Route 9/9A corridor. The North End area is the entryway into the Village from the north along both Routes 9 and 9A. North Riverside is linked via Brook Street to the Upper Village. The Municipal Place shopping area is bisected by Maple Street, which runs north to the Upper Village. The Harmon/South Riverside/Harmon shopping area is located at the approach to the train station from Croton Point Avenue, with access to the nearby Harmon residential area. The customer base for each of these commercial centers is local, drawing shoppers from within the Village rather than from the Northern Westchester region. Croton-on-Hudson has made an effort to prevent sprawling commercial development and to maintain the local orientation of these districts. However, the general consensus in the Village is that the types of establishments need to be diversified to better meet the needs of residents and encourage local shopping, and that higher quality aesthetic standards will help attract shoppers to these areas. Croton-on-Hudson’s commercial centers play a dual role in the Village, as sources of retail and services for residents and as defining “images” of certain areas of the Village. The retail composition of these centers determines whether local demand for shopping and services is being met; at the same time, the appearance of these centers is key to the image of the Village for residents and to visitors. As such, recommendations for improvements to the centers must take both of these roles into account. The function and character of the four commercial centers are described below. Chapter 4.0 presents recommendations for improvements to several of these centers, as zoning district “overlays” for image-defining gateways. PAGE 61 Upper Village North Riverside Municipal Place South Riverside/ Harmon Village of Croton-On-Hudson, NY Figure 3.8. Commercial Areas BFJ Buckhurst Fish & Jacquemart, Inc. 62 CROTON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN uses, reinforce the role of the Upper Village as a central location and the symbolic “core” of the Village. Upper Village In the survey conducted for this Plan, most residents identified the Upper Village as the heart of Croton-on-Hudson. The Upper Village includes frontage along Grand Street, Maple Street and Old Post Road between Van Wyck Street to the west and the intersection of Old Post Road and Maple Streets to the east. In addition to its commercial district, the Upper Village contains two- and multifamily residential districts and low-scale office uses (including the Municipal Building). The mix of uses and building scale contributes to the area’s historic sensibility and quaint character. The Upper Village commercial district is zoned C-1, for central commercial uses, with two small areas zoned 0-1, for Limited Office Use. The district has a FAR of 2.0, which permits a floor area of twice the total square footage of a given lot and reflects the higher density, compact nature of the Upper Village. The small size of the th lots in the Upper Village (approximately 1/8 of an acre) limits the permissible size of buildings to its historic scale, typical of its older structures. Some of the commercial building stock consists of former single-family homes. The buildings range in height from one- to three-story buildings, some with a mix of ground floor commercial and residential on the upper floors. Most buildings have a minimal or shallow setback from the sidewalk creating a sense of connection with the street. The predominant commercial uses are small-scale convenience retail, restaurants and personal service establishments. Customers arrive both by car and on foot. The Upper Village is viewed as the most pedestrian friendly commercial area in Croton-on-Hudson, with sidewalks with brick-like paving, street lights, and manageable street crossings. Upper Village, looking east along Grand Street Mixed use buildings, Upper Village Mixed-use buildings, Upper Village Parking is provided by two municipal lots, plus some private nonresidential spaces and on-street parking. Shoppers share parking spaces with Upper Village residents and business owners in the district. The lack of convenient parking for shoppers using the Upper Village stores was raised as a concern during the public workshops for this Plan. Residents are also drawn to the Upper Village for non-shopping purposes. The Municipal Building, located between the upper ends of Van Wyck and Brook Streets, houses the Village government and administrative offices, and provides space for Village meetings and events. Dobbs Park, situated between Grand and Maple Street east of Old Post Road, hosts recreational and other local events. These public uses, combined with the mix of residential and commercial Municipal Building, Upper Village PAGE 63 ST A T E R O U T E 9 A 2. Upper Village 3. Croton Commons/Grand Union 4. Harmon ST 1. North Riverside AT OU E R TE 9A Village of Croton-On-Hudson, NY Figure 3.9. Commercial Centers: Land Uses Retail Stores Restaurants/Food-Related Uses Personal Services Offices/Business and Medical Services Housing Government and Institutions Auto-Related