The White Plains Common Council on June 10 adopted a resolution registering no objection to a proposed Westchester County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) financing package for a project at 70 Westchester Avenue, a step the city said preserves a developer payment that replaces sales and mortgage tax revenues the city would otherwise waive.

Councilman Martin clarified that the council’s action was not a site‑plan approval or a vote to grant IDA benefits; rather it was a resolution of no objection to an independent action by the Westchester County IDA. "This was not a site plan vote, not any sort of vote approving, or disapproving the project. This was a resolution of no objection to an action of the Westchester County IDA," Martin said.

Martin said the city had two options: object to the IDA action (which could jeopardize project financing) or not object and recover the local share of sales and mortgage recording tax through a payment from the developer. He said not objecting would allow the city to recover “over $1,000,000 in sales tax and over $500,000 in mortgage taxes.”

Councilwoman Jen Puja said she had long pressed for projects to comply with the county’s local labor policies adopted in February 2021 and said the no‑objection resolution could help secure the site’s future development “in a way that benefits our community.”

The resolution (Items 36 and 37 on the agenda) passed as part of the consent agenda by roll call. Council members and staff noted that the county IDA acts independently of the city and that the city’s principal leverage is to object if it believes the community would not be made whole or if other conditions are not met.

Next steps lie with the Westchester County IDA and the developer; council members said the city will continue to seek assurances that projects relying on IDA benefits comply with local labor and community benefit expectations.