Meeting Notes from the March 13, 2024 Community Meeting with
Building Commissioner Damon Amadio and Planning Commissioner Christopher Gomez

Building Commissioner Damon Amadio

Overview of what the department handles:

·       Handles building permits, inspections (electricity, plumbing, elevators, sign, etc), planning of projects, property maintenance, code enforcement.

·       Department enforces state codes. We also have city of White Plains supplemental codes. Typically refer to things we do further than the state code

·       We come to answer questions but we do also canvas the city to look for houses in disarray, trash piled up, sending out violation notices, etc

Q&A with Residents:

Q: Some houses are owned by people who are elderly, and they can’t do some of the necessary maintenance. So are they fined? What is the process there?

A: We want to work with people. We’re not here to be overly punitive. We do have through planning department various programs including social service programs or financial programs to help assist in some respects. Some people qualify for financial assistance through city funding for example. Those residents though have to give permission to allow that assistance whether financial or physical. No one from planning commission can come onto your property without permission anymore than what the mailman can do

We run the gamut with some situations like grass is too high but then some issues are structural issues with real dangers that could occur. Building can be unfit for occupancy and that is part of the team.

Q: Anything going on with former Sears on Main St?

A: Not at this time. It’s a challenging building because of the way it was originally designed. We’ve had inquiries but nothing official or serious based on the work that would have to be done. Right now the work is primarily on the garage

Q: Leaf blowers – landscapers use them year-round. Talked to mayor about this earlier because they are used well beyond the legal window. Any plans to enforce?

A: That’s the underlying problem – by the time someone calls, and someone responds they may be gone. There is a number to call via the parking department that will respond. (Police, Building, DPW, Parking can all respond in these cases.) But unfortunately, the lag time from call to getting there means you miss the person.

Q: Can code enforcement create an issue with the homeowner to follow-up with the landscaper?

A: Ordinance says the landscaper or the homeowner can be fined. But the enforcement folks have to see it. It could be videotaped to show. But do it in a way to not start a confrontation. Would require an affidavit if doing that with video.

Wish I could give you a better response. It should be much shorter than 1 hour.

The phone number is on the website – 914—422-1391

Q: New movie theater?

A: Can’t give you an answer. Good question and we are very hopeful that there will be and that in theory it would go into the vacant space of the old theater

Q: Vacant house on Soundview Ave in extreme disrepair. One near 144 and one at 90.

A: The one at 90 had the owner in court. It was a hoarding situation. House was unfit for occupancy. City was very involved to have it cleaned out. Right now it cannot be occupied and we do not know what the plan is moving forward but the house needs significant upgrades to be livable.

Other house is vacant. A developer was interested in purchasing it but the owner has been difficult to locate. It’s an ongoing conversation. Right now we’re at least making sure lawn gets cut and taxes are being paid on the properties but there isn’t much more that can be done while trying to track down owner.

 Q: What’s your biggest pain point or challenge?

A: Communications. The message is to question authority. Call us. If you’re not sure or confused, just call us. We’re easy to deal with! We’re a small big city, only 10 square miles. So we’re like a small town with big city issues. If you have questions, we will answer them. They don’t go into a black hole.

Whether you’re being advised by a contractor or doing work, we’d rather you call us to check. We’ll help. White Plains government is white glove. We have great staff and we have high expectations. If it’s in the code, we expect it followed. But we’ll talk to you about what to know.

Q: How much time do people have to get up to code?

A: It varies. But if it’s life-threatening, it has to be fixed immediately. If it’s tall grass or chipped paint, more time. But we don’t want to get to a point of blight.

Q: Real Estate Agent Question. Sometimes the houses are 100 years old and the residents have been there 40 years. And we go to sell the house and you find an extra bathroom….

A: Call us. There were things that were permitted back in the day but now those things wouldn’t be permitted. We do know of houses that have locations where the house has portions being occupied that should be (like the attic) so we look to see how long it has been that way and if it still has heat etc and could continue as it is. Goes back to question authority. Please do call to ask. We’ve got good inspectors and we’re open to discuss the issue. I’m not going to tell you what you want to hear but what you need to hear.

Q: There are a lot of co-op buildings in cities and the codes were written at different times as different buildings went up. Is there a push to get all those buildings up to the same code?

A: If a building was built in 1958 and met those requirements in 1958, there’s not much you have to do to improve the building other than basic maintenance and things like smoke detectors, etc. Nothing in our code that says a new 2024 building has this code so we need to make the 1958 building come up to that code. White Plains doesn’t do LEED buildings.

 NOTE: there is an app out there for folks to report things – see something, save something.

Yascara Maldonado walked through OurHomeWP app

Purpose of the app is to give a convenient way to report things to the team to respond quickly, follow-up with the right people, etc The complaints can be anonymous.

When you log in – 3 options. 1 - Understanding code enforcement. 2 - Share housing or neighborhood concern. 3 - Share #WPProud moment.

Website also has a nice explanation of what is Building Dept and DPW. Trying to avoid issues with you calling the wrong department.

Planning Commissioner Christopher Gomez

Comprehensive Plan – it is a long-range plan for guidance not necessary actually changing zoning, etc. The last comprehensive plan was more than 25 years ago

This is not my plan – it’s from mayor and common council. It’s to codify a community vision. So we have to look at how the community is changing and making sure we protect what we want. And this is about more than our 60K residents but also people who work here or come here for recreation.

When One WP process started 2.5 years ago, we realized we were starting from zoning and local laws already in place. And those go back to 1910s which control a lot of those early rules. It relates to equity planning and the legacy of land use planning documents.

Believe in the Mark Twain quote – “I’m in favor of progress; it’s change I don’t like.” This is the response we get often from people reacting to Planning Committee

Work Strengthen Play Live Dream Connect – 6 cores of the 1WP project. WP has 28 neighborhoods within one city – out of many one is the goal. 147 initiatives within those 6 core goals.

OneWhitePlains.com – the draft plan is available there to review. It’s not too late to get your comments to the common council or to city clerk through March 18. It’s not yet set in stone.

Key clarifications to the plan presented to common council at March 4 meeting:

·       General policy recommendations but not local law changes or zoning changes. That requires a larger process plus environmental review etc

·       This isn’t the city or planning commission’s document. It’s from thousands of public comments

·       There was no agenda or preconceived notions going in. But housing affordability was a big issue we heard about. Sometimes it’s subsidized (big A affordability) or other options (small a affordability) to look at different options like multifamily options. Relates to kids who can’t move here because can’t afford to move back where they grew up or people aging in place who can’t afford to stay

·       Not set in stone

Some big areas of concerns we’ve heard are around housing.

WP has 25K housing units. About half are ownership and half are rentals. In ownership, 34% are cost-burden (more than 30% spent on housing) and 11% are serious cost-burden (50% of income spent on housing) just to set the stage. 

Q: In the downtown high-rises, I’ve heard between 8-12% for affordable housing. But if developers have option to buy out that option, what happens?

A: The money from there doesn’t go to city general fund. Affordable Housing Assistance fund is where the buyouts go and it’s been that way since 2001. But some changes with rentals. These needs to be about more than just setting aside units but trying to provide seed money for more units or working on other options.

Where does the money go???

A: On South Lex, working to rebuild those one at a time. It takes a lot of money to build and the city gave $1 million to get those projects over the finish line. That’s also a senior residence being built in the city and some of the money is going to funding those projects. That money is staying in housing projects to benefit larger city housing projects.

It’s a flexibility to provide affordability in different ways.

For example at the Mitchell – some are bought out. Some are going into that fund at $3 million.

Q: Does the plan have provisions for expanding the schools

A: Not for expanding but for working closely with schools. Even with all the new development in WP, enrollment numbers are decreasing as people are having less children or moving here with older children. Have worked in other places and WP is really good about having city and school district working together. The smaller units downtown are not single family homes – so not typically bringing in schoolchildren.

Q: Is there something in the plan for ADU (accessory dwelling units)?

A: 18 of 43 municipalities in Westchester already have laws to do this. WP has been thinking about it.

It’s opportunity with strict controls to do this. Most lots in highlands are 5000 or 7000 sq ft. If you read the plan, in a smaller lot zoning district, it’s very unlikely to allow ADU as separate buildings in backyard. In other neighborhoods with larger lots, then it might work. In 10 years only 1000 ADUs in those 18 municipalities. That’s about 1%. I’m recommending a pilot of this in parts of the city but it’s not a fit for everywhere.

But even as a pilot program, it still can’t be done until zoning laws change and that is a much larger process. But it’s hard to say if half the country has already done it, it’s smart for us to at least look at it.

Q: What other cities do you look at to compare us or to model or benchmark us?

A: We work and compare with Stamford and other places year to here like Yonkers/New Rochelle. But WP is most dynamic city in the council. So we compare with Hoboken or Jersey City or Belleview WA or smaller affluent business districts like in CA (a vibrant downtown but still low taxes). There are also some models in small cities near Chicago. There aren’t a lot of other cities that like us triple their population during the day.

Q: Why are we failing in some ways? Movie theater gone, Galleria gone, some retail leaving?

A: We hope movie theater coming back.

Galleria is less of a city thing and more of a trend on malls. But that could be a great opportunity for real street retail or open space. But looking at what those opportunities could be and to get rid of “the great wall of the galleria”

We’re fortunate that people are willing to invest in it to make it something new and “better.” How do we reknit the urban fabric? Brick and mortar is hard to bring back but it’s a goal if we can figure it out.

Q: There are some places I don’t want to be in WP anymore and going to other places like New Rochelle or Mamaroneck. Downtown nightlife can get rougher

A: WP is unique in that we have a large daytime population with a big office core. Not everyone can be Bronxville. They don’t have a dynamic office life or big nightlife. We need to think that we’re one county or part of the county and that each city can’t be all things (business and nightlife and arts scene). Might be a bit in each of our surrounding communities

Q: When is Galleria project going to be done? Is it a decade?

A: Big topic of next common council meeting. There is a scope of study to look at traffic, transportation, visual impact, water/sewer lines – all going into environmental impact statement. Will take close to a year to do just that part. Then common council can look at changing the zoning. And THEN the next steps to start tearing down and rebuilding.

Q: New grant money

A: Downtown revitalization has been a long goal. We did finally get the money. Local planning committee will look at what to fund and have a call for new projects in the heart of downtown.