After two previous submissions were sent back to the drawing board, an environmental review furthering a sewer project for a controversial development at the Mamaroneck Beach & Yacht Club, MBYC, has been completed, allowing the club’s divisive vision to lurch forward.
A current proposal would upgrade deficient sewer lines on the property and revert a line to run over Otter Creek by creating an additional crossing, as opposed to a previous plan to run a line beneath the waterway.
According to Lisa Rosenshein, the president and co-owner of MBYC, this sewer project is the first step toward seeing the fruition of larger and more contentious renovations that would add a number of residences and amenities to the property on 555 S. Barry Ave.
“The sewer line replacement is a sub-category to the renovations in front of the Planning Board,” she said. “Once that is determined, they can finish up and approve the rest of the project.”
The impetus for the replacement project, according to Allison Stabille—a resident of the neighboring community in Shore Acres and member of advocacy group, Shore Acres Property Owners Association, SAPOA—dates back to a raw sewage leak emanating from a faulty line near Otter Creek on the MBYC grounds in 2013.
During the period, environmental advocacy group Save the Sound detected fecal coliform levels more than 300 times higher than the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s water quality threshold.
As a result of the break and extensive lobbying from SAPOA, MBYC will now be required to renovate sewers on the property before adding additional residences and amenities.
Since the vision for expanding the club’s footprint was first introduced in 2004, MBYC has continued to battle with residents over plans to expand the club’s scope.
As of last year, the Zoning Board of Appeals had already rejected 28 separate appeals from residents who insisted that the club is not zoning compliant, and has been required to fend off lawsuits challenging the club’s impact on the environment.
While current zoning laws prohibit the operation of commercial facilities along Mamaroneck’s waterfront, MBYC has continued to lobby for the addition of a number of seasonal residences, a brand-new recreational facility, and a new and improved yacht club; moves which some residents say fly in the face of current zoning laws.
“[The beach club] finds a little loophole and they drive a Mack truck through it,” said Daniel Natchez, village resident and president of SAPOA. “Why do you have zoning laws if you’re not going to adhere to them?”
Over the course of the project’s review process, it has drawn the ire of residents like those in SAPOA who worry that a proposal will butt against current zoning laws, including the village’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, LWRP, which governs coastal development.
Rosenshein, however, told the Review that MYBC continues to operate within guidelines.
“If you look into the history and the zoning board decisions, there have been multiple times that we’ve been found to be completely zoning compliant,” she said.
Although the club’s proposal is still under review by the Planning Board, its future is uncertain after a memo released in May last year indicated that the club’s current owners were actively seeking to sell the property.
Currently, Rosenshein said that she is looking at a few different options for the club’s future; among them, she told the Review, are selling the property or possibly rebranding the club themselves. “We’re looking into how to make Mamaroneck Beach & Yacht Club more relevant in the future,” she said.
Currently, according to Stabille, the club is being offered for $18 million. A 2015 assessment prices the property at $4 million.
The proposed Barry Avenue sewer system project will now go to public hearing where residents can submit their comments.
