Planning board approves Cherry Lawn Farms' covered nursery, with conditions on screening, parking and drainage

The New Rochelle Planning Board on July 22 approved site-plan changes for Cherry Lawn Farms at 815 Weaver Street that will replace open trellises with an 80-by-120-foot wood-truss structure covered in bronze-tinted ribbed polycarbonate, expand parking and add rooftop-collected stormwater storage.

The board’s vote grants the application brought by architect Robert Stanzial for owner Armando D’Onofrio. The structure will be open on the interior, used seasonally for plant sales and Christmas-tree sales, and will direct roof runoff into three 3,000-gallon cisterns for on-site irrigation, with overflow to dry wells and an existing storm drain system that ties to Quaker Ridge Road.

The project matters because it consolidates the farm’s outdoor plant sales under a single roof, adds more customer parking and changes stormwater management on the site — all of which prompted questions about visibility from neighboring yards, lighting and drainage.

Board members and staff focused on visibility to the adjacent Quaker Ridge condominium and on stormwater flow. Stanzial said the roof has a low 3.5-in-12 pitch to preserve sunlight for plants and would be a bronze-tinted, Class A fire–rated polycarbonate. He described the structure as “a seasonal building” and said, “There won’t be any activity back there at all” beyond existing use, noting a tomato garden behind the building.

Neighbors raised concerns about sightlines from rear decks. Ralph Bender, of 11 Brookridge Road, told the board he could already see the existing structure clearly from his deck and asked that screening be improved. Stanzial and owner Armando D’Onofrio agreed to extend a proposed planting of 6-foot arborvitae along the rear property line; the applicant said larger evergreen plantings (including existing white pine) already provide partial screening and that additional plantings could be added “at least to this corner.”

The board’s conditions require the applicant to: remedy any damage to city right of way during construction; obtain Westchester County Department of Public Works and Transportation approval under General Municipal Law Section 239(f) for any work within the Weaver Street right of way; obtain any applicable New York State Department of Transportation permits; install an ADA-compliant surface at the Beeline bus stop at Weaver Street and Quaker Ridge Road and coordinate with county beeline service; install permeable pavers for the proposed parking area as applicable; and extend plantings as discussed at the meeting. Staff also noted that lighting will follow city standards and that low-level interior lighting would be turned off at closing.

During the hearing, board members asked about structure anchoring and wind uplift; Stanzial said the final structural design and anchoring will meet New York State wind and uplift requirements and that prefabricated trusses and engineered anchors will be submitted with permit plans. The applicant also said parking will expand from about 40 spaces to about 53, exceeding parking requirements for the property.

The planning board moved to approve the site plan and, after a voice vote, the motion passed. The board set the conditions summarized above; the applicant and staff agreed to tailor language for the Beeline bus-stop coordination and other technical approvals.

The applicant must complete the required county and state permits and satisfy Department of Public Works requirements before starting construction. The applicant and staff said the screening plan will be submitted for staff review and that evergreen screening will be installed to address neighbor concerns.