North Broadway Re-Zoning
At our worksession on April 14, my colleagues and I worked on a new draft of the revised zoning for North Broadway. The draft, along with additional background information, is now posted on the Village web site.
By way of history, the Board of Trustees has been considering revisions to the zoning for the larger properties along the east side of North Broadway since June 2019. In updating the Village's Comprehensive Plan, the Comprehensive Plan Committee specifically recommended new uses for these properties, including multi-family housing.
Those properties are currently zoned as single-family residential. The office and institutional uses that currently exist are through special permits and variances granted many years ago. Since July 2020, the Board of Trustees has focused its efforts mainly on eliminating single family housing as a permitted use in favor of multi-family housing. The new uses now include primarily multi-family residential and offices.
The proposed zoning is written to encourage a diversified housing stock, including truly affordable housing. Under the Village’s existing affordable housing law, any multifamily development will have to make at least 10% of its units affordable. Under the proposed zoning, at the discretion of the Board of Trustees, a density bonus can be granted to a development that includes more affordable housing than the minimum required by our current code. Along with supporting affordable housing, the proposed zoning also includes provisions to address the area between truly affordable housing and market rate housing, the moderate income area known as the “Missing Middle”. This is an area of housing that does not qualify for State or Federal subsidies, but there is a great need for it in Irvington, where all recent housing is being built for high income residents. The new zoning provisions include incentives for developers to build more than just market rate housing.
While protecting the open feel of North Broadway, the new zoning draft addresses further diversification of our housing stock and historic preservation, two important goals for our village.
On May 3, 2021 at 7:00 p.m., we will be holding a public hearing on the draft zoning. Please consider attending Monday night’s meeting (on Zoom) or feel free to write to me with any comments or concerns ahead of time. My email address is below.
Be well,
Brian C. Smith, Mayor
Village of Irvington, NY
bsmith@irvingtonny.gov