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Downsized Proposal For Market-Rate Golf Course Development Includes A Potential Set Aside for Rentals for First Responders, Financial Contribution for Zukor Park, and Access At Limited Times To Links for County Residents
By Tina Traster
Owners of the Paramount Country Club in New City have scaled back a proposed market-rate housing plan for 36 acres of vacant land it owns adjacent to its golf course and country club.
The conceptual site plan submitted by Dells Inc, which has yet to be submitted to the Town of Clarkstown, pares down the number of housing units from 247 to 230, aiming to make the project more palatable for town officials who will be asked to grant the Mandelbaum family, which owns the 60 Zukor Raod site, zoning changes if the development is to go forward.
Paramount will need zone changes for the residential portion of the parcel, most of which sits on R-160 zoned land that allows one single-family house per four acres. The existing R-160 designation serves to protect and conserve open space, but allows residential building.
Three months ago the applicant submitted a petition for a zone change to the Town of Clarkstown board.
To build its project, the developer asked the town to change the zoning to R-22, which allows for denser residential zoning and options to cluster houses. On Tuesday night, the Clarkstown Town Board voted unanimously to refer the request to the Planning Board for its recommendation on the zone change. Re-mapping (changing the zoning designation) is discretionary with the Town Board; it is not required to act on the petition.
Remapping the parcels from R-160 to R-22 could set a precedent to other developers seeking to develop other large parcels of conservation land.
The plan calls for 128 townhomes, 70 condominiums, 30 golf villas, and two single-family homes.
“We have agreed to agreed to reduce our residential count to 230,” said Steven Lapper, president of Paramount and an advisor on the project. “But we have not yet determined the final count.”
The original plan called for 128 townhouses, 84 condominiums, 33 single-family golf villas and two single-family lots. The proposal would add more than 500 parking spaces to the now-vacant, largely-wooded parcel.
The developer is offering to place a deed restriction on the existing golf course and country club, which covers roughly 65 percent of the 217-acre property. The Paramount Country Club, formerly the private estate of Adolf Zukor, the founder of Paramount Pictures, has long served as an award-winning championship par 70 golf course, tennis and swim club.
Paramount envisions a “Florida-style,” amenity-chocked, market-rate residential housing community that would appeal to an older, possibly retired demographic. Features of the plan include access to amenities such as the golf course, dining, pools, tennis, pickleball and a gym.
“There’s a significant demand for aging-in-place residential development,” said Lapper, “Residents who want to sell larger single-family homes and stay in the community, can’t. The county’s at or near peak. It’s not unique to Rockland but it’s dire.”
The market-rate community will not be age restricted; several of the configurations are large enough for families, while the condos are more suitable for empty nesters.
The proposed two- and four-bedroom ranch-style golf villas, on lots 72’ wide x 120’ deep, will be between 1,700 square feet to 2,800 square feet. Townhouses will range from 1,800 square feet to 3,000 square feet. The one-bedroom condos are slated to be between 750 to 850 square feet, while two bedrooms are between 900 square feet and 1,300 square feet.
The project does not have an affordable housing component, but the developer says it is willing to set aside a yet-to-be-determined number of units to be rented by first responders.
The developers say the project would bring $3 million in annual tax revenues, according to an analysis by Ann Cutignola, Senior Planner at Tim Miller Associates in Cold Spring.
To sweeten the deal, Paramount is floating the notion of opening the golf course “in a limited fashion, at certain times,” to residents. Access would require payment, and the developer has not outlined what times of the day, or during the year, residents could play on the links.
At present, clubhouse members pay a $3,500 initiation fee and $6,000 a year in dues.
Based on preliminary conversations with town officials, Lapper said the developer would consider making a yet-to-be determined financial contribution to improve Zukor Park. None of these plans have been put forward.
Three months ago the applicant submitted a petition for a zone change to the Town of Clarkstown board.
The Clarkstown Town Board is the only entity that has the authority to amend the zoning code and remap the parcel, but it has no obligation to entertain a developer’s request to change the zoning.
When the town board considers a zone change, it passes a local law after holding a public hearing. The change must be in accord with Clarkstown’s Comprehensive Plan, and if it isn’t, an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan must also be passed.
The remapping is subject to and must comply with the state environmental review requirements under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), which requires an initial determination of potential significance of and ongoing consideration for environmental impacts.
Due to the site’s location within 500 feet of a county stream and park, a GML 239 referral would be needed when a formal application is submitted to the Town. A GML 239 referral is a review by the Rockland County Planning Department for compliance with codes and comprehensive plans.
The Livingston, New Jersey-based Mandelbaum family bought the land in 2007 and the golf and country club operation in 2009, according to Lapper. The Mandelbaums are a prominent real estate family who usually partner with developers and financial partners to build their projects. They are also a minority owner of the Minnesota Vikings football team. They do not appear to have any previous development projects in Rockland County.
