Planning board declares lead agency for reapproval of flood-prone truck-repair site at 110 Nepper Avenue; owner told to deliver parking-use evidence

The Greenburgh Planning Board on June 17 declared its intent to serve as lead agency under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) for a long-lapsed reapproval of a truck-repair business at 110 Nepper Avenue and directed the applicant to supply evidence that the site does not require the off-site parking previously conditioned by the zoning board.

Glenn Preiser, the property owner, told the board he owns 110 Nepper Avenue and two nearby properties that have flooded repeatedly and said the damages have cost him “millions of dollars” over the past five years, arguing the only viable path is to raise the building to code-compliant elevation so the business can continue.

Staff advised the board that the reapproval qualifies as a Type I action under SEQRA, which triggers coordinated review and a 30-day circulation to agencies including the New York State Department of Transportation, Westchester County Planning, and the Village of Elmsford. After discussion the board moved, seconded and declared its intent to be lead agency; one member recorded an abstention on the motion.

The applicant’s representative explained the proposal would raise the structure to meet the building-code requirement of three feet above base flood elevation (to elevation 180.3, as presented), and described the use as a business-to-business truck-repair operation with limited customer turnover. The representative said the property previously relied on a leased lot across the street for 25 spaces but that lease is no longer available.

Board members pressed for clear, contemporaneous evidence of how many parking spaces are actually used by the business in day-to-day operation. One planning board member advised the applicant to submit simple photographic documentation or short time-stamped observations rather than expensive traffic studies: “Take a couple pictures a few days of your parking lot. Period,” the Chair said, urging practical evidence that the applicant never reaches the 102-space code requirement for a general automotive use.

The board set an internal deadline of July 10 for the applicant to deliver photos or short documentation so staff can incorporate that material into a planning-board recommendation; the Zoning Board of Appeals hearing on the variance is scheduled for July 18. Staff said the planning board will reconvene its review and circulate the SEQRA materials during the required 30-day comment period.

Next steps: the applicant will provide the requested parking-use evidence by July 10. The planning board will circulate its SEQRA intent letters and review submitted materials before making a formal recommendation to the ZBA, which will consider any variance or condition modifications on July 18.