Planning staff previews Downtown Transit-Oriented Arts District zoning and Library Square mixed-income project

Planning staff briefed the Mount Vernon Planning Board on a proposed Downtown Transit-Oriented Arts (TOD) District text amendment and the related Library Square project, asking the board for review and comment ahead of City Council action.

The briefing matters because the zoning change would reclassify roughly two city blocks where the Library Square project is proposed, allowing a mixed-income housing development that planning staff said will include affordable units, market-rate apartments and an arts component. Planning staff said City Council is expected to adopt the zoning next month and that the applicant would return for site-plan review in a couple of months.

Planning staff said, "They're looking for, well, they're making a referral to the planning board for your review and your comments on the new zoning." The staff described the project area as "like the block that's founded by, First Street, First Avenue, Third Street, and Third Avenue," and said the parcel includes the former YMCA site. On housing, planning staff said, "This will be a mix of it's a it'll be a mixed income building. There will be, affordable units in this building along with market rate, apartments as well, but it will be an apartment building. So it'll be 2 towers that are kind of built above, parking and community space."

Planning staff also said the council recently finished reviewing the project's final environmental impact statement and that a finding statement should be released in about "2 or 3 weeks." Staff characterized the applicant's upcoming presentation as a concept-level review, not a final site plan: the applicant will present the project to solicit feedback before coming back for formal site-plan approval.

Board members raised a procedural question about which agency will have final approving authority. One council member said, "I just scanned the draft legislation, and I was not clear who the approving agency is. At the very end, they had a section called administration." The council member recommended that the legislation explicitly name the approving authority. Planning staff responded, "I think, you know, with the with the, you know, with it being rezoned and doing the text amendment, that that would fall within the city council's purview. So I think that it would be the city council," while noting as-of-right provisions could affect whether review falls to the building department.

Board members and staff also discussed the arts component. Planning staff said the project was originally conceived to include artist lofts but noted that model "hasn't really worked" in other places, citing Peekskill as an example. A board member said the arts element could "give back to the youth," underscoring community interest in how the arts component will be implemented.

Planning staff summarized the near-term timeline: the finding statement from the environmental review should be released in about two to three weeks; City Council adoption of the zoning is expected next month; and the applicant plans to return to the board for site-plan approval in a couple of months. The staff also told the board the item will be the first item on the board's agenda at its next meeting.

Less central items in the same session included a brief scheduling discussion for the board's 2025 calendar and a short status update on a separate item at 420 North concerning exterior lighting and camera plans, which staff said was a continuation and would likely be "pretty open and shut."