Land Use
Land Use Strategies
Westchester County includes a wide and diverse range of land uses. The county's Planning Board is updating its long-range land use policies through Westchester 2025. This new plan for the county is a means to assist county government and the county’s 45 cities, towns and villages, as well as business developers and private non-profit organizations, to work in partnership to define and realize preferred, future land-use patterns.
Use our interactive scorecard and refer to the county's action plan to evaluate your progress to date in this area and get linked to specific tools and resources to help you implement the recommended actions below.
| Wetland and floodplain restoration | ||
| Restore and maintain wetlands and floodplains. | ||
| Exterior equipment maintenance | ||
| Keep exterior maintenance equipment clean and leak-free. | ||
| Low-water landscaping | ||
| Landscape with drought resistant plants. Group plants according to their water needs. | ||
| Reduce Irrigation Requirements | ||
| Monitor irrigation schedules or install rain sensors and look for signs of over-watering. | ||
| Reduce lawn areas | ||
| Replace lawn areas with ground cover or other drought resistant, low maintenance plantings. | ||
| Plant trees | ||
| Develop a tree planting program. | ||
| Erosion control | ||
| Use landscaping to prevent erosion problems. | ||
| Decrease impervious surface area | ||
| Reduce the amount of impervious surface by using permeable pavement and other options. | ||
| Mulch and compost | ||
| Mulch or compost green waste on site. Use compost instead of chemical fertilizers for soil and plant health. Mulch around plants to reduce weeds and water requirements. | ||
| Integrated Pest Management | ||
| Use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques and pest resistant plants. | ||
| Install a green roof | ||
| Reduce global warming through installation of a green roof. | ||