Rye Brook planning board keeps public hearing open on amended Sunrise Senior Living plan amid water, height and sewer questions

The Rye Brook Planning Board kept its public hearing open Thursday on an amended Planned Unit Development for Sunrise Senior Living at 900 King Street, asking the applicant to resolve outstanding utility capacity, stormwater and emergency-services questions before a final vote.

The hearing continued after applicants and their design team described minor dimensional and design changes and said they are coordinating with utilities. “We acknowledge and expressly would anticipate a condition of approval that we need to have water service from Veolia before construction would commence,” said David Steinmetz, attorney for Sunrise Senior Living, who said Sunrise is working with Veolia on capacity analysis and with Con Edison on gas service availability.

The board and nearby residents said the changes reopen some issues the village previously referred to the Architectural Review Board, especially the assisted-living building’s roofline and how rooftop mechanicals are screened. “We would really ask this board to please before you approve anything, let's find out what the actual height of the mechanical equipment is and see if there's anything we can do to lower the height of the building,” said Leslie Snyder of Snyder & Snyder, representing the Arbors Homeowners Association.

Why it matters: The project was approved in 2021; these are amendments to that approval. Board members and neighbors said the amendments appear to improve the design but raised concerns about capacity of off-site utilities, potential sanitary-sewer impacts where the development ties into a private lateral serving the Arbors and whether the Architectural Review Board’s earlier comments about rooftop screening have been fully addressed.

Key details and developer responses - The applicant’s team said the amended submission keeps the previously approved site layout mostly intact while making dimensional changes among townhouse units, expanding some townhouse garage spaces and altering certain terraces and balconies. Stuart Lacks, the project architect from Perkins Eastman, said building-to-building separations remain compliant with code. - On utilities, counsel said Con Edison has provided documentation that Sunrise’s gas service application predates the company’s moratorium and that the project believes it remains grandfathered; Veolia (the village water company) has raised concerns about capacity in portions of the village and is studying whether service is available. The applicant said it expects conditions of approval tying construction to confirmed water service. - Parking presented by the applicant: independent-living building — 26 dwelling units, 126 garage spaces provided; assisted-living building — 85 dwelling units, 51 on-grade spaces provided; townhouses — 20 units requiring 50 spaces, applicant proposing 60 (40 in two-car garages plus 20 driveway spaces), for a total of 244 spaces provided versus 219 required under the zoning calculation presented to the board. - On sanitary sewer, residents cited recurring backups near 41 Hillandale in the Arbors. Barnett, president of the Arbors HOA, told the board that neighborhood lines have been monitored and cleaned periodically and urged the board and applicant to ensure future capacity and maintenance responsibilities are clarified. Village staff said consultants are reviewing sanitary calculations and that easement and maintenance agreements will govern private laterals.

Board process and next steps Board members and staff asked for: the Architectural Review Board’s final memo on rooftop screening and materials, a construction management plan updated with correct utility contacts, verification of water service capacity from Veolia, final sanitary/sewer review from county and village consultants, and a memo from the village emergency services task force. Planning staff and counsel recommended the board keep the public hearing open until those items and any required environmental review are complete.

The board did not take a final vote and agreed to continue the public hearing at the next regular meeting so outstanding technical reviews can be completed.

Ending: The applicant said it would provide the construction-management update and coordinate with the village; the board asked staff to circulate the emergency-task-force memo when available and scheduled continuation of the hearing at the next meeting.