Work session: board presses applicant to address floodplain, accessibility and planters for 205–207 Saw Mill River Road

The Greenburgh Planning Board held an extended work session on PB2505, an amended site plan and landscape buffer waiver request for 205–207 Saw Mill River Road. Architect Giovanni Zapata said the lot is substantially nonconforming for the industrial‑light district; the owners propose repaving an existing parking area and making interior and exterior renovations while moving utilities out of the basement because the basement sits in a flood zone.

Zapata said the project team is trying to "improve this building" and keep nine existing parking spaces while repairing utilities and making the building habitable. Owner Victoria Gaxire described the financial strain of multiple years of regulatory delay and asked for understanding: "Enough is enough, honestly," she said, urging the board to consider the hardship caused by prolonged processes.

Board members and staff pressed for technical clarifications: whether a floodplain development permit is required, whether a sump pump exists in the basement, plans for the sidewalk and bus‑stop frontage, the potential need for an ADA ramp and whether lighting and vehicle circulation details are shown on revised plans. Staff suggested planter boxes where in‑ground landscaping would be washed out by floodwaters and asked the applicant to add sidewalk repair, lighting specifications and evidence about a sump pump to the next submittal. The board scheduled a follow‑up work session for Feb. 18 and asked for written responses and plan revisions ahead of that meeting.

Why it matters: The project involves repaving in a 100‑year floodplain and multiple variances tied to a long‑standing nonconforming lot; technical answers about drainage, floodproofing of utilities and pedestrian access will determine whether the board will recommend variances to the Zoning Board of Appeals and eventually move to a public hearing.