Resilient Economy

Goal 26. Create a sustainable mix of commercial and residential uses within the hamlets

A ​“sus­tain­able mix of com­mer­cial and res­i­den­tial uses” refers to the bal­ance of both of these uses in the ham­lets so that one sup­ports the oth­er. Increased oppor­tu­ni­ties for hous­ing in the ham­lets would not only pro­vide busi­ness­es with a built-in cus­tomer base, it would also pro­vide res­i­dents with imme­di­ate access to the hamlet’s ameni­ties, ser­vices and trans­porta­tion oppor­tu­ni­ties. Com­mer­cial, retail and busi­ness estab­lish­ments should enable Town res­i­dents to ful­fill their dai­ly needs, and should include the pro­vi­sion of leisure and enter­tain­ment oppor­tu­ni­ties. An analy­sis of devel­op­ment and infill oppor­tu­ni­ties with­in each of the exist­ing ham­lets should be per­formed with con­sid­er­a­tion of envi­ron­men­tal and infra­struc­tur­al con­di­tions and con­straints, com­mu­ni­ty needs and the pub­lic vision as estab­lished in this Com­pre­hen­sive Plan. Exist­ing zon­ing should be exam­ined and revised to bet­ter facil­i­tate the revi­tal­iza­tion of the ham­lets. As part of the revi­tal­iza­tion, addi­tion­al park­ing should be pro­vid­ed in the Chap­paqua ham­let in prox­im­i­ty to busi­ness­es and amenities.

Action 26.1. Analysis of development/infill opportunities

Under­take an analy­sis of development/​infill oppor­tu­ni­ties in the ham­lets con­sis­tent with com­mu­ni­ty needs, pub­lic vision, and envi­ron­men­tal and infra­struc­tur­al con­straints. This analy­sis should deter­mine the net eco­nom­ic ben­e­fits of poten­tial mixed use devel­op­ment and asso­ci­at­ed rev­enue fore­casts of ham­let land use scenarios.

Action 26.2. Review and revise existing zoning regulations

Review and revise exist­ing zon­ing reg­u­la­tions and require­ments or devel­op alter­na­tive zon­ing (i.e. form based zon­ing) to bet­ter allow and encour­age mixed-used devel­op­ment in the ham­lets. This could include revis­ing reg­u­la­tions regard­ing dri­ve­way width, build­ing height, front yard set­backs, and park­ing require­ments and asso­ci­at­ed ease­ments, among oth­er reg­u­la­tions. Zon­ing around the Chap­paqua train sta­tion should encour­age a high­er lev­el of tran­sit-ori­ent­ed development.

Action 26.3. Smart growth principles

Revise zon­ing and design stan­dards to include appro­pri­ate smart growth prin­ci­ples (e.g. LEED-ND) to encour­age sus­tain­able devel­op­ment in ham­let areas.

Action 26.4. Explore opportunities to diversify retail mix

Explore oppor­tu­ni­ties to diver­si­fy retail mix in ham­lets and pro­vide a wide range of goods and ser­vices. This may include the re-exam­i­na­tion of Town code and pre­vi­ous res­o­lu­tions regard­ing restric­tions on cer­tain com­mon busi­ness types or the rep­e­ti­tion of busi­ness types.

Action 26.5. Examine existing industrial zoned property

Exam­ine exist­ing indus­tri­al zoned prop­er­ty to deter­mine the best use of prop­er­ty con­sis­tent with the sur­round­ing area in the case that prop­er­ties become avail­able for future development.

Action 26.6. Economic Development Unit

Con­sid­er the cre­ation of an Eco­nom­ic Devel­op­ment Unit to facil­i­tate imple­men­ta­tion of the pre­ferred infill devel­op­ment sce­nario, assist prop­er­ty own­ers, and sup­port local busi­ness community.

Action 26.7. Effects of e-commerce on hamlet businesses

Exam­ine the impacts of and devel­op imple­men­ta­tion strate­gies regard­ing the effects of e‑commerce on ham­let busi­ness­es and the need to repo­si­tion the ham­lets as destinations.

Goal 27. Create vibrant and walkable mixed-use areas in the hamlets that are well connected to public transit

Ham­let streetscapes should be designed for use by and catered towards pedes­tri­ans to encour­age gath­er­ing, inter­act­ing and shop patron­age. The ham­lets should be made as walk­a­ble as pos­si­ble and streetscapes should favor walk­ing over dri­ving. To do this, smart growth prin­ci­ples should be includ­ed in the devel­op­ment of ham­let design guide­lines. The Town should com­plete cap­i­tal improve­ment projects or devel­op design stan­dards that would enhance the pedes­tri­an expe­ri­ence and walk­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties between the major pub­lic trans­porta­tion ameni­ties (i.e. Metro North, the North Coun­ty Trail­way) and the com­mer­cial cen­ters of each ham­let. These ​“pedes­tri­an prom­e­nades” should fea­ture green­ery and wel­com­ing open space. The Town should also explore oppor­tu­ni­ties to beau­ti­fy and enhance the com­fort of bus stops. The Town should also exam­ine oppor­tu­ni­ties to revi­tal­ize or rezone mid-King Street and Sta­tion Place so as to bet­ter con­nect the com­mer­cial nodes in the Chap­paqua and Mill­wood ham­lets and the mixed-use com­mer­cial and res­i­den­tial uses at Chap­paqua Crossing.

Action 27.1. Smart growth principles

Include smart growth prin­ci­ples in the devel­op­ment of ham­let design guide­lines to cre­ate an active pedes­tri­an environment.

Action 27.2. Pedestrian connections

Devel­op design stan­dards or com­plete cap­i­tal improve­ments to bet­ter facil­i­tate pedes­tri­an con­nec­tions to and from the com­mer­cial areas and the major trans­porta­tion ameni­ties in each ham­let (i.e. the North Coun­ty Trail­way in Mill­wood and the train sta­tion in Chappaqua).

Action 27.3. Bicycle parking areas

Explore oppor­tu­ni­ties to devel­op bicy­cle park­ing areas and beau­ti­fy and enhance the com­fort of bus stops.

Action 27.4. Mid-King Street and Station Place

Exam­ine and assess oppor­tu­ni­ties to revi­tal­ize or re-zone mid-King Street and Sta­tion Place to bet­ter con­nect the ham­lets’ com­mer­cial nodes.

Goal 28. Enhance the aesthetic quality of the hamlets

Design guide­lines should be devel­oped for the Chap­paqua ham­let, and the design guide­lines estab­lished for the Mill­wood ham­let in 1993 (and revised in 1999) should be updat­ed, if nec­es­sary. Guide­lines should uti­lize LEED-ND stan­dards or oth­er sus­tain­able design prac­tices for sig­nage, street frontage, win­dows, awnings, build­ing col­or and mate­ri­als, and street archi­tec­ture. In addi­tion, the fea­si­bil­i­ty of cre­at­ing a main­te­nance dis­trict in the ham­lets for both aes­thet­ic and infra­struc­tur­al upkeep should be assessed. 

Action 28.1. Hamlet design guidelines

Devel­op new or revise exist­ing ham­let design guide­lines which pro­mote aes­thet­ic con­ti­nu­ity with­in ham­let areas. Guide­lines should, where appro­pri­ate, uti­lize LEED-ND stan­dards or oth­er sus­tain­able design prac­tices for sig­nage, street frontage, win­dows, awnings, build­ing col­or and mate­ri­als and street architecture.

Action 28.2. Maintenance districts for hamlet infrastructure

Con­duct fea­si­bil­i­ty study for the cre­ation of main­te­nance dis­tricts for ham­let infra­struc­ture (e.g. side­walks, park­ing lots) and sol­id waste management.

Goal 29. Attract, retain and support diverse, local businesses and establishments

The Town should devel­op a coor­di­nat­ed mar­ket­ing cam­paign to pro­mote the ham­lets to poten­tial ten­ants and ven­dors. The Town should engage con­sul­tants to assess the poten­tial impacts of e‑commerce to our ham­let busi­ness­es, pro­vide a strat­e­gy to repo­si­tion our ham­lets as des­ti­na­tions in this new com­pet­i­tive envi­ron­ment, and set a strat­e­gy for imple­men­ta­tion. Exist­ing prop­er­ty own­ers should be pro­vid­ed with infor­ma­tion­al mate­ri­als and guid­ance when look­ing to attract new ten­ants or retro­fit their build­ings. Incen­tives should be cre­at­ed to both attract new, local busi­ness­es and retain those that exist. New busi­ness­es should be pro­vid­ed with a Town ​“Wel­come Pack­age” that includes a warm wel­come mes­sage and impor­tant con­tact infor­ma­tion (e.g. Devel­op­ment Depart­ment, Cham­ber of Com­merce, neigh­bor­ing busi­ness­es). As renew­able ener­gy, ener­gy effi­cien­cy and green infra­struc­ture indus­tries and busi­ness­es grow in the region, the Town should con­sid­er attract­ing these and oth­er busi­ness­es to the hamlets.

Action 29.1. ​Offer land use guidance

Offer land use guid­ance to prop­er­ty own­ers seek­ing to expand or change busi­ness­es through meet­ings and edu­ca­tion­al materials.

Action 29.2. Attract local business

Cre­ate incen­tives to retain exist­ing and attract new, local busi­ness­es that meet the needs of the community.

Action 29.3. Pursue green business

Proac­tive­ly pur­sue the loca­tion of green busi­ness (i.e. ener­gy effi­cien­cy firms, solar pan­el providers) in the hamlets.

Action 29.4. New business welcome package

Work with the Cham­ber of Com­merce to pro­vide new busi­ness­es with a ​“Wel­come Pack­age” that includes a warm wel­come mes­sage and impor­tant con­tact information.

Action 29.5. Marketing campaign to promote hamlets

Orga­nize a coor­di­nat­ed mar­ket­ing cam­paign to pro­mote ham­lets to poten­tial tenants.

Action 29.6. Business Improvement District

Ana­lyze fea­si­bil­i­ty of Busi­ness Improve­ment District.

Action 29.7. Green infrastructure and renewable energy

Pro­mote invest­ment in green infra­struc­ture and renew­able ener­gy install­ments by retail build­ing own­ers in the ham­lets. Facil­i­tate the use of PACE financ­ing through Chap­ter 63: Ener­gy NY Financ­ing of the Town Code.

Goal 30. Stimulate patronage and activity in the hamlets and at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center (Wallace Auditorium)

The Town should form a task force that works with exist­ing com­mu­ni­ty groups (e.g. Art Under the Bridge) to devel­op events that show­case the Town’s unique char­ac­ter and stim­u­late patron­age of local busi­ness­es. Par­tic­u­lar atten­tion should be giv­en to sched­ul­ing recre­ation­al pro­gram­ming in and near the ham­lets on nights and week­ends. The Town should work with local busi­ness­es and the Cham­ber of Com­merce to pro­mote busi­ness hours which com­ple­ment recre­ation­al activ­i­ties and Town-spon­sored events.

Action 30.1. Form civic activity task force

Form civic activ­i­ty task force or task exist­ing groups with devel­op­ing events and activ­i­ties that show­case the Town’s unique char­ac­ter and encour­age arts and cul­ture, as well as stim­u­late patron­age of local businesses.

Action 30.2. Recreational programming near the hamlet

Sup­port Recre­ation and Parks Commission’s efforts to sched­ule recre­ation­al pro­gram­ming near the ham­lets on nights and week­ends to stim­u­late patron­age of local businesses.

Action 30.3. Promote the Wallace Auditorium

Pro­mote the Wal­lace Audi­to­ri­um as a region­al enter­tain­ment venue for arts and cul­ture and to stim­u­late patron­age of local busi­ness­es in the hamlets.

Action 30.4. Work with local businesses and the Chamber

Work with local busi­ness­es and the Cham­ber to pro­mote busi­ness hours which com­ple­ment recre­ation­al activ­i­ties and Town-spon­sored events.

Goal 31. Promote complementary development between the hamlets

To ensure that the Chap­paqua and Mill­wood Ham­lets thrive indi­vid­u­al­ly while com­ple­ment­ing one anoth­er, the Town should inves­ti­gate oppor­tu­ni­ties to devel­op pub­lic tran­sit con­nec­tions between the two ham­lets. The Town should also encour­age busi­ness­es to offer con­sumer ben­e­fits by part­ner­ing with busi­ness­es from oth­er hamlets.

Action 31.1. Public transit connections

Inves­ti­gate oppor­tu­ni­ties to devel­op pub­lic tran­sit con­nec­tions among the two hamlets.

Action 31.2. Business partnering

Encour­age busi­ness­es to offer con­sumer ben­e­fits by part­ner­ing with busi­ness­es from each of the two hamlets.