Economic Base 12-8-06
Economic Base
IV.ECONOMIC BASE
Economic health is a critical component of a well-rounded, stable community, and is
therefore an important consideration in a comprehensive plan. Economic characteristics
such as major employers, commuting patterns, types of employment and income describe
the past and future health of a town’s economy. This plan incorporates information about
both the local economy and the regional economy, since eighty-five percent of
Wappinger’s employed residents work outside the community.
Issuesand Opportunities
1.The economic base of the Town is relatively small compared with the number of
employed persons residing in the Town and compared with the number of homes
in the Town.
2.This uneven distribution of jobs and housing results in secondary impacts of long
commuting times for employed residents and a higher proportion of property taxes
paid by the residential sector.
3.The high cost of housing in the Town has become a limiting factor on existing
local businesses and on potential new businesses.
4.Commercial, industrial, and office land uses currently use approximately 500 acres
of land in the Town, and approximately 400 developable acres are zoned for these
uses and are currently undeveloped. Also, several existing commercial properties
offer opportunities for reuse and/or additional development.
5.There is a strong consensus in the Town that any future development of
commercial land uses should be well designed to fit in with the sites and should
preserve and promote positive neighborhood/district features, so that community
character is protected and enhanced. The Route 9 Corridor in particular is a high
priority, and is discussed further in the following chapter on Community
Appearance and Character.
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Local Economic Trends
First, some general trends should be noted. Manufacturing has declined as a source of
jobs since the 1970s both locally and nationally. In the 1970s, nearly half of
Wappinger’s employed persons worked in factories, while by the 2000 Census, only 12
percent of the labor force worked in manufacturing. The economy has shifted instead to
the service sector, where 44 percent of the workers in the Town now find employment.
The service sector includes both high-end jobs in scientific, management, and
administrative organizations, and lower-paying jobs in waste management, social
services, accommodations and food services. More detailed information on this subject
can be found under the ‘Employment and Income Characteristics’ heading within the
Demographics and Housing section of theInventory and Analysis, which is a companion
volume to this Plan.
With a median household income of approximately $58,000 in 1999, the Town has a
higher than average income as compared with the County ($53,000). The Town has a
competitive workforce, with approximately 40 percent of the adult population possessing
an Associate’s degree or higher, compared with just 30 percent nationally. Wappinger is
a working town, with 68 percent of adult residents in the labor force, and an
unemployment rate that has remained under 4 percent since 1996.
According to the 2000 Census, about one-third of the workers residing in Wappinger
work outside of the County, which is typical of employed residents throughout Dutchess
County. Westchester County is the biggest destination for workers who leave Dutchess
County for work, and New York City was the second most popular destination; according
to the 2004 Town survey19 percent of the Wappinger labor force works in Westchester,
and9 percent works in New York City (versus commuters for Dutchess County as a
whole, where 12 percent work in Westchester, and 4.5 percent work in New York City).
Wappinger residents have higher rates of out-of-county commuting than others in
Dutchess County because they are closer than residents of most other towns in the
County to major employment centers, being 30 miles from a cluster of large businesses in
Yorktown via the Taconic, and within 45 miles of most businesses in Westchester,
including those in White Plains, Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant. Grand Central Station
is 1 hour and 10 minutes away via express service on the Metro-North Hudson line, and
the New Hamburg station offers 25 trains each day.
But Wappinger residents pay a high price in commuting timesto maintain jobs in
Westchester and within the metropolitan region. One-quarter of Wappinger commuters
(26 percent) spend 45 minutes or more traveling to work each day – more, even, than in
Los Angeles County (where 20 percent have long commutes of 45 minutes or more), and
more than in Dutchess County as a whole (22 percent). Nationally, only 15 percent of
commuters have commutes of 45 minutes or more. In order to bring commuting times
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down, Wappinger needs to participate in a regional effort to improve the distribution and
balance of jobs and housing.
Wappinger Survey of Business Establishments - 1997
Number of RevenuePayrollNumber of
IndustryCompanies($1,000)($1,000)Employees
Wholesale trade18$120,040$14,201245
Retail trade26$83,503$7,141313
Real estate & rental & leasing13$11,278$4,044123
Professional, scientific, & technical
26$11,972$3,41475
services
Administrative & support & waste
11$3,726$1,03757
management & remediation
services
Educational services6$474$19318
Health care & social assistance33$12,147$4,127219
Arts, entertainment, & recreation4$1,928$60870
Accommodation & food services21$10,147$2,684308
Other services (except public
15$3,727$93056
administration)
173$258,942$38,3791,484
Total
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In 1986, during a Town-wide inventory leading up to the 1988 Comprehensive Plan,
there were 231 businesses in the Town. These were primarily small, locally-owned retail
and service operations. Only two commercial properties were found vacant at that time,
suggesting a vibrant local economy. The Plan notes that, “Many of the central business
establishments and commercial areas of Route 9 are within the…boundaries of the
Village of Wappingers Falls.” As of 1997, at the time of the most current Economic
Census, there were 173 businesses in the Town, with approximately 1,500 employees.
Wappinger’s business community appears to have been strong in 1997, with $259 million
in revenue, and $38 million in payroll (see chart above).
The Town of Wappinger has far fewer local jobs than it has local workers, partly by
accident of historical development patterns, and partly by design, through past land use
decisions. Without including the Village of Wappingers Falls, the Town has about 1,500
local jobs, about 12,000 resident workers, and approximately 8,500 housing units,
resulting in a jobs-to-housing ratio of 0.2 : 1, and a jobs-to-employed residents ratio of
0.1 : 1 (see table below).
Jobs to Housing Ratios: Wappinger and Surrounding Areas
Jobs :
Jobs : Employed
HousingEmployedHousingResidents
AreaJobsUnitsResidentsRatioRatio
Town of Wappinger
(not including
1,4848,46611,9590.18 : 10.12 : 1
Village)
Town of Wappinger
4,09410,15713,2890.40 : 10.31 : 1
plus Village
Towns of
Wappinger, Fishkill,
29,07240,80254,2450.71 : 10.54 : 1
Poughkeepsie, and
EastFishkill *
Dutchess County
114,354106,103130,7931.08 : 10.87 : 1
Source: 1997 Economic Census, 2000 Census
* Includes Villages of Fishkill and Wappingers Falls
A jobs-to-housing balance would be roughly 1.5 : 1 (Dutchess County is 1.1 : 1) and a
balanced jobs-to-employed residents ratio would be 1 : 1 (Weitz, “Jobs-Housing
Balance,” American Planning Association, 2003).
Itmay be more accurateto include a wider area, such as the Village of Wappingers Falls,
in an economic analysis, since the Village was historically the economic center of the
area, and even today, with 218 businesses and 2,600 employees, it remains a strong
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source of goods, services, employment and income for many Wappinger residents. The
combined economic area of the Town and the Village yields a jobs-to-housing ratio of
0.4 : 1, and a jobs-to-employed residents ratio of 0.3 : 1. Expanding the study area to
include the Towns of Poughkeepside, Fishkilland East Fishkill (with large IBM facilities
in Poughkeepsie and East Fishkill) yields slightly higher ratios, but the general trend
remains the same: there are fewer jobs than there are workers in the area.
One result of Wappinger’s polarized jobs-housing ratio is that its economic base is more
dependent than most communities on businesses located outside of the Town. Another
result is the heavy reliance on longer commutes to jobs, as mentioned above.
The tax base of the community is also impacted by the relatively small size of the
economy located within the Town. According to the Dutchess County Economic
DevelopmentCorporation, Wappinger receives 24 percent of its taxes from commercial
land uses. Nearby communities, such as the Town of Fishkilland the Town of
Poughkeepsie, get about 35 percent of their tax revenue from the commercial sector.
Thirty-five percent of tax revenue from commercial is a commonly accepted goal for
most communities, according to the EDC. Currently, commercial, industrial and office
land uses occupy 523 acres (just over 3 percent) of land in the Town. These properties
have a combined assessed value of $70 million, which is approximately 8 percent of the
total assessed value of all property in the Town. Residents of towns with higher
percentages of commercial and industrial uses generally pay less in residential taxes.
The 2004 Survey showed that the property tax implications of all land use and
development was one of two single-most important issues to residents of the Town.
However, residents were divided about encouraging more commercial and industrial
development to broaden the tax base:47 percent were in favor, 23 percent were unsure or
did not respond, and 30 percent were opposed to such development. But when asked if
Wappinger should encourage additional business development for the purpose of job
creation,50 percent were in favor versus 30 percent opposed. Finally, a majority (55
percent) opposed encouraging additional business development for the purpose of
providing more shopping and commercial activities in the Town. Seventy-nine percent
felt that there are adequate day-to-day shopping opportunities currently existing in the
Town. Town residents appear to bein favor of further commercial development,
particularly if it does not overload an already large regional shopping district, and
particularly if it provides local jobs and fiscal tax benefits to the Town.
There are 418 acres of developable land zoned commercial or industrial in the Town.
This count excludes already developed commercial or industrial properties, as well as
steep slopes, wetlands and floodplains, and lots under 10 acres (but including smaller lots
if they are contiguous to other such lots adding up to 10 or more acres). The count was
restricted to 10 or more acre lots because many businesses require a minimum of
approximately 10 acres for their operations. The majority of this developable land, 213
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acres, is located on 15 lots inthe Airport Industrial District and the Conservation
Commercial District just east of the airport. The remaining developable lands are located
in just two places – 26 developable acres along the Route 9 corridor and 179 acres at
what is known as the Contrail Property (both are zoned Conservation Office Park).
Currently, all but one of the above sites (the Contrail Property) are not eligible for
municipal water and sewer services, which is a deterrent to businesses seeking turn-key
development locations.
In addition to undeveloped lands, properties with existing buildings and/or improvements
offer opportunities in the Town, particularly the Pizzagalli (formerly IBM) Property, the
Dutchess County Airport, the former Fairchild computer chip manufacturing site, and the
Alpine Commons Property (where a portion of the large parking lot can be reused).
The implications of developing any or all of these sites need to be carefully considered,
with the aim of capitalizing upon the potential benefits, such as tax revenue and jobs, and
mitigating potential adverse impacts, such as increased traffic and environmental
disturbance. The draft Commercial and Mixed Use Design Handbook addresses these
issues, including sections on building form, location, and orientation; access and
movement, streetscape, signage, landscaping, public spaces, and lighting.
Future development of residential or commercial properties within the region will have
an impact on traffic volumes on Route 9. Many businesses in the Town are dependent
upon retail activity along this corridor. Thus, maintaining and improving the appearance
and function of this valuable community asset is a priority, requiring County-wide
cooperation, at many levels. Further discussion of the methods and priorities for
improving the Route 9 Corridor can be found in the following chapter on Community
Appearance and Character.
The largest businesses driving the regional economy are IBM, with about 11,000
employees locatedin East Fishkill and Poughkeepsie, and a group ofcolleges and
vocational institutes including Vassar College, Marist College, Dutchess Community
College, the Culinary Institute of America, and Bard College (largest to smallest, with a
total of about 4,000 employees). The GAP/Old Navy, Philips Semiconductor and
Pawling Corporation are the other major businesses that bring money into the region
among the top 30 employers, with a total of 2,200 employees in this group. Wappinger
has become the home of many companies since 2000, including Southeastern Container
(100 employees), Hannaford (230 employees), Epson/Seiko (80 employees), Immediate
Credit Recovery (100 employees), and Cable Vision (60 employees).
The ability of current and future businesses to attract and retain employees is currently
being called into question by the rising cost of housing in the area, as detailed in the
previous chapter. According to the Dutchess County Economic Development
Corporation, Marist and Bard Colleges are having difficulty attracting new professors due
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to the high cost of housing in the region, and IBM is having difficulty recruiting Master’s
Degree students for the same reason. According to the EDC, 70 percent of the employees
at the GAP in Fishkill reside outside of the County, and most of Southeastern Container’s
100 employees live in Ulster County where housing is less expensive. Housing,
transportation, community appearance and character all have an impact on the quality of
life experienced by residents of Wappinger, as well as on the economic decisions of
businesses to come to and to remain in the Town.
Goal
Encourage a balanced economy with diversified employment opportunities.
Objectives
A. Promote regional cooperation in economic development planning.
Recommendations
1.Coordinate with neighboring municipalities and the Dutchess County Economic
Development Corporation to undertake an economic study and analysis to explore
potential land usechanges and restructuring within business and commercial
districts and to develop a regional business and commercial structure plan.
2.Buildpartnerships with surrounding communities for evaluating development
impacts, preserving highway capacities, encouraging diverse business and
commercial opportunities and enhancing community character.
B.Improve business opportunities within the framework of improved community
character and appearance.
Community character and appearance are important values to maintain as the Town’s
commercial areas continue to develop and change. Community character contributes to a
quality of life that should be understood as a part of the Town’s strength in attracting
highly-skilled employees and high-paying employers. Community character is also
important to the Town’s ability to attract shoppers. Improving community character also
entails an efficient use of land, which offers direct and tangible benefits to the Town in
terms of the conservation of land for future economic opportunities, and more tax base
per acre of land.
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Recommendations
1.Simplify and streamline reviewand permitting process while maintaining
environmental protection and enhancing community character.
2.Ensure thatareas the Town designates for higher intensity commercial and
industrial development are within existing or planned sewer and water service
areas.
3.Review commercial zoning district requirements and consider focusing
commercial areas into more compact nodes of development bypromoting in-fill,
mixed-use and higher intensity uses within key locations.Re-evaluate zoning
requirements that may deter business development, especially parking
requirements.
4.Reduce the number of commercial zoning districts with a focus on area character,
function and design instead of a separation of uses. (Seealso recommendations for
CommunityCharacter and Appearance.)
5.For key areas, developdetaileddistrictdesignplans.The development pattern for
important commercial centers should be clearly articulated with plans and
standards designed to ensure thatcommercial, economic and design objectives are
attained. Often this requires a more detailed design process combining land use
planning with open space, pedestrian circulation, transportation and built form.
Areas identified for the preparation of conceptual development plans include:
x
Hughsonville Hamlet(see attached Figure V-1 for a rendering of the
Hughsonville Concept Plan)
x
Old Route 9District(fromOldHopewell Road through Myers Corners /
Middlebush Road toU.S. Route 9; see attached Figure V-2 for sketch plan)
x
Chelsea Hamlet
x
Swartoutville Hamlet
x
New Hackensack Hamlet
x
Swartoutville Hamlet
x
Myers Corners Hamlet
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C. Promote well-designed office research parks and similar uses that offer good jobs
and wages in appropriate locations.
Recommendation
Cooperate withthe Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation to
identify strategies to increase marketability of existing underutilized commercial
properties.
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