Expanded Environmental Assessment
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EXPANDED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT 1133 WESTCHESTER RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT 1133 WESTCHESTER AVENUE CITY OF WHITE PLAINS WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY Prepared for: The NRP Group LLC 1228 Euclid Avenue, 4th Floor Cleveland, OH 44115 Prepared by: JMC Planning Engineering Landscape Architecture & Land Surveying, PLLC 120 Bedford Road Armonk, NY 10504 JMC Project 18071 Date: January 23, 2019 P:\2018\18071\ADMIN\EEA Report 01-23-2019.docx EXPANDED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT 1133 WESTCHESTER RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT 1133 WESTCHESTER AVENUE CITY OF WHITE PLAINS, NY TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION TITLE .................................................................................................................................... PAGE I. INTRODUCTION AND PROJECT DESCRIPTION ..................................................................... 1 II. LAND USE AND PLANNING ........................................................................................................... 2 III. TRAFFIC STUDY SUMMARY ............................................................................................................. 3 IV. SCHOOL CHILDREN GENERATION…………………………………... ............................... 6 V. STORMWATER POLLUTION PREVENTION PLAN NARRATIVE .......................................... 8 VI. SEWER AND WATER CALCULATIONS ....................................................................................... 10 VII. NATURAL RESOURCES ...................................................................................................................... 11 VIII. LANDSCAPE PLAN ............................................................................................................................... 13 IX. SUSTAINABILITY ................................................................................................................................... 14 LIST OF FIGURES NO. TITLE FOLLOWING PAGE 1 Overall Aerial Map .............................................................................................. 14 2 Aerial Map ............................................................................................................... 14 3 USGS Map Glenville Quadrangle (depicting site location) ........................... 14 4 Steep Slopes Map (2-Foot County GIS Topography) .................................... 14 5 Wetlands Map ........................................................................................................ 14 6 Zoning Map ............................................................................................................. 14 7 Westchester County Sanitary Sewer Trunk Line Map ................................. 14 i APPENDICES 1. "Traffic Study" by JMC, dated 01/23/2019 2. "Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan" by JMC, dated 01/23/2019 3. Daily Water Demand Calculations by R.W. Sullivan Engineering, Inc. 4. "Threatened and Endangered Species Habitat Suitability Assessment Report" by Ecological Solutions, LLC, dated 9/28/2018 5. "LEED for Homes Mid-Rise Pilot Simplified Project Checklist" and "1133 Westchester Ave LEED Sustainability Narrative" by Steven Winter Associates, Inc., dated 12/10/2018 ii I. INTRODUCTION AND PROJECT DESCRIPTION This Expanded Environmental Assessment (EEA) report has been prepared to evaluate potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed redevelopment of an approximately 20- acre portion of the ±74.2 acre site at 1133 Westchester Avenue (tax ID 131.20-1-1.1), which is currently owned by RPW Group, Inc. The EEA discusses measures that have been incorporated into the project design in order to minimize potential environmental impacts to the maximum extent practicable. The site is bordered by Westchester Avenue, a County roadway, to the east, the Maple Moor Golf Course to the south and east, and residential uses to the north and west (see Figure I, "Overall Aerial Map, Figure 2, "Aerial Map", and Figure 3, " USGS Map Glenville Quadrangle" (depicting site location.) The proposed project is a multi-family use with construction of a total of 303 rental apartments in three separate five-story buildings, with shared amenity space and parking. Proposed are 178- 1 bedroom apartments, 115-2 bedroom, and 10-3 bedroom apartments. The site is currently improved with a large, multi-tenant 4-story office building of approximately 530,000 square feet, along with associated surface parking facilities. The 20 acre portion of the site under consideration for development is to be subdivided and currently contains a mixture of existing parking lot and wooded area. Portions of the wooded terrain is steeply sloped. (see Figure 4, “Steep Slopes Map (2-Foot County GIS Topography). There is approximately 75 feet of grade change across the site from west to east from the existing parking lot to the property line. The development proposes amenities for use by the residents of the buildings. The Applicant proposes to reconstruct the eastern parking lot to be utilized by the existing office building and provide additional off-street parking spaces as well as provide sidewalks on the property for pedestrian circulation. The project is proposed to be constructed in three phases, with Building 2 and associated parking to be constructed in Phase 1; Building 1 and associated parking to be constructed in Phase 2; and Building 3 and associated parking to be constructed in Phase 3. 1 The proposed site has direct access to the eastbound-only lanes of Westchester Avenue. Access to the westbound lanes of Westchester Avenue is via the Kenilworth Avenue overpass approximately 3,700 feet to the east. A major interchange of the Cross-Westchester Expressway (I-287), Interstate 684 and the Hutchinson River Parkway is approximately 1,500 feet to the east of the site driveway. The site is located within the Mamaroneck River drainage basin which ultimately flows to Long Island Sound. A section of the Mamaroneck River is located adjacent to the site to the north and east. Natural features on the site include wooded areas, steep slopes, rock outcroppings and wetland area all of which are considered environmentally sensitive based on the City of White Plains municipal code. The site contains a small area of locally and federal regulated wetland and associated adjacent areas. The wetland has a 50-foot City of White Plains adjacent area (see Figure 5, "Wetlands Map"). The site is surrounded by wooded areas primarily consisting of northeast deciduous species which create a vegetative buffer from surrounding properties (see Figure 2). Ecological Solutions has provided a "Threatened and Endangered Species Habitat Suitability Assessment Report" (Appendix 4), discussed below in Section VI. II. LAND USE & PLANNING The site is currently zoned C-O "Campus Office" district, which does not permit multifamily as a permitted principal use. In order to permit the proposed use, the White Plains Common Council will be requested to apply the “Planned Campus Development District” (PCDD) overlay district to the existing “Campus-Office” designation. As stated in Section 5.9.1 of the City's Zoning Ordinance, the Planned Campus Development District is to facilitate the creation of integrated, master-planned, mixed use development in campus settings within a C-O district. Multi-family housing is a principal permitted use within the PCDD. The City has not advocated for particular uses on the subject property. The 2006 Comprehensive Plan includes a Westchester Avenue corridor vision statement. However, the recommendations focus on the 2 western portion of Westchester Avenue, closer to City Center, and does not include the subject property vicinity. The site is surrounded by R1-5 “Residential One Family”, R1-7.5 “Residential One Family” and R1-12.5 “Residential One-Family” Zoning Districts. See Figure 6, “Zoning Map”. Land uses in the site vicinity include office, single-family residential, public golf course and transportation corridors. The property location at the intersection of three major highways and its proximity to New York City makes accessibility to the site ideal from a commuter’s perspective. The site is currently served by City of White Plains water and sanitary sewer. There is a Westchester County Trunk Sewer line adjacent to the property, parallel with Westchester Avenue. Please see Figure 7, “Westchester County Sanitary Sewer Trunk Line Map”. Natural gas and electric service is currently provided by Consolidated Edison. The City of White Plains Zoning Code Section 5.9.5, “Affordable Housing", requires that ten percent (10%) of all independent living residential uses are to be made available for sale or rent to households who are income qualified under the City’s Affordable Rental Housing Assistance Program or Affordable Home Ownership Program, in perpetuity. III. TRAFFIC STUDY SUMMARY A “Traffic Study” is contained within this submission and is summarized below. The study was prepared to assess existing conditions as well as future traffic operations in association with the proposed 1133 Westchester Avenue development. Access to the property is currently provided by a single driveway connecting to the eastbound lanes of Westchester Avenue. The driveway provides one entering lane from Westchester Avenue and two exiting lanes onto Westchester Avenue. Under proposed conditions, the development will utilize the existing driveway connection to/from Westchester Avenue. As part 3 of the development, the Applicant proposes to reconstruct the property’s internal intersection to provide a roundabout for access to the various off-street parking areas