Parking deficit remains key issue for Dakin Avenue apartments in Mount Kisco

A rendering of the 54-unit building proposed for 47 Dakin Avenue.

By MARTIN WILBUR

An updated plan that could increase on-site parking capacity by 13 spaces and the potential use of municipal lots were part of extensive discussions last week for the 54-unit apartment building application proposed on Dakin Avenue.

Anthony Gioffre, the attorney for applicant 47 Dakin Owner LLC, told the Mount Kisco Planning Board at its Sept. 9 meeting that the project’s professional consultants have been exploring additional excavation for the two-level garage as part of the project that would increase on-site parking from 41 to 54 spaces. 

Parking appears to be one of the biggest issues facing the developer. The village code requires 79 spaces for the project, although Gioffre mentioned that the building would need 49 spaces because it is a transit-oriented development within walking distance to public transportation and shopping.

“We are confident, we can’t commit to it right now, but our architect and engineers are looking at excavating a little further into the northwest portion of the lower level of the garage to avail ourselves of additional parking, and we believe we can get to one-for-one parking,” Gioffre said, meaning there would be an equal number of spaces and units at the roughly half-acre site.

Access to more parking

During the summer the developer’s team spoke with village officials about a potential plan for the building’s future residents to use the Blackeby and South Moger Avenue lots to access more parking, he said. Details about how many spaces would be dedicated for that use and whether it would be strictly overnight or 24-hour parking must still be resolved.

The applicant hopes to avoid paying a fee in lieu of parking in case the project is short on spaces, but Gioffre said that is also an option in the code’s Downtown Overlay District, which encourages residential development near the center of the business district.

Plans call for six studios, 25 one-bedroom apartments, 18 two-bedroom units and five three-bedroom units in the three-and-a-half-story building that will contain various amenities. The apartments would be market-rate rentals. The application is exempt from the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act review since the state legislature approved the Let Them Build legislation this year that allows certain projects to bypass the SEQRA process. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed it into law in May.

Planning Board Chair Michael McGuirk said he would like the developer to plan for an unspecified number of guest spaces, which would likely need to be on-site. 

In considering use of its lots, officials must also consider whether there is adequate parking for all of Mount Kisco’s needs.

“The village needs to make sure there is enough parking in the village whether or not you’re providing it,” McGuirk said.

Fees for spaces

Suggestions from board member Peter Alonge included a potential required fee for any tenant that would want a parking space instead of every unit receiving an assigned space, a strategy that has been used in buildings that don’t have enough parking. The building could also create a car sharing arrangement, he said.

“We’ve found car ownership is less in buildings where you do have to pay for parking,” said Elaine Du, the village’s traffic consultant from AKRF.

In the parking garage, there would be a rack for 27 bicycles should some tenants want that option for transportation. 

There are also about four on-street parking spaces that can be used on Dakin Avenue.

Parking and traffic impacts aside, board members appeared encouraged by the applicant’s willingness to create housing where use of a vehicle is not necessarily needed.

“I think the thing that is great about this project is that it creates an option for car-free living, if there are people interested in doing that,” said board member Andre Keating.

Traffic concerns

Another major area of review is the project’s potential impact on traffic. Du told the board that the Main Street-Dakin Avenue intersection is currently operating at service level A, which is the best rating. Currently, about 50 vehicles turn into and out of Dakin Avenue, she said. It is estimated that the site would generate an additional 21 vehicles during peak hours.

Du said the trip generation number sounds high but considering everyone’s personal schedules will not align for a 9-to-5 job, the project is not expected to have a significant impact on traffic.

“It’s not every unit that generates one car at a peak hour, it’s not everyone leaving at the same time,” Du said. “You also have to understand that people are taking transit, their ability to walk to and from the train station, they’re working from home, some work off hours.”

Other changes proposed by the applicant would convert Dakin Avenue to two-way traffic up to the site rather than partially up the block but retain the current one-way loop for Highland Avenue despite a recommendation from AKRF to convert Highland to one-way eastbound. In an Aug. 18 memo from the applicant’s traffic consultant, Carlito Holt, the developer would maintain the current Highland Avenue orientation and add a “Do Not Enter” sign to prevent wrong-way traffic.

Du also recommended modest widening of Dakin Avenue to accommodate two-way traffic and street parking on one side. Holt indicated that the applicant plans to widen the street from 24 to 29 feet.

A sidewalk is also proposed to be built from the site to the village’s town justice court property to accommodate pedestrians walking to the train station.

The Planning Board declined to open a public hearing until there is more clarity related to parking and traffic.