Orangetown Approves Medium Density Zoning in Blauvelt

Orangetown is considering a rezoning application that could repurpose a long vacant piece of property. During a meeting last week, the town board deliberated on the Hudson Valley’s iCampus building proposal, the decreasing population of Orangetown, and the need for affordable housing, and zoning changes. 

Hudson Valley iCampus presented a preliminary proposal to repurpose Building 140 at the Hudson Valley iCampus for residential use. Years ago, Hudson Valley iCampus proposed to make Building 140 into a hotel, which the board did not approve. They are now back to propose that Building 140 is remade into residential housing. 

Jamie Schwartz, President of Hudson Valley iCampus, reiterated that the office building has been vacant for 12 years. Schwartz hopes to use the property  as additional housing for young professionals in need of housing in Rockland. Patrick Cleary, the Principal of Cleary Consulting, focused on the unsustainable housing prices in the area and how the current site is underutilized. Cleary stated in reference to their plans with Building 140, “How do we make it economically viable? How do we preserve its character? What became obvious was residential housing for the folks that are working on that campus.” 

Cleary proposed that the building would contain mainly studios and one bedroom apartments, with a few two bedroom units. He highlighted the benefits of reduced traffic due to on-campus living, utilizing an already existing building, and a “low school children generation project”, as the main population focus for this housing would be young professionals. The developers currently plan to offer one year leases to prospective tenants.  Schwartz commented that there would be amenities befitting a “nice, modern, new residential building,” but emphasized that it would be “nothing extravagant”.

As of publication, the Hudson Valley iCampus has not filed a formal petition, and there will be several steps that allow for public input, as well as approvals from various boards before any refurbishment or zoning changes would be implemented. 

The main focus of the February 11th meeting was the Town Board’s vote to change the zoning of several parcels in the hamlet of Blauvelt from an R-80 zoning designation to an R-15 zoning designation. R-80 denotes a low-density zone, and a zone change to an R-15 would make these parcels a medium-density zone. This controversial decision was acknowledged by the board, many choosing to share how they understand why residents may be frustrated, but they ultimately believe this decision to be in the best interest of the entire community. 

Supervisor Kenny cited the dramatic 11% decline of Rockland’s youth population, and how this should be a major cause of concern for Orangetown residents. “School’s will start closing. Things will start changing,” she stated. Kenny also stated that the housing created in the last three years came to “…less than .02%”. 

Supervisor Kenny worked quickly to staunch rumors and misinformation. “There is this mantra that this is over development. We need to rely upon data before we start throwing those words around…How is this board supposed to address this problem of a housing shortage when a project with only 13 single family homes in a residential zone faces such objection?”. She emphasized that the board has no legal obligation to accept a zone change, and that she would instead choose to do so because she sees it as being in the best interest of the entire town. 

Councilmember Paul Valentine focused on a desire to have a say in how the property is utilized, stating “We are dictating the way this zoning will be and we are protecting this property for generations to come.” Valentine does not want to leave how this land is used up to chance. 

The vote to change the zoning did pass, which seemed to have mixed reactions from the crowd in the town hall.