A public hearing is set for tonight to discuss a proposed six-month moratorium on certain commercial and residential developments within targeted areas of the city. The hearing is on the agenda for the Rye City Council meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. May 27 at the firehouse at 15 Locust Ave.
A draft of the proposed law suggests a temporary pause on any review, processing, or approval of applications for a wide variety of development, including demolition and reconstruction of single- and two-family homes; multi-family buildings involving six or more units; the central business district; districts adjoining downtown; and work on the campus of the Rye Country Day School.
The goal of the proposed moratorium is to provide sufficient time to continue several major planning and policy initiatives now underway, including improving flood mitigation and shaping the future of development and land use in Rye, according to a statement released by the city.
A summary of some of the areas covered by the proposed law:
Housing
The suggested pause on home teardowns, and perhaps the origin of the entire proposed law itself, appeared to come from the City Council’s most recent meeting on May 5.
Bonnie Council, a resident of Rye’s “Clam Town” neighborhood near Milton Point, expressed concerns to the council about the demolition of her neighbor’s home at 5 Orchard Drive, and the proposed five-bedroom house proposed to be built in its place.
“Our neighborhood is unique because we’re a little cluster of cottages,” she said. “There’s no other house with five bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms in our neighborhood.”
Council said she was worried about the large 200-year-old tree in her yard, which could be at risk when nearby construction begins, and for potential parking issues that could arise for a five-bedroom house that has just one garage bay.
“Some of these cottages that were built at the turn of the century don’t have driveways or garages, so they park on the street,” Council said. “This house is going to have more than one car, right? Where do they park? We talked to the board (of architectural review) about this, and they dismissed it. They said we were speculating.”
After Council’s speech, City Councilmember Jamie Jensen floated the idea of temporary limitations on residential construction.
“Maybe we need to talk about limiting new construction to the prevailing height or the prevailing setbacks of existing homes on the same block until comprehensive planning is completed,” she said in the meeting. “I don’t know if we can do it…. I’m saying it out loud, and I could get in trouble, but I’m thinking we need to say until comprehensive planning is done … I want to figure out if we can carve out a way to say that.”
While the council expressed sympathy for Council and her neighbors, they acknowledged little could be done to stop the construction of a new house that has already been approved.
Nathan and City Councilmember Keith Cunningham talked about creating a “road map” that makes it easier for residents to stay informed about developments in their neighborhoods, as well as how they can voice objections before it’s too late.
To that end, the proposed six-month moratorium states, “The City Council has heard concerns about both allowances for, and restrictions on, development and redevelopment of single-family and multi-family development and wants an opportunity to review the existing zoning regulations.”
Preserving the character of Rye has been a recurring issue as the city works to update its comprehensive plan for the first time since 1985. Based on the initial 18-month timeline provided by the city’s comprehensive planning consultant, AKRF Planning, the plan would be completed in the fall of 2027.
“The City is embarking on a comprehensive plan review process,” the draft of the proposed law states, “but the City Council acknowledges that there are some community concerns that merit more immediate attention and potential action and which the City is in the process of reviewing.”
Central Business District
In June 2025, the Central Business District Design Review Committee delivered a report to the council, and one of its recommendations was to retain a design consultant who could develop guidelines for what architectural and design elements are preferred and discouraged in the business district. The City Council issued a request for proposals on April 15, 2026.
Ahead of the May 27 meeting, the City Council authorized City Manager Brian Shea to transfer $70,000 from the General Fund Contingency Account to the City Council Consultant line for the hiring of a Central Business District Design Standards consultant.
“This selection, development and approval of design review standards is anticipated to take approximately six months,” the proposed law states, which is one explanation for the moratorium’s six-month timeframe.
The moratorium would limit not just applications in the business district, but adjoining districts as well. The B-1 district is a 58.4-acre area for small-scale commercial use, according to zoneomics.com. The B-2 district is a 27-acre concentrated commercial center with a mix of retail, service, and office use.
Rye Country Day School
Rye Country Day owns property in the B-1 and B-2 districts, as well as three other zoning districts, and has a pending application before the Rye Planning Commission that would allow for significant reuse of the current campus area and the development of a new athletic complex on vacant land at one of the gateways to the city.
In 2022, RCDS obtained the long-coveted New York State Thruway property across Boston Post Road. In Summer 2025, the private school shared its plans with the Rye Planning Commission to transform the property east of the school into a massive sports complex.
The plans involve moving the school’s hockey rink onto the 9-acre Thruway site, plus laying down a new multipurpose artificial turf field. The project also calls for the construction of a new field house equipped with an indoor track.
The proposal also includes a tunnel underneath Boston Post Road, which the school says is crucial “to enable safe travel through campus.” The stretch of Boston Post Road that borders the school is a four-lane roadway divided by a grassy median, with no pedestrian crosswalk.
That the Rye City Council mentions RCDS by name in its proposed law suggests that those plans may be in flux, at least for the time being.
The proposed local law notes there will be certain exemptions, including for projects that already have final approvals; ordinary maintenance and interior renovations; emergency repairs; and certain accessory residential structures and home buildouts. Additionally, the law establishes a waiver process through which applicants may petition for relief from the moratorium where appropriate.
