Development Commissioner Salgado Discusses Davenport Neck Zoning at City Council Meeting
By Stephen E. Lipken
New Rochelle Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert convened the September 15th City Council meeting which included Bond Resolutions amounting to $100,000 to finance the rehabilitation and replacement of trees and implementation of the Community Forest Management Plan; $1,510,310 to finance construction of various City roads and streets, including the City-Wide Traffic Calming Program and Complete Streets Improvements at Pinebrook Boulevard, Lincoln and Webster Avenues.
An Ordinance amending Chapter 312, Vehicles and Traffic of the City Code was passed, establishing a School Speed Zone in front of Salesian High School on Main Street.
Other Resolutions encompassed approving the appointment of Carol Ann Jordan to the Board of Ethics, reappointing Caterina Massaregli to the Board of Assessment Review and appointing Councilman Shane A. Osinloye as a Representative of the City Council to the New Rochelle Business Improvement District (BID).
Adam Salgado, Commissioner, Department of Development began discussion of Davenport Neck Zoning. Salgado said that residents representing the Homeowners Association (HOA) raised many issues regarding density, traffic, access, resiliency and treatment of individual properties.
“As a part of that review, we are going to determine in any refinements that are necessary and what those refinements will be to the process. There is no action tonight. We will come back to Council with the zoning recommendations from comments that we heard. The timing of that will really depend on our initial review,” Salgado stated.
Councilman Albert Tarantino added that there were hundreds of people at the September 8th Public Hearing and that 99% were opposed to the project. He indicated that the City went door-to-door, talking to residents, getting input almost from a home-by-home basis.
“One of the things that came out over and over again was concern about higher density toward single residential areas,” Taratino remarked. “Nobody is opposing building on those properties.
I think the concern is about the density area in certain areas. Tarantino recommended that City staff conduct “a robust consultation with the neighborhoods” while considering the proposal.