Who Should Control Future Development in Yorktown?

If you’re concerned about the future of Yorktown, you may want to attend the May 1 Town Board meeting at the in Shrub Oak, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

At the meeting, the Board will hold a public hearing on a proposed change in the zoning code that, if approved, could have far reaching consequences for future development in our community.

The change would give the Town Board the authority to approve site plans for the three major parcels zoned OB (Laboratory/Office): IBM, the Taconic Office Park (formerly Mercy College) on Strang Boulevard, and Contractor’s Register, an office building tucked away off East Main Street in Jefferson Valley. The Planning Board has been the approval authority for this zone since 1994.

While, on the surface, the change may appear innocuous and technical, if it goes into effect, it could set the precedent for other zoning code changes as Supervisor Grace has stated that he’d like to make the Town Board the approval authority for other “major developments.”

It’s somewhat ironic that both supporters and opponents of the proposed change cite “political considerations” as the basis for their positions. One side believes planning decisions should be political; the other side believes the exact opposite.

Supporters of the proposed change argue that decisions on major development projects are political decisions and as such they should be made by the Town’s elected officials, i.e., the Town Board. Only Town Board members, they argue, are accountable to the people. They also believe that Town Board members are “copping out” of making possibly controversial decisions when they pass the buck to the appointed Planning Board.

Opponents see the reverse side of the “political” coin. They argue that it’s the job of our elected officials to set policy, and that includes adopting the Comprehensive Plan, approving zoning changes and adopting land use regulations. Reviewing site plans that conform to those polices is a technical matter, they argue, best left to the Planning Board whose members have the experience and expertise to review technical traffic, drainage, environmental and land use issues. They believe that political considerations, such as an upcoming election, or fulfilling a campaign promise, should not influence technical site plan review decisions.  

There are other peripheral arguments on both sides, but the political issue is the main one. And it’s this argument that should make Tuesday’s public hearing both interesting and important.

What do you think? To what extent should politics play a role in site plan considerations?

If you can’t attend the public hearing, let members of the Town Board know how you feel about this issue.

A special note. Because Tuesday’s meeting will be held at the library, it won’t be broadcast live on Channel 20 (Cablevision) or Channel 33 (Fios), or streamed live on the Town’s website, yorktownny.org. So, if you want to view the meeting, you’ll have to wait until it’s re-broadcast and uploaded to the website.

Also, it won’t be known until the evening of May 1 whether residents who wanted to comment on the proposed law but couldn’t attend the meeting will have an opportunity to do so, either at a reconvened hearing at a future date or by sending in written comments.   

Check with the Town Clerk’s office on Wednesday for an update and whether there’ll be an opportunity to submit additional comments.