Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Trees Draining topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Neighbors press builder over unpermitted tree removal and drainage as Greenburgh board considers steep‑slope permit
Summary
At a public hearing for a steep‑slope permit and tree‑removal application at 5 Farmway Drive, neighbors said trees had been removed without permits and raised drainage and private‑road concerns; the applicant described over‑designed stormwater controls and a robust replanting plan.
At a March 4 public hearing, the Greenburgh Planning Board heard residents pressing a builder to explain unpermitted tree removal and to show how proposed grading and stormwater controls will protect adjacent properties.
Emilio Escalades, the project architect, presented a proposed single‑family house in an R‑40 zone at 5 Farmway Drive that triggers a steep‑slope permit and a tree‑removal permit. Staff told the board the application included four regulated trees removed without a permit and noted the town’s 120% replacement requirement for after‑the‑fact removals; staff said the applicant’s landscaping plan exceeds that minimum.
Neighbor Aaron McDowell, who lives next door at 3 Farmway Drive, said he was concerned that unpermitted clearing occurred and that third‑party surveys found more trees removed than the four reported to staff: “Trees were removed without a permit and then when it was reported, there was a stop‑work order and then more trees were removed even after the stop‑work order,” McDowell said. He asked for clearer milestones, better communication and assurances that excavation will not change surface flows onto his property.
Escalades acknowledged prior unpermitted cutting and described a larger landscaping and mitigation plan. He said the engineered stormwater system was intentionally over‑designed — citing use of more infiltration “pods” than minimum calculations require — and argued the finished grading and a swale will reduce, not increase, runoff toward the private road behind the site.
Bart Peterson, who lives on Winding Road Farm behind the parcel, told the board the private lane serves 13 homes and that additional runoff could impede emergency‑vehicle access. He asked for specifics about where steep slopes and retaining walls would be located and about how building height is measured; staff and the building department confirmed plans comply with the 30‑foot height limit measured from average grade and that final certification will be required during framing.
Deputy Commissioner Schmidt and staff said the applicant will be required to submit the detailed steep‑slope and tree‑removal permit materials and that the written hearing record will stay open through March 11 for additional submissions.
Next steps: the board closed the public hearing and left the written record open through March 11 to allow staff and the applicant to address the technical questions raised by neighbors and to provide required permit documentation.
