In 2005 the City adopted Design Standards and Guidelines to ensure that new developments met a number of objectives.

These objectives include:

·        Ensure housing design is based on a consistent, compatible, and aesthetic architecture.

·        Ensure that new housing is designed with sensitivity to the site, as well as pedestrian  scale, and reflects a strong residential character for the neighborhood and community.

·        Ensure that new homes use building materials and architectural finishes in a manner that exemplifies quality, durability and encourages innovative and imaginative architecture.

·        Supports and defines safe pedestrian, transit, bicycle and vehicular circulation.

·        Maintain the scale, context and texture of existing neighborhoods.

·        Encourage creative designs for sites and buildings.

·        Allow for infill development that is sensitive to its context.

The standards and guidelines are intended to promote orderly community growth; which will both protect and enhance property values for the community as a whole. To protect the existing environment of the City of Mount Vernon, and to reduce potential impacts of new development and infill development, these provisions apply to all multi-family development, residential Planned Unit Development (PUD), duplexes and single-family developments proposing lots (7600 sq ft or less).

Following is a link to these adopted standards.