Mamaroneck harbor panel grants conditional consistency for Grecian Point house after wetland review

The Village of Mamaroneck Harbor and Coastal Zone Management Commission voted unanimously on June 18 to grant conditional consistency to the application to rebuild a house at 1011 Grecian Point, conditioning approval on the applicant providing the information and making changes identified in items B, C, F, K, L, M, N, O, P and Q of the Kellard Sessions memorandum dated 06/18/2024.

The commission's vote followed a technical presentation by the applicant team and a four-minute testimony from wetland scientist Tom Bridal of LandTech, who said he found no "physical impacts to the wetland" from the proposed work and described the site's wetland functions — groundwater recharge, flood-flow buffering, nutrient retention and wildlife habitat. "The E and S control plan offers a double row of silt fencing, which is appropriate," Bridal said, and described a three-stage stormwater treatment and recharge system intended to mimic current infiltration.

Why it matters: the property sits adjacent to an upland-wetland buffer that the commission says helps protect Delancey Cove and Long Island Sound. Commissioners pressed the applicant on concrete details — pool winterization, stormwater pretreatment, isolation/diversion around infiltration chambers and compensatory grading for fill in the floodplain — before concluding that the conditions could be made objective and verifiable.

Project changes and mitigation: architect Dave LaPierre said the design raises the basement and lowest finished areas to elevation 15 (above the 13 base elevation) and sets a lower finished area to elevation 13.5. LaPierre also said pool equipment will be located under a terrace within a storage area rather than being exposed on-site. Engineer Alan Pilch confirmed drawings show dark-sky-compliant lighting and agreed to provide additional detail on pipe evaluations, footing-drain discharge elevations and cross sections showing compensatory excavation and fill removal.

Pool winterization: commissioners asked whether an annual winterization drawdown would harm the wetland. The group calculated the drawdown at roughly 3,000 gallons; Bridal said that water routed through the proposed recharge/stormwater system would be diluted and dispersed rather than discharged as a point source, and that the wetland plant community is resilient to the volumes and salinity changes anticipated.

Conditions, process and next steps: the commission's conditional consistency sets objective items from the Kellard Sessions memo as conditions for the record. The chair and commissioners noted that planning-board review and building-department sign-offs remain separate steps; several commissioners warned that a conditional consistency does not guarantee expedited planning-board approval and that the applicant may still need to return with revised plans that incorporate the memo items. The commission said it will prepare a written resolution reflecting the conditions and submit it as promptly as legal staff can finalize it.

Applicant comment: Kristen Wilson, counsel to the applicant, introduced the project team and owner Kevin Velas and acknowledged the commission's comments. Velas said he had consulted neighbors about recent rain events and that nearby homeowners reported no significant standing water on the property in their experience.

What happens next: the applicants must provide the requested narrative and plan revisions identified in the Kellard Sessions memo; the commission's conditional consistency will be reflected in a resolution and the package will move to the planning board and, later, to building review as required.