A long-awaited update to the Town of Carmel’s zoning code is now law, after the Town Board voted to approve amendments to Chapter 156, Zoning Code of the Town of Carmel. The 250-page document can be found at townofcarmelny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/767/NEW-TOC-ZONING-CODE-2025. It includes changes designed to foster development of the downtown and make more housing available without transforming the town’s bucolic character, Supervisor Mike Cazzari said.
“The new law reverses decisions that were made decades ago that made it hard for people to do business here or afford to live here,” Cazzari said. One example is permitting mixed use, allowing building owners to combine commercial and residential spaces.
“The biggest thing was they stopped mixed use back in the 1960s — you couldn’t have an apartment over a store,” Cazzari said. “That puts a burden on a building owner who can’t get the full revenue from their property, and it hurts the tax base.”
Cazzari said the more flexible zoning in the new code will “revitalize the downtown” by making it easier for businesses to come in and by giving incentives for development.
“It will increase the tax base via commercial development, so it’s not entirely on the backs of homeowners,” Cazzari said. “People are being driven out by high taxes. Allowing apartments above retail gives owners a chance to get a return on their investment.”
Another key change, Cazzari said, was reducing residential zoning from three to one acre.
“It was killing us property tax-wise,” Cazzari said of the three-acre zoning. “We’re not trying to change the character of the town, but we want to make it easier for people to live and stay here.”
Find the code at:
https://www.townofcarmelny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/767/NEW-TOC-ZONING-CODE-2025
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