and boards and commissions, you Know, planning board, drb, all

[1:18:12] that stuff. Um, there is the full, um, Completeness review to make

[1:18:18] sure that the stormwater Pollution prevention plan that's been presented meets the Standards for the department of

[1:18:23] public works to Conduct the review. Um, so that's the First thing, right?

[1:18:28] that's the first check dam, So to speak, no pun intended. Um, and then once that's done, Any sort of environmental

[1:18:34] finding by you write any sort Of secre before you can act to

[1:18:38] approve something or vote in Anything, there has to be an environmental finding statement.

[1:18:44] and that environmental finding Statement under seeker looks at everything from air impacts to

[1:18:49] hydrology to wetland Impacts to traffic. Um, basically, there's a There's a litany of findings

[1:18:54] that you make before you vote. So that would be done anytime Before, in this case, even

[1:18:59] before any potential Variances could be granted. Because, as I said before, This application needs certain

[1:19:05] variances as the Applicant represented. Um, the zoning board of appeals Is the only body in the city

[1:19:11] that has jurisdiction to grant Variances from the zoning code, not the common council.

[1:19:18] so they have jurisdiction, but They can't act or even make any formal vote on those potential Variances moving forward.

[1:19:22] until you, as the lead Agency, who's coordinating the environmental review for the Entire project, inclusive of

[1:19:29] any proposed variances, um, Makes a finding environmentally that there's not a significant Adverse impact, you know, um,

[1:19:37] that can be mitigated As part of this project. So.

[1:19:42] again, chris, I really Appreciate commissioner gomez. I appreciate all the Education you're giving us.

[1:19:48] and I'm relatively new at this, As I think are my colleagues. Sure. But how would we?

[1:19:52] it seems to me flooding is a significant environmental issue. So if we're taking care of the Wetlands, that's fantastic.

[1:19:57] and it seems like this report From the experts gives us a lot of comfort there.

[1:20:03] but aren't the wetlands Inherently disturbed if there is flooding? So how does that all work. Well in her inherently.

[1:20:10] now disturbed? No. So if if the if the Results of making these changes increase the risks of water Overflow doesn't, that isn't

[1:20:17] that relevant to the way in Which the wetlands are treated?

[1:20:21] well, I think and I don't Want to you know, what. Will or the consultant Would talk is.

[1:20:26] yeah, just. Enhancing the capacity of the Functionality of wetlands, I

[1:20:30] think, is tied in instrumental Right to the functionality of, of how to retain water.

[1:20:35] right. So it's a much bigger Discussion than just and I don't know if will wants To chime in about the functionality, right?

[1:20:40] disturbed wetlands Versus purely functional. If there's going to be Improvements on site and how that delves into what the Ultimate downstream impacts

[1:20:46] will be vis a vis flooding and a much more analysis Of the watershed.

[1:20:51] but it's more of a discussion For, again, commissioner mignon dpw, in terms of how they deal With these very, very, very

[1:20:56] detailed engineering studies. And frankly, you know, it is Usually the as I said, the

[1:21:02] largest, uh, back and forth or Or the largest review lead time

[1:21:07] item, I would say with any site Plan that both the planning board and the common council Evaluate is the stormwater

[1:21:14] prevention pollution plan, And it really is in depth. So I mean, I could I'm an Expert to a point, but again,

[1:21:21] the engineers at public works And others can speak and will. I don't know if you want To chime in about the

[1:21:26] functionality of wetlands in Terms of capacity and benefits, I don't know.

[1:21:32] the one thing I would say is That the applicant has done a nice job of avoiding The wetlands, right?

[1:21:37] they've avoided the Stream that's on the site. The site itself is not located Within the fema 1% annual

[1:21:46] floodplain. So in their Design, they looked at.

[1:21:51] okay, well, here's where our Environmental features are and stepped back away From those things.

[1:21:58] now the buffer is a is sort of A separate issue, but there are no direct fill impacts that Would take up wetland area and

[1:22:06] turn it from wetland into Upland or piping of the stream,

[1:22:10] or relocating of the stream. Um, those kinds of things.

[1:22:16] so those are typically the the Types of activities that I see in my experience of planning And permitting and wetland

[1:22:22] science and things like that. Or when fema gets involved Where you are going to drive a

[1:22:28] flooding impact, the the site Of which is the wetlands.

[1:22:32] and then, as I mentioned Earlier, it has a potential to

[1:22:37] potentially even expand The wetland area. And in terms of the planting Plan that they put together,

[1:22:46] it's going to be improvement from an ecological Function standpoint.

[1:22:52] the site as it is right now is Particularly wetland b is sort

[1:22:57] of a groundwater seepage Bowl type wetland, right.

[1:23:01] and it's all lawn. It's partially filled with Woodchips and things like that.

[1:23:06] if implemented, the wetlands Will be enhanced by what the applicant is proposing.

[1:23:13] there are impacts To the site, right? I understand that, right.

[1:23:18] but when you when you look At what's going on with the wetlands, those wetlands Will be enhanced in our view.

[1:23:23] and I don't know if you want to add anything from Your perspective.

[1:23:28] um, yeah. I'll just say at a high level By global, saying the impacts

[1:23:33] to wetlands are limited to Removing the paddle tennis court that has existed there For decades, which is placed

[1:23:42] above a wetland. So when we look at that, if You look underneath it, you can

[1:23:47] kind of see groundwater Expressing itself, but there's no vegetation growing under it.

[1:23:52] um, when that's removed, we Would anticipate kind of that's what he was talking about with An expansion of the wetland

[1:23:59] area plus the planting Of native species. On the stormwater question, You know, we did not review any

[1:24:06] stormwater control plans. We talked briefly with the team On site, and we understand they

[1:24:11] have a plan for controlling Stormwater, uh, from the parking area.

[1:24:18] uh, so that will have To be a separate review. All right.

[1:24:22] mr. Mayor, may I respond very briefly to councilman Fry pearson? Um, first of all, tonight is Was not really we were not told

[1:24:27] tonight was it going to be About engineering and flooding and stormwater management.

[1:24:33] your question is totally Appropriate, and I'm glad you asked it because I in my notes, I was going to say something and I passed it too quickly.

[1:24:38] you should know. You should all know that there Is presently no stormwater management on this Four acre site.

[1:24:44] there are no manmade Contemporary stormwater features that you all and your

[1:24:49] planning board and Your dpw requires. Of all of my clients, when they Come in with applications, this

[1:24:54] site will have all New modern stormwater. What's the significance of that?

[1:25:00] mr. Steinmetz the significance Is we, my client, cannot increase the rate Or volume of runoff.

[1:25:05] they have to manage All of that water. That's why when we did this April investigation with these

[1:25:11] gentlemen, you had at least 2 or 3 people from dpw there along with the Planning department.

[1:25:18] so short answer, allow us to Come back when we come back and we're going to do a night On stormwater management.

[1:25:23] I'm completely aware of the Flooding issues that have occurred in this community.

[1:25:29] I sat in front of your zoning Board and listen to numerous people lament about Pre-existing conditions that

[1:25:33] you all we all have In the community. This application Can't make it worse.

[1:25:39] dpw can't allow that to happen. And I'm delighted I didn't Ask them to say that.

[1:25:44] these gentlemen have explained To you that if we actually enhance the wetlands, we make Some of nature more functional

[1:25:50] in dealing with Stormwater management. Another night, Another presentation.

[1:25:56] I'll have my engineer here. I will have my wetlands Biologist explain what will has been talking about I got it.

[1:26:02] we're not going to spend Millions of dollars to build a buddhist temple and have a Situation where it floods out,

[1:26:07] and there's all kinds of poor Management that you won't your dpw won't let that happen.

[1:26:14] regulation concern that at night.

[1:26:20] patiently. Thank you.

[1:26:24] thank you for your comment. And this is probably a little Premature, but having lived in

[1:26:28] the rosedale area a lot of my Life and being in real estate,

[1:26:32] I consulted with people on Willowbrook, where the stream runs down from all the way Up on samuels lane and.

[1:26:41] the golf course by the golf. Course.

[1:26:46] so I'm very concerned for the Future, and I don't expect you to answer that now About the runoff.

[1:26:51] about how many roofs? Three buildings, roofs, 37 Parking spaces, how all of that

[1:26:58] water is going to be handled. Going down to a little stream That I walked along on saturday

[1:27:05] on rosedale avenue, just East of brooke hills drive.

[1:27:10] and then a bigger area that's a Catch basin, which both I think

[1:27:14] need to be enlarged to Handle future water. That's all.

[1:27:22] just as a suggestion. Totally. Appreciate the question. Let the engineers speak to it. I hear you loud and clear.

[1:27:26] I don't live far From that either. And I've walked the same card. Or you have. Councilwoman santiago.

[1:27:32] I would be curious if you Do present on flooding. We had a historic.

[1:27:38] we had two historic snowstorms. What was the current Impact of that? Would that be included In your report?

[1:27:44] it wouldn't be in the report That was already submitted. And part of the record.

[1:27:49] you already have a stormwater Pollution prevention plan. But I hear the question. I'll ask our engineers To respond to that.

[1:27:55] and I'm sure you can talk to The commissioner of dpw and have the commissioner Of dpw respond to you.

[1:28:00] again, having nothing to do With my client's property. You've got a you've got a Drainage basin that you've

[1:28:04] heard from. The councilman has Existing conditions.

[1:28:08] and I heard in the record has Lots of folks that live in that area that have Flooding issues today.

[1:28:13] thank you, councilman caruso. And this may be a question for Later with the engineers, but

[1:28:20] do you know, will this project Create more impervious surface area or less impervious.

[1:28:26] on our site. Um, paula, can you can you Speak to that off the cuff? Just the surface area.

[1:28:34] I'm not really sure. Councilman. Let us.

[1:28:39] I don't have my civil Engineer tonight. I told him he didn't need To be here tonight, so. And I don't want to give.

[1:28:45] that's a that's a critical Question that you deserve an accurate answer. Thank you. Council president presser. Thank you, mr. Mayor.

[1:28:50] back to the wetlands. Do I understand correctly that The report showed that the

[1:28:57] stream is not feeding into the Wetlands, nor is the wetland or

[1:29:02] the wetlands draining Back into the stream? I remember that the draining

[1:29:07] part being down into the ground. Is that.

[1:29:13] do I have that correctly? Well, it does drain and It abuts straight line.

[1:29:17] oh, it does. The stream on the side, so it Does drain directly to it, what

[1:29:22] can be is isolated in that. It's a depression in The middle of the sky.

[1:29:28] there is a small upland area That separates wetland d from

[1:29:33] wetland a, um, but whether it Be does receive, uh, what we

[1:29:39] believe to be Groundwater seepage. Although the source of that Groundwater is unknown.

[1:29:44] that seepage comes in, as We mentioned, goes later to elevated mountain sport.

[1:29:51] and it sort of flows through What would be generally a south southwestern direction.

[1:29:58] so there could be subsurface Flooding that flows towards. Okay. Um. Thank you.

[1:30:04] and the another question I Have, just to refresh my, my memory on the Benefits of wetlands.

[1:30:09] if I remember correctly, a well Maintained wetlands almost act

[1:30:15] like a sponge in terms of mitigating flood Flooding issues.

[1:30:23] if that's a question, Then I would say yes. Um, there's the analogy I like To say is that the kidneys are

[1:30:30] the watershed, and it's very Important that by protecting them, you do, um,

[1:30:38] you do good for a variety Of things, including power

[1:30:42] recharge, wildlife contract, Flood mitigation and things like that.

[1:30:49] again, not speaking from an Engineering perspective or hydrology water resource Management perspective, but wetlands are important For managing flooding.

[1:30:56] yes. Thank you. Thank you.

[1:31:02] item seven we're Going to conclude now.

[1:31:07] item seven is a communication From the commissioner of planning, transmitting the Technical memorandum pertaining

[1:31:13] to one sycamore lane. I moved to file and Spread the communication.

[1:31:20] all in favor? I.

[1:31:25] just want to. Before we

[1:31:29] conclude our meeting, I want to remind you. I don't want to mind.

[1:31:33] I just want to share with Everybody that this is a very important and spiritual Week for most of us. It's easter and passover.

[1:31:39] we, on behalf of myself and The council, we want to wish everybody happy and Meaningful holidays.

[1:31:44] and may we all recommit to Doing our bit to make the world a little bit better.

[1:31:49] that concludes tonight's agenda. Is there a motion to Adjourn the meeting? So move.

[1:31:54] second. All in favor? Hi, carried. Have a great evening, everyone.

[1:31:58] thank you.

Mar 30, 2026 Common Council Special Meeting/Work Session

Agenda

Transcript