Committee Meeting Summary Notes 11-20-17

DRAFT – FOR COMMITTEE REVIEW

TOWN OF NEW PALTZ-
PLANNING AND ZONING FOR THE ROUTE 299 GATEWAY AREA
TOWN OF NEW PALTZ
ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK
ROUTE 299 GATEWAY COMMITTEE
To: Town of New Paltz Route 299 Gateway Committee
From: Michael Welti, AICP – Senior Land Use Planner – Barton & Loguidice, D.P.C.
Re: November 20, 2017 Committee Meeting - Summary Notes
Date: December 1, 2017
Meeting Location: Village Hall
Meeting Time: 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Meeting Attendees: Committee: Susan Blickstein, Amanda Gotto, John Orfitelli, and Matt DiDonna
Consultant: Michael Welti, AICP (Barton & Loguidice)
Others: Bart Panessa and Liz Axelson
Summary Notes
This was the fifth meeting of the Route 299 Gateway Committee for the Town of New Paltz Route 299 Gateway Planning and Zoning project. The meeting was attended by the members of the Gateway Committee, the Barton & Loguidice consulting team, and others (see above).
The meeting was primarily dedicated to the following agenda items:
 Welcome and Agenda Review
 Recap – Meeting notes from October 23rd
 Preliminary Draft Gateway Zoning
 Next Steps
 Public Comment
 Wrap-up and Adjournment
Welcome and Agenda Review – Mr. Welti reviewed the agenda.
Recap
The Committee reviewed the notes from the last meeting and there was a brief recap of the plan concepts that were discussed in October.

Preliminary Draft Gateway Zoning
Mr. Welti handed out hardcopies of the preliminary draft zoning to the Committee. This was sent to committee members by email a couple of days prior to the meeting. Ms. Blickstein noted that she emailed her comments and suggestions in a marked-up version to the committee earlier in the day.
The Committee discussed the proposed zoning and design guidelines for the Gateway Overlay Zones in detail and numerous ideas and suggestions were made. One subject that still needs to be addressed is the parking requirements – Mr. Welti acknowledged that this was not yet completed. It was also suggested that the design guidelines section be “codified” (numbered) in the same manner as the other parts of the proposed zoning. The committee will also need to see a proposed zoning map at its next meeting – for now, the concept plan served as the basis for understanding the location of the three overlay districts.
Mr. Welti agreed to make revisions as discussed and to send an updated version of the zoning to the committee prior to its next meeting. That version should also include the comprehensive plan amendment language (based on the plan concepts) in its full form.
It was noted that the Wildberry Lodge DEIS had very recently been submitted to the Planning Board. The Committee will want to take a look at this in order to understand what is currently proposed. However, assuming the proposal is consistent with what was discussed over the summer, the committee would provide language in the comprehensive plan that generally supports a resort as envisioned. The zoning for this site will still need to be ironed out. However, the committee generally supports the idea of a separate overlay zone or planned development district to accommodate the proposed project. This may need to be prepared on a separate track from the remaining gateway zoning given time and resource constraints.
Next Steps
The Committee selected Monday, December 18th, 5:00 PM as the date/time of its next meeting. Mr. Welti will contact the Town to determine an available location.
Public Comment
Ms. Axelson asked to look at the plan concept and was interested to know how this related to the apartment proposal submitted by Mr. Panessa. Mr. Welti noted that the draft concept plan suggests that this area be rezoned to Residential (R-1) like much of the surrounding area. Under this change, the landowner could pursue a project that conforms to the R-1 zoning or seek a change to the Variable Density Residential (RV) District, a sort of floating zone under existing provisions in the zoning code. Such a change, however, would require approval of the project from the Town Board.
Ms. Axelson also commented about the viability of commercial uses in much of the Gateway area, suggesting that a critical mass of such uses would be needed.

Wrap-up and Adjournment
The meeting was completed and adjourned at about 7:00 PM.