Task force begins effort to adapt 1963 rules for current era

The city’s new Zoning Task Force has begun reviewing what should be expected from consultants who will be charged with taking a landuse document from the mid20th century and overhauling it to meet 21st-century needs.

Kingston Mayor Steve Noble told the nine-member panel as its inaugural meeting Monday that efforts to following through on revisions have not gotten off the ground since the city’s comprehensive plan was completed four years ago.

“Only one of those things has so far been implemented, and that was to rewrite the ... code for the Zoning Board [of Appeals] to be able to bring it into compliance with state law and a couple other minor tweaks to the zoning code,” Noble said. “Everything else has pretty much been not done yet.”

The city zoning law was adopted in 1963 and amended over the years to address specific needs.

Noble said the previous effort to update city zoning regulations using the comprehensive plan as a basis focused on such goals as creating more affordable housing, preserving open space, enhancing job opportunities, improving the transportation system, using historic resources for economic development, promoting a commercial “node” in Midtown centered on arts and ethnic diversity, and encouraging waterfront access and tourism along the Rondout Creek

Task force member Tony Argulewicz, who chair the city Zoning Board of Appeals, said the need for an update of land-use rules is obvious in many cases.

Noble said there are “just so many variances requests that have to go through because our zoning code is just so outdated. Many groups have tried, and there have been multiple task forces over the years, but we’ve never been able to get to the level of having a new updated zoning code that actually works.”

Argulewicz said the 1963 regulations do not reflect how economic development is viewed in 2019 and were not written with the need for affordable housing in mind.

Task force members are being asked to review how other small cities have overhauled zoning and develop a request for proposals from consultants who would use the Kingston comprehensive plan’s goals as the basis for new regulations.

Noble said the consultant will conduct public forums before moving forward with drafting any revisions.