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Consultants recommend 10‑foot inspection corridor, 30‑ft maximum processed piles and perimeter controls for Thale Industries
Summary
PS&S told the Greenburgh Zoning Board its review supports a 10‑foot no‑stockpile setback from Jersey barriers, permanent elevation markers, perimeter fencing and a 30‑foot cap on processed stockpiles, with limited 50‑foot unprocessed piles against a rock face; the board kept the record open for further documents.
Consultants retained by the Town of Greenburgh recommended specific, enforceable special‑permit conditions for Thale Industries’ recycling and processing operation, including a 10‑foot no‑stockpile setback measured from existing Jersey barriers, permanent visual markers to measure stockpile elevation and a program of perimeter security and stormwater controls.
"We think a 10‑foot wide setback measured from the existing Jersey barrier — together with gravity blocks and a non‑scalable fence — provides an inspection corridor and emergency access," said Janus Semaan, a New York‑licensed professional engineer and vice president at PS&S. Semaan presented the firm’s six‑month review and two site visits, and described recommended changes to the firm’s January 2 draft conditions.
PS&S proposed a 30‑foot maximum height for processed material stockpiles measured from the facility’s operating floor and permanent range poles or markers so inspectors can make repeatable, objective measurements. For inbound unprocessed material the firm supported a limited allowance of up to 50 feet only in a roughly 100‑by‑100‑foot area directly against an existing rock face; other unprocessed areas would be limited to about 30 feet.
The consultants also recommended a minimum 24‑foot‑wide operational loop within the three‑acre active facility for emergency responders, concrete ‘‘gravity’’ blocks (about one ton each) as permanent physical markers, and a non‑scalable perimeter fence (minimum 8 feet) with at least two access points.
PS&S flagged mud and debris tracked onto Warehouse Lane South as an ongoing hazard and proposed that the special permit require truck‑cleaning best‑management practices and an immediate response protocol so Thale must address any tracked material once notified by the town.
Brian McPeek, a PS&S vice president who led the planning review, said the firm had tried to reconcile the town’s earlier 30‑foot offset language with on‑the‑ground features and recommended the revised measuring points to avoid ambiguity. "We wanted objective criteria that are observable and measurable," McPeek said.
Thale’s counsel, David Steinmetz, told the board his client accepts most PS&S concepts and will work through fence design, range‑pole placements and site‑plan details with town staff. "We're comfortable with the 30‑foot height for processed material," Steinmetz said, and he repeated the company’s commitment that trucks leaving the site will not carry mud or debris onto Warehouse Lane South.
PS&S also suggested annual compliance reporting certified by a Qualified Environmental Professional recognized by the New York State DEC, and an updated emergency‑response plan tied to the special‑permit conditions so first‑responder agencies know site access and hazards.
The board closed the public hearing and left the written record open to Feb. 10 so PS&S can finalize its memo; the board indicated it plans to address decision items at a later meeting and allowed staff and applicant time to resolve site‑plan details.
Why it matters: the recommendations translate high‑level operational concerns into specific, enforceable permit conditions — measurements, fencing, emergency access and a complaint/response protocol — that the town can use to monitor public‑safety and environmental impacts if it grants the special permit.
