One concern was the number of housing units being converted from single-family to multiple dwellings, particularly in the village, said Leeanne Thornton, the Town Board representative on the committee.
The provisions in the plan are not laws and are not enforceable, Fitzsimmons pointed out. Rather, a comprehensive plan “looks for a direction of where we will be going.”
The comprehensive plan does not spring full-blown from committee discussions, and a list of a dozen studies, analyses and guidelines published since the current plan was adopted in 1999 are listed prominently, as was suggested in the public meeting. The new plan is also an update of an existing plan, and thus much remains the same, even though times have changed since 1999, Fitzsimmons said. Some of the goals of that plan have been accomplished (for instance, the police merger).
In general, Fitzsimmons said he believes most of the questions that have been raised are answered in the latest draft. “This version should be 80 to 85 percent accepted; I would be surprised if we add much to it.
Other changes
Two additions to the plan that related to specific proposals from the public concern hydraulic fracturing for gas, “fracking,” and global warming, Mayer said. The plan offers the general prescription, “minimize the impact of climate change on the town’s natural and agricultural resources.” On fracking, the plan states the town and village should “consider laws to regulate or prohibit the location and operation of hydraulic fracturing in order to protect groundwater supplies, natural resources and local roads and bridges.”
Beyond this statement, the new version of the plan contains an entirely new goal: “to minimize the effects of climate change on the town’s natural and agricultural resources.” This goal specifies formation of a town-village committee to study the phenomenon, development of alternatives to fossil fuels and a host of other mitigation techniques, said Thornton.
In general, the public has not taken the committee up on its invitation to its discussion meetings, Mayer said. “We have had three or four people who had an interest in a particular topic,” she said.
The process leading up to the draft plan included long meetings and some extra meetings, with lively discussion, Thornton said. While the committee received technical help from Dan Shuster of Shuster Associates and Alan Sorensen of Planit Money, the final wording was mostly produced by the committee, often with long discussions. The professional planners were paid through a $15,000 grant from the Hudson River Valley Greenway.
Thornton applauded the committee members for their hard work and open minds. “There hasn’t been anybody with a preconceived agenda.”
Read the plan
The document is available at the Town Hall, Village Hall and public library, and should soon be on the town website, www.saugerties.ny.us. The next public meeting will be March 12, 6:30 p.m. at the Senior Center on Market St.
