Planning services

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

• 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.

• 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 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

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.