Stowe Amazed at “Insensitivity to Properties on Fifth Avenue” by Peggy Godfrey (in the October 19, 2009 issue of the Westchester Herald)
The Fifth Avenue rezoning as part of the North Avenue projected rezoning plan was discussed at the New Rochelle City Council’s October 13, 2009 meeting. Graham Trelstad, consultant representing AKRF, felt the use of landscaping and buffers for residents next to the proposed Fifth Avenue rezoning to four story buildings would be an appropriate way to deal with this problem. Mayor Noam Bramson was “in agreement” with the consultant, and felt without this rezoning the resulting area would be too narrow for development.
Councilman James Stowe was surprised at the comments because the Fifth Avenue properties have non-conforming zoning, and parking is also an issue. The creation of a transitional zone between the businesses and homes was discussed by Councilwoman Marianne Sussman. She felt “zoning per se is not the answer,” but felt this alternative should be presented to Council. Trelstad responded that to respect the area, tiering the height of buildings or setbacks could be used. Sussman replied that it’s not enough just to consider certain setbacks, landscaping and less intensive use, “It’s what will work.”
When Trelstad questioned how development could be facilitated in the area, Stowe responded he was “amazed at the insensitivity to the properties on Fifth Avenue” for four stories to be facing residential homes in the area. Trelstad responded that the transitional treatment Sussman suggested could be addressed through the design, scale and zoning language and create a buffer to the one family residences. When given a choice of removing these Fifth Avenue properties from the North Avenue rezoning plan or showing how a transitional zone would appear, most of the Council wanted the second option to be explored.
Discussing the FAR (floor area ratio), the Mayor said reducing the plan from 3.0 FAR to 2.0 FAR would be a lesser degree of change and not higher than downtown. Trelstad emphasized 2.0 FAR would result in some development but not a significant amount. Only a smaller one story property could add another level. Trelstad added that another story on a building could be used, for example, for outdoor dining on the second floor.
The density bonus as a framework could be used to allow two stories on buildings but Councilman Richard St. Paul felt since going to two stories was a big issue, four stories would be too much. City Manager Chuck Strome said the parking requirements would make the density bonus “impossible,” and an applicant could still come before Council with any zoning proposal. Trelstad claimed for some buildings which occupy 80-90% of their land, three stories would be the highest possible use under a 3.0 FAR. Originally, Strome said up to nine stories was considered but this idea was backed off because of the parking needed. The majority of Council agreed to a 2.0 FAR in the proposal. The revisiting of density at a later date was a concern of Councilman St. Paul, and he suggested pulling North Avenue from Rochelle Place on one side and the overpass on the other from the rezoning proposal. Traffic is a problem already in the area but the present DB zoning is less restrictive than the 2.0 FAR. Councilman Barry Fertel had previously suggested removing parking on North Avenue. It was decided to leave this part of North Avenue out of the report.
Councilman Albert Tarantino, wanting to push development toward downtown, talked about the Burling Lane area for this purpose. Tarantino proposed keeping developers in a designated area. He said “in the future” we may need to build a garage. He added with the status quo there are major traffic issues in the area already and more building will create more traffic. Councilman Lou Trangucci then asked about the D level for traffic service in the area which translates to a 55 second delay. Trelstad answered that “D” was “a worst case scenario,” and with a FAR of 2.0 he could not say how severe the traffic delays would be. Delays of D, E, or F are unacceptable, but he added it would depend on the circumstances. The report will be revised and resubmitted to Council.