By Staff

Jan. 13, 2021: On January 11, the Village of Bronxville Trustees held a public hearing on a Bronxville Affordable Housing Law (Local law #3-2021) and adopted the new law. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the hearing was held by phone. 

The Affordable Housing law requires that, effective Jan 11, 2021, "for all residential developments of 10 or more units, 10% of the total number of units must be affordable housing units." The units can be for purchase or rent. Residential units of 5 to 9 units must have at least one affordable housing unit.  

Residents and other interested parties had the opportunity to comment at the meeting. One caller raised a concern about the new law and said that Bronxville should consider investing in "language immersion" in the Bronxville School rather than affordable housing. Another caller was concerned about the tax implications of the new law and the impact on the school. 

A third caller said that affordability was an issue for senior citizens in the community. Some have lived in Bronxville for many years but are retired and on a fixed income and can no longer afford Bronxville. "It would be beneficial to set a priority on older people," he said.  

A fourth caller talked about how difficult it was for people who had grown up in Bronxville to "come back and plant their roots" and said that "diversity of people of different jobs" was an important issue. 

Several other people attending the meeting spoke in favor of the affordable housing law, including two former Bronxville High School students. "It is so important that kids can interact with people from different backgrounds," said one of the students.  

At the end of the meeting, the Village of Bronxville Trustees adopted the new Affordable Housing Law.

Three amendments to the Village's Zoning Code were also discussed and approved at the meeting. These amendments were focused on tightening up zoning laws to address concerns expressed by residents over the years and during the Village's Comprehensive Plan process. 

The overall goal of the amendments is to preserve the character of the village and existing neighborhoods, particularly in a time when there are extensive renovations, teardowns, and rebuilds. The Board looked at the zoning codes of neighboring towns and found that, in some instances, Bronxville's laws were more lax than these towns.

The three laws that were approved are as follows:

Local Law 1-2021: This law deals with site plan approval for one-family dwellings, demolition standards, and general site plan standards and approval timing.

Local Law 2-2021: This law updates definitions and adjusts dimensional and bulk requirements in one-family residence zones.

Local Law 4-2021: This law deals with building construction notice. 

Photo by A. Warner

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