Update: Dobbs Officials Hash Out Details of New Zoning Code (Revisited)

The Dobbs Ferry Land Use Committee and Board of Trustees met this week to discuss  the Final Environmental Impact Statement ("FEIS") for revisions to the village zoning code.

At the start of the meeting Mayor Hartley Connett stressed that the work session would focus on four critical issues to the code: site plan approval, floor area ratio (FAR), accessory dwelling units and the requirement for cluster development.

Site Plan Review

Land Use Committee and Board of Trustee members disputed which body should  have the final authority in deciding if a construction plan or building permit should be approved. Currently the code states that the Board of Trustees is responsible for "final review and approval," but the Land Use Committee called for more responsibility.

"The Board of Trustees is apprehensive about giving responsibility to the Planning Board," Trustee Edmund Manley said. "The residents vote for the trustees but not the board."

The Land Use Committee proposed that third party, a technical advisory committee--equally representing each board--should be included in the process. This proposed committee would be involved in reviewing projects before they reached the Planning Board.

Floor Area Ratio

One of the weightier issues discussed at the work session was floor area ratio, or a set of guidelines that can help prevent "out-of-scale development" in residential neighborhoods.

FAR represents the gross floor area of all buildings on a lot divided by the total lot area. These standards would apply to each of the six single-family zones in the Village.

"The problem in question with FAR is to be able to regulate houses without being too restrictive," said Paul Grygiel, an expert consultant from Phillips Preiss Grygiel LLC. "If you define things too tightly, you'll have issues; it's hard to come up with a number."

Each board recognized a that a problem with FAR is that it gives applicants a "yes or no answer" when they need more tools to help them comply with regulations.

Accessory Dwelling Units

A more controversial issue discussed was whether residents should have the right to rental space in a single-family structure.

The Land Use Committee advocated that it would allow people to live in Dobbs Ferry who couldn't afford a house, such as students, and overall it would make housing more affordable. They also added, however, that residents could not change their houses to add rental units and because there is  limit on how many the village can have.

Trustee David Koenigsberg recognized the progressive benefit of rental units, citing that they "generate more revenue for the Village," although others expressed concern with such a project.

"My concern is with new buildings,"Trustee Catherine Kay said. "You don't want to make a two-family house--it should only be allowed for currently-existing homes."

"You're putting more people in the schools and more cars on the street and I don't like it," Manley said. "We need to come up with a definition for what a dwelling unit is."

Required Cluster Development

Residential cluster development--a system of permanently protecting open space,  and important environmental resources in new housing developments, while still providing homeowners with solid housing and  the opportunity to develop their property--was also discussed as a general rule to follow.

 The need need to preserve land came up particularly in the context of construction in Chauncey Park.

"Cluster development requires you to map out open spaces and resources and to direct development in a compact way to that site," said local architectural designer and Land Use Committee member Pat Steinschneider.

The benefits related to using cluster development, as pointed out by the Planning Board, is that it's far less expensive and has much less impact on the environment.

"Our green space is a treasure we have, so lets be more restrictive," said Village resident Ed Plotkin.

The Village  will have one more work session to finalize details, and hope to have the plan solidified by their first meeting in September.