Town sets hearing on mixed-use zoning plan
Town Board members have set an Oct. 20 public hearing on proposed zoning changes intended to encourage residential projects to include commercial aspects.
The session on the proposed Mixed-Use Floating District will be one of several hearings that begin at 7 p.m. in Town Hall on U.S.
Route 9W and shown live on the town Facebook page.
Under the proposal, the floating zone would be used in the Broadway Commercial District, with a minimum lot size of 20,000 square feet, and the section of the General Commercial District between River Road and Dick Williams Lane, where the minimum lot size would be 43,560 square feet.
Consultants added that a project would not consist of more than two buildings, with one of the buildings having a mixeduse component. Commercial use would be limited to 7,500 square feet in the Broadway Commercial District and 4,500 square feet in the General Commercial District.
Applicants with approved mixed-use projects would be required to have a minimum of 8 residential units per acre in the Broadway Commercial District and allow 1 additional unit for every 5,445 square feet of lot area. The projects would be limited to 80 percent of the lot area.
Officials are seeking to have the zoning amendments be used to restore existing structures that have been abandoned.
“Key elements to consider are existing attractive
architectural character of the neighborhood/district; continuity of building scale and architectural massing; transition to adjacent developments; treatment of the street-level and upper-level architecture detailing; roof forms; rhythm of windows and doors; and, relationship of buildings to public spaces such as streets, plazas, other open space, and public parking,” they wrote.
Projects in the General Commercial District would be required to have at least 6 units per acre and allowed 1 additional unit for every 7,260 square feet of lot area. Projects would be limited to 50 percent of lot areas.
Developers could also get a 20 percent increase in the number of residential units if at least one of the units is reserved for renters that meet eligibility requirements.
A 10 percent increase in the number of units would be allowed if the project incorporates “high quality urban and pedestrian-scaled design elements” that include “attractive architecture that will enhance the surrounding neighborhood, placement of parking lots behind buildings, provisions for pedestrian connections between public sidewalks and parking areas, and public outdoor space adjacent to public sidewalks.”