By Rob Sample
Carmel residents had the opportunity to weigh-in on the town’s updated comprehensive plan during a public hearing at the July 17 Carmel Town Board meeting, when Bonnie Franson, a partner in the Hudson Valley office of Nelson Pope Voorhis, outlined the importance of comprehensive planning and how towns go about doing so.
Franson’s company is a regional environmental planning and land-use analysis firm that acts as a consultant to Carmel – and a host of other area towns. She detailed what such plans can realistically accomplish over a 10- to 20-year span.
“Having a plan is incredibly useful and important to attract investment and support future funding opportunities, (such as) through regional economic development council grants and New York State grants,” she said. “Another important aspect of having a plan: to lay out all those opportunities that you want to pursue.”
The town began working on the revised comprehensive plan in 2020, and the process included a townwide workshop and survey, meetings with community groups, and two public webinars.
The resulting document begins with a vision statement that calls for the town to build socially vibrant downtowns with traditionally designed main streets interconnected by trails and sidewalks and a mixture of commercial uses. It also calls for more in-town employment opportunities and a range of housing types to meet the needs of all age groups.
Of note, it calls for keeping the hamlets of Carmel, Mahopac and Mahopac Falls as “focal points” for the town and to ensure that the commercial corridors along routes 6 and 52 don’t compete with them. Adjoining “hill-and-valley” neighborhoods might be suitable for businesses such as wineries and breweries, which require too much space to be within a downtown and wouldn’t negatively impact the vibe of residential zones, per the plan.
Local realtor Larry Zach called on the board and the Comprehensive Planning Commission to help make the permitting process “less onerous.” He said developers for residential lots often cannot break ground for 18 to 36 months.
“It’s not feasible to continue this pattern in commercial (development),” he said.
Zach also noted that parking in downtown areas is sufficient during the daytime, but inadequate for busy Friday nights.
“I want to thank you for stepping up and doing this,” he said. “We do not have a big tax base and we can certainly improve things. The goals here are wonderful.”
Mahopac’s Lauren Rosolen reiterated her opposition to the proposed battery-storage plant in town – which was mothballed for six months by the town board earlier this month. Rosolen noted that in the comprehensive plan, the language regarding such plants uses the words “not favor,” and she wants those words changed to “not allow.”
“Our future vision as a community should be to first and foremost protect its citizens,” she said. “This small word change shows that is exactly what you intend to do.”
Fellow Mahopac resident – and business owner – Danya Huppert noted that the comprehensive plan focuses a bit on business appearance. “But so many businesses are empty,” she said. “What do you care what the business looks like if you can’t put a business in it – or they can’t afford to stay open?”
“The plan is intended to attract business and to attract future growth to our town,” responded Town Board member Robert Kearns.
Franson added that the community has gone from a retail-oriented type of social fabric to one where people want to do things. “So that’s what we’re trying to encourage as part of the comprehensive plan, and ultimately zoning,” she said.
Michael Nowak of Mahopac said the comprehensive plan needs a clear method to better track progress.
“Furthermore, it’s interesting to hear someone mention that it’s taking 18 months for land-use applications to go through the process,” he said. “I don’t mind 18 months if there are reasonable issues.”
Franson added that the comprehensive plan calls for its goals and objectives to be assessed on an annual basis.
Town Historian Alicia Briley asked how the Comprehensive Planning Commission identified places of historical significance in the revised plan, taking issue with several reservoirs being identified as historic places.
“I have family buried underneath all of these reservoirs that we use for our drinking water,” said Briley, who is of Native-American descent. “I don’t feel it’s vital to even mention anything regarding the reservoirs being historic because they’re not as old as everything else is in this town.”
Another site Briley said deserves mention is adjacent to Carmel’s Airport Park, where a battle between native troops and the British took place during the Revolutionary War.
Franson said she will reach out to Briley to ensure that more such historic locations are listed in the plan. “Nothing gets protected unless there is local protection,” she said.
The Carmel Town Board encourages residents to read the revised comprehensive plan, which is available at www.ci.carmel.ny.us/home/news/updated-2024-town-of-carmel-comprehensive-master-plan.
Another public hearing is scheduled Wednesday, Sept. 18. At least one public session on zoning concerns will take place after that; those dates are still to be determined.
Comentarios