Planning Board continues public hearing on Westchester Swim School at 70 Marbledale Road; parking analysis requested

Architect Louis Campana presented plans March 18 for Westchester Swim School at 70 Marbledale Road, describing a one-story building with a 25-by-50-foot indoor pool, seven lanes, support spaces and reconfigured parking. The board had extensive questions focused on parking, circulation and class scheduling; the public hearing was kept open for further review and consultant analysis.

Campana said the site is an existing undeveloped lot with steep slopes and an existing concrete retaining wall that will be removed and replaced to create space for parking and the building. The proposed building footprint includes two office spaces, mechanical/pump rooms, changing areas, a viewing area for parents and support spaces. The architect said the site plan was reconfigured to add an entry curb cut and to shift one parallel space to ease the curb cut; he said the accessible aisle serving the handicap space was designed to a minimum of 60 inches at its narrowest.

Campana described pool operations as oriented toward children, including school-age and special-needs children. He gave operational hours as opening at 8 a.m. with weekday closing at 8 p.m.; the transcript records a reference to weekend hours that is inconsistent in wording, and Campana later described peak weekend activity as approximately 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. He said the applicant expects a typical rotation to average about 16 children and a maximum capacity of roughly 32 children on site during a rotation, with staggered 15-minute changeovers.

Board members raised concerns about how staggered class starts and overlap could compound parking demand. "The only concern is, I think, parking lot parking Space Number 12 seems a little tight. Need a crab walk to get in there," said a board member. Campana provided aerial photos taken over five consecutive days showing generally low on-street use during the applicant's identified peak times; he said those images and the site plan would be forwarded to the village's traffic and parking consultant for analysis.

The board requested colored renderings in context, a 3-D massing model and civil-engineering drawings, which Campana said would be supplied by the next workshop. Following a motion based on the attorney's recommendation, the board voted to keep the public hearing open until the next meeting so the consultants can complete their review.

No final vote or site-plan approval was taken for 70 Marbledale Road at this meeting.