Planapalooza Looks to Reinvent Port Chester Zoning

About 100 people packed the Caver Center in Port Chester last week to consider some novel development concepts as part of Port Chester’s efforts to overhaul its zoning regulations, according to the Westchester County Business Journal.

Billed as Planapalooza, the presentation was part of a series of events that looked at affordable housing, transportation, open space and waterfront development among issues facing the village’s future. Town Planning & Urban Design Collaborative, a Tennessee-based planning consultant hired by the village of Port Chester to lead an effort to modernize its zoning, ran the session which contemplated different example development schemes for the village.

Some of the visions on display during the presentation included connecting spaces along the Byram riverfront for pedestrians, and bringing parks and mixed-use development with retail and apartments to the village’s train station and downtown.  Other ideas envisioned the area of King Street near the Metro-North station as a gateway to the train station with outdoor dining, fruit stands and a better path to the train station.

The Planapalooza is part of a larger “Plan the Port” initiative from the village. Port Chester budgeted $650,000 last year to fund an update to its zoning.

“The development of our urban centers is key to the economic health of this county,’’ said BCW President and CEO Marsha Gordon. “The Village of Port Chester with its waterfront and easy access has great potential.  It is exciting to see a community dialogue starting on a vision for the village’s future.’’

Work on the new zoning code is expected to begin this summer with more public hearings and the planning department hopes to have a plan before the village Board of Trustees before the end of the year.