Rye Brook planning board approves amended site plan for Sunrise Senior Living at 900 King Street

The Rye Brook Planning Board unanimously approved an amended planned unit development (PUD) site plan for Sunrise Senior Living’s 900 King Street project on June 12, voting to adopt a resolution that reads the amended PUD approval together with an amended SEQRA finding statement and a set of conditions.

The approval came after a public hearing during which the applicant reviewed small design changes to a previously approved project, and residents pressed for additional safety, traffic and construction-management protections. The board’s vote was 6–0 in favor; members present voted yes: Mister Guzan, Mister Mendelson, Miss Schoen, Mister Taig, Mister Vaeseman and Chairman Rob Goodman.

The amended plan reduces portions of the building footprint for the independent living and assisted living wings, reconfigures the entry driveway and porte-cochere, tweaks courtyard and balcony layouts and clarifies parking and fencing details. Applicant and project counsel told the board these are “minor modifications” to a design the village previously approved; village staff and the applicant said no change to overall bed or unit counts was proposed.

Sunrise’s attorney, David Steinmetz of Zarin & Steinmetz, told the board the village board of trustees — acting as lead agency under the State Environmental Quality Review Act — amended its SEQRA finding statement on June 10 and concluded there were no new significant adverse environmental impacts that would require additional studies. Anthony Nestor of JMC, the project’s civil consultant, reviewed drawing changes that were added to the application package: a concrete sidewalk from the Arbor Drive driveway to King Street (including a retaining wall), clarified fence types (limited picket safety fences atop retaining walls; a 6-foot aluminum fence around an assisted‑living garden; and an 8-foot PVC privacy fence at the staff/service area), and an updated on‑site fire protection plan that adds roof access to each building wing and new fire‑lane signage.

Public speakers raised several recurring concerns. Rosemary Schlank, a resident of 9 Bayberry Lane, asked the board to require a “safe streets” study covering King Street and Arbor Drive intersections, saying the project’s traffic study identified higher risk at certain intersections and noting one intersection’s prior fatal pedestrian crash. Steinmetz and the village traffic consultant said the original traffic study (2018) was reviewed and no new study was recommended because project trip generation and unit counts have not changed; the applicant still must secure NYSDOT permits for signal timing, and NYSDOT may request additional information as part of that permit review.

Dan Barnett, president of The Arbors Homeowners Association, asked why condition 70 from the earlier 2021 approvals — calling for exterior security cameras with access to police upon request — is missing from the draft resolution before the board. Applicant counsel said the resolution distributed to the board was missing several lines by oversight and that Sunrise has no objection to restoring the police‑camera provision. Chairman Goodman said the final resolution will include the omitted camera condition (referred to in the meeting as condition 70).

Neighbors also urged stronger access to the project’s construction-management plan and its noise‑mitigation provisions. The applicant and its counsel pointed to condition language in the approved resolution that requires an updated construction-management plan and two‑week look‑aheads for construction — material the applicant said it will deliver to village staff and make available to neighbors through the village building department. The applicant also said it worked with the emergency services task force on the added roof access and fire signage and that condition 18 in the resolution addresses construction management requirements.

Other issues raised and the applicant’s responses included: • Parking overflow: Neighbors asked that the applicant make some parking spaces available to Arbors homeowners during large visiting days. The applicant said that would be a private accommodation among property owners and not an appropriate condition of planning-board approval, though Sunrise representatives said they have been and will be willing to discuss neighborly accommodations. • Lighting and photometrics: The applicant clarified it changed fixture styles but not total fixture counts; photometric symbols were simplified for clarity on plans. • All‑Electric Buildings Act: A resident asked how new state all‑electric building requirements might affect the project and whether a future code change could force a later amendment. Counsel said both the applicant’s counsel and village counsel could opine as needed and that any required change would be addressed through the standard amendment process.

At the meeting the board waived a full reading of the 18‑page resolution but then moved to adopt it with the understanding that staff would restore the omitted camera provision before the final signed resolution. The planning board’s approval was framed as an amendment to the previously adopted PUD approvals (the board clerk’s packet cited earlier actions, including the village board’s September 14, 2021 PUD site‑plan approval and the January 26, 2021 SEQRA lead‑agency action).

What’s next: Applicant counsel said the project team will appear before the village Architectural Review Board in about two weeks to conclude formal ARB review, then prepare construction drawings and a full building‑permit application. Sunrise said it will secure financing while those technical drawings are prepared; the applicant said it hopes to begin construction within roughly a year but emphasized permitting, engineering and supply‑chain timelines will affect any schedule.

Speakers quoted in meeting record: "We will be working with the building department at that point to prepare a complete building permit application," David Steinmetz, attorney for Sunrise Senior Living, said when describing next steps. "The residents absolutely deserve a safe place to live," Dan Barnett, president of The Arbors Homeowners Association, said during public comment while asking about omitted camera language and construction‑management access.

Ending: The planning board’s approval advances the long‑running PUD project toward final ARB review and permitting. The final signed resolution will incorporate the camera‑access language the board directed staff to restore; neighbors and board members said they will watch how construction‑management and traffic‑permit steps are implemented by village staff during the permit phase.