Somers board closes in‑person comment period for Trailside Estates, leaves written comments open through Feb. 23

The Somers Planning Board on Feb. 11 continued the public hearing on Trailside Estates, an 81‑unit townhouse subdivision that includes a community center and a dog park parcel the applicant proposed to dedicate to the town. Chair Vicky Ganon opened the item and the applicant reviewed recent submissions addressing contamination and soil management concerns that neighbors had raised.

Applicant representatives told the board that Westchester County had held a public hearing and passed a resolution accepting the project's petition into the county sewer district, a development the applicant said took about a year from submission to approval. "They opened the public hearing. They closed the public hearing. There was a resolution in front of them. Resolution passed unanimously," counsel Charles Martabano said during the presentation.

Planning staff and the applicant also discussed recently received technical comments, including a soil‑management plan from Gallagher Bassett and a Feb. 4 comment letter from the watershed inspector general (WIG). Staff asked the applicant to respond item‑by‑item to the WIG memo so the board can understand how the project will address the watershed concerns. The applicant disputed that WIG is a permitting authority and said its methodology aligns with regional stormwater retrofit programs, but agreed to work with the WIG reviewer on outstanding questions. "Our approach is to take the WIG's comments, ask the applicant to respond to them... and if the applicant can justify their approach and we feel it is reasonable, we advise the board," a staff member explained.

The board also acknowledged an Open Space Committee memo that raised issues about curbing, catch‑basin grades and lighting orientation. The applicant said lighting would be "dark‑sky compliant" with house‑side shields and that curb and grade changes could be accommodated. On tree removal, the applicant described a transect‑sampling approach for a heavily forested former‑orchard site and said a complete tree count would be performed when the tree‑removal permit is issued to determine any fee.

No members of the public appeared in person to speak. After discussion about outstanding technical comments and the need for staff to prepare a conditional resolution, the board voted to close the public hearing to in‑person testimony but to accept written comments via email or regular mail through close of business Monday, Feb. 23. The board asked staff to begin drafting a resolution incorporating the applicant's community benefit commitments and the technical conditions to be met before final action.

Next steps: staff will incorporate the applicant's responses to the watershed and open‑space comments into a draft resolution for board review at a later meeting. Written comments on the application will be accepted through Feb. 23.