Around Ithaca: RURAL INTERNET OPTIONS SLOWLY INCREASE:

Jim Nagel, a small business owner on Canaan Road in the Town of Caroline, believed he could only get slow, unreliable dial-up Internet when interviewed for a Jan. 14 Journal story on the lack of high speed services in rural pockets of Tompkins County.

But soon after, he learned his phone provider Frontier could help him. Now, the difference in negotiating the Internet is like “night and day.”

“I tried the same tool catalogue I tried to access before,” he said, and what once took 20 minutes — often with his computer crashing — took only two. Now he's interested in getting a Web site established for the Nagel and Wolff furniture business he runs with his wife, Elizabeth Nagel.

. . . and Auburn: WI-FI COULD OPEN NEW FRONTIERS:

Wi-Fi? Why not?

The group behind a seven-point plan for revitalizing the region would like to bring wireless Internet access to the city and beyond. It's a goal included in Call to Action: Blueprint for Our Region's Future that could be used to retain and recruit young people and business.

“You're dealing with a generation of folks that crave connectivity, that need this in their lives,” said Tim Fox, a member of the Blueprint panel and former chairman of the Ignite young professional group.

The applications are social and economic. It can be used to lure businesses or to close the so-called digital divide between rich and poor, urban and rural.

“The idea is everyone should have access,” Fox said.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 09:24 PM | Permalink

AMHERST TO HELP COMBAT VACANT HOUSING:

Amherst will join other inner-ring suburbs, as well as Buffalo, in a regional effort to combat the growing problem of vacant properties, Town Board members decided Monday.

By unanimous consent, town lawmakers threw their support behind a proposal to create an Erie-Buffalo Vacant Properties Coordinating Council and to designate the Buffalo area as a Vacant Properties Living Laboratory.

Supervisor Satish B. Mohan, who proposed the measure, said a 2004 study found that every abandoned property represents "a substantial cost" for municipalities.

Census data indicates that 17 percent of Buffalo's housing units and 6 percent of the combined housing stock of Amherst and Cheektowaga are vacant. The trend is growing, especially in Buffalo's first-ring suburbs, where an estimated 5,558 housing units are now vacant in Amherst and Cheektowaga, The Buffalo News reported Jan. 22.

In November, representatives from the city, the Town of Tonawanda, Cheektowaga and Amherst joined the National Vacant Properties Campaign, which offers help to communities dealing with vacant and abandoned properties.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 10:46 PM | Permalink

A SPREADING PLAGUE OF VACANCIES:

Town officials pulled up to the once-charming farmer's cottage. They barely had time to get out of their car before a neighbor opened her window and called out to them in a hopeful tone: "Are you going to tear it down?"

Vacant houses long have been tagged as a city problem. But this scene was in the Town of Cheektowaga. And there are signs that other first-ring suburbs face the beginnings of a problem that has plagued the city for decades.

Amherst and Cheektowaga combined show a 55 percent increase in the number of vacant housing units, from 3,583 units in 2000 to an estimated 5,558 in 2005, according to 2005 survey data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The figures include both homeowner housing and rentals.

"There are more vacant homes," said Randy Randazzo, an Amherst real estate broker for more than 35 years with M.J. Peterson. "There are more houses that have been foreclosed on, too."

Limited census data showed the Town of Tonawanda's vacancy rates to be fairly level.

Compared with Buffalo's numbers, suburban vacancy rates seem piddling. Buffalo's vacancy rate stands at 17 percent, with more than 20,000 homes empty, according to the 2005 American Community Survey produced by the Census Bureau.

By contrast, the combined vacancy rate for Amherst and Cheektowaga has grown from 4 percent to 6 percent. Given the size of the 2005 survey sample, it's possible the true vacancy rate could be somewhat lower or higher. And only a fraction of these properties are abandoned single-family homes.

But no matter how you cut the data, the number of vacant homes has clearly grown, and that worries some suburban officials. The fear among neighbors and town officials is that some vacant housing may translate into derelict and neglected buildings, a lure for drug dealers, trash dumpers, transients and junkies.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 10:46 PM | Permalink

TOWN TRAIN STATION, TRAILS TO BE LINKED:

By next year, residents and visitors should enjoy treks through historic New Hamburg on new pedestrian paths connecting Metro-North's train station with recreation spots and the Reese Audubon Sanctuary.

The improvements will be paid for with a nearly $509,000 grant recently se-cured by the Town of Poughkeepsie. The project should also benefit the nearby Village of Wappingers Falls and Town of Wappinger.
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The project should be designed this year and constructed in 2008. It will be funded by the federal Transportation Enhancements Program and administered by the state Department of Transportation.

Local officials hope the improvements bring tourists to the area by train, while also improving safety for residents who walk in the hamlet.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 08:40 PM | Permalink

TICONDEROGA READIES FOR FUTURE EXPANSION:

Community leaders in Ticonderoga tried to figure out how to encourage greater economic growth in their town.

Development of the Four Corners commercial district had stalled because the town's municipal sewer system didn't reach that far.

The businesses already located there — like McDonald's and Wal-Mart — had either private connections or on-site septic systems.

"We looked at areas in the town for future development, their strengths and weaknesses," Ticonderoga Town Supervisor Robert C. Dedrick said.

"One glaring weakness was no municipal sewers at the Four Corners."

One obstacle was the cost formula for users in a new Route 9N/22 sewer district — it generated high rates.

"The first cost estimates were astoundingly high. A majority of businesses didn't feel they could support it without some type of grant," Dedrick said.

The next step was to meet with County Director of Planning Victor Putman and County Industrial Development Agency Co-Director Carol Calabrese.

They suggested asking the Governor's Office for a $750,000 Small Cities economic grant that would be used to install public sewers at the Four Corners.

"The formula was that we had to create jobs — a minimum of 25 jobs — plus retain jobs, which we did through Dunkin' Donuts and Gallo's," Dedrick said.
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The town then went to bid on what became a $1.2 million project, issuing serial bonds for the part the grant didn't cover.

The low bidder was the Highland Company of Memphis, N.Y., and the project got under way with engineering work by Quintin Kestner of Troy and clerk of the works Ivan Macey supervising construction.

"We've had almost total cooperation from businesses and residents there," Dedrick said.

Town employees pitched in to help, Dedrick said, with Town Highway Superintendent Phillip Huestis offering the highway garage for a staging area and Water Superintendent Keith O'Connor and Sewer Superintendent Tracey Smith providing assistance.

It's not even completed yet and Dedrick is fielding calls about the Four Corners from all over the country.

"Whenever I get a call from a developer they ask if we have municipal sewers there," he said. "It's created jobs. It's increased our tax base and increased sales tax revenue for the county."

Next to arrive will be a Lowe's home-improvement store, with a March groundbreaking scheduled, and other franchises like Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar have made inquiries.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 04:33 PM | Permalink

WIRELESS NETWORK COMES WITH BIG PRICE TAG:

Local governments in New York state could be hit with a big bill for the equipment they will need to access the Statewide Wireless Network, the state comptroller's office reported Wednesday.

The $2 billion network is being established to improve communications among public safety entities around the state.

Under an agreement between the Pataki administration and M/A-COM, the vendor developing the network's infrastructure, all of the equipment to access the network will have to be bought from M/A-COM.

Hevesi said his office has determined the cost of the equipment to local governments will cost $530 million -- or several times higher than previous estimates. That price includes $330 million in financing costs for the equipment.

Hevesi projected the state's cost for equipment to access the network to be $260 million, including $160 million in financing costs.
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Hevesi also released an audit Wednesday in which he said his office found irregularities in contracts between M/A-COM and three state agencies: State police, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Correctional Services. The company appeared to be continuing to receive fees in some cases from the agencies even after equipment had been fully purchased.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 04:43 PM | Permalink

TOWN, VILLAGE TO MAP PLAN TO DEAL WITH EMERGENCIES:

Alden town and village officials Tuesday night discussed a mutual disaster preparedness plan after coming up short in the surprise snowstorm on Oct. 12-13.

Officials noted that four days after the storm, town and village officials had yet to hear from the Erie County's emergency operations center.

Mayor Michael Kubik, who also serves as disaster coordinator, said the village needed help obtaining a generator to operate the water pumping station.

"I am the disaster coordinator, and I wasn't included in conference calls," Kubik said. Tuesday's meeting in Village Hall also involved representatives of the Millgrove, Crittenden and Alden fire companies; Erie County Legislator Kathy Konst, D-Lancaster, and Robert MacPeek from the Office of Emergency Management in Lancaster.
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Town Board member Arlene Cooke said the town has learned its lesson from the storm.

"We have developed our own philosophy for the last couple of years," she said. "If anything does happen, we are on our own."

Referring to the preparedness plan, MacPeek offered this advice: "Let's make sure we get a good plan together here. We need to be the catalyst here in Erie County."

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 01:32 PM | Permalink

TOWN SEEKS TO EASE TRAFFIC:

Years in the making, the Town of Ithaca is putting its recently drafted Transportation Plan up for a public hearing Tuesday.

Aimed at providing a vision of the town's transportation future, the document provides analysis of the situation today and recommendations for developments in the future. According to a statement from the town, “the main purpose of the Transportation Plan is to foster a transportation system that enhances the quality of life in the Town.”

Some of the primary goals identified by the draft include reducing dependence on low-occupancy vehicles, increasing opportunities for biking and walking, protecting neighborhoods from excessive traffic burdens, and designing roads that are safe and aesthetically pleasing, while still efficient.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 03:42 PM | Permalink

TOWN CENTER PLAN GENERATES CONCERN:

A conceptual design for a suburban town center could interfere with the quality of life for some living in central Halfmoon, residents said Thursday.

John Behan of Behan Planning Associates presented the preliminary plan for connector roads, trails, a country hamlet neighborhood, a town park and more on land between routes 9 and 236 to about 60 people at Town Hall.

Behan and members of the Town Board have argued that a town center consisting of residential, municipal and commercial activity would provide the community with a sense of identity, places to gather and a more diverse transportation system.

But several present business and home owners in the wide swath of potentially affected land told the Town Board that the plan -- especially an east-west crosstown crossover from Lower Newtown Road to Route 9 -- would threaten their livelihood and serenity.

The conceptual plan calls for a park with trails between Route 236 and Route 9; a country hamlet with municipal offices and homes near the Town Hall; and a traditional village-like neighborhood near Route 9 that would feature walkable retail and office spaces.

A connector road, possibly with walking paths, would connect the hamlet and "Main Street" neighborhoods.

The board could endorse the concept in the future by voting to adopt it as part of its Comprehensive Plan. There is no timeline, and the town center would be built with money from developers seeking to build in the area, Supervisor Kenneth DeCerce said.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 11:35 AM | Permalink

NORTH EAST TO HELP BUY FARM DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS:

The North East town board not only discussed farmland preservation, but put its money where its mouth is.

In two separate actions, the board voted Thursday to give $10,000 toward the purchase of development rights for Pleasant View Farm and to see if there is community interest in protecting natural resources.

The 220-acre farm is between Pulver and Sawchuck roads near the Columbia County line. The purchase price is $1.7 million, of which the state will pay $1.3 million. The remainder will come from Dutchess County and the town.

"The objective is to purchase development rights and extinguish them so the land is protected," Supervisor David Sherman said.

In December 2005, Roger Akeley, commissioner of the county Department of Planning and Development, appeared before the board to urge it to consider contributing to the process.

He said the county was strongly encouraging municipalities to show real support for farmland preservation by contributing cash.

Akeley also reminded the board North East had been the recipient of a state grant that enabled the purchase of development rights to Sunset Ridge, a 213-acre dairy farm.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 11:28 AM | Permalink

TRAINING MANDATED FOR PLANNERS, ZONERS:

Under a new state law, municipal planning and zoning officials will be required to undergo four hours of training annually, which some local planners said would not be a difficult requirement to meet.

The new law, which goes into affect Jan. 1, states that members of local and county planning boards and zoning boards of appeal must undergo a minimum of four hours of training each year. There are no uniform statutory standards currently in existence for training municipal planning and zoning officials who are responsible for regulating local land use in the state.

According to a press release from the state Legislative Commission on Rural Resources, well-considered and timely land use decisions by a municipal board or commission help attract promoters of quality community development, including those considering residential, commercial, agricultural, industrial, open space, recreational and main street projects. Sound land-use decisions result in fewer lawsuits and can help lower municipal liability insurance costs, the release added.

See my prior post about this here. The law is nice but toothless because it permits municipalities to opt out of the requirements.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 10:06 PM | Permalink

SENECA FALLS TO HIRE ECONOMIC DEVELOPER:

The town and village expect to hire a joint economic developer by the end of the year.

First Ward Trustee T.J. Ikewood, who serves on the joint Economic Development Committee, reported to the Board of Trustees Monday that after the job description is completed Sept. 21, the position will be advertised in October and interviews will be conducted in November.

"This is very, very exciting for this community," Ikewood said, noting that hiring economic developers in Geneva and Auburn led to lakefront development in those cities. He said Seneca Falls is getting a reputation for not being business-friendly and that this could change that and "make sure Seneca Falls is the best place" it can be.
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Two years of work on a joint village/town comprehensive plan is nearing completion, and the economic developer's position has been part of the ongoing discussion.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 11:02 AM | Permalink

PRESERVING FARMING:

Supervisor Scott Russell has proposed setting up a fund that will allow the town to purchase farmland and resell it, but only to farmers.

"Now, farmland enters the market and we hope for the best," he said at Tuesday's work session, where he introduced the idea to the Town Board.

Current preservation funds, like the income from the 2% tax, do not permit the town to resell any of the land it preserves. Most 2% money is used to buy the development rights to existing farms. If, however, a farmer or the owner of farmland wishes to sell everything, the town must go through an intermediary like the Peconic Land Trust, which will purchase land provided it has lined up the next willing buyer.

The proposed system would allow the town to buy the land at market rate, subdivide and sell off any parcel containing a home at market rate, strip the land of its development rights — in effect selling it to themselves — and then offer the land, with the stipulation that it be farmed, at rates below what is currently being charged for farmland on which the development rights have been sold. Mr. Russell hopes that figure can be less than $10,000 per acre.

Farmland now on the market, without development rights, is going for around $20,000 per acre and that's too much to make a farm profitable, said Martin Sidor, owner of a potato farm in Mattituck, who was on hand to explain the proposal to the board.

As an example, Mr. Russell used a 23.8-acre farm with a house and barn that's currently on the market for $2 million. The town could buy the property at that price and sell the house for $400,000. After that, with an estimate of $60,000 per acre in development rights, the town could take $1,380,000 from the land preservation fund. This would leave $220,000 for the town to recoup and allow it to sell — to a farmer — for $9,565 per acre.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 08:24 PM | Permalink

GRANBY RESIDENTS SPEAK OUT ABOUT CONTROVERSIAL ZONING AMENDMENTS:

Even more controversial, though, is the council's proposal to modify the zoning restrictions that apply to mobile homes. If the new regulations pass, single-wide mobile homes (or those that are less than 24 feet wide) can only be established in “manufactured housing communities,” or trailer parks. Double-wide manufactured homes will be allowed in R-1 districts, which are mainly rural, but not in R-2 districts, or residential areas, unless they are in a subdivision specifically designated for modular homes.

When the section about modular home sub-divisions was read aloud by Duncan, a shout came up from the crowd saying “it's still a trailer park!” Duncan clarified that a trailer park was where a single owner rented out lots for people to live on in a mobile home, and a sub-division meant that the people owned the land that their mobile-home was on.

Some people brought signs to the meeting that read slogans like: “Where do we live Cuba?” and “Help Wanted for the Granby Town Board.”

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 09:47 PM | Permalink

MILAN PROMOTES HAMLETS:

There was a time when the hamlets of Rock City and Lafayetteville were hubs of commercial business activity.

Lafayetteville, named after the French general Marquis de Lafayette who visited the area in 1824, was a stagecoach stop and a resting point for mail carriers traveling between the Hudson River and points in New England in the early 1800s. Rock City was home to a hotel, grist mill and saw mill.

"Rock City was really a booming place," said Patrick Higgins, the town's former historian. "There were actually two newspapers and a post office.

Eventually, with the development of railroad lines and extension of the Taconic State Parkway north, those areas converted into the rural backdrop drivers along Route 199 see today.

Now, as more people move in, town officials worry the rural character that has long defined the Town of Milan is at risk. The town's comprehensive plan, passed this year, would encourage builders to develop around the hamlets of Rock City and Lafayettville.
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Next year, the town board will work on legislation to implement planned purpose developments, Williams said.

The planned purpose developments, which would ideally be built in the areas surrounding the hamlets, would allow builders to create more housing in less space than allowed under traditional zoning.

The idea would be to create walkable neighborhoods with diverse mix of moderately priced housing, senior housing and small commercial spaces.

"What we try to do in planning is concentrate growth and activity around pre-existing town centers," said Richard Birch, assistant commissioner of the county Department of Planning and Development. "It allows people to increase their mobility so they don't have to rely on vehicles to move around."

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 07:15 PM | Permalink

LAW WOULD INCREASE COST OF HOMES:

A law that would allow Red Hook to apply a one-time tax on the sale of high-priced homes in the town has been given the go-ahead by Gov. George Pataki.

State Sen. Steve Saland, R-Poughkeepsie, made the announcement Monday. The law would ask town homebuyers to pay as much as 2 percent of the difference between the sales price of a property and the median county price.

If the median county price was $380,000 and a home was purchased for $400,000, the transfer fee would be applied to the $20,000 difference. At 2 percent, that would be $400.
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The next step for the town board is to pass a resolution putting the law on the November ballot.
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The Town of Warwick, Orange County, and several communities on Long Island have passed similar laws enabling them to apply a real estate transfer fee on high-priced home purchases.

Communities can use money collected from the fee for land and historic preservation, recreation and other programs.

The Assembly passed a law this year that would give communities throughout the state the ability to approve a similar law but the statewide measure didn't gain Senate approval.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 10:58 PM | Permalink

NILES BRACES FOR THE FUTURE

The town of Niles and the town of Skaneateles are neighbors, but significant similarities beyond location are more difficult to find.

During a meeting held Wednesday night in Niles for the town to discuss creating a comprehensive plan, Niles planning board chair Bob Martin read off headlines from several stories in the weekly Skaneateles Journal regarding commercial and residential development. Then he picked up a copy of the 2006 annual Niles Newsletter: “This is the town of Niles for one year,” he said, holding up the four-page newsletter. “We're four miles away, yet we're a million miles away.”

It may not always be that way, however.

If, or when, the growing residential development near Skaneateles Lake works its way down to Niles, the town wants to be ready to address it and any other changes the town may face over the next 20 years.

That's one reason, Martin said, the town wants to create a full-scale comprehensive plan, which it currently does not have.

“Four miles away, they're going crazy,” he said, referring to the growing development to the north. “We're still very agricultural and rural.”

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 04:30 PM | Permalink

WAL-MARTS MEETS RESISTANCE ACROSS STATE:

Wal-Mart also faces resistance from residents near supercenter projects in Victor, the town of Greece and in Lima in Livingston County.

Roll Forward Geneva, a group with about 40 core members, hopes to mount an anti-Wal-Mart lobbying effort that will include yard signs, newspaper ads, letters to the Geneva Town Board and attendance at town meetings.

Group members cite the negative impact the expansion of the Routes 5&20 store could have on the area's economy, existing stores and traffic; and they oppose the company's reputation for poor wages and benefits.

Opponents elsewhere point to the same issues.

That's not a coincidence, of course. Some enterprising reporter should study the degree of coordination between Walmart opponents at the local level. It's not a secret on the national level; witness this New York Times article from April, 2005 (registration may be required). Ditto for the anti-windfarm folks.

Incidentally, I used to work across the street from Northgate Plaza in Greece. The McDonald's there was busy but the rest of the plaza was dead and/or empty and had been that way for decades. Stores cycled in and out with alarming speed. Every so often the paper would note how terrible it was that Northgate was such an embarassment. Well, folks, here's your chance to fix the problem. After thirty years.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 09:21 PM | Permalink

GRASS-ROOTS EFFORT DEVELOPS PLAN FOR VICTOR:

Carol Commisso, a retired postmaster who now works as a teacher's aide, is hoping that a plan emerges so that development in the town she grew up isn't so rampant.

Kathleen Houser, a former educator who now owns a business, says her chief concern is that Victor remains a community that she feels a vital part of.

Commisso and Houser were among 36 local residents who have enlisted to come up with a road map for the town's future.

The group, called Core Team, is expected to grow to as many as 65 people by the end of the month and is almost entirely made up of Victor residents who are volunteering to work on the town's strategic plan.

By September, the group, which will be assisted by 10 citizen task forces focusing on a range of issues, is expected to make recommendations about the future of the town. The recommendations will then be reviewed by the Town Board and put into a comprehensive plan.

"This will lay out who we are as a community," said Town Supervisor Leslie Bamann, who took office in January and considers the strategic plan a priority.

Victor was the sixth-fastest-growing town in the state during the first five years of this decade, with the town's population jumping 20.7 percent to 11,951.

How to deal with growth is a pressing concern for a number of those who have volunteered to serve on the strategic planning committee.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 09:40 PM | Permalink

TOWN RESIDENTS UPSET AT WEB MAPS:

Officials at Town Hall have received several frantic calls about land conservation maps recently published on Saratoga County's Web site.

The Geographic Information System, located at http://www.co.saratoga.ny.us, shows property lines, property values, location of roads, wetlands, streams, boundaries and has an aerial photo of the lots in all county municipalities.

The Ballston section also shows the location of historic markers and parcels designated as having historic, scenic or environmental value by the town's Land Conservation Committee.

Supervisor Ray Callanan said he's spoken to a couple of agitated residents who questioned why their property was being highlighted on the maps for consideration in future land conservation projects.

Town Council members agreed that the town didn't sufficiently inform people of the purpose of the maps and that they would be published online.
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Residents at a recent town meeting voiced their concern with public information being easily accessed from the Web site.

Linda Williams Lambert said posting the information on the county Web site is an invasion of privacy.

This will be a constant refrain over the next few years as municipalities make information available online, particulrly the wealth of information avalable on GIS systems. All of this information was readily available to the public before it went online but now it's much easier to find and compile. I fall into the camp which holds that making already public information more public, if you will, is a net benefit, and not an invasion of privacy.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 08:18 PM | Permalink

TOWN, VILLAGE GET TOGETHER FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT:

The village and town are getting ready to implement a joint comprehensive plan that has been more than two years in the making.

A draft copy of the plan was presented to the village board Monday by Village Planner Fran Caraccilo, and the board voted unanimously to declare itself lead agency for the State Environmental Quality Review process.

Caraccilo, who chaired the 18-member Joint Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee, said the draft will be online in a few days at www.seneca falls.com.

The plan is a blueprint to govern future development, particularly economic development. To that the end, the Village Board agreed to appoint Camoin Associates of Saratoga Springs to develop a strategic economic development plan, focusing on downtown revitalization, which will be added to the final comprehensive plan.

The board agreed to have their grant consultant, Jean O’Connell of J. O’Connell & Associates Grants Consultants of Clarence, Erie County, enter into a contract based on Camoin’s bid of $44,986.

Two grants nearly cover the cost of the contract. The town and village have been awarded a $20,000 Quality Communities grant for the strategic economic plan and $24,900 from the Governor’s Office for Small Cities for the Seneca Falls Commercial Revitalization plan.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 08:48 PM | Permalink

MINE HEARING CREATES ROCKY SITUATION IN TOWN:

A plan to mine valuable stone from the hills of Nassau divided about 125 people Tuesday at an eagerly anticipated hearing.

Troy Sand and Gravel applied to the town and the state Department of Environmental Conservation in 2003 to drill on 79 acres of a hilltop parcel southeast of Pikes Pond for graywacke, a hard rock that is optimal for building roadways.

The West Sand Lake company completed a draft environmental impact study (DEIS) for the plan.

On Tuesday, DEC accepted comments on the project for the first time in St. Mary's Church.

Part of the crowd said the proposed rock quarry was an enterprise that would bring no harm. But others called the company's environmental review inadequate and said extracting the rock would generate noise, air and water problems.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 08:45 PM | Permalink

COUPLE TO KEEP FIGHTING FOR TATTOO PARLOR:

A couple who had their home-based tattooing business approved by the town of Southport only to see the decision reversed have vowed to carry on the fight.

The town Planning Board initially approved plans of Terri Ennis and Jason Hallett to operate the tattoo and body piercing parlor along with partner Tony Thompson at 1001 Charles St.

However, following protests by nearby residents, the Town Board asked the Southport Board of Appeals to review the Planning Board decision to see if the proposed business actually meets zoning requirements for a residential neighborhood.

The Board of Appeals reversed the earlier decision after a public hearing last Thursday, and Ennis said she was shocked and outraged by the ruling.
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In the meantime, Town Board member Etta Kay Dewey, who lobbied on behalf of tattoo parlor opponents to have the Board of Appeals review the situation, said the town avoided setting a dangerous precedent.

"This was going to be precedent setter for the town of Southport. I made this my cause," Dewey said. "I knew if it could go in there, it could technically go in anywhere. I did a lot of door-to-door. We raised a lot of awareness of it. The community came together as one."

Dewey also dismissed Ennis' claim that Board of Appeals members took only five minutes to reach a decision because their minds were already made up.

"This is the first time the Board of Appeals has ever been called upon to make a decision like this," she said. "They put a lot of time and effort and thought into this."

I probably would have advised the Town Board to stay out of a land use planning decision like this unless a local law gives it a specific role, as with a special use permit, for example. The Planning Board exists precisely to make this type of decision, and a ZBA should entertain the matter only because aggrieved parties have brought an appeal, not because the Town Board pressures them into taking it up sua sponte.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 10:15 PM | Permalink

DEVELOPING CONTROVERSY:

Not long ago, Amherst had a reputation as a town where developers could count on a warm reception.

But now, with the town's stock of development land dwindling and a philosophical shift in town government, decades-old battles about development versus green space are re-emerging in new terms.

Developer William Huntress paid a $1,000 fine for illegally felling trees on a lot in northeast Amherst and then - just weeks later - dispatched workers to bulldoze more trees on his property in southeast Amherst.

When Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, announced plans for a superstore on Millersport Highway, town officials hastily pulled in the welcome mat, saying they plan to "downzone" the entire area to a more restrictive classification, including the Wal-Mart site.

Supervisor Satish B. Mohan declared that the town has too many vacant offices and that developers should fill the vacancies before planning more office buildings.

James Allen, chairman of the Amherst Industrial Development Agency, shot back, lamenting that Mohan's relationship with his organization was "frightening."

So much for "business-friendly" Amherst, the area's wealthiest and most populous suburb.

Today, the debate in Town Hall is about "smart growth," preventing urban sprawl and keeping developments such as "big box" stores from moving into sparsely developed areas like the Millersport corridor.

But developers say town officials are abusing the very people who made Amherst a success.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 10:05 PM | Permalink

Finally!: WEB SITE TO BE USED FOR A VARIETY OF USES:

A visual aspect to what often can’t be captured in words alone is one reason why the new Geographic Information System will help businesses and private citizens explore Chautauqua County via the World Wide Web.

The GIS system is a sophisticated mapping and information system developed by the county’s Planning Department. The database provides a variety of information from county tax parcels, detailed aerial photos, fire districts, school districts, Board of Elections information to census information — to name a few of the options available.

The GIS system, which was up and running July 1, can be found on the Internet at www.chautauquagis.com.
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Christine Kinn, senior planner and county’s GIS guru, said the project was an enormous undertaking that took more than $2 million and four years to complete. She said the county had to pay for the project, but now will have a chance to qualify for grants to add to the system. The tax parcel information available on the site will be invaluable information for developers interested in the county, Ms. Kinn said.

‘‘Assessment information with real world information that goes hand-and-hand,’’ she said. ‘‘To have this available levels the playing field with other areas of the country.’’

This will be of great use to municipalities (and their attorneys) in Chautauqua County and I'm elated to see it online after a long wait.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 10:07 PM | Permalink

AMHERST WARNED IT DISCOURAGES BUILDERS:

Some of the biggest developers in the Buffalo area showed up Monday at an Amherst Town Board meeting to warn town officials they are discouraging builders from working in town.

What drew them was a proposal by Supervisor Satish B. Mohan to survey the amount of vacant office space in town. Mohan says officials need to know how many vacant offices there are before the Amherst Industrial Development Agency gives developers incentives to build more office buildings in town.

A year ago, the Town Board might have defeated such a measure with ease. But Monday's discussion showed how much has changed since voters had their say in November.

"We must stop this suburban sprawl and the blighting of older areas," Mohan told reporters after the hourlong session with developers. He said his proposal is an attempt to find out if Amherst needs more office space. "That is my question," he said.

Mohan's motion noted that the town has built many office buildings over the past decade, and some are partially empty.

It goes on to say: "The Amherst IDA continues to add more office buildings which attract tenants from earlier built office buildings for tax abatement benefits."

The measure directs Assessor Harry Williams to check the amount of occupancy in the town's office developments and to report back June 30. And it also asks the Amherst IDA to stop providing incentives to new office developments until the existing buildings are 95 percent occupied.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 07:45 PM | Permalink

Robert Bruegmann adapted this interesting essay about urban sprawl from his new book, Sprawl: A Compact History, part of which touches on a development opportunity for rural towns

Affluent exurban residents are among the most zealous guardians of the status quo. They are often adamant about preserving their area exactly as it was when they arrived. Yet rural areas, after a century of losing people as farmers abandoned their land for the cities, are now being repopulated, often at nineteenth-century densities. The new residents are urban families who want the look of old rural New England, but with all of today's urban conveniences. They demand the aesthetic experience of "traditional" settlements without all of the inconveniences associated with that kind of landscape.

This trend, while much accelerated by affluence, has been going on for a long time. Among the best documented inhabitants of exurbia are a number of early American prophets of what we now know as environmentalism. Think of Henry David Thoreau in his shack at Walden Pond just beyond suburban Boston, John Muir in a house across the Berkeley hills from San Francisco, Aldo Leopold at his weekend retreat near Madison, Wisconsin. These were all exurbanites, individuals who loved what they considered a rural life but who also wanted ready access to the city.

As Bruegmann notes, the opportunity is not without cost, when these folks transfer their anti-development urges to their new (often second) homes. The town may be rural but that doesn't mean nothing changed before you moved here, nor that nothing should once you are here.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

COUNTY: TRAIN LAND-USE BOARDS:

A plan to require a minimum of four hours of annual training for members of local land-use boards statewide has been endorsed by the Dutchess County Legislature.
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Supporters said the training would help the boards deal with the increasingly complex issues they face.

The Town of LaGrange recently increased the hours of training it requires of its board members from one to four. John Brewster, chairman of the LaGrange planning board, said he's glad his town requires training.

A statewide provision could be difficult for some upstate municipalities that might not have as many training opportunities available, he said. Cities, towns and villages should be left to decide for themselves whether to require training, he said.
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Monday's vote is not binding, and only meant to express to state legislators the county's support of the plan. A mandatory training bill for board members is being considered in both houses of the state Legislature.

The state bill also allows municipalities to adjust, or waive entirely, training.

County Legislator Marc Molinaro, R-Red Hook, said municipalities can require training or choose not to, so the law would change nothing.

I'd appreciate if someone could send me the bill numbers, since I'm not able to find the bills on the Assembly's website using a keyword search.

UPDATE: Here is the text of the Senate bill (s6316). Notice the opt-out provisions. Thanks to the two folks who sent the bill numbers

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 10:35 PM | Permalink

WAL-MART DISPUTE DRAWS 800 TO LIMA TOWN BOARD MEETING:

Lima Town Board members got an earful from more than 800 residents on the proposed Wal-Mart super center Thursday night during a meeting at the Elim Gospel Church.

Most of the 30 speakers were against the project, citing concerns about the possible loss of the town's rural character, danger to local businesses, traffic congestion and environmental damage. Several received standing ovations.

Wal-Mart ended weeks of rumor and speculation about a big box project being planned for the town when it issued a news release April 26.

The company announced that it wants to build a 165,000-square-foot store, with full grocery service, on a 53-acre site at 1105 Rochester Road (Route 15A).

John Wadach told the board that more than 720 people had signed a petition against the Wal-Mart project.

Wadach is a member of a citizens group organized to actively oppose the store.

"I ask the board to work with us to keep Wal-Mart out and work for planned development," Wadach said.

He also said that those opposed to the project want the board to vote against rezoning the proposed site, to call a moratorium on large retail development and to approve a comprehensive master plan.

800?!?!

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 12:34 PM | Permalink

IT MAKES A VILLAGE?:

LaGrange could be the first of several Dutchess County communities to see the birth of a new village, as progressive planners promote a style of development that eschews sprawl and harkens back to 19th-century settlements.

Then, it was the railroad's extension into Dutchess that gave birth to new population centers. Now, it's migration from New York City and its nearer suburbs.

For 10 months, Ginsburg Development Company has worked with landowners, town and county planners on a proposal to integrate a new commercial district with a mix of housing and outlying neighborhoods on Route 55 in Freedom Plains. The concept is included in the town's master plan.

"If this happens, it would be the first village-scale development in Dutchess County since the 1870s," said John Clarke, development and design coordinator for the county Department of Planning and Development. "That would be a major accomplishment."

The general idea for the 200-acre property, but not the details of the plan, were discussed at a forum on "traditional neighborhood development" at the Beekman Arms Inn in Rhinebeck.
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Traditional neighborhood developments, sometimes referred to as TNDs, are seen as an antidote to sprawling suburbs that consume open space, increase energy consumption and traffic by heightening the reliance on automobiles, and tend to segregate people by income. They are seen as a more sustainable method of development, since central water, sewer and transportation infrastructure can serve the population, while the countryside can remain as farmland or wilderness.

Traditional neighborhood developments focus new housing within a half-mile radius of a center, usually an existing village or hamlet.

They emphasize public buildings, parks and often a commercial district connected by pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and trails. With a mix of housing types, from second-floor apartments over businesses to single-family homes, people with various incomes live side-by-side. Interconnected streets on small blocks disperse traffic.

The county has helped develop traditional neighborhood plans with other communities, including Red Hook, Pleasant Valley and Amenia. Some have met with opposition from local residents and officials.

Obstacles to traditional neighborhood development include the need for water and sewer infrastructure, a relative scarcity of development teams with the skills needed to build this way, and the need for multiple landowners to cooperate and accept a single vision for development.
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"We've been building traditional neighborhoods for 5,000 years," Clarke said. "Only in the last 50 years have we forgotten how to do it."

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 12:31 PM | Permalink

Parts of this article read like something from The Onion: NEIGHBORS SPOOKED BY PLANS FOR WATCHTOWER:

“I don't believe anybody in the neighborhood should be observed by anybody else,” he said.

On the other hand, some people believe the threat of unknown observation is of social benefit. Apparently, not in Oswego. Or maybe the whole observation thing was a ruse and Bentham really just wanted an elaborate set of stairs to exercise on, built on the public's dime.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 02:05 PM | Permalink

STATE GIVES BOOST TO FARMERS MARKETS:

The state is making $50,000 available for the construction, reconstruction, improvement, expansion or rehabilitation of farmers markets.

The state Department of Agriculture and Markets is accepting proposals. The work paid by grant money must involve physical improvement to a farmers market, such as portable or fixed signage, site preparation or improvement, or related architectural or engineering designs.

Grant applications are available by contacting Jonathan Thomson at (800) 544-4501 or by downloading the form from the department's Web site at http://www.agmkt.state.ny.us. All applications for funding are due by May 9.

The grant program is part of the governor's Grow New York initiative. The program has awarded $567,000 to 43 farmers market facility improvement projects since the program began in 2000. Beyond farmers' markets, Grow New York has given more than $4 million in competitive grants to more than 200 agricultural projects including farmland viability plans and research and development grants.

About 1,000 farmers participate in more than 300 farmers markets located throughout the state.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 08:08 PM | Permalink

CREEK SEEN AS MEANS TO REEL IN VISITORS:

The Kayaderosseras twists through several towns on its path south from Corinth into Saratoga Lake.

The waterway's name comes from the Mohawks and means "the land of the beautiful lake of the winding river." The creek, a spot favored by both fishermen and kayakers, embodies the green infrastructure Saratoga County is attempting to highlight and convince its municipalities to work together to preserve.

Malta Supervisor Paul Sausville, a fisherman himself, doesn't want the creek to just be an entry on a list of iconic natural wonders in a dusty planning document.

"It's got to be more than an inventory of resources," said Sausville. "It could be a fish trail. It could be an ecological trail to which visitors go."

The creek is considered one of the best trout streams upstate, with several designated fishing access points along the stream.

The creek's 6.5-mile run from Ballston Spa through Malta down to Saratoga Lake is officially the Kayaderosseras Creek Canoe and Kayak Trail. The watery path is sponsored by Saratoga Preserving Land and Nature, which posts the definition of the creek's name on its Web site at http://www.saratogaplan.org.

Sausville's vision fits with that of Saratoga PLAN's for developing the county's green infrastructure: trails, waterways, farms, woods and other natural resources.
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Sausville said the county and its communities shouldn't stop at promoting a fish trail or other ecological attractions. The Zim Smith Trail, a pathway through the towns, is the core of the hiking trail network the county is building linking its various communities. But, it can't just be a line on a map.

"If you don't have a vision of where you want to go, you're not going to get there," Sausville said.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 09:24 PM | Permalink

I rarely post news from my home county because the two newspapers here provide web access only by subscription. The above-the-fold article in today's Jamestown Post-Journal- MERGING LOCAL COURTS- merits a mention, however, even without a link. The Democrats in the Chautauqua County Legislature have floated a trial balloon for a proposal to consolidate in one form or another 33 town, village, and city courts in the county into district courts. The article is short on detail, there is no formal proposal yet, and I can confirm that at least four of the towns in the county have not been consulted about it at all. Nevertheless, this is an idea that I've mentioned to some of my clients and I would hope, that, if nothing else, perhaps a test court could be established to confirm that it would in fact save money without hindering the effectiveness of the judicial system. We'll see. [Update: I understand that district courts exist on Long Island and one was recently formed in Broome County, and, by all appearances they make sense in that suburban setting- my question is whether they would be cost-effective in rural areas.]

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 09:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

SEWERS HARMING VALLEY WATERSHED:

A paradigm shift, already under way, is essential if we are to keep our wastes from spoiling water resources in the rapidly growing Hudson River watershed region. Moving away from central sewers is an important strategy for protecting our drinking water supply and the quality of our streams. ... Another school of thought favors a decentralized approach to managing wastewater. Instead of one large plant discharging to a stream, this approach uses a combination of individual septic systems and smaller community waste treatment systems. It allows homes to be built close to one another, but uses soil and plants to treat sewage, thereby avoiding discharges to streams at a fraction of the cost of centralized systems.

Decentralized systems can help to ensure a sustainable water supply because we can treat the water close to its source and use it to recharge groundwater. Farms, parks and forests can all be used for soil dispersal, so systems can be designed to fit, irrigate and fertilize the local landscape.

Together with clustering homes, preserving open spaces and other site-design tools, decentralized waste and stormwater strategies can help to protect stream corridors and adjacent habitat.
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Sounds too good to be true? Well, there is one catch: decentralized systems, like most technologies, require proper design and ongoing management to work properly. With good reason, regulators are reluctant to approve smaller systems unless they will be managed effectively. Municipal leaders in some communities, recognizing that compact development, open space protection, and sustainable watershed management can be combined using these design concepts, are beginning to think about municipal management programs.

If this hurdle can be overcome, decentralized design concepts promise to become an integral part of land use planning and help to ensure sustainable watersheds for future generations.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 12:39 PM | Permalink

NEW HARTFORD TOWN BOARD HIRES GRANT WRITER:

A Buffalo-area woman has been hired to research and apply for grants to be used for New Hartford town departments.

The Town Board Wednesday agreed to pay grant writer Connie Miner $75 per hour for her work, town Councilman David Reynolds, R-3, said. Miner will work on a "per grant basis," he said.

"I think we've missed some opportunities to take advantage of grants for our recreation and parks department, almost every department," Reynolds said. "Having her on board will give us better insight into grants that might be out there and what we might be eligible for."
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The board also discussed the possibility of offering wireless Internet access, much like access planned for the city of Utica and access already available in the village of Frankfort.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 07:16 PM | Permalink

SAVING FARMLAND REQUIRES PLANNING:

Preserving farmland involves more than conserving fields of corn, said farming experts at a recent conference. Farmers must also be convinced they will have a job in the future, they said.

That concept, at the heart of the future of agriculture in Rensselaer, Saratoga and Washington counties, was the subject of the conference organized by Rensselaer Cooperative Extension and other farming and preservation groups. The meeting drew 170 farmers, politicians and planners.

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Addressing politicians in the audience, Jerry Cosgrove of the American Farmland Trust asked, "Is your town planning for the future of agriculture? If you do nothing, things will happen, houses will go up and you will get sprawl without growth. If you do nothing, you are making a choice."

The state loses 25,000 acres of agricultural land a year, according to the American Farmland Trust. The Agricultural Stewardship Association estimates Washington County alone is losing 3,500 acres of productive farmland each year.

As a result, Steven Sanford of Cambridge said he meets farmers who are dispirited about the future as he works on the town's comprehensive plan, a blueprint for land use.

The answer, said planner Nan Stolzenberg, is a good master plan that accommodates agriculture amid residential development.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 11:19 AM | Permalink