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BEDFORD. N.Y. Planning board members granted the Trump organization six additional months on Monday to work on its preliminary plan for Seven Springs Estates, a nine-mansion subdivision the company proposed for Bedford Corners, before submitting it for approval.
The fate of the Oregon Road site, which borders Byram Lake, has been a subject of controversy since the early 2000s, when real estate mogul Donald Trump first introduced his plan to build a golf course and horse stable there. Citizens in Bedford and Mount Kisco were worried the lake would be contaminated by runoff from the facility.
In October 2010, the golf course proposal was scrapped and the subdivision plan introduced; the new plan got the conceptual OK from the Bedford Planning Board this February and was granted a six-month extension to address changes.
Lawyer Charles Martabano contended that the project is not able to stick to the original extension, which expired Aug. 12, in large part because there is still much to do to address the many conditions of the plan that have been changed since the applicant began working with the board in December 2010.
Although Martabano requested an extension for the requisite six-month period, We believe we'll be done in 60 days," said Martabano.
Martabano said one area that was addressed and will be fine-tuned is recent site plan changes to protect the watershed from runoff, as well as changes to the residential master plan.
Martabano said that Mount Kisco Mayor Michael Cindrich has agreed to submit written documentation that they have approved the plans.
I think its important to get some input from the village mayor, said board member William Colavito."That's a very important aspect.
Other conditions that were sited included looking at drainage alternatives and changing the use of the historic Reynolds farmhouse on the property, which was originally going to be an office for golf course staff and will now be a single-family home.
We changed partial use to residential, said Eric Trump, who took over the project from his father this year and lives on the property. "The historical board loved that change," he said.
Board member John P. Sullivan is an architect for the Trump organization so he had to recuse himself from the proceedings.
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