Consultant outlines zoning changes to implement Philmont’s Brownfield Opportunity Area plan

Nan Stolzenberg, the land-use and planning consultant working with the village, told trustees the zoning amendments before them are one part of a broader Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) project funded through a New York State Department of State grant accepted in 2020 and contracted in 2021. She said the code updates were intended to align village zoning with the BOA plan and to advance goals such as waterfront revitalization, historic preservation, affordable housing and climate resilience.

Stolzenberg outlined four main groups of changes: revised purpose statements to reflect sustainability and adaptive reuse; updates to review processes including special-use and site-plan procedures; revised development standards addressing lighting, parking, short-term rentals and telecommunication siting; and form-based standards for the Main Street and Mill Districts to protect village character. "We don't regulate land just for the sake of it. We regulate it to meet certain public goals," she said, adding the edits acknowledge adaptive reuse, resiliency and green-infrastructure approaches.

Stolzenberg said the draft includes zoning-map changes and name updates for certain districts and that handouts with more detail were provided to the board. She emphasized the intent to balance growth with resource protection so new investment on Main Street and in the Mill District fits the village's form and scale. The board confirmed the public hearing will continue next month to allow further questions and formal review.