The Commissioner — Winter 2007

Commission Profile

Built Out in Yorktown

Town of Yorktown Planning Board

"Our job is to administer the town code and strive, wherever we can, for development that's sustainable," says John Flynn, vice chair of the Town of Yorktown (New York) Planning Board. In a town that is nearly built out, the planning board not only must consider development within its boundaries but look at ways to mitigate situations that stem from actions in nearby communities.

The town's comprehensive plan, updated over a three-year period and approved in October 2005, guides the planning board's decision making, says board chair Dave Klaus. "We uphold the comprehensive plan and what it calls for, making sure that the development that goes in is a good deal for the town — nicely sized and aesthetically pleasing," he says.

The planning commission spent a year rezoning land in accordance with the plan. "This past October we did the final rezones," says John Tegeder, the town's planning director. The rezonings, he says, have further restricted development in this New York City bedroom community of 37,000 people.

Yorktown's Planning Board is composed of five members and one alternate. The alternate attends all meetings and develops the same knowledge base on each application as the rest of the members, says Tegeder. The alternate fills in when a member is absent or if a member must recuse himself from a particular vote. Each board member serves a five-year term. There are no term limits. Planning board members are appointed by the town board in conjunction with the town supervisor. Many planning board members have served on other town panels. Klaus spent several years on the conservation board, while Flynn served on the zoning board. "I could never have come directly onto the planning board without my experience on zoning," he says.

Both men agree that panels — including the advisory board on architecture and community appearance, the advisory committee on open space, and the landmarks preservation board — are important steppingstones to the planning board. "These boards provide a great opportunity to learn about the town and give members a chance to get their feet wet and develop an area of expertise," says Klaus.

While planning board members receive much of their training on the job, they also attend an annual program sponsored by the Westchester Municipal Planning Federation and Pace University. "We cover land use issues, review case studies, and attend roundtables on planning and zoning. It's a fairly intensive four nights of classes," says Klaus.

Yorktown's planning board meets twice a month on a Monday, first for a meeting and later for a work session. The Friday before, board members receive notebooks containing an agenda and background information. Klaus generally spends a couple of hours reviewing the documentation, "though a large EIS alone can require several hours," he says.

The board members conduct site visits on the Sunday before each regular monthly meeting on an as-needed basis. "It helps to actually see the site and visualize the potential impacts," says Klaus.

"Our support role is primarily technical," adds Tegeder. "While we don't formalize recommendations, we do inject some opinion and [the board members] seem to appreciate it. ... Most of the time our opinion is given verbally, at a meeting, when the applicant is also there."

While Yorktown's planning department is small, Dave Klaus says "The planners are very good, very sharp. They filter and analyze a lot of the stuff we get. We're a much better prepared board because of their efforts."

Tegeder defines the relationship between the planning department and the board as "close and informal." But he adds: "This is a pretty sophisticated board so they don't always go along with our opinions."

Proactive Planning

"We're very proactive, especially when looking at traffic," says John Tegeder. "We're making an even greater effort to ensure that development fits with the comprehensive plan and that, when it comes to traffic, developers mitigate to the extent possible."

While traffic congestion is the most pressing issue in this Westchester County community, the planning board can only do so much. "Towns around us are developing quite a bit and the traffic impacts affect us," says Dave Klaus. "Solving these issues is a challenge."

Limiting cul de sacs and maximizing connections are among the steps the planning board has taken to deal with traffic problems within the town. "We're also trying to do a better job with run-of-the-mill things like turning lanes and signaling," says Tegeder.

"We import a lot of traffic congestion," adds John Flynn. "We have lots of people commuting in different directions. Some pass through here heading south to employment centers in the lower part of the county; other people commute to Connecticut."

Regional solutions are needed to help solve Yorktown's traffic issues, according to the planning director. A three-year study — a joint effort between Yorktown, Cortlandt, Peekskill, and the county, state, and federal governments — contains a variety of recommendations that, if funded, could divert traffic from Yorktown by connecting two parkways and eliminate choke points on two heavily traveled east-west roads.

While the study was under way, Yorktown began an update of its comprehensive plan. "The town enacted a building moratorium during that time," says Klaus. "Applicants could still go through the planning process, at least up to the public hearing, with the understanding that they did so at their own peril since the land use might change," he says.

The town ended the moratorium when it adopted the new comprehensive plan. "About that time, there was a slowdown in the housing market and it's not yet picked up," Klaus says.

Environmental planning is another important issue. "We're in the watershed," says Tegeder, "and because New York City does not have a filtration system, it relies on protecting reservoirs. That drives a lot of our environmental work."

Neither Tegeder nor the planning board members foresee major changes within the town. But, they agree that Yorktown's planning approach — which is not only proactive but considers issues from both town and regional perspectives — will promote development that is sustainable and improve quality of life.