Natural Gas Moratorium Won't Stop Mount Vernon Redevelopment

(Tuesday, March 12, 2019) Mount Vernon officials outlined how they have reorganized the Planning Department to expedite developer applications and inquiries.

“We really want to streamline the process from an idea to a shovel in the ground. We understand that right now it’s a maze and we have been working very closely (with you) to get that solved,” said planning Commissioner Chantelle Okarter.

Reorganization in the Planning Department includes:

• Appointing a liaison to work with applicants to all land-use board to ensure that all issues with applications are resolved before they are delivered to the land-use boards for review.
• Holding pre-application conferences with developers to work out issues with their applications prior to application reviews.
• Monthly subcommittee meetings to respond to developers’ requests for information.
• Offering preliminary feedback to developers if their proposals are missing elements that will be raised by any of the City’s land-use boards.

The Planning Department’s reorganization is the latest effort to advance the redevelopment of long neglected areas like the neighborhood around Metro-North’s Mount Vernon West Station.

The development presentation was partly in response to Con Edison’s natural gas moratorium, which begins March 15. After that date, the utility will not accept applications for new natural gas connections in most of its Westchester service area until the utility can align demand with available supply.

City officials’ efforts to keep redevelopment going include a new focus on promoting the use of fuel oil in residential projects. The use of fuel oil instead of natural gas takes advantage of Mount Vernon’s port, which is already used by fuel oil companies for barge deliveries of fuel.

“My directive to the planning and building departments is to explore as much sustainable energy as we can…but in the meantime, we will require dual-fuel for heat,” said Mayor Thomas, referring to heating systems that can switch back and forth from natural gas to oil or some other fuel.

“We’re not going to stop growing,” said Mayor Thomas. “We’re going to find a way to deal with the interruptible supply of gas that’s coming into the region.”

Mayor Thomas said that New York’s leaders have to ask themselves if they are willing to make energy more expensive, unreliable and inaccessible by blocking pipelines and closing power plants.

“I get very concerned about the status and future of Indian Point. It’s 25 percent of our electricity. It does not contribute to any emissions whatsoever, but it is set to shut down,” said Mayor Thomas. “Where’s the replacement power?”