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JULY 1996
<br />
<br />:
<br />= I I I I
<br />
<br />AMERICAN
<br />PLANNING
<br />ASSOCIATION
<br />
<br />A New Generation of
<br />Rural Land-Use Laws
<br />
<br /> By ]oel S, Russell
<br /> :
<br />
<br /> L
<br /> asr month's issue of Zoning News discussed principles ~or
<br /> rural zonin~(sidebar). I have worked with several rural
<br /> towns in New York and New England that have taken these
<br /> principles seriousl7. The7 have devised workable land-use
<br /> regulations that ;protect the character of their communities and
<br /> allow needed development. Three New York towns--
<br /> Washington, Hi!lsdale, and Reading--exempli~7 different
<br /> approaches to implementing these principles. This issue
<br /> examines their e~periences.
<br />
<br /> Washl.gton
<br />Washington is ~doughnut-shaped rural town 15 miles
<br />northeast of Pogghkeepsie, New York, with the village of
<br />Millbrook in the center. It is composed largely of estate farms,
<br />institutional holdings, and small-scale residential developments.
<br />For years, it has had the highest rural land values in the area
<br />because of both the prestige associated with the Millbrook
<br />address and highly restrictive zoning, which has helped maintain
<br />property values. It is one of the best examples in the region of a
<br />town that has Chosen to remain rural while successfully
<br />channeling intensive development into a traditional pedestrian-
<br />oriented villagei where water, sewer, transportation, schools,
<br />offices, shopping,, and other services are available.
<br /> An op~mon survey conducted in connection with a 1987
<br />master plan revision showed that Washington residents clearly
<br />desire to keep the countryside undeveloped while allowing
<br />intensive develSpment in the village of Millbrook, a separate
<br />municipality wjth its own complementary zoning regulations.
<br />The town's preyious zoning, enacted in 1971, would have
<br />allowed cooki¢~cutter subdivisions of one-, two-, five-, and 10-
<br />acre lots, as well as a limited amount of strip commercial and
<br />industrial dev4lopment. While more restrictive than any other
<br />in Dutchess County, this zoning law allowed a type of
<br />development that would have turned the town into an exclusive
<br />suburb of extra-large lots, destroying the rural sense of p.lace and
<br />undermining the village's efforts to maintain a vital commercial
<br />and r~sidential core. The town adopted a new zoning law in
<br />1989 with assistance from a team of consultants that included a
<br />nationally known law firm, a landscape architect, and the
<br />Dutchess Lancl Conservancy, of which ]7 was executive director.
<br /> Ch~stering ~nd Overlay Zones. The new ordinance rezoned
<br />much of the land that was in five-acre zoning to 10-acre and
<br />eliminated all ~trip commercial zoning. Over two-thirds of the
<br />town is now zoned 10 acres per dwelling unit. More important,
<br />however, is that the new zoning law and subdivision regulations
<br />make an imp0ftant distinction between lot size and density. If all
<br />of the town were to develop as 1 O-acre lots, the result could be
<br />disastrous. Instead, 10 acres per unit is the basic density that must
<br />be maintained in the countryside. Lots may vary greatly in size.
<br />
<br />The planning board can require, through clustering, the protection
<br />of contiguous stretches of farmland, forests, and wetlands.
<br /> Washington's regulations set clear guidelines to determine
<br />when clustering should be required and to ensure that it
<br />accomplishes its primary goal of land preservation. Land set
<br />aside as open space must be protected by perpetual conservation
<br />easements to prevent future development. It must be a coherent
<br />piece of land, owned and managed in a way that is sensitive to
<br />its conservation value. The regulations encourage farmland to be
<br />owned and used by private farmers, rather than being placed in
<br />the cumbersome and inexperienced hands of a homeowners
<br />association. A farmer who needs to sell offa couple of lots can
<br />do this by selling lots of less than one acre while preserving
<br />enough farmland to maintain the district's overall density. In
<br />this way, the farmer will not have to sell out to a developer.
<br />
<br />Flexible Lot Subdivision: Eighty percent of this
<br />60-acre parcel is protected by conservation easements,
<br />which include a stream corridor, hillside, and working
<br />farm field.
<br />
<br /> The clustering technique can also be used to protect land in
<br />resource protection overlay zones such as stream corridors, lake
<br />or water supply watersheds, or unique habitats. The regulations
<br />require that development be clustered away from mapped
<br />farmland and aquifer overlay zones wherever possible. Even
<br />when subdivisions are not clustered, the planning board may
<br />require perpetual conservation easements to protect identified
<br />environmental resources as part of the subdivision process.
<br />Sometimes areas designated for preservation, such as scenic
<br />farmland, are also the best development sites. When this occurs,
<br />mandated clustering can reduce the land's value. In order to
<br />mitigate this economic impact, Washington offers a 25 percent
<br />density bonus for a cluster subdivision.
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