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POUND RIDGE, N.Y. The Pound Ridge Planning Board is considering an application for preliminary approval of a proposed conservation/cluster subdivision on a 105.68 parcel of property located at Rolling Meadow Lane and High Ridge Road.
The property is owned by Oceanus Navigation Corp., which is led by C.C. Shu, who resides in Taiwan.
The plan proposes dividing the property up into 15 lots, 12 of which would be residential, two would be open space and one would be storm-water parcel. Approximately 60 percent of the proposed subdivision would be open space. The property is located in R-2A and R-1A zoning districts.
The planning board believes that the advantage of a conservation subdivision such as this include decreased disturbance to the land, reduction of impact to wetlands, less disturbance of buffer areas, decreased impervious surface, and the creation of two large open space parcels, one of which is contiguous to the Bye Preserve
They actually purchased another piece of property so you could have access from Rolling Meadow Lane and the driveway wouldnt be as long so there would be fewer disturbances to the land, said Karen Taft, planning board administrator. Theyve been working very diligently on this.
However, ultimate approval of the project, which was initially proposed a year ago, will rest with the town board.
Because we had to go to the town board to get their approval for a cluster subdivision, the decision will be theirs, Taft said. There is still a lot of work to do with storm water and things like that.
The planning board has noted that the proposed house placement density is both consistent with the area and is isolated enough as to not impact the neighborhood.
The town will still have to hold several more public hearings on the plan before it can move forward.
According to Taft, the question confronting town officials is who will manage and maintain the open space once the project is approved.
The town is usually the beneficiary and not the owner, she said. But who will take care of it is still up for discussion.
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