Filed Under: Environmental Issues | Westchester | Land Use

Strip Mall

Sprawl is poorly planned proliferation of residential and commercial development that can destroy the environmental, financial and social fabric of communities. Sprawl drains vitality from urban downtown areas, consumes open space, promotes inefficient use of funds for public services, increases traffic congestion, and degrades critical watersheds and wildlife habitat. Sprawl also hurts non-car-owning citizens as employment, recreation and other services move to "car only" locations.

Sprawl's most visible signs are strip malls, subdivisions and congested highways-all symptoms of dependence on automobiles. The impacts of car-orientated transportation are far-reaching: tailpipe emissions are the largest source of Westchester's air pollution. Paved surfaces-roads and parking lots-contribute polluted storm water runoff to reservoirs and wetlands. The cost of maintaining highway infrastructure diverts taxpayer resources needed for public transportation.

Westchester County's Central Park Avenue, running from the Bronx border to White Plains, provides something of a middle ground between commercial strip shopping and lush suburban living. It allows residents of the area to have a ten-mile area of big-name shops, restaurants, car dealerships, and movie theaters, while at the same time protecting the area outside of the ten-mile strip for residential living and open space. This form of condensed sprawl works to reduce the prevalence of strip malls, subdivisions and congested highways throughout Westchester.

A solution to many of Westchester's environmental, economic and quality of life problems is to reduce automobile use by increasing the availability of alternatives such as public transportation, in combination with planning and design that encourage fewer car trips and more walking, public transit, and cycling trips.

In response to a growing concern over sprawl, efforts to contain it have grown. One of those efforts is ‘smart growth', a planning concept that seeks to accommodate growth and economic development while protecting communities and the environment. The smart growth movement calls for walk-able, compact neighborhoods that are integrated with or close to work, shopping and community centers. The principles of smart growth include the adoption of open space protection measures; compact, mixed-use development in or near existing population centers; the integration of new developments with existing ones; transportation choices and pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods; "green" building; and the updating of building codes and design guidelines. Organizations such as the Hudson Valley Smart Growth Alliance have been formed to advance these principles.

In New York State, smart growth faces a delicate balancing of regional planning and traditions of home rule. The Watershed Protection Agreement represented a milestone in cooperation among the EPA, the State, New York City and local governments within the watershed. The Agreement seeks to protect both the water supply and the economic health of communities located in the watershed (see Drinking Water section). Also notable among State initiatives is the Hudson River Valley Greenway, which seeks to reverse decades of damage to the Hudson River and enhance the economies of towns in the ten counties along the river's shores.

The State Department of Transportation works with regional planners, local government officials and local residents in pilot programs to combat traffic congestion on Routes 202/35 and Route 9A. In addition, New York State has recently developed a task force dedicated in improving the quality of communities. "Quality Communities" seeks to ensure that economic development and environmental protection co-exist.

Recognizing the links between land use and transportation, Westchester County's Planning Department developed Patterns for Westchester, a blueprint for the future based on Westchester's historic framework of urban centers linked by transportation corridors and separated by open spaces. Patterns for Westchester anticipated many smart growth strategies. It offers a general framework for County officials and other government organizations to guide the County's future physical development. It also outlines strategies for implementing the region's common goals of serving the people, conserving land and water, and assuring economic growth.

Public officials can promote smart growth policies through legislation, zoning, and project review of proposed developments. Local governments appoint citizen boards and commissions to survey resources and formulate specific local strategies. Local governments can participate in inter-municipal agreements to protect shared resources, take joint action with County and State government on regional land use pilot projects, and form partnerships with land trusts to acquire open space or protective easements. Citizens can express their support for proposed federal and state spending in the press, to their elected officials, and at the polls. Citizens can also serve on local or County volunteer boards or by joining and supporting organizations working on open space issues.

There are several challenges in Westchester's urban areas: to rehabilitate ‘Main Street', revitalize waterfront areas, reclaim vacant lots and brownfields, repair infrastructure, make existing natural settings attractive and accessible, and create new recreational and open space areas. Many complain that the gentrification of such areas is achieved at the cost of affordable housing, and these groups advocate mixed-use zoning to revitalize downtown areas. Preserving, reclaiming and developing waterfront areas for public use is a critical component of revitalizing historic towns along Westchester County's coasts. Rye, Sleepy Hollow, Port Chester, Croton-on-Hudson, the village of Ossining, the town of Mamaroneck and the villages of Mamaroneck and Larchmont have adopted local waterfront revitalization plans, while others have proposals in draft stage. Challenges include cleaning up Superfund sites and brownfields along the Hudson River and Long Island Sound, as well as reducing contamination of recreational waters.

Parties Involved: (contact information in chapter 7)

US Government
Army Corps of Engineers, Congress, Departments of Fish and Wildlife, Interior, Environmental Protection Agency

New York State
Departments of: Agriculture and Markets; Environmental Conservation; Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, State, and Transportation; Governor; Hudson River Valley Greenway Conservancy; Hudson River Valley Greenway Council, State Legislature

New York City
Department of Environmental Protection

Westchester County
Board of Legislators, County Executive, Departments of: Environmental Facilities; Health; Parks; Recreation and Conservation; Planning; Public Works and Transportation; Soil and Water Conservation District

Local Government
Elected Town/Village Boards and Councils, appointed Planning and Zoning Boards, volunteer environmental and recreation boards, commissions and councils

Advocates
Audubon Society, Croton Watershed Clean Water Coalition, Federated Conservationists of Westchester County, League of Women Voters, New York League of Conservation Voters, Open Space Institute, Pace Environmental Law Clinic, Pace Land Use Law Center, Scenic Hudson, Sierra Club, Trust for Public Land, Westchester Land Trust and local land trusts, Westchester Open Space Alliance