Residents of Preston Street in the Town of Mamaroneck received good news on Wednesday night, as the Town Council voted unanimously to amend the proposed "No Parking on Preston Street" Law after one resident read letters from her neighbors calling for action.

Those living on Preston Street have noted that in the past year or so, since the Pay Stations were installed at the Larchmont Train station, commuters are parking their cars in such a way that prohibits them from entering or exiting their properties in a safe manner.

To help alleviate the problem, the Council voted to ban parking on the north side of Preston Street on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., and on the south side from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., as a deterrent to an undesirable all-day parking situation.

No parking, period? 

Two residents of Chester and Moran Places appealed to the Council regarding the overcrowding in their area from cars coming from the automobile dealerships on Boston Post Road. The residents explained that the situation was particularly dire in an area where buses that pick up and drop off residents are unable to maneuver on the street. The situation would be even more dangerous if fire trucks and other emergency services vehicles were not able to navigate the congestion, they noted.

While creating a "No Parking" zone was proposed, Town Supervisor Valerie O'Keeffe hesitated without having a precedent set. "I don't think we have any streets in the Town of Mamaroneck that have absolutely no parking at all," she said.

For now, the Council upheld the Traffic Committee's recommendation to prohibit parking at all times on Chester Place between Dillon Road and Moran Place, as well as on the north side of Moran Place, from the corner of Chester Place for a distance of 300 feet.

Mixed-use development to add 10 housing units

Also on Wednesday night, the Town Council accepted an application for mixed-use development in the vicinity of Madison Avenue, Byron Place and Maxwell Avenue, and motioned to declare itself the lead agency for the review.

Under the amendments, the project would increase its number of residential units from 139 to 149. Of those 10 additional units, one more would be designated as an affordable housing unit, bringing the project's total number of affordable rentals to 10.

The increase in the number of overall residences would not add any additional floors to the building (seven are designated for apartments), but the building would now be 4.5 feet wider on the Maxwell Avenue side of the site.

When Town Supervisor Valerie O'Keefe questioned the available parking, pointing out that those extra residences would mean extra visitors and, therefore, more cars, a representative from the firm taking on the project was quick to note that the project had "59 spaces in excess of what is required by zoning."

In addition to assigned parking spaces, the firm, together with an architect, reconfigured the parking garage plans to provide an additional six parking spaces, plus a bicycle rack and storage room.

The matter has been referred to the Planning Board, which will write its recommendations to the Town Board.  Public hearings will be held by both boards, after which time the application will be either approved or denied.

"The process should take about two to three months," said Altieri. 

Update on Gardens' Lake Project

A representative of the Larchmont Gardens' Civic Association came before the Council to request an update on the Gardens' Lake Project. Town Administrator Stephen Altieri noted that while the project had gone out to bid, "the five bids we received were significantly higher than what was budgeted, so we need to go back and do more homework."

In other news

- Altieri was happy to share that the discoloration on the staircase at the Larchmont train station was, in fact, not rust and did not present a safety issue.

- The Town Council approved the appointment of two firefighters, Michael Cassidy and Melissa Brady, to the Town of Mamaroneck Fire Department, each with an annual salary of $32,000.

- Kenan Becic has been appointed as a heavy duty mechanic for the Highway Department at a salary of $48,240. The Council also approved a request for a Hommocks Park Ice Rink ice skate guard at $9 an hour, and a camp office aide at $13 an hour to work in the Recreation Office.

- Councilman David Fishman nominated Zoning Board alternate Robert Viner to be named as a permanent member to replace a member who is resigning. Fishman noted that Mr. Viner's experience serving as an alternate for more than a year qualified him for the job; the Town Council unanimously agreed.

- Rounding out the atmosphere of accordance last night, The Town Council also unanimously agreed to adopt a resolution authorizing the transfer of $40,000 from the unreserved account of the General Fund Townwide to a capital project that will construct safe pedestrian routes on Hommocks Road between the Hommocks apartments and the Hommocks Middle School.