After the overwhelmingly negative reaction from the public and many experts representing PPU, Scenic Hudson, the Dutchess Land Conservancy, the county planning office and even the State Department of Environmental Conservation in the series of public hearings held in the spring of 2008; the Carvel/Durst team had submitted a major revision of their original large golf development proposal to the Planning Board.  Work on this new “preferred” alternative plan initially was led by Alexander (Alex) Felson, an expert ecological planner now on the faculty at Yale, and the multinational planning firm EDAW.  This plan had widened buffer zones around important wetlands and vernal pools and has much more dedicated connected open space. It clustered most of the development around the golf course, away from both the Ham Brook and the Route 199 view shed.  The number of housing units was reduced to 648 (576 in Pine Plains, 61 in Milan and 11 on lots that are partly in both towns).  The 18 hole golf course was redesigned with the second nine extending towards 199 on the west side of the property.  There will no longer be an additional 9 hole academy course.  The new NND proposal retains many of the features of this plan, with the layout only slightly revised to cluster it slightly more and a small reduction in the total numbers of units.

The Planning Board also must continue its work on their review of the comments about the original DEIS and reach decisions about what must be done to address them (probably in a Supplemental DEIS).  The redesigned project will probably be part of that process and additional studies may be required as needed, for example, in reviewing the fiscal impacts, school impacts or other environmental impacts and to examine the impacts of the revised layout.

The original proposal was for 951 new units (some houses are already on the property) on 2,200 acres (1,772 acres in Pine Plains and 428 acres in Milan).  The Dursts had also planned 71 additional units on the “previously approved” 99 half acre lot subdivision west of Carvel Lake that was carved out of the original plan (on approximately 55 acres), making the actual original total 1022 new units.  The property is on both sides of 199 beginning just west of the hamlet area of town (including the first farm before you come to the wetlands) and it includes sections on Hicks Hill Rd., Stissing Mountain Rd. and Sherwood Rd. and small sections even cross the Taconic Parkway.  It includes all of the original Carvel Golf Club.  This first proposal included 563 houses and 388 attached units:  526 detached houses on 988 acres in Pine Plains and 37 houses on 142 acres in Milan; and 4 clusters of 358 attached units on 75 acres in Pine Plains and 30 units on 8 acres in Milan.  The overall density of the project in Pine Plains was 2 acres per unit and 2.3 for the whole property.

In addition, the Durst Organization recently purchased a contiguous 98 acre farm on Mt. Ross Road.  This purchase brings the total acreage they own to nearly 2,300 acres.  This recent purchase is not included in the proposal currently before the town.

• It divides the town into various zoning districts with differing lot sizes or densities, varying from 20,000 square feet (15,000 if central sewer is installed) in the central hamlet districts to 5 acres in the rural district, including the agricultural overlay and the wellhead protection district.
• Although a number of commercial uses are allowed throughout the town (i.e. home businesses and other smaller impact commercial uses) major commercial development is concentrated in the hamlet center and hamlet main street districts. The latest zoning map now includes the flat land behind Stewarts on the Village Green property in the hamlet main street district.
• The agricultural overlay zone covering about ¾ of the rural district includes properties currently or previously used in agriculture (raising crops or pasturing livestock), properties with prime soils or soils of statewide importance and properties included in the County Agricultural District. However, none of the Carvel property is included in the Agricultural Overlay even kthough it meets the first two criteria. The zone
  does not differ from the underlying rural district in allowed density but it restricts placement of houses on agricultural fields to the extent practicable.
• The subdivision regulations require that environmentally constrained acreage (steep slopes, wetlands, flood plains, etc.) be subtracted from the total acreage prior to calculating the net buildable acreage.
• Major subdivisions outside of the hamlet districts are in most cases to be designed as conservation subdivisions, with most of the units
  clustered on small lots and at least 50% of the land preserved as open space. In the agricultural overlay (A-O) district this requirement applies to any development of 5 or more housing units. In the rural and well head protection districts not included in the A-O overlay developments of between 5 and 14 units may be of a more conventional layout with Planning Board
  approval; although the preferred layout is still the conservation subdivision layout. Additionally, in all conservation subdivisions after deducting the environmentally constrained land an additional 15% of the
  remaining acreage is deducted from the total prior to determining the net buildable acreage.
• The zoning draft includes a New Neighborhood Development (NND) overlay that can be applied to a development in single ownership of at least 750 acres. The base density in an NND is one unit to 3 net buildable acres rather than one unit to 5 acres. The open space requirement is increased to 60% of the entire parcel from 50%. Prior to approving an NND rezoning
  application the developer will be required by the Town Board to commit to providing a number of community benefits and infrastructure improvements to the town beyond those obtainable through SEQRA review.
• The regulations also include generous bonus density awards for various community benefits-up to 40% additional units in a regular conservation subdivision and 50% in an NND.
• Affordable housing provisions apply to all developments of 10 or more units.

Jane Waters
November 9, 2009

While this process of redesign and updating the Planning Board on it continues; the Planning Board must also continue to work on their review of the comments about the original DEIS and reach decisions about what must be done to address them. While the redesign may be part of that process; additional studies may be required as needed, for example, in reviewing the fiscal impacts, school impacts or other environmental impacts. It is not clear at this time whether the board will require a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement based on the revised plan and/or detailed corrections required to address deficiencies in the data in the original DEIS. Alternatively the board could proceed directly to a Final Environmental Impact Statement which must include all the substantive comments and the responses to them by the developer that also might include the new plan as a part of the response.

Regardless of which of these choices the Planning Board makes there are a number of new and revised environmental studies that will need to be completed to address the criticism of the project expressed in the 2008 hearings and to examine the impacts of the revised layout. The experts for Durst and the town have recently met to discuss what additional studies can be initiated now.

If/when the new zoning law is enacted by the Town Board, the Durst Organization is expected to apply for a New Neighborhood District zoning change. Doing so might entail some additional revisions to the new plan, although a review of the NND criteria has led us to conclude that the new plan already meets many of the criteria. We estimate that the maximum number of units allowed on the whole property (including 42 affordable units and up to 70 units in Milan) would be approximately 663. Because Durst has the option of building the 42 affordable units off site or paying a fee in lieu of building to a dedicated fund for affordable housing the town will set up, it is more likely that the development will have about 621 housing units.

The original proposal was for 951 new units (some houses are already on the property) on 2,200 acres (1,772 acres in Pine Plains and 428 acres in Milan). PPU recently learned the Dursts had also planned 71 additional units on the “previously approved” 99 half acre lot subdivision west of Carvel Lake which was carved out of the original plan, making the actual total 1022 new units. The property is on both sides of 199 beginning just west of the hamlet area of town (including the first farm before you come to the wetlands) and it includes sections on Hicks Hill Rd., Stissing Mountain Rd. and Sherwood Rd. and small sections even cross the Taconic Parkway. It includes all of the original Carvel Golf Club. This first proposal included 563 houses and 388 attached units: 526 detached houses on 988 acres in Pine Plains and 37 houses on 142 acres in Milan; and 4 clusters of 358 attached units on 75 acres in Pine Plains and 30 units on 8 acres in Milan. The overall density of the project in Pine Plains was 2 acres per unit and 2.3 for the whole property.

In addition, the Durst Organization recently purchased a contiguous 98 acre farm on Mt. Ross Road. This purchase brings the total acreage they own to nearly 2,300 acres. This recent purchase is not included in the proposal currently before the Pine Plains Planning Board.

• It divides the town into various zoning districts with differing lot sizes or densities, varying from 20,000 square feet (15,000 if central sewer is installed) in the central hamlet districts to 5 acres in the rural district, including the agricultural overlay and the wellhead protection district.
• Although a number of commercial uses are allowed throughout the town (i.e. home businesses and other smaller impact commercial uses) major commercial development is concentrated in the hamlet center and hamlet main street districts. The latest zoning map now includes the flat land behind Stewarts on the Village Green property in the hamlet main street district.
• The agricultural overlay zone covering about ¾ of the rural district includes properties currently or previously used in agriculture (raising crops or pasturing livestock) and properties with prime soils or soils of statewide importance. The zone does not differ from the underlying rural district in allowed density but it restricts placement of houses on
  agricultural fields to the extent practicable.
• The subdivision regulations require that environmentally constrained acreage (steep slopes, wetlands, flood plains, etc.) be subtracted from the total acreage prior to calculating the net buildable acreage.
• Major subdivisions outside of the hamlet districts are in most cases to be designed as conservation subdivisions, with most of the units clustered on small lots and at least 50% of the land preserved as open space. In the agricultural overlay (A-O) district this requirement applies to any development of 5 or more housing units. In the rural and well head protection districts not included in the A-O overlay developments of between 5 and 14 units may be of a more conventional layout with Planning Board approval; although the preferred layout is still the conservation subdivision layout. Additionally, in all conservation subdivisions after
  deducting the environmentally constrained land an additional 15% of the remaining acreage is deducted from the total prior to determining the net buildable acreage.
• The zoning draft includes a New Neighborhood Development (NND) overlay that can be applied to a development of at least 750 acres. The base density in an NND is one unit to 3 net buildable acres rather than one unit to 5 acres. The open space requirement is increased to 60% of the entire parcel from 50%. Prior to approving an NND rezoning application the
  developer will be required by the Town Board to commit to providing a number of community benefits and infrastructure improvements to the town beyond those obtainable through SEQRA review.
• The regulations also include generous bonus density awards for various community benefits-up to 40% additional units in a regular conservation subdivision and 50% in an NND.
• Affordable housing provisions apply to all developments of 10 or more units.

Jane Waters
September 21, 2009

The other major change they have decided to make in the law after closing the public comment period is to extend the district allowing commercial uses to include the flat land behind Stewarts. They decided not to impose restrictions on the placement of one single family house, which was a change requested by many PPU members.

The Town Board also made many changes in the law prior to presenting their draft to the public. Chief among these (in addition to adding the NND section) are that instead of utilizing an environmental control formula for determining numbers of units that can be built on a parcel this draft excludes environmentally constrained acreage (i.e. land in steep slopes, open waters, flood plains and wetlands) prior to dividing the remaining rural district acreage by 5 in order to determine the numbers of units that can be built. Another difference is that while the agricultural overlay now includes much more land than it did in the Zoning Commission draft, the base density is changed from one unit per 10 acres to one unit per 5 buildable acres. The agricultural district now mainly imposes restrictions on the placement of the units, rather than reducing the number of units beyond what is allowed in the rural district. Another revision is that additional bonus density allowances are given to developers in exchange for inclusion of community benefits in their proposals. Also the new version dictates layout more rigidly than the Zoning Commission draft did.

A public hearing has been scheduled for Thursday, August 20th at 7PM on the second floor of the new library to receive public comment restricted to the revisions the Town Board has made to the zoning draft since the first set of hearings held earlier this year. Copies of the pages with the relevant revisions will be posted on the town website or can be reviewed in person at the library and town hall. It is expected that there will be a very brief period after that hearing for written comment to be submitted after which the board can complete the FGEIS and vote to adopt the zoning law.

All developments not currently approved will have to conform to the new law when it is adopted. The moratorium on new major subdivision proposals ended on January 25, 2009 and will not be renewed.

Work on this new “preferred” alternative plan initially was led by Alexander (Alex) Felson, an expert ecological planner now on the faculty at Yale, and the multinational planning firm EDAW. This plan has widened buffer zones around important wetlands and vernal pools and has much more dedicated connected open space. It clusters most of the development around the golf course, away from both the Ham Brook and the Route 199 view shed. The number of housing units is reduced to 648 (576 in Pine Plains, 61 in Milan and 11 on lots that are partly in both towns). The 18 hole golf course is redesigned with the second nine extending towards 199 on the west side of the property. There will no longer be an additional 9 hole academy course. While this process of redesign and updating the Planning Board on it continues; the Planning Board must also continue to work on their review of the comments about the original DEIS and reach decisions about what must be done to address them. While the redesign may be part of that process; additional studies may be required as needed, for example, in reviewing the fiscal impacts, school impacts or other environmental impacts. It is not clear at this time whether the board will require a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement based on the revised plan and/or detailed corrections required to address deficiencies in the data in the original DEIS. Alternatively the board could proceed directly to a Final Environmental Impact Statement which must include all the substantive comments and the responses to them by the developer that also might include the new plan as a part of the response. Regardless of which of these choices the Planning Board makes there are a number of new and revised environmental studies that will need to be completed to address the criticism of the project expressed in the 2008 hearings and to examine the impacts of the revised layout. The experts for Durst and the town have recently met to discuss what additional studies can be initiated now. If/when the new zoning law is enacted by the Town Board, the Durst Organization is expected to apply for a New Neighborhood District zoning change. Doing so might entail some additional revisions to the new plan, although a review of the NND criteria has led us to conclude that the new plan already meets many of the criteria. We estimate that the maximum number of units allowed on the whole property (including affordable units and the units in Milan) would be approximately 661. The original proposal was for 951 new units (some houses are already on the property) on 2,200 acres (1,772 acres in Pine Plains and 428 acres in Milan). PPU recently learned the Dursts had also planned 71 additional units on the “previously approved” 99 half acre lot subdivision west of Carvel Lake which was carved out of the original plan, making the actual total 1022 new units. The property is on both sides of 199 beginning just west of the hamlet area of town (including the first farm before you come to the wetlands) and it includes sections on Hicks Hill Rd., Stissing Mountain Rd. and Sherwood Rd. and small sections even cross the Taconic Parkway. It includes all of the original Carvel Golf Club. This first proposal included 563 houses and 388 attached units: 526 detached houses on 988 acres in Pine Plains and 37 houses on 142 acres in Milan; and 4 clusters of 358 attached units on 75 acres in Pine Plains and 30 units on 8 acres in Milan. The overall density of the project in Pine Plains was 2 acres per unit and 2.3 for the whole property. In addition, the Durst Organization recently purchased a contiguous 98 acre farm on Mt. Ross Road. This purchase brings the total acreage they own to nearly 2,300 acres. This recent purchase is not included in the proposal currently before the Pine Plains Planning Board.

Another revision is additional bonus density allowances given to developers in exchange for inclusion of community benefits in their proposals. Also the new version dictates layout more rigidly than the Zoning Commission draft did.

The most critical change in the new draft zoning law, however, is the addition of a New Neighborhood Development floating overlay zone that allows a developer of a very large project (over 750 acres) to increase density to one unit per three acres—a 60% increase in density from the density otherwise allowed in the rural district. Most of the critical comments made in the zoning hearings recently held (April, 2009) pertained to the NND (such as it appears to be tailored to appease Durst, it is inconsistent with the Comprehensive Town Plan and retaining rural character, and the mechanics of implementation are unnecessarily complicated, etc.). In their initial meeting after the public comment period the Town Board dismissed those comments and most of the similar comments in the 160 letters that they received. They are considering increasing the amount of dedicated open space and not allowing any houses on at least some of that open space—which were suggestions made by the Dutchess Land Conservancy.

The major change they have decided to make in the law is the extension of the district allowing commercial uses to include the flat land behind Stewarts and the field off of Ryan Road behind the highway garage. They decided not to impose restrictions on the placement of one single family house, which was a change requested by many PPU members.

So far the Town Board has discussed having a public informational meeting to explain these changes, but have not mentioned holding more hearings prior to voting on the law. They have scheduled another workshop meeting for Tuesday, June 9th at 7:30PM to discuss any further changes and to review the comments on the DGEIS.

All developments not currently approved will have to conform to the new law when it is adopted. The moratorium on new major subdivision proposals ended on January 25, 2009 and will not be renewed.

→ Lyons Testimony on Proposed Zoning

→ Lisa Nagle of Elan Planning and Design’s Testimony

→ Mark Wildonger of Scenic Hudson’s Testimony

• The proposed New Neighborhood Development (NND), which appears on Page 41 of the document, is clearly in conflict with goals of the Comprehensive Plan. By shifting the base density from one unit per five acres, as it is in the rural district, to one unit per three acres, the NND allows for development on a scale and of a density inappropriate to the rural character of Pine Plains. It is a recipe for suburban sprawl and as such is entirely inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan.
• Further, the NND would allow for the creation of an entirely separate hamlet equal in size to the hamlet of Pine Plains (up to 611 or higher), within which some commercial uses would be allowed provided they don’t compete with businesses presently within the hamlet (just how the town would determine, in any legal fashion, exactly which businesses are competing and which are not is unclear). The Comprehensive Plan states plainly that the historic Pine Plains hamlet is to be the town center and community development must therefore be focused in or adjacent to that center.
• While it would seem that the NND concept was created specifically for the benefit of the Durst Carvel Project, it is by no means certain that it would preclude the construction of additional large scale developments. In fact, there are several other large land holdings within town which could be combined to meet the requirements of the NND and thus create a second and possibly a third hamlet-sized development in Pine Plains. Development on that scale is wholly at odds with the Comprehensive Plan.
• The NND section of the Draft Zoning Plan should be removed until such a time as language is clarified and the allowable development is of a scale and density consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Further, the proposed Draft Zoning Law, exclusive of the NND, provides sufficient flexibility to meet the legitimate concerns of both the town and any developer, making the NND provision unnecessary. Given the looseness of its wording and its potential to cause serious, irreversible harm to the community-both unforeseen and foreseeable-the zoning law would be much better without the NND provision.
• Some additional concerns. We believe site plan review should include single home parcels as well as multi-unit ones. Our concern for our ridge lines, steep slopes, and open farmland should not end just because a single residence is planned for the site. Also, the same lighting restrictions should be applied to all residential sites, not just ones with multiple units.

Please download the Draft Zoning Law if you have not already done so and come to the hearing this Saturday (and the second the following Wednesday evening at 7:30) prepared to voice your concerns. In addition, please put your comments in writing and send them to: Town Supervisor, Town of Pine Plains, Pine Plains Town Hall, 3284 Route 199, PO Box 955, Pine Plains, NY 12567. You have until the close of business day on May 4th to submit your comments.

Thanks and we’ll see you at the hearings.

First, a reminder: the public hearings on the proposed Pine Plains Zoning Law are scheduled for Saturday, April 18th at 9:30AM and Wednesday, the 22nd at 7:00PM. Both will be held at the Lions Club Pavilion at 82 Beach Road.

Read the document.

If you haven’t already, be sure to go to the town website and download a copy of the draft zoning law (the main document is entitled “Local Law #1 of 2009″ but be sure to also download the maps and appendices). Or, if you prefer, you may purchase a hard copy for $12.50 at the town hall. It’s not exactly beach reading, it’s long and dense and very technical in parts, but what it lacks in style it makes up for in substance. No document will have a greater impact on the place we live

The NND: a slippery slope?

The section that most concerns us is the one dealing with the New Neighborhood Development (NND), on page 41. An NND gives the Town Board the flexibility to green light a development even if it doesn’t conform to zoning laws. We’re not opposed to NNDs per se, there may be instances where it is in the interest of the community to allow an exception to the rules. The problem is unless there are clearly defined limits the result may be seriously at odds with the goals laid out by the Comprehensive Plan. Unfortunately, the limits laid out in the NND provision are neither clearly defined nor strong enough.

The 800-pound gorilla.

Though never mentioned by name, the NND appears tailor-made for the Carvel Durst development, at least for its bottom line. By loosening density requirements (from one home per five acres to one home per three acres) and adding overly generous bonuses, the NND would appear to allow the Durst Corporation to add more than 700 new homes to Pine Plains and Milan. It would create a suburban style development so large and so dense it would be in clear conflict with the Comprehensive Plan’s stated goal of maintaining the town’s rural character. And in the process it would essentially create an entirely new hamlet on the western edge of town, comparable in size to the hamlet of Pine Plains, which is a clear violation of the Comprehensive Plan’s stated goal of keeping a compact town center surrounded by rural open space. Not only that, it would allow for another hamlet-sized development on the eastern edge of town and possibly a third on the north side. Not exactly what the citizens of Pine Plains had in mind when they made preserving the town’s rural character a top priority.

(FYI, there will be a special meeting of the Planning Board on Wednesday, April 15th at 7PM at the town hall to discuss how the new zoning will impact the Carvel Durst development. This is not a public hearing but it should be very illuminating.)

Make the law better.

We are by no means advocating the scrapping of the proposed zoning law. It is in most respects very impressive for its enlightened approach to zoning and we salute the Zoning Commission and the Town Board for their hard work and foresight. But what a terrible shame it would be to have come this far, invested all that time and effort, only to have it undone by a loophole so large you could drive a Mack truck through it. Pine Plains United and its members have also invested heavily in seeing that our community grows in a manner that maintains its unique rural character. Just look at all the testimony by both our members and our experts at last year’s Carvel Durst hearings. Our members, who have been extremely generous with their money and their time, didn’t do all that for nothing. We are hopeful that the Town Board, after getting lots of feedback at the hearings and throughout the public comment period, will decide to take a second look at the NND provision.

So study the documents and come to the hearings on the 18th and the 22nd armed with questions and comments. Thanks.