Community Character 3-12-07
Community Appearance and Character
V.COMMUNITY APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER
A community is shaped by the topography and natural character of the land, by the
number of people and the kind of housing built upon the land, by the economy that
shapes the lives of the people, and by the function and appearance of the transportation
system that links destinations. But a community’s character is also influenced by
collective values and their influence on the landscape and the built environment. This
chapter is about how Wappinger can and should capitalize on its own unique assets and
use private development forces to create a more attractive and humane community with a
strong connection to both nature and history, and an enhanced sense of place.
Goal
Encourage development with high aesthetic standards t
o provide a visual and natural
environment that will promote economic stability, enhance community character, and
will be compatible with surrounding land uses.
Objectives
A.Improve the appearance of the Route 9 corridor.
B.DevelopHughsonville,Chelsea, New Hackensack, Swartoutville and Myers
Corners Hamlets,andtheOld Route 9 District as vibrant,
traditional
town/village centers.
C.Protectimportant landscapes through open space and farmland conservation.
D.Protect historic buildings and sites.
E.Regulate signage to promote appealing streetscapes and
to protect important
landscapes.
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Community Appearance and Character
Issues and Opportunities
1.The existing pattern of development in the Town is primarilyone of fragmented
low-density housing developments and strip commercial development along Route
9.
2.Other than the Village of Wappingers Falls, which regulates itself and its lands
separately from the Town, Wappinger does not have a town center.
3.The Old Route 9 area from Old Hopewell Road through Middlebush / Myers
Corners Road to U.S. Route 9,andtheHughsonville, Chelsea, New Hackensack,
Swartoutville and Myers Corners Hamlets are existing centers of activity that can
be enhanced and redesigned to promote community character in the Town.
4.Farm fields and forested lands, which provide natural resources and a rural or
semi-rural character to the Town, are threatened by the continued development of
housing, commercial, and institutional sites in the Town. Fields and forests also
help define the edges and shape the identities of settled areas.
5.The Wheeler Hill Historic District is the only protected historic feature in the
Town. Other important historic resources may be lost or degraded without
regulatory protection.
6.Billboards on Route 9D are inappropriate for the areaand detract from the
appearance of the roadway.
Existing Conditions and Recommendations
Wappinger has a unique combination of assets that makes it an attractive place to live,
work, and play. Key items are:
x
TheHudson River, Wappingers Creek, Sprout Creek
x
A mix of commerce including corporate offices, manufacturing, and retail
x
A good location within the region in terms of jobs, transportation, recreation, and
tourism
x
An excellent school system
x
Views and scenic vistas, in particular from hilltops and ridgelines
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Community Appearance and Character
x
A variety of housing types (single-family detached homes, condominiums, and
multi-family apartment buildings)
x
Farms, open spaces, numerous large and small wetland areas
x
Historic hamlets, sites and districts
x
Scenic roadways
Many residents wrote in their own comments in open-ended questions of the 2004 Survey
that they want Wappinger to keep its small town, rural feeling, and that they were
concerned about the impact of future development upon that small town character. While
the Town cannot, legally or ethically, bar the doors to all new development, the Town can
commit to carefully guiding the form of that development. What follows is a description
of the existing problems and opportunities for the Route 9 corridor, for enhancing and
developing existing centers, for protecting farms and woodlands, for historic
preservation, and for roadside signage throughout the Town.
Route 9 Corridor
Currently, the Route 9 Corridor in the Town is organized around the parameters of
automobile drivers’ needs and perceptions, and routine business strategies to attract the
attention of, and make accommodations for potential customers passing along the road.
The corridor is generally zoned as Highway Business, Highway Office, or Highway
Design. While this linear commercial zone may be a good strategy for accommodating
these uses, the end result is currently a denuded landscape, characterized by a landscape
of oversized parking lots, large, box-like buildings,large signs in clashing colors, a lack
of coordinated landscaping,and, particularly on the north end of the corridor,traffic
congestion due to too many lights and driveways too close together. Upon exiting from
an automobile, one finds that the only appealing environment for a pedestrian is inside
the store. Pedestrian connections between separate lots are virtually nonexistent in the
corridor.
Recommendations
1.Adopt the Commercial and Mixed Use Design Handbook.This handbook, crafted
specifically for the Town of Wappinger, demonstrates best practices in building
location and orientation, building form, access pathways, streetscape, signage,
landscaping, public spaces, and lighting.The use of local design guidelines and
minimum standards for all new commercial and mixed use development will
reinforce the community’s desired future character and contribute to rebuilding
community identity within commercial districts.
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Community Appearance and Character
2.Encourage shared driveway/roadway access to Route 9 among contiguous lots
(details can be found in the Transportation section).
3.Create a Boulevard Effect along Route 9, with street tree plantings, sidewalks, and
roadway realignments with medians where possible.
4.Encouragethe development of small, closely spaced storefronts in the fronts of
existinglarge parking lots.
5.Consider developing a detailed master plan for landscaping and public space
improvements in the corridor, including street tree planting, pedestrian sidewalks,
attractive lighting design, hedges and flower plantings, and community art
installations.
6.Use the Greenway Connections “Zip Up the Strip” Guide, provided by the
Dutchess County Planning Department, for planning and development decisions
regarding the corridor.
7.Encourage development design which hides parking from plain view along Route
9.
8.Require that parking areas be landscaped well.
9.Encourage the remediation and reuse of existing brownfields and other disturbed
areas.
Centers
Other than the Village of Wappingers Falls, which regulates itself and its lands separately
from the Town, Wappinger does not have a town center. The Route 9 corridor forms a
linear backbone to the Town, but does not provide the kind of human scale, community
focus which characterizes a traditional town center. The existing hamlets of
Hughsonsville and Chelsea are not functioning as centers due to a lack of at least two of
the following: sufficient passers-by to support local retail, sufficient pedestrian amenities
such as sidewalks and public spaces, a cluster of local institutions such as school,
churches, a post office, or a government building, and sufficient parking. Neighborhood-
scale businesses help give a community a sense of place.
In addition, the Town itself is lacking in definition, from the point of view of those
passing through it. Many residents responded to the 2004 Survey with comments that
they did not know where the Town’s borders were, and when they were entering or
leaving the Town. The Route 9 Corridor, with Greenfly Swamp at the south end and
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Community Appearance and Character
Wappingers Lake at the north end, represents an opportunity for defining boundaries that
passers-by can understand.
Recommendations
Develop District Design Plans.Existing historicallysignificant centers with
1.
unique qualities which contribute to the character of the Town should be preserved
and enhanced. This requires a detailed design process combining land use
planning with open space, pedestrian circulation, transportation and built form.
Areas identified for the preparation of District Design Plans include:
x
Hamlet of Hughsonville (see attached Figure V-1 for a rendering of the
Hughsonsville Concept Plan)
x
Old Route 9 District(from Old Hopewell Road through Myers Corners /
Middlebush Road to U.S. Route 9) (see attached Figure V-2 for sketch plan)
x
Hamlet of Chelsea
x
New Hackensack Hamlet
x
Swartoutville Hamlet
x
Myers Corners Hamlet
Review and amend zoning as necessary to encourage appropriate development in
2.
areas to be developed as Town centers. Encourage compact development, mixed
use, infill, and higher densities to increase pedestrian activity, make efficient use
of public facilities and infrastructure, and create more vibrant commercial centers.
Install signs or other visual markers at all the main entry-ways to the Town.
3.
Landscapes
The Town’s rural and semi-rural character is due to the farms on the west and northeast
sides of Town, and large undeveloped parcels, mostly forested, scattered between the
developed areas in the central section of Town. The central section is generally zoned R-
20 or R-40, while the northeastern and western areas are generally zoned R-80.From
1986 to 2003, the area of land used for housing increased from 4,868 acres in 1986 to
7,733 acres in 2003, indicating that 2,834 acres of land was consumed during this 17-year
period for the development of new housing. If past rates of development continue, at
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Community Appearance and Character
roughly110acres of land developed per year, most of the remaining undeveloped or
agricultural lands in the Townwill be developed in 70years (3,400 of 5,544 acres
currently in undeveloped/agricultural land use would be developed for housing alone).
As noted in the Population and Housing chapter, demand for housing will likely remain
strong for the foreseeable future. The challenge before the Town is to accommodate the
demand for housing while preserving the character of the community.
Hilltops and ridgelines within the Town are not only good sites for scenic vistas, they are
also themselves the objects of views from other locations in the Town and in neighboring
communities. Any development occurring on these hilltops and ridgelines should be
sensitive to the nature of these sites as important elements in the appearance and
character of the community.
The Town has the opportunity to take action to ensure that future development responds
to and respects existing areas of important natural landscape features. Areas that should
be considered include:
x
Farms and open space surrounding Carnwath Farm
x
White’s Farm House and adjoining lands at the northeast corner of All Angels Hill
and Old Hopewell Roads
x
Garafalo Homestead, Meadowbrook Farm, and Reese Farms
x
Portions of large undeveloped parcels including Cranberry Hills, Shamrock, Cedar
Ridge, Brookvale, Hill ‘n Dale, and Contrail
Recommendations
1.Consider creating an Agricultural Overlay District. Such a district may include
one or more of the following:
x
Transfer of development rights;
x
Agricultural easements;
x
Purchase of important land holdings;
x
Tax incentive programs; and
x
Open space / conservation subdivision requirements.
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Community Appearance and Character
2.Target key sites for open space preservation / acquisition.
3.Establish Scenic Districts or design scenic easements for appropriate locations.
4.Protect scenic roadways through formal establishmentthrough appropriate
regulation. Roadways to be considered for Scenic designation:
x
Old Troy Road
x
Wheeler Hill Road
x
New Hamburg Road
x
Diddel Road
x
All Angels Hill Road
x
River Road
x
Creek Road
x
Robinson Lane north of Wappinger Farms
5.Develop special regulatory standards, such as mandatory open space/conservation
subdivisions, for the subdivision of larger parcels of land.
6.Review and update regulations regarding hilltop and ridgeline development.
Coordinate this review with concerns and recommendations referred to in the
Environmental Resources chapter. The Town may draft new regulations or zoning
amendments, and/or develop a Sensitive Areas Overlay District for
environmentally or visually sensitive areas.
7.Update subdivision regulations as necessary to ensure that newly developed sites
retain topsoil, identify and protect large trees, plant new trees, and provide high
quality landscaping.
Historic Preservation
Historic buildings, sites and neighborhoods provide a sense of continuity to community
members and can make an important contribution to community character and sense of
place. Wappinger has its own unique historical contributions to make on the national and
state level (the Wheeler Hill district, for example), and on the local and regional level.
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Community Appearance and Character
Unregulated historic landmarksin the Townmay be lost through development or
redevelopment. An example is the 200-year-old “La Fonda Del Sol” building located on
Old Hopewell Road and Old Route 9, which was demolished last year.
The Wheeler Hill Historic District was listed in the State Register of Historic Places on
April 24, 1991 and within the National Register of Historic Places on June 14, 1991. The
District has eight contributing properties, with 52 contributing buildings or structures,
and 17 contributing sites. This district is currentlythe only location in the Town of
Wappinger with Historic Preservation status.
Recommendations
1.Survey the historic resources of the Town for determination of historic
significance, and determine the proximity and density of historic sites for the
feasibility of developing additional historic districts.
2.Develop a Historic Preservation Law. A draft Historic Preservation Law was
considered by the Town Board in May 2003. The draft Law includes the creation
of a Historic Preservation Commission, a process to designate historic landmarks
and districts, and a method for reviewing changes to these landmarks and districts.
The draft Law was prepared in accordance with the Certified Local Government
(CLG) program administered through the New York State Office of Parks,
Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYSOPRHP). Certification through the
CLG program would provide a direct link to state and federal preservation
programs, including a range of municipal support programs and government
grants.
Ensure that developments adjacent to historic sites are compatible with the setting
3.
and the scale of existing features.
Signage
Dutchess County has designated Route 9D a Scenic Highway, but its potential to fulfill
this function is reduced by the large billboards along the roadway in the Town. Other
areas of the Town, such as Route 9, may benefit from tighter controls on signage.
Recommendations
1.Adopt theCommercial and Mixed Use Design Handbook. This document
contains detailed guidelines for freestanding, window, and wall signs, including
illustrations of both recommended and discouraged features. It covers the size,
location and design of signs, as well as materials, color, and lighting.
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Community Appearance and Character
2.Review the existing signage regulations and zoning controls as they pertain to
signage for opportunities to improve regulation.
3.Explore methods of phasing out and removal of existing signage where such
signage is in conflict with planning objectives.
4.Use the guidelines in Dutchess County’s Greenway Connections / Greenway
Guides to improve signage in the Town.
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