Rye's six-month ban on downtown development could stretch well into next year.

The City Council is scheduled to vote Wednesday, Nov. 4, on setting a Nov. 18 public hearing to extend the moratorium on Central Business District projects through March 31, 2027, according to the Rye Record.

The council will also hear the FY 2027 budget presentation from the city manager and city comptroller at the 7 p.m. meeting at City Hall, according to the meeting agenda.

The moratorium, formally Local Law No. 3 of 2026, passed 5-2 at a special meeting on June 8. It temporarily prohibits the review, processing or approval of any application in the Central Business District, the adjoining B-1 and B-2 districts, and multi-family buildings of six or more units.

Roughly one month remains on the original six-month term.

The pause was meant to give the city time to develop design standards for downtown Rye while work continues on the city's first updated comprehensive plan in 40 years, the Rye Record reported.

Dissent on the ban

The original moratorium drew more than three hours of public comment before the June 8 vote.

Councilmembers Jamie Jensen and Marion Anderson cast the two "no" votes.

The Rye Record reported that Jensen expressed hesitation before her vote, citing competing city priorities. Bill Henderson, a former council member and the newly named chair of the Rye GOP Committee, also questioned the need for the ban.

"I think this downtown moratorium is a mistake," Henderson told the Rye Record. "The previous City Council had already agreed to hiring a consultant to advise us on building standards for downtown."

Anderson's current position on the proposed extension is not reflected in available public records.

Waiver denied at 43 Locust Ave.

The council has held firm on the moratorium's boundaries. In August, property owners Kenneth Haas and Ursula Serluca requested a waiver to move forward with a mixed-use project at 43 Locust Ave., the former home of Judith's Skin Care, one block from Purchase Street.

They planned to demolish the existing building and construct a three-story structure with offices on the second floor and a residential apartment on the third, the Rye Record reported.

The council denied the waiver by a 4-1 vote.

Mayor Josh Nathan cited two concerns during the public hearing on the property: flooding and unfinished design standards. "We have not developed new flood standards," Nathan said, according to the Rye Record.

"The reason for the moratorium is to pause while the municipality takes a look at rules and regulations and identifies any appropriate changes."

Planning work underway

City officials hosted a comprehensive planning workshop on Oct. 14 and a Downtown Rye Design Week from Oct. 26 through Oct. 28, the Rye Record reported.

The council also plans to set a public hearing on the FY 2027 budget for Dec. 2 and a separate hearing on a possible local law to override the state tax levy limit for Dec. 16, according to the agenda.

The next regular council meeting is Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. at City Hall. That is when the public hearing on the moratorium extension would take place if the council votes to schedule it.