June 2019 letter to Fallsburg Town Board

June 10, 2019

To:  Fallsburg Town Board

From:  Fallsburg’s Future

Re: Building Design

Dear Lady & Gentlemen,

Fallsburg’s Future faithfully attended all of the meetings of the Comprehensive Planning Committee as well as the Town Board meetings that led to the adoption of the “New” Comprehensive Plan and zoning law changes.  We have noted that the new plan contains much of the same wording that existed in the 2006 plan, and that many of the issues that were identified then still need to be addressed.

The 2018 CPU contains recommendations to the Town Board, and we recognize that the Town Board alone will choose what actions to take, if any, on each recommendation.  One of the recommendations pertains to implementing design guidelines for multi-family housing.

We believe it is important to initiate an evaluation of the building design requirements for all types of multi-family dwellings within site-planned residential developments.  Architectural aspects such as styles, variety of materials to be used and other important building design elements should be reviewed and codified.   

An evaluation should also include changes to the application and review process to make it clear to developers that design standards have to be followed.

Following are suggestions we think should be considered regarding various aspects of the building design regulations and board review procedures:

1.     Existing zoning regulations pertaining to design guidelines for duplexes and multi-family dwellings should continue to be administered and enforced to the fullest extent.

2.     These same regulations should be reviewed jointly, by all of the Boards, Town, Zoning, Planning, and Architectural Review, for overall consistency in meeting the objectives of the town’s Comprehensive Plan. 

3.     Review boards should receive ongoing advisement from the Town Board to provide guidance and continue learning from past projects.

4.     The Town Board should pursue expanding and developing more complete and detailed regulations for the design of all types of dwellings in site-planned residential developments , including but not limited to duplex and multi-family structures to align them with the concerns and expectations of the public, and as expressed within the town comprehensive plan.

5.     If necessary, the board should hire a professional consultant to produce the additional regulations referred to above.

Therefore, we encourage the Town to begin this process, as part of the recommendation in the 2018 CPU, to evaluate the building design requirements for dwellings within these types of developments.

Yours,

James M. Legari

Fallsburg’s Future