Council designates lead agency, refers Envision Mount Vernon comprehensive plan for review and schedules public hearing

The Mount Vernon City Council voted on Sept. 24 to designate itself lead agency for the environmental review of the draft Envision Mount Vernon comprehensive plan, and referred the document to city corporation counsel, the city planning board and the Westchester County planning board. The council also scheduled a public hearing on the draft plan.

Why it matters: The comprehensive plan is a guiding document intended to steer the city's development and zoning rewrite over the next decade. The referral and lead-agency designation start the formal environmental-review and public-comment period that will inform a later rewrite of the zoning ordinance.

What the planning commissioner said

Commissioner Rouse (Department of Planning and Community Development) told the council the draft plan reflects more than two years of public outreach — more than 30 events in multiple languages and with varied demographic focus — and that it is intended as a beginning, not an end. "We took a very broad approach to density," Rouse said, explaining that the plan identifies low-, medium- and high-density areas to provide flexibility ahead of a comprehensive zoning-ordinance rewrite. "Most of what we are seeing is that there won't be any changes. But the current zoning that we use... is going out the window," she said, adding that the next step will involve detailed outreach and targeted zoning updates.

Discussion at the meeting

Council members and the commissioner discussed density, accessory dwelling units, and the plan's phased approach. Commissioner Rouse emphasized that the draft does not automatically change current zoning and that specific zoning changes will be subject to a separate public process. "It is not saying that we are getting rid of single-family zoning," she said.

Formal action taken

The council adopted a resolution to designate itself as lead agency for environmental review, referred the plan to the required bodies and set the public hearing. The vote passed on a roll-call vote with council members recorded as "Aye."

Next steps

The referral begins the formal public-comment and environmental-review timeline. Commissioner Rouse said the subsequent rewrite of the zoning ordinance will involve targeted outreach by neighborhood to determine how residents want their specific communities to evolve. The commissioner's office said it will provide times and locations for public hearings and additional outreach in multiple languages.

Ending

Council members urged residents to participate in the public-comment period; the council will hold a public hearing as part of the environmental-review process and will consider formal public input before any zoning changes are proposed.