The public will have their chance in March to weigh in on whether or not the city should impose a six-month moratorium on approvals for projects in the R1-12.5 and R1-30 zoning districts, at a public hearing in March.

The White Plains Common Council says they need the time to study the City’s land use regulations to see whether they need to be changed, made to conform with the city's comprehensive plan, or if the plan needs to be updated.

The two affected zoning districts include properties listed in 1997 Comprehensive Plain Land Use Map as “Parks and Open Space,” and include local golf courses like Westchester Hills and the former Ridgeway Country Club, recently purchased by the French-American School of New York (FASNY).

Though some members of the community have called on the City to make zoning changes in the area, which would prevent FASNY from building their proposed K-12 school on the 128-acre site—common council members say FASNY'S project has nothing to do with the moratorium.

“I do think it is important to note this legislation [local law that would approve a moratorium] is separate from the issue of the French School’s submission of a site plan to the city of White Plains,” said Councilman David Buchwald, at a Feb. 7 meeting.

The council said the moratorium is not meant to stop FASNY’s from building their school and that FASNY can still start their process of submitting approvals, which could take years.  FASNY previously stated they would begin their approval process in the spring. FASNY would need a special permit to run a school on the property. If the local law is passed no approvals can be made until Sept. 15 when the moratorium ends.

“FASNY expects and is confident that the City is not intending to use the moratorium or any possible future rezoning to in any way preclude or frustrate FASNY’s plans to build a first class open space campus on the former Ridgeway property,” said FASNY spokesperson Geoff Thompson. “

Local residents and associations feared the property would be developed before FASNY bought it, and drafted zoning legislation that would require that the property stay as open space. It was submitted to the Common Council on Dec. 2. Click on the PDF below the photo to see a copy.

Local environmental organizations are concerned about the impact development would have on the property. They say new development would create impermeable surfaces and exacerbate existing flooding and drainage problems in the area, which serves as the headwater to the east branch of the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake rivers.

“Our plan will restore the natural conditions of the property, improve the existing drainage conditions and stop the use of irrigation and pesticides,” a FASNY fact sheet says. “We are exploring the possibly uncovering the underground streams if they exist, creating natural storm-water retention ponds, and using rain gardens and other green measures to bring the site back to a more natural look and feel.”

White Plains residents also have a slew of other concerns like increased traffic on their local streets and reductions in the tax base. 

FASNY would not pay taxes, they are exempt since they are a school. In 2010-11 the Ridgeway Country Club, which was failing financially, paid $287,929 in property taxes.  If improvements were made to the property, its value could increase and so would the amount of taxes the owner would pay. The German School, a White Plains private cultural school at 50 Partridge Rd., would have paid $1,359,802 in property taxes in 2010-11 if they weren’t tax exempt.

Some locals also fear White Plains property taxes could go down since some who had a beautiful quiet golf course in their backyard, would now be looking  at and listen to  K-12 students outside during recess.

FASNY says surrounding property values would at the very least be maintained, and that families will move to White Plains to be near the school and pay taxes, but not putt a burden on White Plains Public Schools.

FASNY also promises to study traffic and mitigate possible problems by possibly: staggering school release times; sharing buses with other schools, handle all drop-offs on site; and restrict the use of local streets.  

“…FASNY is willing to share its facilities with the community such as a gymnasium, cultural facilities and play areas for community use during off hours,” a fact sheet says. “Moreover, our school will be an asset to the City’s extensive educational community and will further enrich the cultural diversity of White Plains."

Members of the Gedney Association—a residential association representing the Gedney Farms neighborhood, where the former Ridgeway Country Club lies—have asked the common council to deny FASNY’s special permits for the property.

“It [the moratorium] sounds like a good first step,” said Gedney Association President Terence Guerriere

Guerriere said that though the moratorium was not directly associated with the French American School’s plans, he said he felt it was one step closer toward his hope that FASNY will not get special permits needed to run a school on at the former country club site. While the Gedney Association and other local groups say FASNY’s plans are not in line with the comprehensive plan, FASNY says their plan is a low-density development is.

The comprehensive plan says:

If the [golf] courses cannot be maintained as private courses, although clearly not a preferred scenario, the plan envisions residential development at the City’s lowest residential density, clustered to preserve open space and environmental features and providing public access to public and quasi-public areas including trailways linked to the City’s open space network.

 “It is our firm belief that in addition to the special protections both public and private schools under New York State law that the FASNY campus as planned would be fully consistent with the City’s 1997 Comprehensive Plan,” said Thompson. “The Plan specifically provides that in the event that golf courses may not be ‘economically feasible’ any development should be clustered, maintaining the maximum open space. This is precisely how the FASNY campus is designed.”

A public hearing on the local law that would implement a moratorium is scheduled for March 7.

See the attached renderings of FASNY’s plans for the school, along with their fact sheets.