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Dobbs Ferry waives site-plan review for Mercy University parking and pathway improvements, approves tree-permit oversight
Summary
Trustees unanimously approved a waiver of local site-plan review for Mercy University’s parking and pathway improvements—on the condition that tree removals be handled through required permits and that the Irvington planning board’s SEQR/SECRA review be coordinated with Dobbs Ferry building and tree-permit processes.
Mercy University and its consultants asked the Village of Dobbs Ferry to waive local site-plan review for modest parking and pedestrian-pathway upgrades that cross the municipal boundary with Irvington. Taryn Ramey of McCullough Goldberger & Stout told trustees the waiver was appropriate because Irvington is conducting the primary site-plan and environmental review for a field house project, and the Dobbs Ferry work is limited to alterations within an existing parking lot.
The project team acknowledged tree removals on the Dobbs Ferry portion of the site. A project representative said about 17 on-site trees would be removed; the team and planning consultant Valerie Manosher said they will replant with native species and provide a landscape plan. "We had an arborist do an assessment... we're taking these down and replanting with native, appropriately spaced trees for the project," a project representative said.
Planning staff and the board’s building inspector reminded trustees that any tree removals remain subject to the village’s tree-preservation code and a tree-removal permit, and that the building department would monitor Dobbs Ferry-specific elements and coordinate with Irvington’s review. After questions from trustees about acreage affected and replacement numbers, the board voted unanimously to waive Dobbs Ferry site-plan approval while reserving the village’s tree-permit and building-department review responsibilities.
Trustees said the waiver was procedural and designed to avoid duplicative hearings while ensuring local tree and code protections are enforced. The board recorded a unanimous vote to waive site-plan review and asked staff to secure a landscape and replanting plan for the village building inspector and tree commission to review.
