After receiving approval from the City Planning Commission on Tuesday, Rye Nature Center shared an update on its new proposed driveway entry and visitors center at Wednesday’s Rye City Council meeting.
Christine Siller, executive director of the Friends of Rye Nature Center, received a unanimous “nod” of approval from the council to keep progressing through the planning stages of both projects, and will continue to provide updates as the nature center works to finalize designs.
The City Council is the lead agency for the driveway project under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), and will give the official approval when plans are finalized.
The council referred the application to the Planning Commission, which in turn asked the Conservation Commission/Advisory Council (CC/AC) for its advice. Barton & Loguidice, the engineering firm working on the project, responded to each of the advisory council’s comments and questions last week.
“At our meeting Tuesday, the Planning Commission approved a memo of support for the project to be sent to the City Council,” said Planning Commission Chairman Nick Everett. “The construction plans that will eventually be bid out to contractors are at this point 60 percent complete, so all the points raised by the CC/AC and the Planning Commission will be addressed as the plans move from 60% to 100% completion.”
The driveway entering the 47-acre, city-owned property will begin in an existing, unpaved parking lot off Boston Post Road, located about 500 feet south of the current park entrance. Rye Nature Center said it expects construction to begin in late 2026 or early 2027.
Friends of Rye Nature Center has secured approximately $900,000 in funding to design, permit, and construct the new park entrance.
The proposed new Nature Learning and Visitor Center is expected to cost about $5.9 million. To help cover those costs, Siller shared several sponsored naming opportunities. While the City Council had a lengthy discussion about the process of vetting names on buildings, Mayor Josh Nathan assured Siller it’s something that can be sorted out without putting the donation campaign at risk.
“Let’s give a nod, and we’ll get into the details and hopefully get this narrowed down. Maybe the goal is to get a little more comfortable before the next meeting,” said Nathan, noting that Rye Nature Center is back on the agenda for the Sept. 16 meeting.
According to the slides Siller presented, three naming opportunities have been claimed, pending approval at a later date: the entrance courtyard and gateway ($500,000), the community garden ($250,000), and courtyard benches ($75,000). The highest-priced naming opportunities are the building exterior ($2 million) and the visitors center ($1 million). Gifts of $15,000 or more will also be recognized on donor walls and divided among five different tiers of giving levels.
“The Living Legacy campaign has a total goal of $5.9 million. We’re pleased to report that 58%, approximately $3.4 million, has already been pledged and secured,” Siller said. “That includes $1.3 million in ZBGA (Zoos, Botanical Gardens and Aquaria) grants from New York state and approximately $2.4 million in private commitments. $2.5 million remains to be raised.”
Most of the CC/AC comments were related to minimizing the environmental impact of the new driveway, which will replace the current, more narrow entry that crosses a weakening bridge over the Blind Brook.
In the Nature Center’s previous presentations before the Planning Commission on June 23 and July 16, the replacement of trees was of particular concern. Plans call for the removal of 42 trees, and Siller said Wednesday at least 60 will be planted in their place.
“Planting plans will be reconsidered and updated to include native restoration according to the Rye Nature Center’s Habitat Management Plan,” Barton & Loguidice wrote last week, “including red oak, white oak, shagbark hickory, bitternut hickory, tulip tree, sweetgum, blackgum, red maple, American sycamore, and sugar maple. Final design will include a proposed planting plan exhibiting replacements that are more comparable to ensure that the ecological characteristics and values of the project area remain the same.”
The CC/AC also commented that tree protection zones should be established by a qualified arborist and that new trees planted should be reviewed so they don’t create disturbances within the wetlands.
“Tree protection details, notes and measures will be updated to comply with the ANSI A300 Best Management Practices for tree care, including Management during Site Construction, Soil Management, Root Management, and Tree Risk Assessment references,” Barton & Loguidice responded.
Another question from the Conservation Commission asked how the Nature Center plans to treat the new, 18-foot-wide driveway during ice and snowstorms.
“The City will continue to balance public safety with environmentally responsible winter maintenance practices,” Barton & Loguidice’s letter said, noting that the winding driveway used by school buses, maintenance vehicles, and other Nature Center visitors will require occasional salt and de-icing treatments. “A majority of the stormwater from the driveway surface will enter the open-graded stone below the roadway for storage and infiltration. Any salts that also enter the storage system will settle and deposit within this storage area and will not enter the riparian buffer of Blind Brook.”
Other comments the letter responded to covered topics including soil in the area, the proposed eight to 10 parking spots that will be added alongside the driveway, clarification on floodplain management, and pedestrian accommodations.
Read the full letter and proposal from Barton & Loguidice below:
