October 2, 2009
by Christine Yeres
Where we are now
The town board, in order to conduct a thorough review of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement submitted by developer Summit Greenfield relating to its proposed development of the former Reader’s Digest property into a mixed-use site called Chappaqua Crossing, requested formal comments from various consultants and local entities. Several more of these reports were released this week.
For NCNOW’s article on the comments from the Chappaqua Central School District, click here.
For NCNOW’s article on the comments by the New Castle Planning Board, click here.
For NCNOW’s article in this week’s edition on the comments by Town Administrator Jerry Faiella, click here.
In reviewing these documents, it helps to remember that the State Environmental Quality Review process, or SEQR, is an environmental review of the potential impacts of the developer’s proposal. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement, or DEIS, is the developer’s view of those potential impacts and the solutions he proposes to mitigate them. The town’s comments back to the developer point out areas of the DEIS that the town believes have been overlooked or answered insufficiently.
Next steps
The official comment period on the DEIS was closed last Friday, September 25. According to Summit Greenfield’s spokesperson, Geoff Thompson, “we will now begin preparing the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS.) We will be responding to all comments, including those contained in the reports by Saccardi & Schiff and the Chappaqua Board of Education. Once prepared the next step is for us to submit the FEIS to the Town Board for its review and further proceedings.”
After receiving the developer’s additions or alterations to the DEIS, the town will declare that it is final. This final EIS will be the basis of the town board’s decision whether to approve the developer’s proposed plan or to withhold approval. If the board does not approve the proposed action by the developer, it must explain why. The board will base its explanation in part on the information included in the voluminous final environmental impact statement.
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