After a sluggish and controversial eight-year process to adopt a new zoning ordinance in Hyde Park, it might have been wishful thinking to believe the Town Board was actually going to approve the law at its Monday meeting.
The Board had planned to vote on the new zoning ordinance at the July 11 special meeting, but a procedural slip prevented the governing body from doing so.
According to state law, Town Planner Charles Voss was supposed provide copies of the final version of the zoning law to Town Board members at least seven days before the planned vote, but a family medical emergency prevented him from doing so. Because the board members only received copies of the law three days before the planned vote (July 8), they could not take action on the plan.
Hyde Park Supervisor Yancy McArthur said the Town Board is now targeting its Aug. 22 regular meeting date to vote on the new ordinance.
Taking other action
Despite the non-vote, the Town Board wasn’t without action at its July 11 meeting. It unanimously approved a 270-day town-wide moratorium on major residential subdivisions and applications for site plan approval and final approval for multi-family dwellings. The moratorium does not restrict commercial development, except for proposed adult-use businesses in the town.
The Town of Hyde Park is a party to a lawsuit in federal court that is challenging its adult use regulation. Town officials have retained the services of a planner, Greenplan Inc. of Rhinebeck, to update Hyde Park’s 1996 Adult Use Study.
Throughout the last year, many Hyde Park residents told the Town Board they wanted a moratorium enacted until the new zoning ordinance was approved. Republicans on the Town Board, who hold a 3-2 majority, did not initially support a moratorium.
However, after the Dutchess County Department of Planning and Development recommended in April that the Board not approve the zoning plan until changes were made, the board decided it would need to enact a moratorium until those conditions were met.
The board held a public hearing for a moratorium, a local law, on May 11. Since that time, town officials and Voss met the recommended conditions, which seemed to render moot the building ban.
But with the board unable to enact the zoning at the July 11 meeting, it instead voted to enact the moratorium until the zoning gets approved.
If the Town Board votes to approve the new zoning on Aug. 22, McArthur said, it would remove the moratorium, which would require another public hearing.
If the Town Board does not approve of the zoning before the 270-day moratorium concludes, it can extend it, requiring another public hearing.
Councilman Angelo Targia (R-Ward 3) said even though he does not favor implementing a moratorium, he promised he would vote for one if the new zoning plan was not in place by a certain time.
“We don’t have zoning yet,” he said. “I’ll vote for the moratorium to be lifted when the zoning is adopted.”
The Town Board also voted in favor of the Findings Statement for the proposed new zoning law by a 3-2 margin, with the Republican majority carrying the “yes” votes. The Findings Statement is a summary of the environmental review process, compiled by the Town Board, for the zoning ordinance.
Comprehensive plan
The Town Board also voted in favor of the revised version of Hyde Park’s comprehensive plan, which was initially adopted in 1997.
Since then, town officials have worked to adopt new zoning to complement the comprehensive plan, which is used as a guide for development priorities in preserving Hyde Park’s heritage.
The Town Board voted 4-1 in favor of the revised plan, with the dissenting vote belonging to Councilwoman Victoria Kane (D-Ward 2). Kane said she voted “no” because she feels the Findings Statement, comprehensive plan and proposed zoning should be voted on as one “package” instead of separately.
Hyde Park residents who spoke at the July 11 meeting told the Town Board that the proposed zoning ordinance it will ultimately vote on is crucial for the municipality’s future.
“Hyde Park needs a comprehensive zoning plan,” said town resident Duane Pearson. “If it’s not done right, there will be a big line of attorneys, developers, landowners and taxpayers ready to take on a law that is flawed. If it’s not done right, you’ll be under litigation. Get it right.”
“Please give this document the respect it deserves,” added town resident Eileen Rohr. “The residents of Hyde Park should benefit from this document.”