Mount Pleasant Adjourns Comprehensive Plan, Form-Based Code Hearing
The Mount Pleasant Town Board last week adjourned the ongoing public hearing on the proposed Comprehensive Plan update and form-based code after Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi indicated officials have received increased feedback from residents.
At the scheduled continuation of the hearing last Tuesday evening, Fulgenzi gave no indication when the process will resume. He also suggested some of the comments from the public have been erroneous.
“The town has received some e-mails, Facebook posts, and unfortunately there is some misinformation that’s been going around that we want to digest before the Town Board makes any decision,” he said. “No decision will be made tonight or in the immediate future.”
A slowly increasing chorus of opponents has been surfacing during recent hearings on the proposed code’s Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS), concerned that the town’s proposal to improve the downtown hamlets of Hawthorne, Thornwood and Valhalla would bring in too much multifamily development. The form-based code has been proposed for the C-NR zones, which are within the hamlets.
Last week, Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce President Tom Milliot told the board that he likes aspects of the code, including the emphasis on design. However, he said he was concerned about the possibility of increased congestion, four-story buildings in the hamlets and whether parking regulations would be changed.
“What I didn’t hear is that the community wanted more people in our town,” Milliot said. “I’m on Elwood Avenue, we have traffic all day long. I think the last thing we want in town is a lot more traffic.”
Fulgenzi explained there would still have to be adequate parking maintained to meet the needs of residents.
The town is grappling with whether to allow three- or four-story maximum building heights in the hamlets and whether topography should play a factor.
“In an area where you have a hill behind you and the fourth story can be stepped back so it’s not as imposing, these are things that have to be worked out,” Fulgenzi said. “Nobody’s approved anything at this point.”
Hawthorne resident Jim Russell returned to the hearing, arguing that there could be significant development, particularly from Thornwood to Hawthorne, if the code is approved. He said under the form-based code, as long as developers were to meet the standards that would be written into the code, they would have free rein to develop.
“It’s not misleading to say that you could have a complete buildout of these areas that are permitted (in the code),” he said.
Fulgenzi and Councilman Thomas Sialiano told Russell that he was whipping up anxiety in the town.
“You’re creating a fear that there are going to be multiple dwellings, everyone is going to be affected,” Sialiano said. “That’s not the purpose of the code. It’s 50 years old, we’re trying to create a new template. We’re trying to move forward. We’re trying to improve the town.”
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
