Proposed zoning law changes get support
The city and county Planning Boards have each given their support to proposed amendments to Kingston's zoning law.
The city and county Planning Boards have each given their support to proposed amendments to Kingston’s zoning law, which include reducing the size of the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The Kingston Planning Board on Monday voted in support of the proposed amendments without recommending any changes, Assistant City Planner Kyla Haber said this week. That joined a letter of support from the Ulster County Planning Board, which was written Sept. 6.
In its letter, the county Planning Board said it supports the amendment to the city’s zoning statue, “which includes provisions that render it compliant with NYS (New York state) planning law, gives the city a path to allowing alternates to serve on the board, sets out the training requirement, and places the tests for both area and use variances directly in the law.” The county board, however, recommended the city’s law also reference the Ulster County Administrative Code, which would provide additional controls on the land use referral process.
The city and county Planning Boards weighed in on the proposed zoning amendments at the request of the Kingston Common Council. The council also sought the opinion of the city’s Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Proposed amendments such as the one being considered by the council must be referred to those three boards. It will then be up to the council to vote on the adoption of the amendment.
The council’s Laws and Rules Committee will hold a public hearing on the proposed zoning changes beginning at 6:30 p.m., Oct. 19 at City Hall, 420 Broadway.
Among the amendments being considered is a move to reduce the size of the Zoning Board of Appeals from seven members to five.
Other changes include creating a process where members of the board can be removed for cause and a process to establish alternate members of the board.
Alternates can be used when a regular member of the board cannot participate on a matter due to a conflict of interest or when a regular member is absent from a meeting, according to the proposed amendment. The proposal states that the mayor could appoint up to three alternates.