TOM finally approves updated comprehensive plan

By Connor Linskey
Posted 7/7/21

At their meeting on July 1, the Montgomery Town Board adopted the town’s comprehensive plan, finalizing a document that had not been updated since 1988.

Montgomery Town Supervisor Brian …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

TOM finally approves updated comprehensive plan

Posted

At their meeting on July 1, the Montgomery Town Board adopted the town’s comprehensive plan, finalizing a document that had not been updated since 1988.

Montgomery Town Supervisor Brian Maher is proud of all the people who helped in creating the document.

“We put a diverse comprehensive plan committee together from a variety of professional backgrounds and of different political affiliations,” he said. “We reached out to local residents, property owners and other community stakeholders for feedback and had countless comments in what was one of the most inclusive and transparent processes in the history of our town.”

The comprehensive plan provides guidance for the Town of Montgomery through 2030. It was put together by the town’s comprehensive plan committee (CPC), chaired by Town of Montgomery Councilwoman Cindy Voss. Other committee members include Town of Montgomery Councilwoman Kristen Brown, Town of Montgomery Zoning Board of Appeals Chairman John Fallon, Town of Montgomery Planning Board Chairman Fred Reichle as well as former Town of Montgomery Councilman Mark Hoyt and former Walden Deputy Mayor Faith Moore. Other members include Town of Montgomery Councilwoman candidate and Residents Protecting Montgomery (RPM) member Karina Tipton as well as Jane Samuelson and Arthur Emerson. Clerk to the Supervisor Megan Hurlburt serves as secretary for the committee.

The town entered into a contract with Nelson, Pope & Voorhis, LLC (NPV) in March of 2020 to assist with the preparation of a new comprehensive plan. The consultant undertook a comprehensive inventory and analysis of existing conditions and previous planning policies. Officials in the villages were contacted for interviews, as were department heads, committee chairs and representatives of the county. Emergency service providers were contacted for comments by mail. Ultimately, the CPC would meet 14 times over 10 months. The first three would be via an online meeting platform. In addition, the CPC conducted four public outreach meetings in September 2020.

This plan sets forth goals and objectives for the unincorporated areas of the Town of Montgomery but against a structure that considers the interrelationship with the villages of Maybrook, Montgomery and Walden.

There are nine goals of the comprehensive plan. The first goal is to ensure the benefits of working agricultural uses and ecological preserves including maintaining rural character, open space preservation, local food security as well as fiscal benefits. Another goal of the plan is to improve the diversity of housing options providing a range of options that are viable for individuals and families of varying economic means through all phases of life. The plan also calls for the enhancement for the range of available recreational opportunities and for the continued development of job-creating, low-impact commercial and industrial use in appropriate locations. Goal five entails the improvement of the movement of people and goods through the town as well as the increase in transportation safety. Increasing the stewardship of environmental resources and addressing the challenges of global climate change by both mitigating increased storm severity and temperatures and ensuring that policies are promoted that result in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is also of paramount importance. Goal seven is to identify and protect those elements of community character that impart a unique sense of place, especially historic and scenic resources. The next goal of the comprehensive plan is to coordinate with utilities, the villages, Orange County and New York State to provide the upgraded facilities and infrastructure necessary to achieve the desired vision. Lastly, the CPC plans to implement the vision and goals of this plan in a judicious manner and update the plan regularly.

Before the town board adopted the new plan they held a public hearing to allow for comments from town residents and other interested parties. Maher is happy with the end result.

“At the end of the day we put a plan together that focuses on smart growth and protecting the character of our community for many years to come,” he said. “Our zoning recommendations limit the areas where a large warehouse can be built to Neelytown Road and Bracken Road, instead creating a high tech zone meant to bring in businesses that have the potential to yield higher paying jobs.”

The next part of the comprehensive plan process will be to pass a series of local laws to change and clean up zoning throughout the town, as well as to tackle the many recommendations that have been made.

“Over the next two years we will continually address these recommendations at our town board meetings and see our collective vision for our town become a reality,” Maher said.

“My hope is to continue to engage our community and members of the comprehensive plan committee throughout this process.”