Mount Vernon, NY Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Density Bonus Law (2026)

A(6) of the zoning code sets up a discretionary density bonus program limited to the MX-1 Commercial Corridor District. An applicant may ask the Planning Board for one or more bonuses drawn from a three-tier table: Tier 1 adds up to two stories, Tier 2 up to three stories, and Tier 3 up to five stories, but no combination of bonuses may push a building past a total of eight stories. 5% of the project's total development cost, weighed by the Planning Board for proportionality to the bonus requested.

The code lists six eligible amenity categories: contributing to or rehabilitating public open space beyond what is already required for Tier 1 and Tier 2 projects; preserving a building the Commissioner of Planning and Community Development identifies as historically, culturally or architecturally significant; funding non-site-related infrastructure such as sewer or stormwater work, traffic calming, or street repaving, on recommendation from the Department of Public Works; creating off-site parking beyond the project's own off-street parking requirement; financing a Neighborhood Plan for the MX-1 District, which if fully funded blocks any other applicant from using that same amenity for the next 15 years; or contributing to the Mount Vernon Urban Renewal Agency's low-interest home repair loan fund.

Granting the bonus is entirely discretionary: the Planning Board must find the amenity proportional to the bonus, compatible with the district's goals, and capable of fitting the building's height, scale and mass into its surroundings before signing off.