The Talk of the Town Consultant and Committee Continue To Review Downtown Options

The Talk of the Town
Consultant and Committee Continue To Review Downtown Options

– By Robin Jovanovich –

A well-publicized public workshop inviting residents to “help shape the future of downtown Rye” was held Oct. 23. Attendance was pretty good for a Monday night, with close to 60 showing up and staying for the two-hour community dialogue. At a Nov. 1 Retail Strategy Task Force committee meeting, consultant John Shapiro of Phillips Preiss Shapiro Associates said he was pleased to see full merchant/business representation. “The fact that the public didn’t show up en masse is a vote of confidence.”

Peter Larr, acting chair of the meeting, concluded that as there were no more than five residents who weren’t City officials or business people at the workshop that “there are no burning downtown issues driving residents.” He added, “What we must avoid is the tyranny of the local minority.”

The consensus of the committee was that residents are concerned about the loss of retail diversity, the preservation of downtown character, needed streetscape improvements and additional parking, with or without the meters, and asked the consultant to focus on those central concerns.

The consultant said he was surprised at what a big issue parking management is for residents. “It’s usual for merchants to complain about a shortage or parking, but unusual when residents are equally concerned.”

At the meeting, City Planner Christian Miller threw out a question that has been on many longtime residents’ minds: How can we keep the remaining mom-and-pop businesses like Charlie’s Shoe Repair, Poppy’s Cafe, The Smoke Shop and Frank’s Barber Shop when landlords are asking up to $75 a square foot and the market is driving out convenience stores and challenging the preservation of retail mix?

Paris regulates the retail mix, noted Shapiro. Closer to home, Stamford has a fund for rent subsidy, added committee member Bruce Macleod, who asked the consultant what tools were available to the city to change the tenant mix. Many communities offer incentives to attract and keep certain kinds of businesses. “But will residents support incentives if that means taxes will go up?” asked Larr.

Finding little difference between what the community wants and retailers want, Miller urged the committee to stick to its identified objectives. The consulting firm has recommended “Main Street” management to tweak what is essentially a healthy downtown. A revenue stream is needed to fund those improvements. The consultant has suggested using parking meter revenues to do so. Expanding the retail district is one way to lower rents.

For all those who are interested in keeping Rye Rye, it’s apparent that some things will have to change in the Central Business District.

The consultants will meet with the task force one more time before preparing their final report, which will be reviewed by the committee before being presented to the Council.