Zoning panel allows additional time for comment
First work session scheduled for today
By Doron Tyler Antrim
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
CAIRO — The Cairo Zoning Commission has announced it is extending the public comment period for the proposed zoning law and plans to hold its first work session today.
In an e-mail, commission member Suzanne Bauer-Oldakowski said the comment period was being extended until Jan. 10, 2011.
“As the holidays approach and in response to the helpful comments already received,” she said, “the commission is making more time to receive comments, get questions answered and make necessary changes to the draft itself.”
The initial comment deadline was Nov. 26, but officials moved back the date after concerns were raised about its proximity to Thanksgiving.
“What is the rush to get this done?” said one anonymous commenter. “I feel you really need more time for input from people.”
Commission member Richard Booth on Monday countered criticisms that the law was being rushed. “We’re not going to push this through,” he said.
Seventeen comments have been sent to the commission so far. Some have been purely technical in nature, including comments from three members of the planning board. Others, meanwhile, have been more critical.
In a letter dated Nov. 15, Emily Calabrese, principal broker of 4 Seasons Realty Group, criticized the commission for zoning rural residential several parcels on Route 32 North that pay commercial taxes, adding the group “has been at a great disadvantage of never having had a real estate professional or appraiser on the commission.”
In one of his two comments, Planning Board member Ed Forrester, said: “It appears that the zoning commission has designated all vacant land on intersections as residential, when some have been paying taxes as commercial for years. This will surely limit commercial growth.”
None of the commenters overtly say they are opposed to zoning. One anonymous commenter simply said: “Keep up the good work.”
The commission’s first work session, which will address the comments received so far, is set for 6 p.m. today at Gallagher’s Banquet Hall.
It was anticipated the commission would set a date for its public hearing during Tuesday’s meeting, but officials say that will be postponed as the commission takes time to responds to the comments.
The zoning law was unveiled Nov. 4 during a public meeting in Cairo Town Hall.
The release of the plan caps a three-year effort to provide business owners, builders and residents with clear rules governing development.
The “rural-oriented” law divides Cairo into several residential, hamlet and commercial/mixed-use districts that call for specific uses and densities.
Homes and home-based businesses are allowed in all districts, but business growth within in the town will be centralized in the five hamlet districts, along Cairo’s Main Street and in commercial districts along Routes 23, 145 and 32.
There in so minimum lot size called for within the three residential areas, but density levels will be enforced.
“Lowering density protects the environment, rural character and will help maintain the quality of life residents have come to value in Cairo,” the law’s executive summary states. “Outside the hamlets, lot sizes are allowed to be as small as can be permitted for water and septic provided the overall density is met.”
In the hamlets, minimum lot size of a quarter to half an acre are called for “to promote the denser style of development traditionally found in these locations.”
The proposed law provides for flexibility in the design and use of subdivisions. It does not address style of color of residences, but includes commercial design standards for other buildings.
All existing uses will be allowed to remain.
Two overlay districts, used to protect resources in special areas, are also included in the law. The two districts will cover the Shinglekill Creek Watershed, which supplies the hamlet of Cairo with its drinking water, and the town’s stream corridors.
The seven-member zoning commission has met regularly for more than three years to draw up the law. During that time, it also drafted amendments to the town site plan law, which were adopted earlier this year.
Throughout the process, the commission has been aided by Nan Stolzenburg of Community Planning and Environmental Associates.
Cairo has never had a zoning law.
During its initial presentation, the commission said Cairo has the potential for tremendous residential growth. A full build-out at a 1.25 acre density could yield 11,000 new homes, translating into almost 27,000 new residents.
The commission concluded, however, that town land can’t support such development even if wetlands, streams and steepest slopes are protected. Doing so would change the character of the town and “not result in a sustainable future,” the commission said.
In a study performed by the New York Rural Water Association, it was found housing in some locations in Cairo has already exceeded the capacity of the land to support while other parts are vulnerable to water pollution.
A five-member body known as a Zoning Board of Appeals, appointed by the town board, will need to be established upon passage of the zoning law. Each member will serve a five-year term.
Enforcement of the law will fall to the zoning enforcement officer, another appointed position, which officials say could be the same person as the code enforcement officer.
Following the zoning commission’s public hearing, which could come in January or February, it will hand the law to the town board. The town board must then schedule its own hearing.
The proposed law was presented to the Cairo Planning Board earlier this month.
Written comments or questions can be sent c/o The Cairo Zoning Commission to P.O. Box 922, Cairo N.Y. 12431. Copies of the law and zoning maps are on file in town hall and the public library at 512 Main Street. All the documents, as well as the public comments, can be accessed online at www.planningbetterplaces.com/cairo.
In an e-mail, commission member Suzanne Bauer-Oldakowski said the comment period was being extended until Jan. 10, 2011.
“As the holidays approach and in response to the helpful comments already received,” she said, “the commission is making more time to receive comments, get questions answered and make necessary changes to the draft itself.”
The initial comment deadline was Nov. 26, but officials moved back the date after concerns were raised about its proximity to Thanksgiving.
“What is the rush to get this done?” said one anonymous commenter. “I feel you really need more time for input from people.”
Commission member Richard Booth on Monday countered criticisms that the law was being rushed. “We’re not going to push this through,” he said.
Seventeen comments have been sent to the commission so far. Some have been purely technical in nature, including comments from three members of the planning board. Others, meanwhile, have been more critical.
In a letter dated Nov. 15, Emily Calabrese, principal broker of 4 Seasons Realty Group, criticized the commission for zoning rural residential several parcels on Route 32 North that pay commercial taxes, adding the group “has been at a great disadvantage of never having had a real estate professional or appraiser on the commission.”
In one of his two comments, Planning Board member Ed Forrester, said: “It appears that the zoning commission has designated all vacant land on intersections as residential, when some have been paying taxes as commercial for years. This will surely limit commercial growth.”
None of the commenters overtly say they are opposed to zoning. One anonymous commenter simply said: “Keep up the good work.”
The commission’s first work session, which will address the comments received so far, is set for 6 p.m. today at Gallagher’s Banquet Hall.
It was anticipated the commission would set a date for its public hearing during Tuesday’s meeting, but officials say that will be postponed as the commission takes time to responds to the comments.
The zoning law was unveiled Nov. 4 during a public meeting in Cairo Town Hall.
The release of the plan caps a three-year effort to provide business owners, builders and residents with clear rules governing development.
The “rural-oriented” law divides Cairo into several residential, hamlet and commercial/mixed-use districts that call for specific uses and densities.
Homes and home-based businesses are allowed in all districts, but business growth within in the town will be centralized in the five hamlet districts, along Cairo’s Main Street and in commercial districts along Routes 23, 145 and 32.
There in so minimum lot size called for within the three residential areas, but density levels will be enforced.
“Lowering density protects the environment, rural character and will help maintain the quality of life residents have come to value in Cairo,” the law’s executive summary states. “Outside the hamlets, lot sizes are allowed to be as small as can be permitted for water and septic provided the overall density is met.”
In the hamlets, minimum lot size of a quarter to half an acre are called for “to promote the denser style of development traditionally found in these locations.”
The proposed law provides for flexibility in the design and use of subdivisions. It does not address style of color of residences, but includes commercial design standards for other buildings.
All existing uses will be allowed to remain.
Two overlay districts, used to protect resources in special areas, are also included in the law. The two districts will cover the Shinglekill Creek Watershed, which supplies the hamlet of Cairo with its drinking water, and the town’s stream corridors.
The seven-member zoning commission has met regularly for more than three years to draw up the law. During that time, it also drafted amendments to the town site plan law, which were adopted earlier this year.
Throughout the process, the commission has been aided by Nan Stolzenburg of Community Planning and Environmental Associates.
Cairo has never had a zoning law.
During its initial presentation, the commission said Cairo has the potential for tremendous residential growth. A full build-out at a 1.25 acre density could yield 11,000 new homes, translating into almost 27,000 new residents.
The commission concluded, however, that town land can’t support such development even if wetlands, streams and steepest slopes are protected. Doing so would change the character of the town and “not result in a sustainable future,” the commission said.
In a study performed by the New York Rural Water Association, it was found housing in some locations in Cairo has already exceeded the capacity of the land to support while other parts are vulnerable to water pollution.
A five-member body known as a Zoning Board of Appeals, appointed by the town board, will need to be established upon passage of the zoning law. Each member will serve a five-year term.
Enforcement of the law will fall to the zoning enforcement officer, another appointed position, which officials say could be the same person as the code enforcement officer.
Following the zoning commission’s public hearing, which could come in January or February, it will hand the law to the town board. The town board must then schedule its own hearing.
The proposed law was presented to the Cairo Planning Board earlier this month.
Written comments or questions can be sent c/o The Cairo Zoning Commission to P.O. Box 922, Cairo N.Y. 12431. Copies of the law and zoning maps are on file in town hall and the public library at 512 Main Street. All the documents, as well as the public comments, can be accessed online at www.planningbetterplaces.com/cairo.
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