Quaker Ridge Golf Club Meets Their Match at Planning Board Meeting

In another heated exchange concerning safety netting at the Quaker Ridge Golf Club, the Scarsdale Planning Board met on Wednesday night October 27th to consider the club’s application to construct a 60-foot safety net to border two Brittany Close homes.

The issue dates back to 2009 when Brittany Close residents Gail and Leon Behar sought approval to construct their own 40-foot safety net to shield them from flying golf balls hit from the second tee at the Quaker Ridge Golf Club. They complained that during one seven-day stretch, 69 golf balls flew into their yard, preventing them from using their property and pool.

When the Board of Appeals denied them a variance to construct the fence in March 2010 the Behars hired attorney Julius Cohn to take action against the Club. The case was heard in State Supreme Court in White Plains in June 2010 who recommended that the Club construct a 60-foot fence, pending approval from Scarsdale Village. Until a resolution was reached, limitations on the use of the second tee of the Quaker Ridge Golf Club were put in place and they remain in force today.

The Club and Behar were not the only concerned parties. Neighbors from the Brittany Close development expressed their concern about the possibility of a 60-foot structure looming over their carefully planned community.

After the June 24th meeting , the Planning Board decided to hold the matter over until the Club could provide the following:

• Receipt and review of additional information including alternatives to the fence –including trees to provide natural screening coupled with a temporary screening structure
• Scientific data regarding the height of the proposed netting to determine whether or not it would effective
• Continued communication between the applicants and their neighbors to come to an amicable resolution.

At the October 27th meeting, the Club’s attorney and landscape architect proposed a 60-foot high fence, 204 feet in length, rather than the original 169 feet that was on the table at earlier meetings. The Club had decided to extend the length of the fence to shield the Behar’s neighbors to the north and to allow the placement of the fence poles behind existing trees on the neighbor’s property.

The proposed poles were to be 60 feet high and 21 inches in diameter. The applicants also proposed planting a stand of 35 foot Armstrong maple trees on the club side of the fence. These trees grow at a rate of 2 feet per year and would therefore take twelve years to entirely cover the fence on the Quaker Ridge side. The architects advised that the trees be planted on the club side for maximum safety, however this would do little to hide the screen from Brittany close neighbors.

The scientific data revealed that a 60-foot fence would trap 99% of errant golf balls, a 40-foot fence would trap 98% of the balls and a 25-foot net was projected to trap 95% of golf balls.

The President of the Brittany Close Neighborhood Association and a resident attended the meeting to represent the neighborhood. They have the unanimous backing of all the circle residents, excepting the Behars.

Though the neighbors “are sympathetic to the situation (they) should not have to have a 60-foot eyesore and bear the burden on the property values.” The Association President told the Planning Board that they met with the Behars on September 7 and unanimously expressed their reservations about a 60-foot screen. They were told they would be kept in the loop but were surprised that they had not seen any of the photos of the proposed fence until the meeting.

Furthermore, they said, “In the spirit of compromise we agreed to accept plantings that would create a natural barrier. If that were found not to be sufficient we would agree to the screen, not to exceed the height of the Behar’s house. The screen should be removed when golf is not in season and taken down at an agreed upon date or when the trees were sufficiently tall. Brittany Close resident Seth Plattus warned the Board against setting a precedent allowing 60 foot fences in Scarsdale and said that “life involves risk” and the Behar’s don’t need “100% protection from golf balls.”

Addressing the club attorney’s, Beverly Sved, Chair of the Planning Board stated, “I thought it was clear that we asked for various alternatives…one was supposed to be landscaping alone” She asked the Club’s representatives if they had considered a plan that only included natural screening with landscaping, per the Board’s instructions. Referencing the Board’s June instructions for the Club to work toward an amicable resolution, Sved said, “I am floored that they (the neighbors) have not seen this (plans and photos) until this evening.

Village Planner Elizabeth Marrinan questioned why the net was necessary, as the original plans for the subdivision did not stipulate the need for a fence. She asked why the group had not considered plantings on both sides of the property line and a temporary fence until the trees reached a sufficient height.

A discussion ensued of placing the trees on the neighbor’s side, using evergreens rather than deciduous trees, removing the fence when golf is not in season and removing the fence permanently when trees reach a sufficient height.

The Behar’s attorney Julius Cohn made a plea for neighbors to “put aside aesthetics to ensure the safety of the family and allow “Mr. Behar’s wife and children to go outside for a barbeque.”

The Planning Board heard the neighbor's pleas and approved a 40-foot fence supported by poles of reduced diameter.  The club has approval to keep the fence up for five years, providing time for the trees to grow to an adequate size to screen the Behar's yard.