issues with development at cedar knolls

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Over the past decade, Mount Pleasant has experienced a steady pattern of large-scale development, alongside increasing concern from residents about flooding, infrastructure strain, and cumulative impacts. This is not about one project. It is about understanding the broader pattern and its consequences.

The following projects have been approved, constructed, or advanced through the planning process since approximately 2014- present:

• Summit Estates (Hawthorne) – residential subdivision in the watershed above Brady Avenue
• Kensico Preserve (Toll Brothers) – large-scale residential development
• Kingsview Acres Subdivision
• Brightview Senior Living (Grasslands Road)
• Amazon Distribution Facility (Saw Mill River Road)
• 16 Skyline Drive development
• North 60 (proposed large mixed-use project)
• Cedar Knolls (proposed 87-home development)
• Blythedale expansion / development proposals
• Meadows at Briarcliff (proposed development)

This represents a significant increase in development activity, particularly projects that involve, clearing land, adding impervious surfaces, altering natural drainage patterns

In the last decade there has also been a significant increase in flooding events in an area that already was flood prone. Why? Well, it is basic stormwater science and reflected in Town and DEC guidance:

• Natural land absorbs rainfall
• Development replaces that land with roofs, roads, and pavement. This leads to: less infiltration, more runoff, faster-moving water entering drainage systems
• Even with on-site detention systems, these things manage site discharge only and do not fix downstream infrastructure limitations

Mount Pleasant has a history of documented flooding concerns

• The Brady Avenue drainage basin has been identified as constrained since the 1970s
• Engineering reports document: recurring flooding, culvert and infrastructure bottlenecks, limited downstream capacity
• More recently residents report frequent flooding events (multiple times per year), homes have experienced water intrusion and repeated damage. Many homeowners have spent tens of thousands of dollars attempting mitigation
• Following major storms (including 2023), the Town experienced significant flooding impacts, including a state of emergency in parts of Hawthorne
• Local reporting and community accounts have specifically raised concerns that development in higher elevations combined with existing drainage constraints may be contributing to worsening downstream conditions

This area functions as a single connected watershed: Water from higher elevations (including Cedar Knolls and Summit areas) flows downhill through neighborhoods and collects in the Brady Avenue basin. This means that what is built uphill directly affects properties downhill. The cumulative impact is huge.  Each individual project may meet code on its own. But the key question is: What is the cumulative impact of multiple developments on the same drainage system over time?

Concerns that have been raised in the town over the last decade include:  infrastructure not keeping pace with development, lack of full watershed-level analysis, focus on site-by-site compliance rather than system-wide capacity.  The TOWN plays a huge role in this. Development is NOT automatic. Through zoning, SEQRA review, Planning Board approvals, and infrastructure requirements the Town has significant authority to shape, condition, or deny proposals. The current DEIS scoping process is especially important because it determines what impacts will actually be studied before decisions are made.

If key issues - like downstream flooding and cumulative impacts - are not fully included now, they are often never meaningfully addressed later. These development patterns and infrastructure challenges have not appeared overnight. They have emerged over the same general period in which many of these projects were approved and advanced. We are now seeing the cumulative effects of long-term planning decisions. The Cedar Knolls proposal is not happening in a vacuum. It sits at the top of a watershed that already experiences flooding downstream. The key question is not whether development can occur. The question is: Should additional development be approved without first fully understanding and addressing the capacity of the existing system?

Approving development without that understanding risks compounding existing problems that residents are already living with. Raising these concerns is not about opposing development. It is about responsible planning, protecting existing residents, ensuring infrastructure can support growth. This is exactly what public participation and the SEQRA process are designed for.

Let’s show up on Monday!

Planning Board Public Hearing
April 20, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Mount Pleasant Town Hall