FIRST ECC MEETING FOR 2014-2015 ON TAP FOR MONDAY EVENING The Edgemont Community Council will hold its first meeting of the 2014-2015 season this Monday evening at 8 p.m. in the faculty lounge of the Edgemont Junior Senior High School. The meeting is open to the public. On the agenda for Monday’s meeting is the Town’s proposal to allow the three existing car dealers on Central Avenue in Edgemont to apply for “special permits” to legalize their otherwise decades-old legally non-conforming status as commercial facilities that are not among the commercial uses permitted in the Zoning Code along that stretch of road which bisects the Edgemont community. Edgemonts competing car dealers have agreed among themselves to ask for the change because, even though their non-conforming use was grandfathered in the 1970s as part of the Town’s zoning code – thus allowing them to remain there -- being granted “special permit” status would allow them to update their facilities – and seek zoning variances – without being confined to their original building footprints. The proposal is controversial, however, because it appears to have resulted from an agreement among existing competitors to get the Town to enact legislation that, because it only lets existing dealers apply for special permits, effectively bars all new competitors from opening car dealerships in Edgemont which may violate the state’s antitrust laws. A lawyer for the competing car dealers denied there was an antitrust problem in their making such a joint request, but a resident’s request that the lawsuit-prone Town Board adopt the proposal on condition that the car dealerships asking for it agree to indemnify the Town and its taxpayers against such antitrust risk was ignored by the Town Board. ECC directors are expected to debate whether to recommend that the Town scrap the existing proposal and instead adopt a measure that amends the zoning code to make car dealerships a lawful commercial use along Central Avenue. That way, existing car dealerships will be treated like any other commercial businesses along Central Avenue that want to modernize and expand, while at the same time new car dealerships that may wish to open on Central Avenue will not be barred from doing so simply because they would be selling cars. The impetus for welcoming new car dealerships as a legally permitted use stems from a concern about persistent vacancies along Central Avenue which is hurting the school district’s commercial tax base. A strong commercial tax base protects homeowners from having to shoulder a greater proportion of the property tax burden to pay for schools and municipal services. A number of new luxury car dealerships have recently been built on other main thoroughfares throughout Westchester County, including new BMW, Lexus and Mini Cooper dealerships on Route 119 in Greenburgh and, if the zoning code were changed to allow it, there may be other luxury car dealerships interested in building showrooms in a location such as Edgemont where there may already be an existing customer base. Several members of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee, which is considering ways to expand the ratable tax base in unincorporated Greenburgh, have asked the ECC to weigh in on the Town’s car dealership proposal precisely because eliminating the Town’s ban on further competition along Central Avenue may make better sense both legally and economically – and the Town Board, which has not formally asked the ECC for its opinion – did at least postpone its public hearing on the matter until its meeting this coming Wednesday, which will give the ECC an opportunity to be heard. The ECC is also expected to hear reports on the status of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan, town-wide revaluation, and on a long list of other topics. ECC meetings end promptly at 10 p.m. All are welcome. A copy of the agenda for Monday night’s meeting is enclosed as a link.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 15:18:35 +0000