west side of Route 9A and is only partially developed. Additional office use should be encouraged given the good access provided by Route 9A and the attractive, wooded nature of this section of the Village. The Village should therefore ensure that future office development is appropriately sited and attractively designed, and that generous landscape planting is provided in order to maintain the rural quality of the area. The Matra Building along Route 9A (Albany Post Road) offers a good example of an office use that has been attractively integrated into the area. The use of low stone walls along property lines to screen parking should be strongly encouraged as a means of providing a special identity for this gateway area and visually linking the area to similar features south of Warren Road on 9A. In addition, the gateway overlay should include a provision for the continuation of the farmers’ market, which is a valued feature of this section of the Village. Proposed streetscape and landscape improvements are shown in Figure 4.6. g. Building Appearance and Maintenance The revitalization plans described above will enhance and improve the character and appearance of the commercial and office areas. The Village can take several additional steps to further encourage the revitalization of these areas. • Design Guidelines The Village should develop a set of design guidelines for its commercial areas that includes recommendations for building design and ornamentation, façade styles, preferred materials and renovation styles, and signage. The guidelines should provide a way to unify building appearance through common design elements but still have enough flexibility to allow the individual character of the business, building, and the neighborhood to come through. The Village should consider establishing an architectural review standards in commercial areas to develop guidelines and oversee implementation. PAGE 94 Existing Proposed Village of Croton-On-Hudson, NY Figure 4.6. North End Gateway Proposals BFJ Buckhurst Fish & Jacquemart, Inc. 95 CROTON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN • Façade Maintenance Incentives While façade maintenance and building improvements are the responsibility of private property and business owners, the Village can offer incentives to encourage and facilitate improvements that fit with the established design guidelines and revitalization plans. These incentives can take the form of monetary subsidies, such as grants or loans for building improvements, or procedural guidance with obtaining any necessary approvals. The Village can also help direct property owners toward private grants and loans that can assist with building renovation efforts. • Architectural Review As discussed in Section 4.2, the Village should establish specific architectural standards to encourage good qualities of exterior building design and appearance, to relate such design and appearance to the site and surroundings of such structures, to permit originality and resourcefulness in building design and appearance which are appropriate to the site and surroundings, and to prevent such design and appearance as are unnecessarily offensive to visual sensibilities. These standards should be enforced by the Planning Board, which should be given the powers of an Architectural Review Board to avoid redundancy in the application process. This architectural review should pertain to all commercial properties and also include new residential construction and major alterations in residentially-zoned districts. PAGE 96 CROTON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 4.4 Natural Resources, Open Space and Trails The natural features of Croton-on-Hudson are considered some of the defining elements of the Village: the waterfront, open space, trails, and parks. Many of the comments received addressed the natural landscape, and the importance of access, protection, and enhancement of these invaluable resources. As discussed in the Introduction to this Plan, the general recommendations of the Plan are as follows: protect natural resources, maintain/improve parks, preserve natural character. The following sections elaborate on these objectives, providing more specific recommendations, as follows. Croton Point Park a. Respond To and Expand Upon LWRP Objectives The Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan, adopted in 1992, describes specific state and local coastal zone policies in detail, and outlines the following overall objectives for Croton-on-Hudson’s open space, recreation, and visual resources: • • • • • link waterfront parks and waterfront recreational areas increase recreational facilities within the Village and improve waterfront access redevelop or restore underutilized coastal area lands protect scenic views of and to the Village facilitate the planning process by updating the Village’s master plan for consistency with the LWRP and the development goals for the Village. Other LWRP objectives address parking, traffic and roadway conditions, air quality, and stormwater: • • • improve the parking situation at the railroad station assess the air quality of the Croton-on-Hudson area study the stormwater system of the Village The following projects, noted in the LWRP, are currently being undertaken to implement the above objectives: • Croton River Gorge Trail. Create walking trail from Silver Lake to Black Rock. • Investigate additional sites for waterfront recreation areas. The Village property (“Seprieo”) site north