City Council:
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF MOUNT VERNON ADOPTING A
NEGATIVE DECLARATION PURSUANT TO SEQRA
REGARDING THE ADOPTION OF THE ENVISION
MOUNT VERNON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
WHEREAS, the City of Mount Vernon has the authority and responsibility to undertake comprehensive planning in the City and to regulate land use for the purpose of protecting the public health, safety, and general welfare of its citizens; and
WHEREAS, in 2022, recognizing the need to update the 1968 Comprehensive Plan, and in accordance with New York General City Law (“GCL”) Section 28-a, the City Council appointed a Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee (“Committee”), comprised of a diverse group of community stakeholders, for the purposes of assisting City staff (including the Department of Planning and Community Development) and a consultant team with preparing a new Comprehensive Plan for the City entitled Envision Mount Vernon (“Comprehensive Plan”); and
WHEREAS, following an extensive community engagement process, which involved numerous conversations with the community, meetings, working sessions, interviews, roundtables, public workshops, and digital engagement, the Committee, City Planning staff, and the City’s consultant team prepared a draft Comprehensive Plan; and
WHEREAS, the adoption of the Comprehensive Plan is classified as a Type I Action (“Proposed Action”) under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act and its implementing regulations, 6 N.Y.C.R.R. Part 617 (“SEQRA”); and
WHEREAS, the Proposed Action will not require permits and approvals from any other local, regional, State, or Federal agencies prior to adoption, and coordinated SEQRA review is, therefore, not required; and
WHEREAS, on September 24, 2025, the City Council designated itself as Lead Agency for the review of the Comprehensive Plan under SEQRA pursuant to 6 N.Y.C.R.R. Section 617.6(b)(1); and
WHEREAS, the City Council, together with its consultants and City Planning staff, initially prepared Parts 1 and 2 of the Full Environmental Assessment Form in support of the adoption of the Comprehensive Plan (collectively, “EAF”); and
WHEREAS, City Planning staff and the City Council’s consultants assisted the City Council in its preparation and review of the EAF; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 28-a(6)(a) of the GCL, on September 24, 2025, the City Council referred the Comprehensive Plan to the City of Mount Vernon Planning Board for its review and recommendation prior to its adoption; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 28-a(6)(b) of the GCL, and Section 239-m of the New York General Municipal Law (“GML”), on September 24, 2025, the City Council referred the Comprehensive Plan to the Westchester County Planning Board; and
WHEREAS, City Planning staff and the City Council’s consultants presented a draft of the Comprehensive Plan at a meeting of the Westchester County Planning Board on October 7, 2025; and
WHEREAS, the City Planning Board discussed the Comprehensive Plan at its meeting on October 8, 2025; and
WHEREAS, the City Council conducted a duly noticed Public Hearing for the draft Comprehensive Plan on October 8, 2025, at 7:00 P.M., at City Hall, at which time those wishing to comment were afforded an opportunity to be heard, and written comments were accepted following the Hearing; and
WHEREAS, the City Council conducted a duly noticed continued Public Hearing for the draft Comprehensive Plan on October 14, 2025, at 6:00 P.M., at City Hall, at which time those wishing to comment were afforded an opportunity to be heard, and written comments were accepted following the Hearing; and
WHEREAS, by letter dated October 21, 2025, the Westchester County Planning Board, among other things, applauded the City’s efforts to update the Comprehensive Plan, and provided certain comments for the Council to consider as it finalizes the Plan and works toward its implementation, which comments were carefully considered and integrated into the final draft Comprehensive Plan where appropriate; and
WHEREAS, the Westchester County Planning Board also commended the City for the numerous recommendations that are consistent with the County Planning Board’s long-range planning policies, and for engaging in significant community and stakeholder outreach throughout the process; and
WHEREAS, the Westchester County Planning Board further expressed that it is “encouraged that the City is considering a comprehensive rewrite of the zoning code following the adoption of this Plan;” and
WHEREAS, by Memo dated October 27, 2025, the City Planning Board recommended adoption of the Comprehensive Plan, and offered comments on the Comprehensive Plan, which comments were carefully considered and integrated into the final draft Comprehensive Plan where appropriate; and
WHEREAS, the City Council carefully considered all the oral and written comments on the Comprehensive Plan, and worked together with City Planning staff and its consultants to revise the Comprehensive Plan to address certain comments as the Council deemed appropriate; and
WHEREAS, on October 30, 2025, the City Council posted an updated draft Comprehensive Plan on the City’s website; and
WHEREAS, the City Council conducted a duly noticed continued Public Hearing for the updated draft Comprehensive Plan on November 10, 2025, at 6:00 P.M., at City Hall, at which time those wishing to comment were afforded an opportunity to be heard, and written comments were accepted following the Hearing; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has carefully considered all oral and written comments submitted by members of the public, the Planning Board, and the Westchester County Planning Board; and
WHEREAS, the Proposed Action does not involve the adoption of any amendments to the City Zoning Code or Zoning Map, and no proposed draft zoning ordinance has been prepared or reviewed by the City Council at this time; and
WHEREAS, the Proposed Action also does not involve the authorization for any specific land development activities or construction in the City; and
WHEREAS, although the Proposed Action does not involve the adoption of any zoning ordinance, the City is aware of three proposed projects for which rezoning petitions have been submitted to the City Council and are pending as of this date: (i) proposal by Grace Baptist Church to amend the Zoning Code and Zoning Map to facilitate the development of a mixed use residential and commercial project located at 70 South Sixth Avenue, 47 Second Street West, and 60 South Sixth Avenue; (ii) proposal by Sammy Properties, Inc. to amend the Zoning Map by applying the RMF-SC Senior Citizen Housing Floating Overlay district to an approximately 0.43-acre property located at 505 Gramatan Avenue; and (iii) proposal by West First Professional Plaza LLC for certain zoning text amendments in connection with a proposed multi-family apartment building at 22 West First Street (collectively, “Existing Projects”); and
WHEREAS, the City Council is in the process of conducting an environmental review under SEQRA for the Existing Projects; and
WHEREAS, Section 617.2(ah) of the SEQRA Regulations defines segmentation as “the division of the environmental review of an action such that various activities or stages are addressed under this Part as though they were independent, unrelated activities, needing individual determinations of significance;” and
WHEREAS, Section 617.3(g)(l) of the SEQRA Regulations further states that if a lead agency believes that circumstances warrant a segmented review, it must clearly state in its determination of significance, and any subsequent EIS, the supporting reasons and must demonstrate that such review is clearly no less protective of the environment; and
WHEREAS, the City Council, together with City Planning staff and its consultants, and in compliance with its duties under SEQRA as Lead Agency, has carefully reviewed and considered the entire record of the Proposed Action, including the draft Comprehensive Plan, all materials submitted and comments received, the EAF, the County Planning Board recommendations, and the City Planning Board recommendations, which when considered together, constitute the record which serves as the basis for a SEQRA determination, and has prepared Part 3 of the EAF, including the EAF Part 3 Supplement, dated November 25, 2025 (“EAF Supplement”), which contains the City Council’s analysis of the Proposed Action as compared to the SEQRA criteria determining significance (6 NYCRR Section 617.7(c)) and its reasoned determination as to the effects of the Proposed Action on the environment; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has thoroughly analyzed the identified relevant areas of environmental concern to determine if the Proposed Action may have a potentially significant adverse impact on the environment; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOLVED, that the City Council confirms that it is acting as Lead Agency for the environmental review of the Proposed Action; and BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that, pursuant to 6 N.Y.C.R.R. Part 617, the City Council determines after due discussion and deliberation that the Proposed Action does not have the potential to result in any significant adverse environmental impacts, and that an environmental impact statement is not required, for the reasons set forth in the attached EAF Supplement and Negative Declaration; and BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that the City Council adopts and incorporates herein by reference the attached EAF Supplement and Negative Declaration for the Proposed Action under SEQRA; and BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that this Resolution and the attached EAF Supplement and Negative Declaration shall constitute the City Council’s evaluation of the magnitude and importance of impacts of the Proposed Action and reasons in support of the determination of significance required under Part 3 of the EAF; and BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that for the reasons stated in this Resolution and the EAF Supplement, the City Council finds that segmenting the environmental review of the Existing Projects, as well as potential future amendments to the City Zoning Code and Zoning Map, from the review of the Comprehensive Plan is warranted under 6 N.Y.C.R.R. Section 617.3(g)(1) for the following reasons:
1. The Comprehensive Plan is a City-wide legislative action only. It does not commit the City to any particular type of development or specific development plan.
2. The environmental review of the Existing Projects will address all areas of concern that SEQRA requires for those individual Projects in accordance with SEQRA. It is appropriate that the reviews be conducted in the context of the site-specific projects rather than more generally as part of the Comprehensive Plan review. It is more protective of the environment to study the actual plans for the Existing Projects as part of their individual project reviews, rather than as part of a SEQRA review for a generic Comprehensive Plan, which is a theoretical policy document.
3. The Comprehensive Plan does not commit the City Council to the adoption of any specific zoning amendments. The Council will address all areas of concern that SEQRA requires for all future comprehensive and/or site-specific zoning amendments at the time they are considered for adoption; and BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that the City Council hereby issues a Negative Declaration for the Proposed Action; and BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that the City Clerk shall arrange to fulfill the filing and distribution requirements for the Negative Declaration as required by the SEQRA regulations in 6 N.Y.C.R.R. Section 617.12, and to make all other filings required by law; and BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that this Resolution shall take effect immediately.