FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 8, 2021 

Statement from Mayor Noble on Re-Zoning the City of Kingston:  

On Tuesday, April 6, the Common Council passed Resolution 67, authorizing the City of Kingston to hire highly-regarded expert consultants to update the City’s problematic and long-outdated zoning code. Using extensive public engagement over the next 12 to18 months, Dover, Kohl and Partners will create a form-based zoning code for the Common Council to consider for adoption.

The City of Kingston’s zoning code has not been updated since the 1960s, which causes confusion, frustration, litigation and most crucially, red-lining and arbitrary regulation. Form-based code is based upon building form and not building use. Adopting a form-based zoning code will be more equitable, more clear, and will ultimately save the City of Kingston and its taxpayers in lawsuits and related expenses. According to Strong Towns, a form-based zoning code encourages revitalization, promotes affordable housing, helps small businesses, promotes walkability, and preserves a City’s unique sense of place. I firmly believe that updating our zoning codes will spur smart, fair growth for our entire community. 

I want to thank the members of our Zoning Task Force, who worked so diligently to create the RFP and carefully consider each proposal. I would also like to thank the members of the Common Council for taking up this effort again, which was tabled for a year due to the pandemic, and for being willing to take a leadership role alongside me in this important initiative. 

Majority Leader Reynolds Scott-Childress said, “Hiring Dover, Kohl to lead us in transforming our current arcane zoning code could not come at a better time.  As we emerge from the social-distancing required by the Covid crisis, this project will give us a powerful incentive to see each other anew, to forgive our past differences, and to create a truly shared vision for our City’s future.”

Common Council President Andrea Shaut said, “This endeavor is a wonderful opportunity for our community to come together to shape our future. Anybody who has had to navigate the city’s complicated, old, inflexible zoning code understands the need. A form based code will not only simplify and consolidate, it will encourage more involvement with the public in the process. I look forward to working with Dover, Kohl and Partners and highly encourage all residents to be involved in their own capacity. Shaping our community’s future should always be a team effort. Thanks to the zoning task force for their hard work, and for the majority of the Common Council for seeing the importance in a comprehensive solution.”

Director of Housing Initiatives Kevin Corte says, “This rezoning will shape residential and commercial development in Kingston for many years to come. My office will work with Dover, Kohl and Partners to help develop a new zoning code, that attracts market rate development, increases the available housing stock in the city, and helps create truly affordable housing. Today, building a neighborhood that looks like the Rondout or the Stockade is impossible because of 60’s era zoning that mandates excessive parking, makes it illegal to create housing above commercial uses, and prevents buildings from sharing a wall. Some of the city’s greatest blunders, like the destruction of the Old Post Office in 1970 and its replacement with a drive-through may have been avoided with a more forward-thinking zoning code. Working with the community and Dover, Kohl and Partners we can create a code that helps the city grow, and importantly, makes sure no one gets left behind.”