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Club proposes pool rebuild, small clubhouse addition at 1025 Rushmore; panel seeks wetland, fill and debris plans
Summary
An applicant seeking to replace three pools and add a roughly 1,010 sq ft clubhouse addition at 1025 Rushmore Avenue presented plans that would raise pool decks for ADA access, add drainage and permeable pavers, and relocate pool equipment above the flood elevation; the committee requested a wetland scientist report, a flood-storage/fill analysis and a debris-staging plan before returning.
A private beach club’s team told the HZM during a preliminary review that it plans to remove and reconstruct three pools at 1025 Rushmore Avenue, add about 1,010 square feet to the clubhouse for a pump room and ADA access, and install new drainage and permeable paving to reduce runoff.
Andrew Spatz, counsel for the applicant, said the project includes a 440-square-foot pump room and a 570-square-foot ADA stair/lift area and is intended to improve accessibility while keeping pool equipment above the base flood elevation. “The pump room will only be 440 square feet,” Spatz said, and the deck elevations will be raised to elevation 13 feet to reduce grade differences and improve ADA access.
Mark Pilotta of Key Civil Engineering walked the commission through the site plan, showing a slightly widened 25-meter lap pool (2.5 feet wider), reshaped adult and kiddie pools, new pergolas and permeable pavers replacing some hard surfacing. Pilotta said permeable pavers were included in the impervious-surface calculation and that the team used a 0.7 runoff coefficient in their modeling; he added the pavers are maintained by sweeping or periodic vacuuming to keep voids clear.
Commissioners pressed the team for numeric clarity. The applicant’s presentation stated the existing impervious coverage near the clubhouse was about 68.8% and that the proposed changes would reduce that to roughly 68.6% when accounting for the permeable pavers. The engineers agreed to provide a square-foot breakdown and the modeling used for those percentages.
Architect David Woods said the two larger pools will remain heated and described the pools’ winter drawdown and cover procedures: “The pool water in the two larger pools gets drawn down about 18 inches,” Woods said, and added that by the time water is pumped out at season’s end, chlorine levels have dissipated. Woods also stated the pool consultant’s note that “the content of the chlorine is about 12% of the water,” a figure commissioners asked be confirmed in the wetland scientist’s analysis.
Environmental and coastal protections were central to the commission’s questioning. Commissioners asked that the engineering plans clearly delineate the village wetland-buffer line; the commission’s standard is a 100-foot buffer in this area and the team’s site sheets showed a 50-foot setback and a coastal erosion hazard (CHEA) line. Spatz and the engineer said the environmental report addresses habitat concerns, that Alexandra Molk (soil/wetland scientist) has been retained, and that the applicant will provide the wetland scientist’s opinion about any risks posed by construction, winter pool discharges and potential impacts to coastal habitat.
The panel also asked for a written plan for handling demolition debris and staging during construction to prevent silt or materials from reaching the sound. The applicant’s team said they expect to use on-site stockpile areas and will coordinate a contractor-staging plan; they pointed to mitigation measures in the environmental report and committed to providing detail in the next submission.
A separate technical request from commissioners concerned flood-storage and fill. Because the project raises deck elevations toward elevation 13 feet, the commission asked for an analysis demonstrating whether the changes reduce on-site flood storage capacity and, if so, where compensatory storage will be provided. The applicant said that analysis is in progress and will be submitted with the next materials.
On permitting, the team said full pool-equipment and filtration documents are about 95% complete and that they expect to file with Westchester County Department of Health in the coming weeks; they projected county approval by mid-December, recognizing some schedule flexibility. The applicant also noted they had been referred to HZM by the planning department and expect to coordinate with BAR/architectural review on aesthetics.
Landscaping and tree replacement were reviewed in detail. Commissioners flagged removal of several mature trees and asked for the tree-law compliance materials and a clear planting-location plan. The applicant’s materials identify a replacement quantity (12 trees by species) and the team said they would upload the planting sheets and a revised landscape plan for the commission to review.
The commission closed the discussion by listing deliverables before the next appearance: the wetland scientist’s report addressing buffer delineation and potential water-quality impacts, a debris/staging-and-protection plan for excavation, clarification or new soil testing for SWIP purposes, and the flood-storage/fill analysis. The applicant agreed to submit updated materials at least two weeks before the November meeting (by Nov. 5).
No formal approval or permit decision was taken at the session; commissioners set information and analysis requirements the applicant must provide to advance the review.
