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ST. NERSESS ARMENIAN SEMINARY'S APPROVAL IRKS NORTH CASTLE TOWN BOARD'S JOHN CRONIN
The Journal News
http://www.lohud.com/article/20120718/NEWS/307180065/St-Nersess-Armenian-Seminary-s-approval-irks-North-Castle-Town-Board-s-John-Cronin
July 18 2012
ARMONK - The North Castle Town Board's approval of a special-use
permit to an Armenian seminary looking to relocate from New Rochelle
is being called "completely inappropriate" by one Town Board member.
Town Board member John Cronin, who cast last week's lone dissenting
vote, said he thinks his colleagues gave the St. Nersess Armenian
Seminary a free pass because it is a religious group.
"I think it's wrong what happened," Cronin said. "The fact that this
was a religious institution kind of caused them to back away and not
give it the same level of scrutiny that they would have if it was
any other kind of developer."
The 486 Bedford Road facility in Armonk will incorporate about 15
bedrooms and will house the dean's family. That plan is significantly
scaled back from previous incarnations, which hoped to house as many
as 30 to 50 people on a permanent basis.
North Castle Supervisor Howard Arden said he's glad the seminary
downsized its proposal. He voted to approve it because he saw no
"overriding negative," he said.
"It's a legal use in that area. We've always had a policy in our
town of being open to all religious organizations and groups," he
said. "At the end of the day, democracy worked. It came out to be a
better project."
But Cronin said the increased traffic on roads, compounded by the
facility's proximity to busy Byram Hills High School, would create
an unfair burden for the proposed seminary's neighbors.
"How much more traffic do you want to have?" he asked. "This is
going to cause a hardship on the residents of this part of town for
no benefit to the town."
Cronin, who lives near the Bedford Road site, said the area would
get even more congested if a proposed 115-unit condominium complex
that would be about a quarter-mile away from the seminary was approved.
The seminary is at 150 Stratton Road in New Rochelle, but that
facility lacks a "proper" library, classrooms or chapel to train
priests, said Seth Mandelbaum, a partner at McCullough, Goldberger
and Staudt LLP and a lawyer for St. Nersess since 2010.
The proposed seminary is still pending site plan approval from the
North Castle Planning Board, and Mandelbaum said the move from New
Rochelle wouldn't take place for at least a year.
"It's kind of an old building that's very constrained," Mandelbaum
said of the Stratton Road property. "When they found (the Armonk)
location, this just seemed like a perfect place, a very quiet wooded
setting where they could be a little more comfortable in their layout."
The Rev. Daniel Findikyan, the seminary's dean, declined to comment
on the plan and referred comment to the lawyer.
"We're not saying anything about this right now because it's sort
of still in the works, so I've been instructed not to say anything,"
he said.
Mandelbaum said he wasn't sure if the seminary plan had been given
special attention by North Castle officials because of its religious
focus.
"Generally speaking, under New York law, religious institutions have
a special status, as do educational institutions, when requesting
land-use and zoning approvals," he said. "And that's been New York
law for decades."
Cronin said that's not fair.
He likened the seminary to a small apartment complex, which he
predicted his Town Board colleagues would never approve at the Bedford
Road location.
"Because this is a religious institution, they basically put every
consideration aside and give these guys every benefit of the doubt,"
he said. "They're not taxpayers. That doesn't mean they should throw
every consideration out the window."
From: Baghdasarian
The Journal News
http://www.lohud.com/article/20120718/NEWS/307180065/St-Nersess-Armenian-Seminary-s-approval-irks-North-Castle-Town-Board-s-John-Cronin
July 18 2012
ARMONK - The North Castle Town Board's approval of a special-use
permit to an Armenian seminary looking to relocate from New Rochelle
is being called "completely inappropriate" by one Town Board member.
Town Board member John Cronin, who cast last week's lone dissenting
vote, said he thinks his colleagues gave the St. Nersess Armenian
Seminary a free pass because it is a religious group.
"I think it's wrong what happened," Cronin said. "The fact that this
was a religious institution kind of caused them to back away and not
give it the same level of scrutiny that they would have if it was
any other kind of developer."
The 486 Bedford Road facility in Armonk will incorporate about 15
bedrooms and will house the dean's family. That plan is significantly
scaled back from previous incarnations, which hoped to house as many
as 30 to 50 people on a permanent basis.
North Castle Supervisor Howard Arden said he's glad the seminary
downsized its proposal. He voted to approve it because he saw no
"overriding negative," he said.
"It's a legal use in that area. We've always had a policy in our
town of being open to all religious organizations and groups," he
said. "At the end of the day, democracy worked. It came out to be a
better project."
But Cronin said the increased traffic on roads, compounded by the
facility's proximity to busy Byram Hills High School, would create
an unfair burden for the proposed seminary's neighbors.
"How much more traffic do you want to have?" he asked. "This is
going to cause a hardship on the residents of this part of town for
no benefit to the town."
Cronin, who lives near the Bedford Road site, said the area would
get even more congested if a proposed 115-unit condominium complex
that would be about a quarter-mile away from the seminary was approved.
The seminary is at 150 Stratton Road in New Rochelle, but that
facility lacks a "proper" library, classrooms or chapel to train
priests, said Seth Mandelbaum, a partner at McCullough, Goldberger
and Staudt LLP and a lawyer for St. Nersess since 2010.
The proposed seminary is still pending site plan approval from the
North Castle Planning Board, and Mandelbaum said the move from New
Rochelle wouldn't take place for at least a year.
"It's kind of an old building that's very constrained," Mandelbaum
said of the Stratton Road property. "When they found (the Armonk)
location, this just seemed like a perfect place, a very quiet wooded
setting where they could be a little more comfortable in their layout."
The Rev. Daniel Findikyan, the seminary's dean, declined to comment
on the plan and referred comment to the lawyer.
"We're not saying anything about this right now because it's sort
of still in the works, so I've been instructed not to say anything,"
he said.
Mandelbaum said he wasn't sure if the seminary plan had been given
special attention by North Castle officials because of its religious
focus.
"Generally speaking, under New York law, religious institutions have
a special status, as do educational institutions, when requesting
land-use and zoning approvals," he said. "And that's been New York
law for decades."
Cronin said that's not fair.
He likened the seminary to a small apartment complex, which he
predicted his Town Board colleagues would never approve at the Bedford
Road location.
"Because this is a religious institution, they basically put every
consideration aside and give these guys every benefit of the doubt,"
he said. "They're not taxpayers. That doesn't mean they should throw
every consideration out the window."
From: Baghdasarian