Signs, stop and other, frame Town Board agenda

By JEFF MORRIS

The Bedford Town Board heard about plans for new stop signs, a possible amendment to the sign ordinance, and assorted other matters at its meeting Tuesday.

A series of public hearings was held concurrently on individual plans for stop signs at three different locations along Babbitt Road in Bedford Hills. Commissioner of Public Works Kevin Wynn said the signs were proposed due to concerns about sight distance.

Wynn said the first location was at the intersection with Franklin Avenue, where there are currently no stop signs, and sight distance is extremely limited looking both left and right exiting Franklin. It would be made into a three-way stop. The second location is at the intersection with Payne Avenue, where there is an existing sign exiting Payne but none on Babbitt. He said there are vehicles that park along Payne which contribute to the sight problem, but parking is limited. 

“By putting in a stop sign,” said Wynn, “state law is that you can’t park within 20 feet of that stop sign, so it would create a 20-foot no parking area, and also require vehicles would be driving very slowly in that area because they’d need to stop at the stop sign.” Similarly, at the third location, the intersection with Glen Avenue, where there is no sign currently, a stop sign would eliminate parking within 20 feet of the intersection. 

“It would definitely improve safety there and minimize the sight distance concerns that exist at those three intersections,” said Wynn. He said he thought more could be done, but he was trying to balance parking inconvenience to drivers with the primary need for safety and improved sight distance. “There is significant pedestrian activity here, particularly when school is in session,” he said, referring to Bedford Hills Elementary School.

Several longtime residents spoke and had specific critiques and recommendations regarding the three locations, and the effectiveness of stop signs as opposed to existing “no parking” signs.

Supervisor Ellen Calves said she would like to try a pilot program with new stop signs to see if they work before making permanent changes to the local law. While everyone seemed to agree that was a good approach, Town Attorney Eric Gordon said he had some legal concerns about implementing a pilot program. The meeting was interrupted for a quick executive session so he could offer legal advice. On resumption of the meeting, the board agreed to try a pilot program but without Wynn’s recommendation for two stop signs at Payne, instead making the No Parking signs more visible at that location.

The public hearing was held open for written comments, with the understanding that a new hearing would be noticed and scheduled for November, and further revisions to the local laws would be considered at the second meeting in October. 

Zoning code change hearing

A planned public hearing regarding administrative changes to the zoning code concerning accessory apartments and cottages was opened, but immediately adjourned. The changes were described by Planning Director Jesica Youngblood as entirely “low impact” and designed to make sure that the text and some of the tables match, to make the zoning code more user friendly, to update errors that have existed for decades, and remove discrepancies. 

“This is something we do as good practice, and also was recommended in our comp plan to do so,” Youngblood said. 

The changes were to have been discussed at the previous night’s Planning Board meeting, but that discussion was not held because of the length of the agenda and inclement weather. Youngblood said the planning board would discuss them at its next meeting. Gordon recommended that they open the hearing, and by then adjourning it to September, the hearing would not need to be re-noticed, and the matter could be discussed then.

Updating natural resources inventory

The town has not updated its natural resources inventory since it was first compiled in 1986. The new comprehensive plan calls for the inventory to be updated to include climate change considerations, consider new critical environmental area designations, and set the basis for new or revised environmental regulations. 

Marina Kubicek, chair of the Conservation Board, asked for approval to apply for a grant from the Hudson River Estuary Program of the state DEC to create a new NRI. She said they are considering two grant application scenarios: one would be a full NRI, including updating the town’s regulatory, wetland and aquifer maps; the other would update only the  wetland and aquifer maps. “In either case, by updating these maps the town would hope to streamline its wetland application process,” Kubicek said.

She said they have been meeting with four different consulting firms regarding the options, with the final decision depending on the budgets for each, and understand that the process costs anywhere from $40,000 to $75,000, with the grant offering anywhere from $10,000 to $75,000. The town is expected to contribute 15% to 30% of the total, so the maximum from the town would be $22,500. 

Unfortunately, said Kubicek, time is of the essence, as the grant application is due Aug. 7, and the board does not meet again until Aug. 5. Conservation board member Simon Skolnik said it had taken this long to make the request because they had originally thought the priority was to digitize existing maps, but consultants had agreed the best approach is to remap rather than digitize.

The board approved making the grant application with a commitment to contribute up to $22,500.

Amending sign ordinance

The board considered a proposal for changes to the sign ordinance regarding temporary or portable signs on private property in residential zones. Calves explained that the current ordinance provides for lawn signs in the town’s right-of-way, but it fails to directly address such signs on residential property. 

Summer intern Katherine Corsello developed a proposal to amend the law to allow residents to display removable signs and display real estate signs in residential zoning districts on residential property in a way that is appropriate for neighborhoods and consistent with the town’s comprehensive plan. The proposal calls for such signs to be limited to up to two, non-illuminated, not exceeding 6-square-feet each, and not to be placed within 10 feet of neighboring lot lines.

Board members made some suggestions about adjusting the specifics, while expressing support for allowing residents to express themselves. Calves made it clear this was just an initial discussion, and that they would later ask the town attorney to draft a possible amendment and schedule a public hearing on the proposal.