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Council discusses allowing hotels in Fishkill Creek Development District and reconsidering density cap
Summary
Staff brought early-stage questions about whether to amend the Fishkill Creek Development (FCD) District to allow hotels (currently prohibited) and whether to revisit the district's density cap of 11 units per acre; council asked for comparative analyses and memos before drafting local‑law language.
City staff told the council a developer for 555 South Avenue (an 11‑acre brownfield) is proposing redevelopment that could include a hotel; the FCD zoning currently permits inns and bed‑and‑breakfasts but explicitly prohibits hotels. Staff asked whether the council wanted to pursue a text amendment to allow hotels as a permitted or similar use, with the caveat that allowing a hotel would not automatically approve a project — the site would still require concept‑plan approval and planning‑board review.
Council members raised concerns about scale, site constraints (steep slopes and wetlands), and whether a hotel designation would preclude other uses on the site, noting code language that in some cases limits a hotel site to usual hotel activities. Several council members asked staff to prepare memos with comparisons to other districts, implications for emergency housing, and draft local-law language so the council can consider the matter at a future workshop.
