Town Board: No Decision Yet on Floor
Area Ratio
by Harriet Kline
( December 19. 2002
) At its regular meeting on December 18, the Mamaroneck
Town Board continued its ongoing public discussion of
its proposed Floor Area Ratio legislation. According
to Supervisor Valerie O'Keeffe, the Board has been wrestling
with this issue for over a year and a half.
The issue of attic space, which dominated the discussion
at the previous meeting on December 8, took a back seat
as the Board asked Town Council Maker to redraft the
proposed legislation to include the Scarsdale definition
of "uninhabitable space" as a model. The Scarsdale
FAR legislation makes no mention of attic space per
se. Instead, it excludes from FAR calculations any space
that is less than 4 feet from floor to ceiling.
No member of the audience objected to this change in
emphasis on defining "uninhabitable space."
One resident, Frank Shea, suggested that, rather than
relying on numerical formulas to prevent "the breach
of common sense," the board should also consider
establishing some sort of threshold that would serve
as a red flag for all future renovations and new construction.
He also brought up the issue of privacy, or how a proposed
renovation might impact the privacy of neighboring homes.
Asked for explanation after the meeting, Councilwoman
Judy Myers said that in the Town, the Board of Architectural
Review only considers changes to commercial property,
not residences. It might be possible to devise a set
of criteria, or “thresholds” that would
trigger a review by the board. For example projects
that would modify more than fifty percent of a home
might require an Architectural Board approval. However,
the proposed legislation does not include this sort
of provision.
The Town Board will continue its public hearing on
the proposed FAR legislation at its next scheduled meeting
on January 8, 2003. "We've very close," commented
Councilwoman Judy Myers, "thanks to all the resident
input and all the research we've done into neighboring
communities." Residents can obtain copies of the
proposed legislation from the Town Clerk.
Bids and Salary Authorizations Approved
Town Administrator Stephen Altieri presented recommendations
for five specific bids for Town goods and services:
(1) street painting which is done annually; (2) purchase
of police uniforms; (3) cleaning of uniforms; (4) purchase
of diesel fuel; and (5) purchase of fuel oil #2. The
Board unanimously approved all recommendations. All
items are already included in the 2003 budget (approved
December 8) and represent fairly similar pricing when
compared to calendar year 2002 expenditures.
As part of its Liability Insurance agreement, the Town
has agreed to hire a third party administrator to process
all liability claims. In assessing the bids for these
services, Mr. Altieri considered three specific elements:
the base fee for processing a claim and the cost of
appraiser and litigation services, should they be required.
Upon Mr Altieri's recommendation, the Board unanimously
approved the choice of GAB Robins Risk Management Services.
Replacements for retiring highway department staff
members were also approved. Councilman Odierna hoped
that Town residents would be given reference in any
future hiring.
Manor Inn Resolution
The Board unanimously approved a resolution in support
of the preservation of the Manor Inn in Larchmont. This
is merely a statement of support. The Village of Larchmont
passed a similar resolution.
Fire Commissioners Report
In their role as fire commissioners, Board members
itemized and approved all fire department claims. Fire
Department officer nominations were approved as read.
Finally in her monthly report, Councilwoman Wittner
indicated that in the month of November the Town Fire
Department responded to 70 calls; 489 people responded
to these calls.
* * *
The next regularly scheduled meetings of the Town Board
will be held January 8 and January 22, 2003.
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