Planning a Sustainable Hudson Riverfront

Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow were lucky to see only minor flood damages from Hurricane Sandy, but their impact remains.

The slated River’s Edge development in Sleepy Hollow is on hold as developers must now seek approval for a three-foot leap in height following expanded FEMA flood zones and subsequent insurance requirements.

Striped Bass Restaurant is embroiled in a dispute with its landlord who wants to shut the place down and rebuild higher.

Certainly ranking right up there with traffic, the main issue Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow collectively face is how we will shape our changing waterfronts.

The GM site remains any empty blank slate for our imaginations with no announcement yet of a winning bidder for its huge development.

“Planning Your Sustainable Waterfront” is the topic of an upcoming seminar sponsored by the Historic Hudson River Towns and the Village of Sleepy Hollow to be held at the Sleepy Hollow Senior Center on Elm Street Saturday, April 20.

The half-day program was initially offered to planning and zoning board members who have a four-hour training requirement to fulfill each year, but is now being opened up to the community at large as, said Sleepy Hollow Village Administrator Anthony Giaccio, “I think there will be a lot of interest.”

Of particular focus is “the unique land use issues relating to Hudson River communities in an era of climate change and sea level rise,” says the program literature.

A distinguished panel will include representatives from Pace University Law School and Land Use Center, Scenic Hudson, the Nature Conservancy, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and the Federal Emergency Management Agency talking on topics that include:

• The Top Ten Things You Need to Know About SEQRA (NY State Environmental Quality Review Act)
• Planning a Transit-Oriented Development Project
• The Impact of Climate Change and Sea Level Rise in Building
• Sustainable Waterfront Communities
• Designing Resilient Shorelines and Climate Smart Waterfronts
• The Hudson River Estuary Restoration Initiative: A Primer
• FEMA: The New Advisory Base Flood Elevation Maps

For registration information, contact HHRT at info@hudsonriver.com or call 914-232-6583. Residents from member communities pay $20 for the program, nonmembers $30.

Like us on Facebook  |  Follow us on Twitter  |  Sign up for our newsletter