Concordia counsel urges Bronxville board to rescind negative declaration, cites study showing 15'30 dB increase

Helen Moch, counsel for Concordia Conservatory and clients Don and Carolyn Moriarty, told the Bronxville Planning Board that a newly submitted acoustic report by Trinity Consultants shows the project could raise noise at Stein Hall by "15 to 30 decibels," and asked the board to rescind its negative declaration and prepare a targeted environmental impact statement under SECRA.

"Trinity, the report that we just submitted to you, determined that noise levels at Stein Hall from the project will exceed current ambient sound levels by 15 to 30 decibels," Moch said. She argued prior studies understated frequency of elevated noise events and that the board's reliance on applicant-submitted characterizations did not satisfy the "hard look" required under environmental review as cited in her remarks.

Board members responded that the board has reviewed multiple studies and that conditions, including testing and enforceable perimeter limits, offer a pathway to manage noise issues; the board did not rescind the negative declaration at this meeting and did not order an EIS. The exchange captured the core disagreement: Concordia's counsel characterized the new report as "substantive new information" that requires a different procedural track, while other board members said the information did not yet persuade a majority to change course.