Plans revised for Bedford Hills Starbucks

The existing bank building that is to be demolished and replaced by a Starbucks with drive-thru.

By JEFF MORRIS 

Following up on an application that first came before the Planning Board in October, Diamond Properties, under the name DP 21, LLC, has returned with more detailed plans for the demolition of a former bank building in the parking lot of Kohl’s on Bedford Road, and construction of a new Starbucks drive-thru.

Peter Catizone of Catizone Engineering on Jan. 12 presented changes that had been made after working with the Planning Department in response to technical comments from the board.

The overall property at 777 Bedford Road is 8.8 acres, with the existing Kohl’s/Vision World building occupying 91,000 square feet. Catizone noted that building alone exceeds the allowable building coverage.

The existing 674-square-foot Chase bank building will be demolished and replaced with a 1,534 square foot Starbucks building. Catizone said the increase is only 860 square feet, but the amount of coverage will go from 23.9% to 24.1% in an area where 20% coverage is permitted.

Catizone said they had pulled the parking area, which had been up against the sidewalk, back into the site in order to allow for more landscaping, which will be native plantings. 

“We spent some time just going up Bedford Road and looking at some of the landscaping that repeats,” Catizone said. “We just tried to mimic the plants that are already proven to be successful on that stretch, and seem to form a pattern.”

On the south side of the building, what is currently an exit-only driveway to Route 117 will be expanded into an entrance and exit. Catizone said they have now also provided a sidewalk ramp on either side of the driveway so pedestrians can go across, while also being able to walk down into the site.

One of the changes being made will involve removing the existing Kohl’s standing sign along the front of the property, and replacing it with a new sign closer to the main entrance driveway. The new pillar-style sign for 777 Bedford Road will be modeled after the one at the entrance to 333 North Bedford Road, which is mostly in Mount Kisco, accounting for the discrepancy in addresses. That property, which has been joined with the Kohl’s property, includes ShopRite and is also owned by Diamond Properties. Catizone said the signs are intended to convey that it is all one campus. The new sign will require a variance from the ZBA.

Asked about hours of operation, the applicants were not able to provide those at this time. Chair Deirdre Courtney-Batson and board member Diane Lewis requested a separate list of plantings, and a plan that does not have the new proposal superimposed over the existing conditions, which they found confusing. They also pointed out that some of the plants being proposed are not actually native to the area, though noting these are details, and that they think the overall plan is “great.”

Lewis also asked about the possibility of roof-mounted solar panels, which she noted Diamond Properties has made use of elsewhere; she was told it was a question worth asking, and they will look into it. Courtney-Batson said she was pleased to see a change from the last plan, which showed a lot of parking lots and buildings and “no room for pedestrians.” In October, she had expressed concerns about pedestrian safety. She said “it makes much more sense at this point; I can actually see people getting coffee without getting killed.”

Other board members agreed that the plan was greatly improved. Catizone said they had already made submissions to the building department and to the ZBA, and were not sure where those stood, but they should be appearing at the February ZBA meeting for variances.

The board voted to classify the proposal as a Type II action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, which predetermines it not to have a significant adverse impact on the environment, and expected the applicants to return in March.