A proposal to build new townhouses near the Foxwood condominium complex will undergo an environmental review. The proposal by Lennar to build 102 townhouses would require a zoning change to allow for residential development.
Currently, the land is zoned Campus Office, meaning it is for commercial use only. The property is located on Campus Drive and Carey Court. A building on the site was once occupied by Bank of New York/ Mellon but is now vacant.
The Pleasantville Village Board of Trustees voted March 9 to declare itself lead agency in the review process. Trustee Nicole Asquith, who is also an adjunct professor at Pace University, described it as “just a formal stage in what is potentially a very long process that allows us to move forward with their request for a zoning change.”
Despite the procedural nature of the March 9 vote, Trustee David Vinjamuri cast a lone “no” vote to “send a signal,” he said. Vinjamuri said he was not opposed to working with Lennar, nor to the idea of housing on the site. But Vinjamuri said he felt his concerns were not being heard about the size and potential cost of the proposed townhouses, which he said were a poor fit for current residents who wished to downsize but stay in Pleasantville.
“To develop in our town, you have to develop something for Pleasantville, not just something that would fit in some other random municipality,” Vinjamuri said.
The project will next undergo further review by Pleasantville’s Planning Commission as well as the Westchester County Planning Board.
Lennar presented plans for the site at Village Board meetings October 27 and February 9, both times attracting a packed crowd of residents in vocal opposition.
“The way the traffic is right now, it is going to be worse,” Pleasantville resident Antonio Garcia said at the Board’s February 9 meeting. Other residents expressed concerns about the impact on local schools, and lawsuits filed against Lennar in other communities.
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