The environment
The Esopus watershed is an important resource, and Myers has been involved with protecting it. New York City reservoir releases have had an impact on the creek, and the Comprehensive Plan should address it somehow. She suggested working with state and federal agencies to protect the Esopus Creek watershed.
Committee chairman Patrick Fitzsimmons said he could not understand why someone hasn’t taken the New York Department of Environmental Protection to court over the damage to the Esopus Creek. He also pointed out that regulations to protect the creek are already included in Saugerties town law in the section on the waterfront overlay district.
A section on climate change lists such concerns as shorter and warmer winters, rising sea levels, rising summer air temperatures and an increase in invasive species of plants. While the plan states that the intensity of storms appears to be increasing as a result, Myers suggested that the frequency of severe storms is also increasing, and this should be added to the plan. “We had two 100-year floods in a 14-month period.” She also said there was an ocean surge this year, and that is something new for this area.
A section on hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking,” was left ambiguous, stating that the town and village boards should “consider laws to regulate or prohibit the location and operations of hydraulic fracturing in order to protect groundwater supplies, natural resources and local roadways and bridges.” Village Trustee Don Hackett said he is an environmentalist and feels the language should be less ambiguous. “I would have liked to see something stronger,” he said. Jeannine Mayer said the board decided to “let people know it’s out there, get it on the radar,” and leave it to a future committee to make a determination as to whether to allow it.
Gambling
Likewise, while casinos have been a hot-button issue, the plan recognizes the controversy, but does not come down on either side. Fitzsimmons asked that the board read the section carefully before moving on. The section states that “the possibility of casino gambling poses significant potential impacts on the community.” It goes on to state that such impacts must be carefully considered, and should a specific proposal be put forward the public must have an opportunity to examine and discuss it before any approval.
What it is
The Comprehensive Plan is “a broad policy document,” said Alan Sorensen of Planit Main Street. “It is not a law, but reflects the community’s desires as to quality of life, community character, open space, and the comprehensive plan provides a framework through which your land-use regulations are ultimately decided.”
Land-use regulations must be consistent with the plan, Sorensen said. There were several revisions to the zoning laws after the 1999 plan was adopted, and there may be revisions to the existing laws once this plan is adopted.
“Quite a number of the recommendations in the 1999 comprehensive plan have been achieved, and a number of laws, studies and projects have occurred as a result of the comprehensive plan,” Sorensen said. He cited park improvements and the expansion of the library as directly following from the plan.
Fitzsimmons distributed a five-page list of zoning updates, changes in local laws and physical projects that have flowed from the earlier plan, including a Winston Farm feasibility study, a biodiversity analysis, a Washington Ave. multi-path plan, town design guidelines, a town and village economic development plan and a waterfront revitalization plan. The town has updated subdivision regulations, amended zoning in a number of locations, passed a junkyard law, added special regulations for the gateways and waterfront areas to the zoning laws and a host of others. The consolidation of the town and village police departments was listed in the 1999 plan as a goal to be achieved, and it has been.
