KINGSTONIAN REZONING DRAWS QUESTIONS
A public hearing on a request to rezone a portion of the Uptown property where the commercial and residential development known as The Kingstonian is proposed to be built drew questions about how the project fits within the city’s Mixed Use Overlay District, as well as support for the market-rate apartments it would create.
The 13 speakers who addressed the Common Council’s Laws and Rules Committee on Monday evening were divided in their support and opposition of the rezoning request, with some weighing in on the project proposal itself. The rezoning request was made by the developers of The Kingstonian so the entire project could fall within the city’s Mixed Use Overlay District. It will be up to the council to determine whether to approve that change.
Alderwoman Andrea Shaut, D-Ward 9, said aldermen could discuss the rezoning matter at the next meeting of the Laws and Rules Committee, which she chairs, but they would not make a decision on the request until after the state Environmental Quality Review of the project has been completed. That environmental review is being handled by the city’s Planning Board, she said.
The Planning Board has already voted in support of the rezoning, while the city’s Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission has declined to comment on the matter. The rezoning was also referred to the Ulster County Planning Board for feedback.
On Monday, Aug. 19, the city Planning Board will hold its own public hearing on The Kingstonian proposal. That hearing will begin at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall, 420 Broadway.
“The MUOD (Mixed Use Overlay District) zoning law, as I understand it, calls for adaptive reuse of existing buildings and 20 percent affordable housing,” Sarah Wenk said during
the rezoning hearing. “This project does neither. In fact, it does just the opposite.”
She questioned how the Mixed Use Overlay District was applicable to the project and said if it violates the city’s zoning law, it should not be allowed to go forward. If it does not violate the law, the process needs to be made crystal clear for all the concerned parties, Wenk said.
If the rezoning is approved, the 0.313-acre site at the corner of Schwenk Drive and Fair Street Extension would be added to the city’s Mixed Use Overlay District. That land would join a 0.488-acre parcel, owned by The Kingstonian development team, that is already in the zoning district. The two parcels are adjoining, and the developers have proposed revising the lot line between
them as part of The Kingstonian project.
According to the City Code, Mixed Use Overlay Zoning districts have two underlying purposes. One is to adaptively reuse existing commercial and industrial buildings to provide multifamily rental housing, including affordable housing. The other is to encourage mixed-use, mixed-income, pedestrianbased neighborhoods.
Rich Lanzarone was one of the speakers who urged the council to adopt the rezoning request, noting that the city has zoning laws and development guidelines, but cannot do any development itself.
“All across the state there are towns, villages and cities who are crying out for developers to come and invest in their cities, reinvigorate their surroundings,” Lanzarone said. “This is
just one of those opportunities for the city of Kingston. I urge us to take it.”
Jane Eisenberg also urged the council to adopt the rezoning, saying that senior citizens are seeking good housing that offers amenities like an elevator, parking and laundry facilities. She said there has not been any development for middle-class seniors to keep them in Kingston after they decide to downsize from owning their own homes. Eisenberg said there have been affordable housing developments created, which she appreciates, but there needs to be more for the middle class.
The Kingstonian project does not include a proposal for affordable housing, which some critics have decried.
Ted Griese raised questions he hoped the Laws and Rules Committee
would get answers to before voting on the rezoning, including how the Mixed Use Overlay District has been interpreted to apply to The Kingstonian project.
“Does it make sense for the Common Council to grant this rezoning request for a development project that does not adhere to the requirements of the rezoning district in question,” Griese asked. He also questioned what the process would be to allow residential uses in a commercial zone.
First proposed in September 2017, The Kingstonian is to be built on two sites at the corner of Fair and North Front streets, including the location of the city’s former Uptown parking garage. An openair pedestrian plaza would be built over a portion of Fair Street Extension. That
portion of the road, between Schwenk Drive and North Front Street, would be closed to through traffic.
The Kingstonian is to comprise 129 market-rate apartments for rent, 8,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, a 32-room boutique hotel, the pedestrian plaza, a footbridge crossing Schwenk Drive between the new development and Kingston Plaza, and 420 parking spaces, of which at least 250 would be for public use.
The project’s cost is expected to exceed $52 million, more than $46 million of which would come from private funding. The project is to receive $3.8 million from the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant awarded to Kingston by New York state, as well as other government funding.