The city of Plattsburgh is in the midst of a process that could lead to zoning changes. A special meeting was held Thursday for the Common Council to receive an update on the zoning code review and its rewrite.
The update project referred to as SmartCode Plattsburgh has been in the works since April 2023. The goal is to streamline and enhance land-use regulations and make them more responsive to community needs and align with the city’s Comprehensive Plan.
During the special meeting, LaBella and Associates Senior Planner and Project Manager Matthew Rogers said the zoning rewrite is based on two documents.
“The Comprehensive Plan, which was recently adopted, the Housing Advisory Report particularly as it relates to housing recommendations, increased density, etc.” noted Rogers. “Also we have the LWRP (Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan)which I know that it’s still on the table but I anticipate that will be adopted shortly as well. That does have zoning aspects that will be rolled into the code as well.
Rogers noted that the city’s housing priorities for the updated code include safe, affordable, accessible and sustainably built homes.
“Utilizing mixed use and maintaining walkable neighborhoods has been a focus of ours and what’s called the missing middle income housing,” Rogers said. “Essentially what that is, is a planning term now that encapsulates the need to provide housing to single family and mid-rise or high rise dense residential. And so that’s duplexes, triplexes, quads, cottage courts, etc., so you’re allowing two-family, three-family etc., as opposed to large apartment structures.”
Rogers explained that they are also reviewing administrative processes.
“We’ve been working on the procedural components of the law,” Rogers said. “Site plan review, we’re working on a two-tiered system now. So opposed to all site plans going to the Planning Board we’re looking at establishing an administrative review process.”
The zoning changes target two areas: the Residential Historic or RH and Low Density Residential or R-1 districts.
Outgoing Democratic Mayor Chris Rosenquest was curious about the consultant’s timeline for a final code revision recommendation.
“At what point are you anticipating having something that is going to be adopted or presented for adoption?” asked Rosenquest.
“We’ll have kind of working drafts in June,” replied Rogers. “It won’t be full code but it will be large sections. A lot of the kind of the meat of the code that we want to release in advance. There’s other aspects of the code that will be released as part of the public review. So working draft in June and then a more formalized draft in July and August.”
Rogers explained that there are still a number of areas to review.
“We’re going to finalize the site plan and historic site regulations,” explained Rogers. “We’re going to complete an analysis and the land use and zoning analysis for the rest of the zoning districts. We’ll finalize the allowable uses. The downtown mixed use design standards, those are in the works. The variance process. Short term rentals. We have not looked at it in terms of what a district should safely allow and then what supplemental regulations are. So we’re going to dig into those.”
A third public workshop on revisions to Plattsburgh’s zoning code is scheduled for April 17th at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
