Deputy Commissioner Pam Tarla, Planning Department, told the Mount Vernon Real Estate Committee on Sept. 26, 2025, that the city is moving forward with a long-overdue comprehensive plan update and a concurrent rewrite of the zoning code to guide downtown redevelopment and reuse of a 17-acre brownfield site along the Hutchinson River.

Tarla said the comprehensive plan — the city’s guiding land-use document — has not been updated since 1968 and that staff held roughly 20–30 community visioning meetings to gather resident input for the new plan. “The goals are to increase the quality of life for Mount Vernon residents and their investors,” Deputy Commissioner Pam Tarla said, and she described the zoning rewrite as the next step to make that vision “as-of-right” and easier for property owners and developers to follow.

Why it matters: The planning changes are intended to steer private investment, expand the tax base and reduce uncertainty for developers. Tarla said officials also hope to improve the city’s position to obtain a municipal bond rating, which would lower borrowing costs for public projects and potentially reduce the tax burden related to financing infrastructure.

Tarla described several specific items staff plans to pursue: a zoning code that implements the comp plan, a pre-application process that would put planning staff at the front of the review sequence (so applicants have a single project lead), a seven-year capital plan to coordinate public works and grant-seeking, and new fee programs associated with development. She identified two projects likely to move forward — a Stevens Park structure and a Fourth Street project — and said the city has used innovation-grant requests for proposals to attract development partners.

Tarla also discussed the city-owned 17-acre brownfield at the Hutchinson River and said the Urban Renewal Agency, of which she serves as executive director, will take a larger role than it has historically played in distributing federal grants. Among the examples Tarla offered was launching a downtown parking bureau to collect fees and give residents a formal role in setting parking policy.

On downtown design, Tarla urged an approach beyond standard Euclidean (single-use) zoning. “We should hire a consultant to do some design work in the downtown,” she said, noting design standards and a specific plan could make the downtown more walkable and attractive to developers. She suggested linking existing assets, such as Memorial Field and the Hutchinson River Parkway, creating walking and bike connections between neighborhoods (Fleetwood to Mount Vernon West and East) and adding pocket parks or public art to increase vibrancy.

Tarla estimated the zoning rewrite is about a year away and that the comp plan will be forwarded to the City Council soon. She described the pre-application and project-lead ideas as intended to reduce back-and-forth between building, planning and other departments and to provide applicants with a named staff contact through the multi-department review process.

No formal committee votes were taken on the planning presentation; Tarla said staff will return with more detailed proposals and that the next formal steps include Council consideration of the comp plan and hiring consultants to develop downtown design standards.

The presentation and discussion occurred during the Real Estate Committee meeting held Sept. 26, 2025.