Washington’s Comp Plan Review Committee puts ducks in a row

WASHINGTON — The Town of Washington’s (TOW) first Comprehensive Plan Review Committee (CPRC) meeting was held on Wednesday, June 30, to discuss what the Town Board wants the committee to do and the means by which the committee can accomplish its goals. 

The CPRC includes Chairman Paul Schwartz (also chairman of the town’s Planning Board) and members Buffy Arbogast, Timothy Bontecou, Claudia Heunis, Fernanda Kellogg, Timothy Mayhew and Margaret Schneible. Town Board liaisons to the committee are Councilmen Bob Audia and Joe Rochfort. 

The 7 p.m. public Zoom meeting had more than 40 people tune in.

Schwartz stating up front determining a schedule is important. The third Wednesday of the month will likely be the committee’s meeting date, but as the next two weeks are busy for most board members, the next meeting will take place on Wednesday, July 28. 

A discussion then ensued about in-person vs. Zoom meetings; while most members prefer virtual meetings, the state has issued orders that meetings should be held in person at this point. The committee is going to try to do both; details will go online.

The second topic raised was the directive from the Town Board to amend the Comprehensive Plan (CP) so it includes a definition of the term “hospitality,” including uses for “Airbnb,” and where such uses might be located in the town of Washington. 

This is especially relevant in light of the currently on-hold Second Mountain project (Migdale Estate) application submitted by famed NYC restaurateur Will Guidara. He wants to convert the estate in Mabbettsville to a hotel/spa with condos and other amenities. The application has created a great deal of controversy among neighbors and others in the town and village.

The Town Board asked the CPRC for its input to get a sense from the community if the CP is living up to its promise of improving the lives of those who live and work in the town of Washington, the village of Millbrook and surrounding hamlets. A Comprehensive Plan is supposed to set a vision for a community of how it would like to develop over the next 10 years or so in terms of its residential and business neighborhoods.

Two groups of residents who are especially concerned with the Guidara application, even though it is at the moment withdrawn, hired attorneys to represent them. Some fear the potential development of a luxury hotel, spa, two restaurants, pool, outdoor theater, cottages, condos, campsites and hiking trails — all of which have been proposed — could harm the unspoiled environs of the countryside. 

And while it could attract tourists and their cash to Millbrook and help invigorate the local economy, opponents of the project view it as an affront to the quaint attractiveness of the highly desirable area dotted with equestrian farms, wineries, private estates and historic homes, as well as be a threat to the environment and local wildlife, the water and sewage systems and local traffic.

The Town Board asked the CPRC if hospitality businesses, such as Second Mountain, could alleviate some of the challenges local businesses have been facing recently, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. Many businesses have complained shoppers are turning more and more to online consumerism and not visiting brick and mortar retail establishments as frequently, which has been tough for local merchants.

Businesses in the Washington hamlets of Mabbettsville and Wahington Hollow are also concerned. The CPRC is being asked if a revision to the CP and potentially the town’s Zoning Code would be beneficial.

The Town Board also wants to learn if buildings of historic significance, whether on the historic registry or not, should encourage the town to amend the CP to include such structures as adapted uses.

The committee is likewise charged with weighing in on whether the community should be included in the final planning process and/or if a planner or consultant should be hired. It also plans on doing a public survey.  

Committee tasks

Schwartz has a working plan for the committee, with him managing meetings and  Schneible collecting and collating e-mail addresses for distributing the survey. Heunis will be liaison with the Town Board and the lawyers for the two neighborhood groups fighting the currently on-hold Guidara application. Mayhew will be the CPRC’s financial manager/treasurer, and Bontecou will be in charge of incoming mail, including reading all correspondence and reporting on it to the committee. Kellogg will be the committee’s spokesperson.

Schwartz said The Tribute Garden will provide initial funding for the CPRC; further funding and public relations are expected to come from and be managed by the Dyson Foundation. 

The CPRC also discussed hiring a consultant and an outside attorney, with no ties to the TOW. E-mail lists will be circulated among committee members, who can suggest names of candidates for both positions to submit for consideration by the Town Board.  

It was noted that there is no mention of the term hospitality in the current CP. Also, that while the tasks put before the CPRC are basically limited to the subject of hospitality, any amendments must be seamlessly incorporated into the entire CP.

Concerns & focus

The committee agreed the community needs to play a major role in the review, but  said it would like clarification on who has standing: Is it only taxpayers; should it include resident non-taxpayers, transients and nonresidents? All CPRC members seemed to agree the stakeholders should include as many residents as possible, that the process should be transparent and the entire community should have input in the survey, future forums and possible other future outlets.

Schwartz mentioned some people may not expect the process to be inclusive or transparent, but he stressed they’re mistaken. He noted that during the review process the CPRC may require periodic executive sessions during or after its meetings, which by is a closed door session that only permits committee members and no members of the public. This is a lawful, standard governmental meeting process. 

A committee member also mentioned some CPRC members may get together socially, perhaps for a private dinners among friends — not to discuss committee business. The CPRC wanted to state this up-front and on the record in full disclosure to satisfy the public it is aware of the rules and will not conduct committee business when in private if an official meeting has not been publicly noticed and is not in order. 

The CPRC meets next on Wednesday, July 28, at 7 p.m. Go to www.washingtonny.org for details.