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Parks, Recreation And Open Spaces
Goals:
Maintain Rye's present character of predominantly single family housing surrounded by open space.
Preserve the physical quality and character of Rye's large, old houses and estates.
Protect residential neighborhoods from commercial, industrial and office encroachment.
Provide an opportunity for the development of housing of various types, sizes, and costs to meet the needs of people at various
stages of the life cycle, income, age levels and household composition, without compromising of Rye's single family residential
areas.
Policies:
Maintain to the extent practical the existing housing stock through steps which encourage rehabilitation, exterior maintenance
and increased energy efficiency.
Adopt new zoning with flexible provisions allowing limited multiple family conversion and clustering to encourage the
reservation of large, old homes and lots; particularly those of historic or architectural quality.
Identify areas of substandard housing in the city and create incentives to improve the existing housing or replace it with new
housing or more appropriate uses.
In certain areas of the city, permit accessory dwelling units, two-family housing units and apartments in order to meet societal
commitments to provide adequate dwellings in the city to disadvantaged people, including senior citizens and handicapped
persons.
Maintain ratios of at least twice the number of owner-occupied units, at least twice as many single family units as multiple
dwelling units.
Goal:
Maintain the present quality of the CBD as an attractive, compact, and active local shopping and service center primarily for
the use and convenience of Rye residents, and as a key component of Rye's special community identity and sound fiscal base.
Policies:
Encourage street level retail uses in all buildings on Purchase Street as a means of maintaining the retail continuity of the street
frontage.
Encourage, through a combination of incentives, regulations and public improvements, the continuation and improvement of
retail and service facilities in the CBD.
Permit residential uses in the upper stories of CBD buildings (consistent with fire code requirements) to encourage greater use
of the available space in the CBD and provide housing for senior citizens, young couples, and persons with limited mobility,
Seek to preserve the character and improve the general appearance of CBD through the establishment of deign standards and
incentives to guide exterior renovations, signs, landscaping, access walks, etc., and through the encouragement of high
standards of upkeep for all CBD stores, shops and buildings --- both front and rear, and through the maintenance of public
ways.
Improve the parking facilities in the CBD at the railroad station for the convenience of Rye residents, but not to encourage a
major expansion of the CBD.
Assure that the CBD is easily accessible to Rye resents with good traffic flow and ample short term parking.
Goal:
Maintain the city's existing economic base without making substantial change in scale.
Policy:
Limit retail outside the CBD to neighborhood business areas in order to preserve the residential integrity of the neighborhood
and the retail strength of the Central Business District.
Goal:
Insure that Rye's streets, roads and pedestrian facilities provide safe convenient circulation within the community and to other
locations.
Policies:
Minimize to the extent possible adverse impacts on residential neighborhoods of traffic moving to and from expressways and
arterial roadways.
Discourage further construction of major highways, within the city, particularly the potential; extension of I-684 and
construction of a Long Island Sound Bridge.
Promote the use and improvements of public transportation.
Limit the intensity of land development to levels of traffic generation which can be adequately handled by collector and arterial
streets, without necessitating major alterations.
Provide pathways and bike lanes for school children and others.
Goal:
Provide an open space and recreation system, including both active and passive facilities, that is accessible and adequate in
size to accommodate the varied recreational taste and needs of Rye's citizens of all ages.
Policies:
Emphasize the use, upkeep and improvement of existing active and passive facilities and the recreational use of underutilized
public lands to fulfill recreational needs.
Continue to reserve the maximum amount possible of subdivision land for park and open space and conservation purposes.
Maintain the continued public ownership and use of Playland Park and the Marshlands Conservancy.
Insure that if major portions of private and non-municipal recreation areas are sold for private development, they remain in
recreation use with public access.
Goal:
Promote conservation of Rye's natural environment including preservation and protection of Rye's coastal shoreline, inland
tributaries, and adjacent wetlands (including both designated preservation areas and ecologically significant undesignated
areas); as these unusually beautiful natural areas give Rye its unique character and are among its most treasured assets.
Recognizing the role which Rye's natural environment plays as part of a larger ecological system, conserve and manage the
city's natural areas for the benefit of Rye and the region, with full consideration given both their passive recreational and
ecological importance, as well as their role in drainage and flood control.
Policies:
Prohibit development in wetlands, tidal marshlands and beaches.
Allow only future development that is responsive to sensitive features such as areas with steep slopes, high erosion hazard,
sensitive coastal features, and scenic quality.
Goal:
Minimize risks to people and damage to property due to flooding in the Blind Brook and Beaver Swamp Brook watershed
and along the coast through the enactment and enforcement of appropriate flood control measures.
Policy:
Prevent development in the designated floodways and discourage development in the 100 year flood plains of Blind Brook,
Beaver Swamp Brook and the coastal areas through the use of land acquisition, regulations and flexible forms of zoning (e.g.
clustering).
Goal:
Encourage appropriate use of coastal areas in a manner that protects sensitive environmental feature and maximizes waterfront
access for the city's residents and area residents where consistent with local planning objectives.
Policies:
Promotes water-related recreation uses in appropriate waterfront areas; i.e.., those areas not within wetlands or tidal marshes,
with sufficient access and buffered from residential areas.
Expand marina facilities.
Insure physical and visual access to scenic and waterfront areas, while permitting development in appropriate locations.
Expand facilities for the use of city residents.
Goal:
Preserve and maintain the valuable historic, cultural, architectural and archaeological heritage of Rye, for the benefit of the city's
present and future residents.
Policies:
Preserve Rye's many buildings of extraordinary beauty and visually cohesive districts that contribute to the city's strong
aesthetic and cultural image.
Encourage the designation of landmark buildings and historic districts by the city.
Encourage preservation, through adaptive use of historically and/or architecturally significant properties.
Encourage appropriate maintenance and rehabilitation of historically and/or architecturally significant buildings.
Encourage the preservation of those districts or neighborhoods that for historic preservation purposes possess am identifiable,
cohesive character -- including the Boston Post Road Historic District, the Central Business District, the village green District
and other carefully designated areas..
Establish guidelines to regulate exterior renovation and adjacent development in order to preserve the quality of historic
buildings and properties.
Goal:
Provide a full spectrum of high quality, accessible educational facilities and services to meet the needs of all segments of the
community.
Policy:
Continue to pursue the coordination of public and private efforts to provide a range of cultural and educational opportunities
for all age groups.
Goal:
Maintain, improve and expand where appropriate to accommodate present and future development, the water supply, sanitary
sewer, storm drainage and solid waste disposal systems in order to maintain and protect a healthful living environment, a viable
economic base and the natural environment.
Policies:
Promote the rehabilitation and improvement of the storm and sanitary systems in the Mamaroneck Village and Blind Brook
Sewer District.
Encourage actions that will result in the elimination of infiltration and inflow into sanitary sewer lines.
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