Planning services

Whether you are an attorney, architect or engineer, consultant or consulting firm,
municipal official, developer or development professional,
call us to discuss how we can help you reach your goals.

Discretionary Approvals

Subdivisions, Conditional (Special) Use Permits, Site Plans & Design Reviews

Mr. Lynch has been involved in the preparation, processing and review of residential and commercial subdivision, site plan and design review projects throughout the NYC metro area.
He is specifically familiar with the following:

  • sensitive waterfront sites, hillside development, and wooded sites
  • development constraints such as wetlands, subsurface conditions, steep slopes and easements
  • reuse of industrial sites, industrial development and hazardous materials requirements
  • commercial and condominium subdivisions
  • open development area subdivisions, conservation easements
  • phased development & parameters for future development / home construction
  • access road and infrastructure construction, bonding and escrow requirements
  • re-subdivision, tax map subdivisions and lot line changes

  • architectural design and aesthetic reviews; historic resources and landmarks
  • cellular tower location and camouflaging
  • visual impact analysis and screening
  • minor and major subdivision plat reviews, noticing and hearing requirements
  • deed   restrictions,   restrictive   declarations,   environmental   declarations and County recording requirements
  • sustainable design and LEED-certified development
  • other agency funding, approvals and requirements including NYS, County and NYC agencies, Army Corps of Engineers, and FEMA

  • urban infill development and the principles of new urbanism and compatibility

Planning & Zoning Administration

  • Mr. Lynch has prepared and assisted zoning enforcement officials with zoning determinations and interpretations, and provided guidance to municipal zoning boards with the review of zoning determinations and interpretations of the zoning code, and with the consideration of facts, evidence and other information supporting the grant of variances or conditional use approvals.
  • He has prepared Uniform Land Use Approval applications and worked with agency personnel for many New York City projects including zoning map amendments, city map changes, zoning certifications and authorizations and special permits. He has worked with the NYC Parks Department on several waterfront public access areas.
  • He has overseen contract bidding processes, and worked with affordable housing development and management companies, the NYS Department of Housing and Community Renewal, the NYS Dormitory Authority for school and library construction, and the NYS Department of Social Services.
  • He has worked closely with the Towns of Cortlandt, Yorktown, Philipstown, Pawling, New Castle, Riverhead and Putnam Valley, the Village of Haverstraw, the City of Peekskill and NYC’s Bronx Community Board #5 with master planning activities.

  • He has prepared minutes for board meetings, and grant applications and requests for proposals for municipal projects.
  • Mr. Lynch has worked with municipal officials to implement and enforce special use permit conditions for projects undergoing ongoing scrutiny, including industrial, automotive, waste transfer station and waste carting and other noxious operations.

  • He has also authored zoning text and map amendments and worked closely with municipal officials in making zoning and environmental policy, determinations and findings. He has assisted communities with obtaining concurrence from the NYS Department of State for waterfront policy documents, allowing local review of waterfront projects.

Permitting

  • Mr. Lynch has worked with regulatory agencies including the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE), the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the NYS Department of State. Permitting documents typically require extensive analysis of environmental regulations and policy, and reconsideration of environmental issues even if a project has already been through a coordinated agency review. Delay is an important criterion when a permit application is submitted since financing is in place and site preparation activities are usually expected to commence shortly. With his background in environmental review and policy analysis Mr. Lynch is uniquely qualified to assist agencies to provide timely processing of permit documentation, and to issue required findings to support decision-making.

  • Mr. Lynch has worked with FEMA to obtain revisions to flood insurance mapping allowing projects to proceed without the need for flood insurance.
  • Mr. Lynch has assisted property owners with compliance issues with the NYSDEC in Regions 1, 2 and 3.
  • He also assisted the Hudson River Park Trust with adherence to regulatory conditions of approval for the park preservation and reconstruction activities along the west side waterfront of Manhattan. He assisted in expediting NYC agency approvals for work within the park.

  • Mr. Lynch has interpreted USACOE Nationwide Permit regulations and has been successful in spotlighting projects and securint Section 10 and 404 permits and permit extensions for substantially-sized projects from this agency. These activities have involved substantial interaction with other agencies including the Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, the NYS Historic Preservation office, and the NYS Department of State.

  • He has worked with the NYS Office of General Services to confirm ownership of underwater lands, and to secure licenses for permanent in-water structures, with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (Regions 1, 2 and 3) to secure tidal and freshwater wetlands and protection of waters permits, water quality certifications, and air facility emissions permits. He has worked with associated professionals to secure and comply with stormwater discharge permits and compliance with solid and hazardous waste consent and other enforcement agreements.

  • He has worked with NYC agencies to secure permits for work done on numerous waterfront projects.
  • He has worked with Westchester County departments on affordable housing development, to secure roadway work permits, the approval of subdivision plats for filing with the County Clerk’s office, and to provide for County pick-up and disposal of municipal organic refuse and the disposal of County-generated sludge.

Municipal Planning Overview

Mr. Lynch has assisted municipalities throughout the Hudson Valley with:

  • Writing and revising code and ordinances
  • Zoning map and text amendments
  • Implementing new procedures
  • Planning and zoning administration
  • Development review and approval
  • Development of capital priorities
  • Environmental review of changes to City facilities and services
  • Fiscal analyses
  • Testimony
  • Grant writing and administration
  • Interfacing with State and Federal agencies
  • Securing permits for City activities
  • Completing policy documents
  • Planning and zoning board education
  • Economic development planning
  • Master planning
  • Regulatory administration of non-conforming and non-complying uses
  • Oversight of elements of construction and performance instruments

SEQR / CEQR / NEPA

  • Notices, positive determinations and scoping outlines
  • Environmental assessment forms
  • Expanded environmental assessment forms
  • In New York City Mr. Lynch has prepared environmental assessment statements (EAS) pursuant to the NYC CEQR Technical Manual. Notable recent EAS’s include the Vistamar development in the Bronx and 90 Washington Street in Manhattan.
  • Draft environmental impact statements
  • Final environmental impact statements
  • Findings statements and resolutions
  • Technical memoranda
  • Consistency assessment forms and determinations
  • Historic preservation documentation
  • Design approval documents

Waterfront Planning

  • In New York State localities can assert a degree of authority over planning for the waterfront areas by preparing what are called Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) documents. These documents refine or even replace the NYS Coastal Management Program document prepared at the State level. Communities that have LWRPs in place typically have sensitive areas, working waterfronts and public lands along their waterfronts.
  • Mr. Lynch has assisted localities with harbor management plans, local waterfront revitalization program policy documents, grants and bid specifications, permits, environmental and site plan reviews, and changes to floodplain mapping. He has worked extensively with the NYS Department of State, the Army Corps of Engineers and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation on permitting and consistency determinations, and with the NYS Office of General Services in securing licenses for use of underwater lands. He has assisted the Village of Croton with a portion of the Hudson River greenway and the Hudson River Park Trust in Manhattan with compliance with environmental conditions and permit expediting.
  • By the early 2000’s, the City of Peekskill had been preparing an LWRP off and on for almost twenty years. Mr. Lynch was asked to edit and complete the draft document. To do this he reviewed previous City and State policy documents, environmental and site plan reviews in the City, the City’s inventory of historic structures and districts, and its existing resources such as land use, zoning, utilities, waterfront access plans, the railroad line and open space. He recommended changes to the area included in the coastal zone, developed policies for sensitive areas, and presented implementation measures. He assisted the City in securing concurrence from the Department of State allowing the LWRP to become the guiding policy document for uses and activities along the City’s Waterfront and its near shore lands.
  • He subsequently wrote a grant that secured moneys for the City to complete a major portion of the publicly accessible portion of its waterfront.

Fiscal Analysis

  • Mr. Lynch has prepared many quantitative analyses including demographic and commercial snapshots, and socioeconomic profiles. He has prepared comparative revenue and cost analyses for many types of suburban residential, recreational and commercial development. He has also assisted communities and developers with capital programming, pro forma analysis, tax revenue forecasting and development financing. He has developed revenue projections for property tax, sales tax and mortgage tax receipts. He has worked closely with communities, developers and third parties to prepare and review detailed estimates of the cost implications of new development.

Market Studies

  • Mr. Lynch prepared the market studies and provided testimony to the Town of Cortlandt Planning Board for a major expansion to an under-performing shopping center in northern Westchester now known as Cortlandt Town Center (formerly the Westchester Mall). With the large amount of retail vacancies at the mall, the failure and closure of many long-time retailers and overall economic conditions there was skepticism about the ability of the surrounding community to support the number and variety of stores that were being planned for. Cortlandt Town Center was to more than triple the amount of space at the center, and all in an unproven mixed format of small, medium and large retailers with no defined anchors.

  • Concurrently Mr. Lynch prepared a qualitative market analysis for a landowner proposing to construct a self storage facility nearby. Such facilities were new at the time and Town officials wanted assurance that there was a market for this type of new use, and that the proposed facility would be successful given surrounding competition also being planned. Ultimately the market study was relied upon by officials as part of the approval of a special permit.
  • In addition to the above, Mr. Lynch has studied the market for home improvement retailing in connection with a proposed IKEA store in New Rochelle, the potential for adverse socioeconomic effects in connection with redevelopment of the downtown waterfront in Port Chester, the effects of new retail space on existing commercial areas, and the effects of removal of retail space from existing commercial districts. As part of environmental review Mr. Lynch has reviewed effects of new housing construction on the prevailing housing market.

  • The Cortlandt Town Center has been a success since it opened in the mid-1990’s.
  • The storage facility has been operating successfully for more than 25 years