Greenburgh Planning Board closes Chick‑fil‑A hearing, leaves written record open through Dec. 18

The Town of Greenburgh Planning Board on Dec. 4 closed the public hearing for a proposed Chick‑fil‑A at 20 Tarrytown Road but left the written record open through Dec. 18, 2024, giving residents two more weeks to submit comments.

The applicant, represented by land‑use counsel Charles Gottlieb of Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna, presented site‑plan, special‑use and tree‑removal applications for a 5,000‑square‑foot quick‑service restaurant with dual‑lane drive‑through. Civil engineer Tim Freitag (Boller Engineering) said the plan would demolish an existing 15,000‑square‑foot building, reduce impervious area from about 85% to roughly 79%, and add new stormwater treatment (a hydrodynamic separator) and more than 3,000 square feet of additional green space. Traffic consultant Philip Greeley (Colliers Engineering & Design) described a grand‑opening traffic‑management plan that uses coned stacking areas, on‑site team members and paid off‑duty officers to manage peak queues and said monitored stacking capacity could be expanded temporarily to as many as the mid‑60s of vehicles in extreme scenarios.

Residents at the hearing said they oppose the project. Tom Bock of the Fulton Park Neighborhood Association told the board the neighborhood already floods during routine storms and that queuing for the drive‑through will worsen air pollution and impede the single neighborhood access. Susan Bock cited county air‑quality concerns, tree loss, noise and lighting. Nearby resident Maria Gomez said she is the closest resident to the site and asked the board to postpone action, asserting an alleged omission in the amended negative declaration and arguing the grand‑opening plan could make existing traffic congestion worse during County Center events.

The applicant and consultants responded that the project reduces impervious area on the site and includes pretreatment and stormwater measures intended to prevent an increase in runoff; they noted the hydrodynamic separator and coordination with NYSDOT on drainage. Counsel and consultants said the county anti‑idling rule applies to vehicles left running for extended periods and does not generally apply to continuously flowing drive‑through traffic; they also described an enclosed dumpster area and daily cleaning to limit litter and pests. Greeley and the town traffic consultant, John Canning, said the planned NYSDOT signal upgrades, added turn lanes and adaptive detection will increase intersection capacity and that a six‑month monitoring period (with reports to the town) is part of the proposed mitigation.

Board staff confirmed they received written correspondence from the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations and other parties and that the applicant agrees to the conditions included in the City of White Plains planning board resolution and the ZBA certificate of decision. Planning staff recommended leaving the written record open through Dec. 18, 2024, which the board approved.

The board did not take a final vote on the Chick‑fil‑A applications on Dec. 4; staff will prepare a draft decision after the record closes and present it at a future meeting. Until that time, the administrative record remains open for additional written submissions through Dec. 18.