YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, NY, June 3, 2011 – Yorktown Supervisor Susan Siegel met with local business leaders Friday morning to discuss a new business revitalization initiative the town is launching aimed at finding new tenants or owners for many of Yorktown’s vacant commercial buildings.
The multi-phase plan, which will be implemented in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce, will include:
“The business community plays a vital role in Yorktown,” Siegel said. “In addition to the convenience of providing local goods and services to our residents, our businesses provide jobs and tax dollars, and greatly contribute to making Yorktown a desirable place to live and shop.”
The Revitalization Plan builds on earlier initiatives the Town put in place in 2010 to expedite the approval process for new commercial developments, including bringing the applicant’s development team and town staff together at “kick off” meetings in order to identify the key issues associated with the application.
Major new projects that have benefited from the kick off meetings include Costco, the Creative Living athletic fields project on Route 6, and the Croton Overlook rezoning request for an active senior community off Route 100.
The cornerstone of the Revitalization Plan is the creation, by the town’s Planning Department, of a central database identifying the vacant properties including the size of the parcel, uses allowed based on the current zoning, number of existing parking spaces, whether the parcel is available for sale or lease, and information on how to contact either the owner or leasing agent.
A companion database will include demographic information about Yorktown and the surrounding area and will include population, age, income, education and other demographic information critical to prospective businesses.
The Town Planning Department has already begun building the database.
“Once completed, our plan is to post the database online and link it to other business development sites such as the Chamber of Commerce and the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation, and disseminate it to commercial brokers,” Siegel explained. “The key is getting the information into the right hands.”
Another key component of the Revitalization Plan will be streamlining the approval process, both for new construction and the renovation of existing structures.
“The entire Town Board is committed to working with the business community to expedite the approval process,” Siegel said. “The approval process should not be an adversarial one. We want to adopt a new culture of cooperation in Yorktown.”
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