Board Closing in on Plans for Chatsworth Streetscape:
New Lighting, Sidewalks, Trees, but no Buried Wires

by Judy Silberstein

Join the discussion on overhead wires
And read what Larchmonters in 1922 were saying about their wires

(September 21, 2002) Sidewalks, lighting, trees, curbing are once again on the agenda for the Village of Larchmont Board of Trustees which will be discussing streetscape improvement for Chatsworth Avenue between the Post Road and Addison Street at their September 23 public meeting. The area has been under consideration for over three years during which the consultants Cherbuliez/Munz have been supporting the Board in its quest to develop plans for improving the Post Road and Palmer Avenue business districts. Plans for the Chatsworth block are complicated by the ongoing negotiations between the Village and CVS over development of the former Grand Union site.

The Chatsworth improvement is among the first projects tackled by the current Board elected in March. Early on, they considered the possibility of burying the utility wires that run along the sidewalk on the western side of the street. In a June discussion of the project, Deputy Mayor Chris Verni explained that the Board decided against burying the wires when Con-Edison estimated it would cost about $250,000 and require an additional 12 to 18 months to implement. This week, Trustee Liz Feld noted that because of backlogs at Con-Edison, the project might have been delayed up to three years. “Everyone was in favor of it notionally, “ she said, “but we had to balance the estimated three year time delay with the improvements we were prepared to go forward with.”

There is additional time pressure on the Board coming from federal sources. The project is being partially funded by a $100,000 federal grant acquired with the assistance of Congresswoman Nita Lowey. The grant requires implementation to start relatively soon.

In addition to the time pressures, the Board was also concerned that burying the wires would require removing some of the mature trees that now provide summer shade for second story apartments and outdoor dining at the many eating establishments lining the block. Some of the trees are slated for replacement by healthier specimens, said Feld, but others will remain. In addition, CVS plans additional trees for the old Grand Union parking lot, as shown in proposals presented on September 9 to the Planning Commission.

The Board is still open to considering wire burial elsewhere in the business district. "Looking down the road on Palmer Avenue," said Trustee Marlene Kolbert, "let's see if the economics and the timetable have changed. Let's not rule it out."

For the moment, though, the Board is focused on Chatsworth and “How to make that block, with its strange oleo of architecture, look good,” said Verni. Over the summer the Board members have been debating among themselves the relative merits of granite versus bluestone curbing, the color of concrete for the sidewalks, the types of lighting fixtures and the placement and types of trees, tree wells, benches and trash cans. This morning the Board placed an assortment of concrete samples outside the old Grand Union so residents could view the various choices under consideration for the new sidewalks. Board members are giving extra attention to choices for the Chatsworth block since the plan is to use similar materials for future renovations in other parts of the business district.

They have had assistance from members of the Beautification Committee, Board of Architectural Review, Planning Commission, and Parks and Trees Committee and from Bubba Fanelli, a Village resident and lighting expert. Mr. Fanelli was particularly helpful in guiding the Board towards fixtures that conform to state environmental standards. Many of the attractive fixtures they had seen during their field trips to nearby communities do not meet current standards and would require expensive retrofitting. “Mr. Fanelli probably saved us thousands of dollars,” said Feld.

With Mr. Fanelli's assistance, the Board is narrowing its choices to fixtures that aim the light down on the street where it's needed rather than on the night sky or in the windows of second-story apartments. "We're looking for that perfect fixture that is both esthetically pleasing and accomplishes our goals," said Kolbert. "That's not easy," she added.

To learn more about the Chatsworth plans, residents should show up for the Village Board meeting on Monday, September 23 or watch the proceedings on LMC-TV.

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