Lennar Could Move Forward Without Foxwood: Two November Meetings Scheduled

By Abby Luby The proposed 102-townhouse development by Lennar may be able to move forward without a property agreement with the adjacent Foxwood Condominiums, raising new questions about the role of the condominium association in the project ’ s future. At the Oct. 26 public hearing on the development, it was revealed that an agreement to transfer a portion of Foxwood property on Campus Drive to Lennar was considered integral to moving the project forward. The deal would require approval from two-thirds of the unit owners in each of Foxwood ’ s three sections. However, in a Nov. 10 letter to the Pleasantville Village Board, Lennar attorney Anthony B. Gioffre asserted that the proposed access arrangement between Lennar and the Foxwood Homeowners Association (FHA) is “not a prerequisite nor is it determinative of the requested rezoning at this stage.” Lennar is seeking to rezone three properties — 1 and 3 Campus Drive and 8 Carey Court — from Campus Office to residential use under the Planned Unit Development (PUD) district. The proposed zoning amendments are subject to approval by the Village Board. Gioffre ’ s letter went further, stating, “Lennar’s proposed development can be fully operational and accommodated without taking ownership of Campus Drive. None of the proposed Campus Drive improvements are essential to accommodate a redevelopment under the PUD District guidelines of Article V.” Article V of the village zoning code governs residential Planned Unit Developments. The letter came one day after Mayor Peter Scherer addressed several contentious issues surrounding the Lennar proposal at Monday night ’ s Village Board meeting. Although Gioffre’s letter was dated the day after the board meeting, Scherer discussed the potential Foxwood agreement and the village ’ s interest in protecting the condominium community. Scherer recalled that when Lennar first approached the village with its development proposal, the developer was advised to speak with Foxwood before proceeding. “That’s a critically important neighborhood for us of 258 homeowners,” Scherer said of the Foxwood community. “And it’s very important what they think especially given the fact that there are a bunch of issues that have concerned Foxwood for a long time, including the fact that a very large commercial building is right there in the middle of Foxwood and has essentially been unused for 20 some odd years. Secondly that building also includes easements though Manville Lane for access.” Scherer said that if the Village Board approved zoning specifically conditioned on the Foxwood agreement, and the agreement ultimately fell through, the zoning approval would not proceed. However, he suggested the development might still move forward through another route. “If Foxwood elected not to proceed with the deal that its board apparently arranged, the project could proceed and go to site plan approval,” Scherer said. He added, “The village board’s position on this is that it is important to us to understand Foxwood’s interest and to protect them for the extent that we can.” Opposition to the proposed townhomes has focused on concerns about overdevelopment and density, increased traffic, inadequate emergency services and the potential impact on the village ’ s character. Scherer also responded to residents who criticized the Village Board ’ s decision to exempt the Lennar proposal from the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). A New York State law passed in May 2026 exempts qualifying housing projects from certain environmental review requirements in an effort to accelerate housing development. “Despite what comments were made at the public hearing we did not act egregiously or irresponsibly,” Scherer said. “To the contrary, we acted just exactly the way the law and the rules require us to act.” The mayor stressed that the SEQRA exemption does not eliminate the village ’s ability to scrutinize Lennar’s proposed development. “It does not mean we don’t have lots of review capacity,” Scherer said. “And lots of review capacity are already in the record and will continue to be in the record about all of the various issues that affect us, the project, the neighborhood, the ecology, our utilities, infrastructure, our schools, etc.” TWO NOVEMBER MEETINGS SCHEDULED The Village Board announced two upcoming work sessions, scheduled for Nov. 23 and Nov. 30, to continue its review of the proposed zoning amendment. Scherer said the meetings would give trustees an opportunity to assess the information and public input already received during the review process. “Folks have been asking how we have received and analyzed and heard all that’s been said to us not only by members of the public but by Lennar itself,” Scherer said. He cautioned that the two sessions would not be public forums for additional discussion. The purpose, he noted, would be “to talk about what we’ve heard, what aspects of it we think are relevant to the conversations we’ve had and from various kinds of information we have from public sources and from others.” Scherer said he understood the issues that have been communicated by residents so far. “There’s a lot of concerns, I get it, a lot of angst,” the mayor remarked. “We feel it too. We’re listening. I encourage everybody to stay tuned.” Although the public hearing has concluded, written comments will be accepted through Nov. 16. Residents may submit comments to [email protected] . Lennar is also expected to submit revised application materials addressing questions and concerns raised by trustees, residents and the village’s professional consultants. If the Village Board ultimately approves the zoning amendment, the project would then advance to the Planning Commission for site plan review. More information on Lennar is on the village website . Abby Luby Abby is a seasoned journalist who has been covering news and feature stories in the region for decades. Since The Examiner’s launch in 2007, she has reported extensively on a broad range of community issues. Read more from Abby’s editor-author bio here. Read Abbys’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/ab-lub2019/