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Bethel Homes presents revised Knowles senior housing plan and seeks more time for review
Summary
Bethel Homes sought the planning board’s input on a revised site plan and a zoning-map amendment to rezone 55 Grasslands Road to R-30 and add 75 independent-living units; the applicant moved a building footprint back to avoid at least one variance and is updating stormwater and historic-preservation materials. The board approved a 30‑day extension for its referral period.
Bethel Homes and its design team updated the Greenburgh Planning Board on Sept. 3 about a proposal to expand the Knowles senior community at 55 Grasslands Road by 75 independent-living units and to rezone the site to R-30.
"We are processing a zoning map amendment to rezone the site into the R-30 District," said David Cooper, a partner at Zarin & Steinmetz representing the applicant, summarizing the team’s work on the rezoning and related special-permit applications for the town board. Cooper said the team had revised the building footprint after meetings with neighbors and staff and would return with complete engineered plans.
The applicant’s architect, Patrick McStorff of EGA Architects, described a targeted change that pulls the northern leg of the building back roughly 10–12.5 feet and increases the setback from the adjacent property. "We're closer to 78 feet, not quite 78 feet. So we've exceeded the 75 foot requirement," McStorff said, noting the move eliminates a side-yard variance in that corner and provides more room for landscaping and a shorter retaining wall.
The team also told the board it is coordinating with the historic/landmarks preservation board to identify salvageable architectural features from an older campus building for potential reuse or donation. Cooper said the existing single-family house on the campus has been adapted and that historic resources were reviewed during a recent site visit.
Engineers and planners described stormwater revisions: staff and the applicant said the redesign adds bio‑infiltration and detention basins, lowers peak discharge to downstream points by roughly 25 percent in design calculations, and will include a stormwater pollution prevention plan and a maintenance schedule.
Board members pressed for clarified figures, cross‑sections showing views from neighbors, an updated variance determination memo from the building inspector, and plans showing final grading and landscaping. Several members asked the applicant to provide scaled sections that show the neighbor’s yard, proposed retaining-wall elevations and sight-lines, and updated wetland/buffer mapping.
Procedural outcome: the planning board voted to retroactively take a 30‑day extension for its referral of the zoning-map amendment (extending the review period back to Aug. 24 and out to Sept. 23). The applicant and staff indicated the team expects to submit a full, revised application packet before the board’s next comprehensive review so the board can prepare a recommendation to the town board.
The board did not make a final decision on zoning or variances at the Sept. 3 session; it requested the updated plans, a new variance-determination memo, additional cross‑sections and views for neighbors, and hard copies of revised stormwater documentation before the next meeting (anticipated Sept. 29).
