Yorktown Overlay Zoning Study Outlines Potential Impacts of New Zoning in Two Business Hamlets Will Not Overburden Community Resources
Public hearing on overlay district legislation set for December 14
A consultant hired by the Yorktown Town Board to study proposed zoning overlay districts for two business hamlets concluded that the proposed zoning would not overburden the town with traffic or additional school children over the next decade.
On Tuesday, representatives of Buckhurst Fish & Jacquemart, a well-known planning consultant, presented the results of their study at a work session of the Town Board. They concluded that enacting overlay-zoning districts in the Yorktown Heights and Lake Osceola hamlets could lead to the development of 457 to 544 housing units over the next decade. The consultants also projected that the development could bring 55-65 new school-age children to Yorktown’s two affected school districts. They noted that both districts have experienced student population declines in the past decade that far exceed the potential number of students generated by projected new development.
Town officials are considering the creation of overlay districts in the Yorktown Heights and Lake Osceola business hamlets with a goal of encouraging creative redevelopment approaches. The overlay zones would allow a greater diversity of permitted uses including residential with the goal of revitalizing specific neighborhoods. The Town Board set a public hearing on the proposed overlay zones for December 14.
“As we consider implementation of the overlay concept, it is important to keep it in context. The retail base that evolved over the decades and has underpinned our hamlets is undergoing major changes that are apparent to all,” said Supervisor Matt Slater. “Yorktown Heights in particular, has seen its shopping centers suffer significant vacancies resulting from the dramatic changes in how and where people shop. Quite simply, to do nothing is not an option. That will only lead to a further decline in our commercial tax base and greater burdens on our residential taxpayers, to say nothing of the negative light it casts over our town as a whole.”
Supervisor Slater said the planning study by BFJ is an important step in quantifying and evaluating the impacts of a revised approach to zoning for the future of the hamlets. “They are a highly qualified firm, and we are pleased to have their assistance as we plan for the future.”
The BFJ Planning study also addressed traffic. They noted that traffic in Yorktown Heights is significantly lower than when the Yorktown Green shopping center was fully occupied. They said proposed residential-retail redevelopment of Yorktown Green will not create the same levels of traffic created by the former Kmart store. In the Lake Osceola hamlet, they projected a 1 to 3 percent increase in traffic trips.
Councilwoman Alice Roker said that the Town Board “went slow with the process because we needed to, but now I am anxious to hear from the public.”
Councilman Ed Lachterman concurred, noting that “the time has come to get the public’s input.”
BFJ Planning has a long history of planning work in Westchester County and the region. Recent projects include updating the City of White Plains’ Comprehensive Plan and assisting the Ossining Village Board in the adoption of a Comprehensive Plan and new form-based code. In the Village of Pleasantville, the firm conducted a zoning study of single-family residential districts to ensure that new homes are consistent with the village’s small-scale character.
