This week, the City Council unanimously adopted a package of amendments to our downtown overlay zone (DOZ.)  Two of these amendments are of special note:

First, we established zoning standards for the Echo Bay waterfront, including dimensional and density limits, as well as requirements for public access to the shoreline.  These are critical steps toward the redevelopment of one of New Rochelle’s most exciting — and presently underutilized — sites.  The City looks forward now to the submission of specific plans from our designated developer, Twining Properties.

Second,  we reserved 400 housing units within the DOZ exclusively for condominiums.  Although New Rochelle’s revitalization efforts have been extraordinarily successful thus far, attracting unprecedented investment and growth, all of the new downtown housing created to-date has been rental, and, ideally, we would like to see a balance of housing types.  The rental/ownership mix is primarily a function of market forces and financing, but this amendment will at least prioritize homeownership by removing condos from competition with rental development for the purpose of zoning entitlements.