Rye Brook board adopts amended SEQRA finding for 900 King Street senior housing; traffic and sewer concerns remain

The Rye Brook Board of Trustees on June 10 adopted an amended finding under New York State’s SEQRA process that determined proposed amendments to the planned unit development at 900 King Street do not create new significant adverse environmental impacts and therefore do not require a supplemental environmental impact statement.

The decision affects a long-running senior-living proposal by Sunrise Development Inc. that was originally approved in 2021 as a PUD for an age-restricted community with 231 residential units (126 independent-living, 85 assisted-living and 20 townhomes), a roughly 215,000-square-foot office building previously occupying the site, and surface parking. The board’s resolution affirms that, for the limited set of changes now proposed, the environmental review already completed remains adequate.

Board members and village staff said the resolution before trustees was strictly the SEQRA (environmental review) finding, not the amended site plan itself, which remains under the Planning Board’s jurisdiction, nor architecture matters subject to the Architectural Review Board. The amended application includes reductions to building footprints, updated porte-cochere entries, revised courtyards, added balconies and walkout terraces, a proposed generator structure and a revised loading and trash layout, plus adding one garage space to each of the 20 townhomes and a main-level bedroom option for some townhomes.

The amended finding statement was adopted after staff and consultants summarized the review. Sarah Brown, who reviewed traffic materials for the village’s consultants, said the original traffic impact study for the DEIS was based on higher unit counts and that the current amended plan does not change the study’s underlying assumptions. "None of the factors that have been changed in this application would rise to the level of redoing the traffic impact study," Brown said. She added the original traffic generation had a 25% conservative increase built in when the project was larger.

Village staff and consultants also addressed sanitary-sewer questions raised by residents of the nearby Arbors subdivision. Michael DeMarco (board consultant) and other staff said the portion of sewer pipe located on the development property must be replaced or relined as a condition of any site improvements; that requirement was part of the original approval and remains in place. DeMarco said there is "no basis in the record" to require the applicant to clean a 10-inch main on Arbor Drive that sits off the applicant’s property, because that was not a condition of the original approval.

Arbors residents described a history of sewer overflows affecting their yards. Dan Barnett, president of the Arbors Homeowners Association, and resident Rosemary Schlank urged stronger protections and asked that construction management and safety plans be reiterated in approvals. Schlank also raised concerns about safety for memory-care residents who may wander, citing national reporting; she asked whether newly discovered information about assisted-living safety could compel a supplemental EIS. "The SEQRA law says that you can require a supplemental EIS as a result of any significant impacts that may result from newly discovered information or a change in circumstances," Schlank told the board.

Village counsel and trustees responded that SEQRA review for the amended finding is limited to whether the amendments create new or substantially different impacts. Trustees said longstanding mitigation and construction conditions remain in place from the original EIS and that matters such as architectural details, final site layout, and construction management will be considered by the Planning Board and ARB at upcoming meetings. The board noted a typographical correction in the amended finding statement: references to a seven-year pilot/payment period should read eight years.

The board voted to adopt the amended SEQRA finding. Trustees present recorded affirmative votes and the resolution will be filed and circulated in accordance with SEQRA requirements; village staff and counsel were directed to publish the amended finding statement as required by law. The Planning Board will consider the amended site plan at its next meeting, and the ARB is scheduled to review the application later in June.

Neighbors and board members were directed to use the Planning Board and ARB processes to press for any additional conditions, and staff encouraged continued communication between the developer and the Arbors HOA. The board reiterated that the amended finding does not remove previously adopted mitigation requirements; it only addresses whether the specific amendments require additional environmental study.

Details from the record: the PUD site-plan approval and wetlands and steep slopes permits have been extended and were scheduled to expire in September 2025; the amended application was submitted to the village on Feb. 20, 2025; the Planning Board and ARB will still be the approval authorities for site-plan and architectural matters.