Village of Mamaroneck Rejects Plan For Residences at Hampshire

MAMARONECK, NY — The Village of Mamaroneck Planning Board last week outright rejected Hampshire Recreation's proposed residential development intended for empty-nesters at the Hampshire Country Club.

Patch reported in 2018 that the development was expected to include 105 single-family homes and generate some $5.2 million in taxes each year. Developers then said it would also provide housing for residents looking to downsize without leaving the community.

Mamaroneck planning board chair Kathleen Savolt told The Journal News/lohud that the village rejected the 105-house development because Hampshire failed to address potential environmental impacts.

"Some of these impacts may be mitigable by reducing the number of units, but the Applicant has refused to consider a lesser density development, claiming that none of the lesser density alternatives are financially viable," Savolt told the publication.

Savolt isn't alone in her environmental concerns surrounding the project. The Journal News/lohud reports Mamaroneck Coastal Environment Coalition has also been in opposition to the development. Coalition leader Celia Felsher told the publication the board's decision reflects the input of stakeholders.

“The Village of Mamaroneck had everything to lose and little to gain from such a development,” Felsher told the publication in a statement.

David Cooper, a lawyer for Hampshire, said in a statement that a lawsuit against the village is now inevitable.

"Each time Hampshire has attempted to demonstrate how the project design and site plan will address the concerns raised, the facts presented have been met with skepticism and frankly at times, outright disdain,” Cooper, of Zarin & Steinmetz, said.

Dan Pfeffer, a developer of The Residents at Hampshire, said in a statement that more than 1,100 residents of Mamaroneck signed a petition supporting the project, but the village has still "chosen to marginalize these residents, who would benefit from the tax revenue and the jobs this project would create."

"What we asked for and really wanted was feedback from the Board," Pfeffer said, in part. "Unfortunately, the Board is intent on painting us as villains, rather than a landowner proposing a project that would provide not only Hampshire, but the Village residents, with important benefits."

In a statement to Patch, Mamaroneck Mayor Tom Murphy said the rejection is a victory for the village.

"The greater community recognized and the Planning Board confirmed that the huge proposed development in a wetlands was unfeasible and unsafe," Murphy said. "The Community will defend our Zoning laws and the though vetting that our land use Boards gave this proposal. Developers will not dictate to the Village of Mamaroneck anymore!"