Glen Cove, NY Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Downtown Design Guide (2026)

1J of the Zoning Code, which governs the CBD Overlay Commercial District layered over the downtown B-1 Central Commercial District. The review clause requires the Planning Board to find any site plan or special permit application generally consistent with the existing character of the CBD and any design guidelines adopted by the City Council before or during approval. The code limits scrutiny to areas visible from public streets and publicly accessible areas, sparing rear elevations and interior courtyards from design review. Where Glen Cove has a duly authorized Architectural Review Board, the Planning Board must refer the application to the ARB as soon as the plans are complete enough to judge exterior appearance; the ARB reports back on consistency, and the Planning Board weighs that report in its own consistency finding and in deciding whether to grant any bulk waiver.

1J(5) makes clear that where another chapter of the Glen Cove Code sets a specific standard, that specific standard controls over the general design guidelines. Because CBD Overlay projects also typically require Planning Board site plan or special permit approval, they are also subject to review under New York's State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA, ECL Article 8) as part of the same discretionary approval process.