Politics & Government

Nanuet Residents Share Rezoning Ideas

About 15 Nanuet residents took an abbreviated tour of the hamlet center on Thursday night prior to attending a community meeting on rezoning.  The number of residents more than doubled for the interactive two-hour session at the Nanuet Firehouse led by Clarkstown town planner Joe Simoes and two town planning consultants.

Jim Flynn of the Nanuet Civic Association walked residents around the area near the train station. He pointed out although parking is limited on Main Street there is plenty behind the post office and in the adjacent underutilized commuter lot.  Flynn asked them what they thought about building walkways from the lots to Main Street and the Nanuet Mall South. Most considered that a good idea to make more of Nanuet accessible.

Flynn noted the buildings next to and across from the train station are zoned for light industrial office use, which could be changed with rezoning to bring in other uses.

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“It’s not an attractive area,” he acknowledged, explaining that the buildings probably date from when the train line hauled freight and it was convenient for businesses to be nearby.

“We’re still zoned like it was 80 years ago,” Flynn said.

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He spoke about some of the rezoning ideas brought up at previous community meetings such as housing that would appeal to different age groups near the train station with commercial/retail space on the ground level and a park.

Flynn asked people to think about Nanuet’s future possibilities.

“The question is to you as a resident what should we do? What does Nanuet lack?”

During the session, the approximately 40 participants included parents with young children, retirees and homeowners with local businesses who had definite ideas about what Nanuet’s hamlet center needs to thrive. Simoes said the timing is ideal for updating the zoning with the Shops At Nanuet opening and the planning to relocate the firehouse.

Simoes said, “We want to cater the zoning down to the street level so it really makes sense.” 

Simoes and Chris Titze and Christopher Lamm of Cambridge Systematics each sat with a group of residents and large maps of the hamlet center, which they marked up with proposed parking, sidewalks, bike paths, parks, housing, and other suggestions.

One group shared adjectives describing Nanuet such as busy, overdeveloped, mish-mash, good schools and sense of community.  Common ideas of a cultural center, senior and mixed-use housing, parking, access, sidewalks and more parks came from all the groups.

Simoes said the next step is a meeting with high school students to get their input and then in October all the information will be reviewed to put together a “basic vision” of Nanuet’s hamlet center. That will be shared with residents and business owners to ensure it is what they envision and then will go before the town board. Simoes said updates on the rezoning process will be posted on the town website and participants will be notified by email.

 


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