TC: After a long struggle with Chester Planning Board and town officials, Yeshiva Toras Chemed on Wednesday night got the go-ahead it needed to build a dormitory and school at the former site of The Inn at Chester.The planning board approved the project contingent on several conditions, including getting the necessary approvals from the county health department and the state department of transportation.

Town engineer Jerry McDonnell and Building inspector Joe Mlcoch stressed the need for notes on the Yeshiva�s site plans that will ensure proper grading of a secondary access road and a swail at the western entrance. They had often expressed concern that the children attending the school be kept safe during construction.

The latest safety concern is the large numbers of students who are beginning to walk the streets of Chester because they have no transportation.

Last week 10 to 15 Hasidic children were reportedly walking along Greycourt Road toward a warehouse owned by another group. Greycourt Road already has numerous pedestrians who live at Camp La Guardia, the 1,001-bed shelter for homeless men owned by New York City.

Planners say this poses a safety hazard for the pedestrians as well as a quality-of-life problem for the residential neighborhood.During the public hearings on the Yeshiva�s construction application, residents had worried that this would happen. The owner had assured the public that the students would be busy studying, and would remain on the premises.

The students, who are about 18 years old, are said to be the top students from a Westchester Yeshiva. They are living in the former motel until the school is completed, which is expected to take about a year.

A few details remain before construction can begin in earnest, such as establishing correct 911 numbers for the several buildings.

Acting Chairman Barry Sloan reminded the owner of a promise to clean up the secondary access with landscaping, as it is presently just a large hole in the stone on the hillside.

The school, which is part of a Hasidic sect know as Farm Family, has been before Chester�s Planning Board many times during the past year. In the last two presentations, by a new owner and with new lawyers, both the applicant and the board worked to satisfy a court settlement that arose when temporary trailers installed at the site were deemed to be in violation of the town�s zoning code.