Town Council Debates Orangetown Commons Request

Attorneys for PB Orangetown, LLC and Orangetown residents questioned the delays in the revived Orangetown Commons Project at Tuesday's regular town board meeting.

They pushed for the town board to approve an adjusted site plan for the project and allow it to move forward.

Orangetown Town Board members pushed back, insisting that they have not been given enough time to review the lengthy packet detailing the modification to the site plan and its potential impact since receiving it the previous week.

"I don't care if you make these demands, Mr. Rossi," Town Councilman Thomas Diviny said, directly addressing one of the residents who spoke during the public comments portion of the meeting. "I'm going to make sure I know what is in here before I vote on it. Don't come in here to me and say, 'I'm going to demand you vote on this in August. That's just not going to happen if we don't get through this. That's just too bad.

"I want this (Orangetown Commons). My wife wants this. But I'm going to make sure this is good for the town and I have all the information before I vote on it."

Supervisor Paul Whalen also responded to pressure on the issue with strong comments.

"All of the special interest groups offering money to different groups to do this or that, this isn't Clarkstown. This isn't Ramapo. This is Orangetown." Whalen said. "We stand on our principles. Everyone gets a fair hearing, but we are not going to be shaken down for anything to let developers or builders put whatever they want on the property."

The modification involves replacing the plan for two retail buildings with a Stop and Shop Supermarket. Attorney Geraldine Tortorella of the White Plains firm Hocherman, Tortorella and Wekstein, LLP spoke on behalf of FB Orangetown, LLC, which is in charge of the Orangetown Commons project. Orangetown Commons would be built at 170 Route 303 in Orangeburg, NY.

"In 2006, this board granted a special permit for a mixed-use of hte spot which included two hotels and two retail buildings," Tortorella said. "In 2008, the planning board finished its review process. Those approvals are still in effect. We have signed the site plan. The project was never constructed because the economy imploded.

"Our client has seen economic conditions rebound and we have now secured a re-commitment from the Marriott Residence Inn for the hotel. And we have obtained a commitment from a major supermarket, Stop and Shop Supermarket."

Tortorella said that her client submitted a request to the town June 28 to amend the special permit to allow the supermarket to be built there.

She claimed that the process is simple. The board will have to re-affirm its place as lead agency and approve the modification.Once her time was up, attorney Kevin Mulhearn of Orangetown took up the argument.

Payment Dispute

Mulhearn addressed a $540,000 payment due to the town relating to the removal of a sewer line from the site. The payment was made in March of 2011. Mulhearn claimed it was not due until FB Orangetown signed the site map, which it did in 2007.

Orangetown Councilman Denis Troy said that the payment was due within 30 days of final site plan approval, so it should have been paid earlier. Supervisor Paul Whalen asked that Mulhearn be given a copy of the letter the town sent in 2007 requesting the payment.

There is also some discussion of whether or not interest is owed, depending on who is right about when the payment was due.

Town complaints

Tortorella and Mulhearn were not alone. They were followed by a series of residents pushing for the project to move forward.

Most of the comments were directed at Whalen.

"You've heard of sizzle without the steak. That should be the motto of this administration," said Allan Ryff of Tappan. "You promised economic development and job creation would be top priorities for your administration.

"It is beyond me, Mr. Supervisor, why you have chosen to keep this project from public view, stonewalling requests from the attorneys. I simply ask you to add this item to the agenda and vote yes or no to the amendment."

Ryff pointed to potential tax revenues of $800,000 annually and how it might go to help the Tappan Library and South Orangetown School District. Ryff, a Republican who is running against Whalen for Supervisor this year, clarified by email that while he supports the project, he was not demanding that it be put on the agenda for July 19.

Whalen said there are factors to consider in addition to finances.

"The office of supervisor is always interested in economic growth, but Orangetown is not for sale," Whalen said. "It has never been for sale. We've always had a conservative approach to make sure all residents are served. We do not want to see others profit at the expense of quality of life. I represent all of the people of Orangetown."

Al Rossi of Orangeburg argued that growth has been to slow, with the exception of the FedEx office complex.

"Why are we not expediting this commercial project?" Rossi said. "Most communities would welcome with open arms a project like Orangetown Commons," Rossi said. "What must happen is for this board to declare itself lead agency and set a public hearing for this minor change."

Councilwoman Nancy Low-Hogan was just one of the board members to insist that the change is not minor at all.

Another reason the board was not ready to put the issue on Tuesday's agenda is simply taking the time to look over the materials submitted by PB Orangetown.

"We got this last Tuesday," Diviny said, holding up a binder. "To say we've tried to stonewall this is deceitful. I got this last week and I'm supposed to vote on it tonight?

"The downtown parking in Pearl River took months. The H Towers took seven or eight months."

Troy said he did not even realize that the hotel had made a commitment again, but added that it was positive news. He doubted that the change in the plan would not impact the traffic in the area.

"We have always had conservative practices in the town," Councilman Michael Maturo said. "We all like the idea of putting something in this location. We understand the economics have changed. It is a lot to review. It does take some time."

The time of year is also an issue. Maturo said he was concerned about putting anything major to a vote over the summer.

"We tend to not put projects like this on the agenda in the summer because so many people are away," Maturo said.

"We have tried not to have public hearings in the summer," Troy said. "Then we are accused of trying to sneak things through.It is also disingenuous to say this is a minor change."

Comments from all involved became heated at times. Gail Raffaele of Tappan, who has been at odds with the board of late and argued for moving forward with Orangetown Commons, shouted comments at Whalen from the back of the room as he was speaking. He told her that she was out of order and went on with the meeting.

Correction: The resident of Tappan who spoke's name is spelled Allan Ryff.