BFJ Planning has worked with the Village of Ossining on a Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Code update between March 2020 and June 2021. The plan has a focus on economic development, zoning code updates, and resilience to sea level rise on the Village’s Hudson River waterfront. The process has also been conducted in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The project team has worked closely with the Village and the Ossining community on a series of online community engagement strategies, from virtual village halls, zoom meetings, and social media. We have gotten great feedback using Social Pinpoint, an online community engagement platform that includes a virtual ideas wall and interactive mapping. 

Zoning code updates include new Form-Based Code Overlays for the Downtown area and the Croton Avenue corridor, in addition to changes to the Village’s Two-family district, as well as setback requirements modifications to the S-75 district. These zoning ideas are intended to encourage more investment in the Village by allowing residential use in the downtown, higher standards of street front and walkability, and removing barriers in transitional neighborhoods that currently limit renovations and development of new housing. 

After incorporating community feedback, BFJ has prepared a full draft of the plan and zoning code updates, which have been adopted by the Board of Trustees, by unanimous vote, in July 2021.