REZONING BID AWAITS REVIEW
Aspects of the rezoning request for the proposed mixed-use development were the subject of a Common Council committee’s closed-door session
KINGSTON, N.Y. >> A request to rezone a portion of the Uptown property where the mixed-use development known as The Kingstonian is proposed to be built is still pending the completion of an environmental review, but members of the Common Council’s Laws and Rules Committee met in a closed-door session with their attorney this week to discuss aspects of the request.
The committee held its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, and the only item on the agenda was the rezoning request. Alderwoman Andrea Shaut, who chairs the committee, said the rezoning could not be voted on until after the city Planning Board had made a determination for the project under the State Environmental Quality Review Act.
Shaut, D-Ward 9, said the committee could discuss the matter in anticipation of a determination of environmental significance being issued. She said the committee has received a recommendation on the rezoning request from the Ulster County Planning Board, as well as a response from the developers’ attorney, Michael Moriello.
Council Majority Leader Reynolds Scott-Childress, DWard 3, said he had questions about the assertions Moriello made in his letter, prompting city Assistant Corporation Counsel Daniel Gartenstein to say it would be inappropriate for
lawmakers to discuss the issue in public at this time.
“Our recommendation would be that no comments be made by any of the voting members of the council with regard to this issue pending the final determination by the Planning Board,” Gartenstein said.
The committee ultimately chose to meet in private with its attorney, a session that lasted approximately 45 minutes. No formal action was taken following that meeting.
The developers of The Kingstonian, which would comprise residential and commercial space at North Front and Fair streets in Uptown Kingston, have requested a portion of the involved property be rezoned so the entire project could fall within the city’s Mixed Use Overlay District. If approved, a parcel at 51 Schwenk Drive would be added to the district.
In a Sept. 4 letter, the Ulster County Planning Board wrote that it supports development of the site, but that its recommendations take into account broader issues confronting the city. The letter states the proposed simple map amendment raises concerns well beyond where the boundaries of the Mixed Use Overlay District are shown.
The county Planning Board said the amendment could not be made without the city first clarifying the ability for the Mixed Use Overlay District to have new construction via a special permit. And, if such construction is allowed by special permit, a provision of affordable housing also should apply, the letter
states.
Moriello responded, in part, by saying the county Planning Board “utilized its recommendation in order to examine the city of Kingston Comprehensive Plan while completely misreading the plain meaning of the controlling zoning law recitals.” He said the board also “offers conclusory, speculative and generalized postulations as to what the intent of the Comprehensive Plan is in light of the zoning laws’ purported ‘context.’”
Additionally, Moriello said, the city’s zoning enforcement officer already examined the issues raised and issued a determination “wholly in my client’s favor.”
In addition to the rezoning request, the county Planning Board noted there has been little information provided regarding the project’s economics beyond what the developers have shared.
“It is disquieting that there is little disclosure of the public investment needed to bring the project to fruition,” the letter states. “Clearly, the city is privy to the ‘asks’ that are on the table and should understand the value of the subsidies, in whatever form, that will be necessary for the project to proceed. It would be appropriate as part of the public/private partnership that this project represents that the public understand how much of a role they are being asked to play.”
Earlier this month, the organization KingstonCitizens.org launched a petition calling on the Common Council to make transparent the total amount of public subsidies that would be committed to the project.
The Kingstonian’s cost is expected to exceed $52 million, more than $46 million of which would come from private funding, the developers have said. 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.
In an email this past week, Mayor Steve Noble said he felt the majority of the requests in the petition are reasonable. He said the council and public need to understand all elements of the project, which is unique due to the public-private partnership the city sought in order to redevelop the site of the former Uptown parking garage.
Noble noted the Downtown Revitalization Initiative money would fund only public improvements
and amenities, including costs associated with prepping the site for any potential development, and the establishment of a public park, outdoor civic space and a handicapped-accessible walking bridge.
“Prior to consideration of any PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreements, the developers of The Kingstonian will be asked to disclose all private financing and grant monies secured for the project,” Noble said. He also said any such agreements could not be considered until after the environmental review.
Noble also said the city needs more affordable housing in the community and that he has worked to connect the project’s developers with representatives of state Housing and Community Renewal to review any potential programs that could facilitate the inclusion of affordable housing units.
The Kingstonian, if approved, is to be built on two sites at the corner of Fair and North Front streets. It is to comprise 129 marketrate apartments for rent, 8,000 square feet of restaurant
and retail space, a 32room boutique hotel, a pedestrian plaza, a footbridge crossing Schwenk Drive between the new development and Kingston Plaza, and 420 parking spaces, of which 130 would be reserved for the residents. The remaining parking
spaces would be available for public use.
The open-air 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’s cost is expected to exceed $52 million, more than $46 million of which would come from private funding, the developers have said. 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.