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Highland Falls board adopts zoning change to allow denser Main Street housing; SEQR clears the way
Summary
After extended public comment and technical debate over several numeric options, the Village Board adopted a local zoning law setting a 750‑square‑foot minimum lot area per dwelling unit for the B1/Main Street district. The board issued a SEQR negative declaration before adopting the law; one trustee recorded a dissent on the environmental finding.
The Village of Highland Falls Board of Trustees voted to adopt a local zoning law setting a minimum lot area of 750 square feet per dwelling unit in the village’s B1 (Main Street) zoning district, the board announced after an extended public hearing and debate.
Supporters at the public hearing said the change is aimed at encouraging adaptive reuse and modest mixed‑use development to revive a largely stagnant Main Street. “By not taking action, things will not stay the same,” said Eric Smith, a village resident and chair of the consolidated planning board, who told the board the planning body had unanimously recommended parts of the draft law. Opponents warned that allowing smaller minimum lot sizes could lead to increased apartment density and higher local taxes for homeowners.
The board first voted to issue a SEQR (environmental) negative declaration for the local law after the village attorney explained that an environmental assessment found no significant adverse impacts from the law itself; Trustee Reimas cast the lone recorded dissent on that SEQR vote. After further trustee discussion about numeric thresholds and procedural steps, the trustees moved and seconded the final adoption. The mayor declared, “The law… passes.”
AOG (a community developer represented at the hearing) and its consultant, Erin Helley, urged the board to pick a number that makes small projects financially viable. Helley told the board that on a 0.5‑acre infill site AOG’s preferred threshold of 850 sq ft would yield roughly 23 units, and that, in the village, “we’re talking about 300 total apartments” as an upper bound for the B1 district — an estimate she said takes parking, three‑story limits and other ‘guardrails’ into account.
Trustees emphasized that the zoning text includes multiple safeguards — parking requirements, minimum apartment sizes and limits on how many efficiencies may be built — and that any individual project still must go through site plan review and SEQR at the project level. The board noted that the SEQR negative declaration applies to the law itself; separate environmental review and planning scrutiny will apply to each proposed development.
Next steps: the board’s adoption updates the village zoning map and opens the door for projects to apply for site plan and special‑use approvals with the planning board and building inspector. Several residents asked the board to ensure clear public notice and to continue monitoring school capacity, water and drainage impacts as projects advance.
