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Zoning board defers decision on Mayflower Avenue multifamily project after neighbors raise density concerns
Summary
The New Rochelle Zoning Board postponed a vote on a proposed multi‑family development (case 322024) on Mayflower Avenue, asking the applicant to return with a reduced unit count after neighbors and a board majority expressed concern about the size of the requested variance tied to the lot‑area‑per‑unit formula.
The New Rochelle Zoning Board on an evening meeting agreed to postpone a vote on case 322024, a proposed multi‑family building on Mayflower Avenue, and asked the developer to return at the board's March meeting with a smaller unit count.
The project team said the proposal has been reduced from its earlier submission and now calls for 24 dwelling units; the applicant and architect described multiple design changes they say lessen impacts on adjacent properties, including upper‑level setbacks, perimeter plantings and a green roof. Opponents and several board members said the relevant issue before the board is the requested variance tied to the city's lot‑area‑per‑dwelling‑unit calculation.
Developer counsel David Locker told the board the project has been in planning for months and that the team reduced the building area by 2,500 square feet and eliminated the need for an FAR variance. “This is not just a serviceable project. It is a beautiful, well thought out design,” Locker said, and the development team highlighted use of brick and stone, underground parking and terraces stepped back 7 to 15 feet to reduce visual impact. Architect Lou DeLeo said the rooftop amenity would be pushed toward the center and set back seven feet around the perimeter and described planned evergreen plantings along the property line.
Opponents, represented by attorney Greg Varian, focused on the percentage deviation from the lot‑area requirement and urged denial. “Although the density of the proposed development has been reduced by 2 dwelling units, the substantiality ... almost 40% deviation from what current zoning permits is simply too much and therefore should be denied,” Varian said. Nearby homeowners and residents raised concerns about neighborhood character, privacy and potential noise from a rooftop amenity.
Board members acknowledged the project’s design changes but said their legal charge is limited to whether the variance requested is within a range of reasonableness. One board member summarized the issue: “All we're talking about is the number of units,” noting that a smaller unit count would change market mix but would not necessarily reduce other impacts. During discussion members suggested a possible compromise number; the applicant indicated they had reduced the proposal from 26 to 24 units and that a further reduction to 22 might be acceptable.
The developer also noted, and board members reminded the public, that even if the zoning board grants any variance, the project would still require full site‑plan review and planning board approvals before construction, including environmental and other planning department reviews.
The zoning board did not take a final vote on the current application and formally deferred the matter to the March meeting so the applicant can consider further unit reductions and return with revised plans.
