Tarrytown Train Station Study Progresses to Next Stage

Published 7 years ago7y ago • Bookmarks: 36

January 30, 2017

by Robert Kimmel

Train station tarrytown village hall Tarrytown’s mission to develop its train station area into an increasingly vital part of the village has entered another stage.

Following a heavily attended, standing room only “open house” meeting in the Village Hall last month, the Village Board of Trustees gave its approval for the project’s next stage. The action followed briefings on what had been done since the study began in 2014 and comments from officials.

Support our Sponsors

The new endeavors will include an update of the Village’s Comprehensive Plan and securing the services of “qualified planners” to establish the necessary update of the zoning code to accommodate what will potentially take place in the area. Current usage of the area is based on zoning completed in the 1950s.

The trustees authorized the “expenditure of up to $200,000” for the upcoming phase. Of that amount, $100,000 is from a New York State grant and $100,000 comes from the Village.

Costs are also expected to include payment for project management as it moves toward a decision as to what will be approved for the area. That decision should take place within two years, the time estimated for the project’s conclusion by Joan Raiselis, co-chair of its Steering Committee, in answering a resident’s question following the session’s presentations.

Mayor Drew Fixell opened the January meeting by lauding the Steering Committee’s work on the project. Co-Chaired by David Aukland, who with Raiselis are members of the Village Planning Board, the Committee includes Village Administrator Michael Blau, William Brady, Westchester County Planning; Deputy Mayor and Trustee Thomas Butler; residents Bridget Gomez and Joyce Lannert, and Jacques Vieweg of the Washington Boat Club.

The initial work on the project resulted in a Strategic Plan produced by Melissa Kaplan-Macey, a consultant for the study. It outlined a framework for the Village that included the area’s current conditions, how the study should progress, cooperative engagement with stakeholders, proposed projects and recommendations.

Among the leading goals is the need to improve connectivity between the train station area and Tarrytown’s Main Street and Broadway business district, and to make the locale more “people-friendly.”

Three broad alternatives for the area include a “Park Concept” for recreation and cultural activities, a “Neighborhood Concept, with an emphasis on residential housing,” or a “Waterfront Destination Concept” to “attract both residents and visitors.”

Following the Strategic Plan, an economic development study was pursued that targeted ways to integrate the station area into the Village’s general economic growth. Progress thus far for the overall Study is summed up in a report issued by the village, “Tarrytown Connected,” which can be found on its website.

Speaking at the meeting, both Aukland and Kaplan-Macey emphasized that the planners have consistently sought input from experts, stakeholders, business owners, and residents in trying to determine what should take place within the district.

Tarrytown resident John Nolon, a professor of law and land use at Pace University, and adjunct professor at Yale, told the meeting that, “Not many communities are doing what you are doing, and you are doing it right.” Nolon noted the importance of zoning conforming with a Comprehensive Plan.

Edward Buroughs, Commissioner of Westchester County Planning, outlined the importance of the Comprehensive Plan and that it is vital the County be made aware of village planning so it can better coordinate the infrastructure it needs to provide.

Linda Viertel, who had served the village as chairperson of the Waterfront Advisory Committee from 2005 to 2015, and is co-chair and founder of the Friends of the RiverWalk, among other voluntary positions, stressed the need for an updated Comprehensive Plan. She had helped to revise the last plan in 2007, and noted how all parts of the village had changed since then.

Also making appearances at the meeting were State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assemblyman Thomas Abinanti. Stewart-Cousins said she came to “encourage you to continue to do exactly what you are doing.” She called the pursuit, “extraordinary” and that it was for a “unique area and a great opportunity.”

In regard to the area and its proximity to the waterfront, Abinanti stated that Tarrytown “is ahead of many communities around and is leading the way now to modernize and make it as relevant as possible…with the resources you have available to you.” He added he would “help in any way possible.”

Immediately after the public hearing, Butler called for the trustees present to pass a resolution to allow the Station Area project to move on to its next phase, which they did unanimously.

Aukland later told The Hudson Independent, that in addition to work on the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Code update, “We will also be looking at related surface infrastructure improvements, such as possibly reopening the tunnel under the tracks, or providing a direct pedestrian link from Sleepy Hollow to the Tarrytown station.”

The area under review stretches from the Hudson River waterfront east to Cottage Place and Franklin Court, and from Sleepy Hollow south to the Washington Irving Boat Club and the County wastewater pumping station.

Read or leave a comment on this story...

Support our Sponsors