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Town planner outlines sweeping Chapter 285 zoning updates: new M30 and Tarrytown Road districts, workforce-housing tiers, EV and battery rules
Summary
Commissioner Garrett Duquesne presented the first comprehensive update to Chapter 2-85 zoning for unincorporated Greenburgh, proposing two new districts (M30, TR), expanding the 10% workforce-housing requirement townwide with three AMI tiers, adding EV charging and battery-energy-storage provisions, eliminating the antiquated UR district and launching broad public outreach with adoption not expected before late 2026.
Garrett Duquesne, commissioner of the Department of Community Development and Conservation, presented a prerecorded briefing on proposed Chapter 2-85 zoning and associated map changes for unincorporated Greenburgh. "The focus of this presentation is on the proposed amendments to chapter 2-85...known as the zoning ordinance," Duquesne said, explaining the scope and rationale for the update.
Key proposed changes include the creation of an M30 High-Rise Multifamily District (lot area requirement of 1,500 square feet per unit, up to five stories/60 feet) and a TR (Tarrytown Road) Mixed-Use District to consolidate multiple existing zones in the Route 119 corridor. The amendments would extend an existing 10% workforce-housing set-aside to all zoning districts and replace the single "affordable housing" definition with three workforce tiers capped at 60%, 70% and 80% of area median income (AMI) or a blended average of 65% (examples cited: 80% AMI ~ $136,000 for a family of 4; 70% ~ $119,000; 60% ~ $102,000).
Duquesne also described a new EV-charging section that clarifies thresholds for site-plan or special-permit review and creates an "electric vehicle charging hub" use for larger fast-charging sites, plus modest updates to Battery Energy Storage (BES) rules (slight increase in kWh and cabinet height from 10 to 12 feet). The plan removes the antiquated UR (urban renewal) district and introduces standardized procedural sections to reduce repetition across the nearly 300-page ordinance.
Board members asked whether sections could be adopted piecemeal; Duquesne recommended a deliberate stakeholder outreach plan that includes referrals to the planning board and interested agencies, civic association meetings, targeted property-owner outreach on Route 119 and e-blasts with chapter highlights. He said the process is expected to take months and that adoption was not anticipated before the fourth quarter of 2026.
Several board members supported breaking the package into "bite-size" public hearings for easier public review; others warned that fragmenting the document could undermine the ordinance's comprehensive intent. Duquesne said staff would outline a public-engagement schedule and provide chapter highlights and documents for public review.
The board did not vote on any zoning amendments at the work session; Duquesne asked the town board to declare lead-agency intent and refer the draft to the planning board and other involved agencies as the next formal steps.
