Developers warned of spike in penalty for paucity of parking

By MARTIN WILBUR

Mount Kisco officials are prepared to hike the fee developers must pay the municipality if they fall short on the number of required parking spaces for residential developments in two zoning districts.

The Village Board is weighing a request from Mayor J. Michael Cindrich to increase the fee in lieu of parking from its current $12,500 to $25,000 through an administrative action that would require a majority vote. At Monday’s board meeting, at the urging of Trustee Tom Luzio, the board held off on making a decision to explore whether there should be different fees for new construction and conversions and other stipulations.

Changes are being considered for projects in the Central Business District and the Low-Intensity Office District. The Comprehensive Plan, updated in 2019, had allowed for the lower fee in those zones. The board had approved a $25,000 fee in 2015, during Cindrich’s first tenure as mayor.

Cindrich said Mount Kisco’s $12,500 is far below that of many other communities in Westchester, which shortchanges the village and also invites proposals that have a deficient number of spaces.

“Something is going to have to happen with parking,” Cindrich said. “We have proposals on the table that people are looking for parking and they don’t want to provide it, and it’s a gold mine.”

He said actual costs for parking are far above what Mount Kisco requires, including $75,000 a space to construct an underground garage and about $50,000 a space for an above-ground parking structure. Northern Westchester Hospital built a parking structure about a decade ago on its parcel, which cost them roughly $30,000 a space, Cindrich said.

Cindrich appeared to get support from at least two other board members. Deputy Mayor Karen Schleimer said she was part of the board that increased the amount to $25,000.

“I voted against reducing it back in the day,” Schleimer said. “I’m actually happy to make a motion to restore it back to $25,000.”

Luzio said that many other communities in the county, including Ossining, Port Chester, White Plains, Peekskill, New Rochelle and Ardsley, have parking fees that are comparable to what the mayor has proposed.

He called on his colleagues to hold off making a decision until the Oct. 5 meeting to calculate whether there should be a flat fee or a sliding scale based on how many spaces an applicant falls short of its requirement. Luzio also pondered whether there should be different rates for new construction or existing buildings that are converted to residential.

“I’m thinking of $25,000 or $30,000 for new construction, but I’m not ready to vote on 25 to 30 for existing residential,” Luzio said.

Cindrich said that if an applicant can’t provide the required parking they should have to pay more or scale back the project. Diplomat Towers, which has about 200 units, provides close to twice that number of spaces.

“If you can’t produce the parking, reduce the number of units,” he said. “That’s the way development has always gone.”

The issue has been a periodic sore spot since the lower rate went into effect but has come to the forefront again with the submission of a 54-unit apartment building proposal on Dakin Avenue. The developer is about 25 spaces shy of the required 79 spots and is considering paying the current fee or asking whether the village has spare room in a couple of its nearby municipal lots to meet parking demand.