Public hearing on downtown retail space restrictions will reconvene on July 14

June 12, 2009
by Christine Yeres

On Tuesday, June 9, the town board reopened its public hearing on amending the town code to allow additional retail banking in first floor spaces in downtown Chappaqua. Supervisor Barbara Gerrard, who had earlier read a statement providing background on the legislation and describing the board’s conflict over whether to allow additional retail banking, announced that because the board had received additional input that it wished to consider, she would adjourn the public hearing until July 14.

Asked subsequently by email what input the board had received, Gerrard cited a June 8 Journal News article entitled “More empty storefronts pop up in plazas,” as well as several emails from residents. Gerrard did not respond to the question of how the board intended to gather further input on the subject.

Frank Hall, head of branch planning and retail real estate for Chase Bank, said he could not at this point in time state what sort of plan Chase might propose for the former site of Giona’s and the Chappaqua Stationary Store if retail banking were permitted by the town board. “The code is not now amended; we can’t occupy it legally. We’ll cross that threshold first, then we will be interested in picking up our conversation with Ms. Nash [landlord of the premises],” he explained. He added that he had placed a call to Elise Kessler-Mottel, a member of the town board because another Chase representative, who was at the Tuesday night hearing, told him that Supervisor Gerrard mentioned to the Chase representative that there was a concern that someone from the bank had not made contact with the board. “So I’ve called [Kessler-Mottel],” he reported. “She has not called me back.”

To read how some residents feel about the restrictions on retail banking, see NewCastleNOW.org’s “UPDATE: Public hearing Tuesday, June 9, on allowing banks to rent space in downtown Chappaqua.

To contact the town board members, email: 

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