by Bea Peterson
On an evening of “iffy” weather more than 25 people turned out to discuss the future of Hoosick Falls and what they want to see in the Zoning Code Update. The two hour meeting was held in the Hoosick Area Senior Center. [private]Hoosick Falls Mayor David Borge thanked everyone for coming and introduced Ted Kolankowski and Bob Murphy of Barton & Loguidice (B&L), who are working on the Code update. Also attending the meeting was Christa Franzi of Camoin Associates, who is working with the Village on the Hoosick Rising project. The two companies are working with the Village and with each other to offer Hoosick Falls a practical and sustainable updated future, each group having a major impact on the other. Also sitting in on the meeting was Principal Planner with Rensselaer County Economic Development Linda von der Heide.
Mayor Borge pointed out that the last full update to the Zoning Code was done in 1977 and the one before that was done in 1947.
Kolankowski began the B&L presentation by explaining that the Zoning Code as written in the 70s era was a sanitized cookie cutter type code that was used throughout the state. He added that the Hoosick Falls Code is out of date and a barrier to economic development. There have been many changes in the Code over the years and finding the proper update is a tedious process because revisions are scattered throughout the document. It perpetuates residential development problems such as non-conforming violations. He pointed out that in some cases there are different zoning regulations on either side of the same street.
The plan for updating the Code is to review and remove redundancy and overlapping regulations leading to an overall simplification of the Code. B&L is also comparing Zoning Code regulations that have been updated in other communities. When it is completed, the new Zoning Code will be available on line as well as on file in the Municipal Building.
The focus of Wednesday’s meeting was to gather and incorporate feedback from the public. The meeting broke up into two groups, one residential and one business, and they brainstormed for an hour. After a break the two groups presented their findings. What those attending want to see is regulations that reflect neighborhoods with a focus on homes with a one family “character.” They want to encourage owner occupied housing, and they want to encourage maintenance of Village homes. They want to see more vigilant enforcement of the Zoning Code.
Overall the group saw Hoosick Falls as a safe family friendly place to live with great schools; a community that honors its culturally rich history and looks forward to the future. They would like to see the community have a self sufficient sustainable, resilient and flexible economy, with an emphasis on tourism and light manufacturing. There is a need to build on what is already here and add small service businesses that could utilize empty factory space, for example.
Murphy said the information gleaned from the meeting was similar to what the working Committee had discussed throughout the summer. However, he found the emphasis shifted a little in some areas with the larger group.
Handouts
Everyone received three handouts at the meeting. One contained Vision Statement ideas with space for drafting a vision for Hoosick Falls. The second required listing goals to support the Village’s vision, and the third requested answers to questions such as what do you like about Hoosick Falls, what improvements can be made to capitalize on the Village’s strengths, what are the Village’s weaknesses and how can a new Zoning Code be used to capitalize on opportunities and resolve weaknesses. The third sheet could be filled out later and mailed to Mayor Borge. People who could not attend the meeting but would like to add their thoughts may do so by filling out the forms that will be available on the Village website.
Another community meeting will be held in January, and the final Code update is expected in February.
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