Land Use 12-8-06Land Use
IX.LAND USE
There are approximately 17,000 acres of
land in the Town of Wappinger,
Land Use: 1970
comprising of over 26 square miles.
This chapter explores how the Town has
Public/Semi-
Industrial
Public
0.2%
Commercial
changed in the last three decades; how it
14.0%
0.9%
will change if current land use
Residential
regulations remain the same and if
16.9%
private development were to maximize
Undeveloped
allowable densities of development; and
68.1%
how the Town should develop in the
future.
This chapter builds upon the research
Land Use: 1986
and analysis as reported in the “Land
Use, Zoning and Development
Commercial
Industrial
2.7%
Potential”chapter inthecompanion
0.3%
Public/Semi-
volume to this Plan,Inventory and
Public
12.7%
Analysis.
Undeveloped
Residential
55.9%
28.4%
The analysis of development potential in
the second half ofthechapter is an
important step in identifying if the
zoning of a municipality is in line with
Land Use: 2003
the goals and expectations of the Town.
Commercial
Thelandusecomponent of this plan
Public/Semi-
Industrial
2.6%Undeveloped
Public
1.0%
uses the dual perspectives of past trends
47.4%
16.9%
and a possible future based on current
zoning to adjust and fine-tune the
destiny of the Town.The details of the
dual analyses are summarized below:
Residential
32.0%
1.Past Land Use: Land Use
Changes from 1970 to 2003. The following items highlight the major changes in
development the Town has experienced over the 33 years between land use
inventories:
x
Developed Land: In 1970, there were 5,214 developed acres (32% of all Town
land); in 2003 there were 8,997 developed acres (55% of all Town land). The
amount of developed land increased by 70 percent in this 33-year period,
Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan91
Land Use
resulting in the development of 3,673 acres of land at a rate of 111acres per
year. If land development trends continue, all currently undeveloped lands will
be developed by the year 2075.
x
Public and Semi-Public Land: Currently occupying 2,866 acres with
approximately 650 acres for recreation, the percentage of land in public use
(17% in 2003) has not changed appreciably since 1970 when it was 14 % of all
Town land.
x
Agriculture: Two-thirds of agriculturally used lands were lost between 1986
and 2003; a reduction froma total of 1,596acres in 1986 to 531 acres in 2003.
x
Industry: Lands used for industrial purposes have grown from 25 acres in
1970 to 173 in 2003.Approximately930 acres (about 6 percent of the Town’s
land area) are zoned industrial. While this greatly exceeds industrial land use,
industrial zoning generally allows all other commercial uses as well as
industrial uses.
x
CommercialLand: Use of commercial land peaked in the 1980s at 452 acres –
triple the amount of land used for commercial activity in 1970 at 148 acres.
Currently, commercial land use is 439 acres: 88 acres in office uses, 263 in
retail/service and 88 in mixed use.Approximately1,075 acres (about 7 percent
of the Town’s land area) are zoned commercial.
x
Residential Land: Acreage used for residences nearlydoubledbetween 1970
and 2003, rising from 2,759 acres to 5,409 acres. Approximately 2,650 acres
were developed for housing during this period, averaging 80acres per year.
The Town maintained a nearly constant balance of single family vs. multi-
family land uses, at roughly10% multi-family and90% single-family.
Currently, the Town has 4,724acres in single-family use and 685 acres in
multi-family use. Approximately 13,500 acres are zoned residential, including
approximately340 acres zoned for multiple family residential uses and 13,160
acres zoned for single-family residential use.
2.Development Potential.This section highlights future land uses, given current
land use regulations:
x
Residential Development Potential.Approximately4,600 acres of residentially
zoned land is developable, resulting in an estimated 3,100 units of housing that
could be built in the future.
Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan92
Land Use
x
Commercial and Industrial Development Potential. There are approximately
4.7 million square feet of potential building space invacantland zoned
commercial or industrial in the Town. This figure takes into account the floor
area ratio (FAR) allowed in each district, as well as environmental constraints.
However, development potential is limited by the absence of municipal sewer
and water service on most sites. Of the lots with 10 or more contiguous acres
zoned commercial or residential (see Figure IV-1), only one area totaling 85
acres(in the Conservation Office Park District) is in municipal sewer and
water districts. The development potential of this property is up to 740,000
square feet of floor area. Two areas zoned Conservation Office Park or
Conservation Commercial are adjacent to water and/or sewer districts, with a
totalarea ofapproximately 114acres and a development potential of
approximately 980,000 square feet of floor area. The remaining large vacant
or undeveloped sites are in the Airport Industry District, which is not planned
to receive municipalsewer and water service.Development of sites without
sewer and water service is constrained primarily by the performance of on-site
wells and septic systems.
Issues and Opportunities
For most areas, the Plan described here recommends a continuation of existing zoning, or
recommends adapting existing zoning to reflect actual uses that may have pre-dated the
zoning. The areas where changes from either current land use or current zoning are
recommended are highlighted below.
1.This land use planincludes changes designed to improve the function and
appearance of existing community centers, including the Hamlets of Chelsea,
Hughsonsville,New Hackensack, Swartoutville and Myers Corners, and the
proposed Old Route 9 District.
2.The Obercreek area, which is north and west of Hughsonville Hamlet, is an
extraordinary public resource as a scenic and historic area. This area is also
important as it provides a historic rural context adjacent to the Wheeler Hill
Historic District. The area includes over 100 acres of open farmland, separated by
mature tree lines and stone walls. There are also over 100 acres of forest in the
area. The open farmland provides opportunities for continuing agricultural use of
the land, which is necessary to preserve the rural character of the area. The
farmland portions of the Obercreek area also help provide visual contrast to the
Hughsonville Hamlet, and help to maintain a clear visual edge of the hamlet.
These existing farmland and rural portions of the Obercreek area should be
protected in their present rural form to the greatest extent practicable. At the same
time,the portion of the Obercreek property in the vicinity of NYS Route 9D at the
southern end of the Hughsonville Hamlet offersanopportunity to reinforce the
Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan93
Land Use
hamlet with traditional Village-scale residential developmentand enhanced
vehicular circulation.Similarly,thereis an opportunity just south of the Village of
Wappingers Falls for a comprehensively planned higherdensity residential
neighborhood with substantial buffering for neighboring properties. The provision
of higher density housing inthesetwoareaswouldstrengthenexisting
communities while protecting more sensitive, rural areas from development
1
pressures.
3.Currently, there is a mismatch between the capacity of the land to absorb waste
water and the allowable density of dwelling units in the northern part of the Town.
The Town can correct this mismatch by rezoning lands not currently within a
sewer district to lower densities, and by rezoninglands outside of areas planned
for sewer service to even lower densities.
4.Other areas recommended for a change to low-density residential are an area south
of McFarland Road and east of Route 9,and an area on Route 9D south of
Ketchamtown Road.
5.Other areas to be changed to high-density residential to make existing trailer parks
more conforming in terms of zoning includethreeareas in the Route 9 Corridor
(on Cooper Road, on Osborne Road, and on Route 9 and Smithtown Road)and
one area at the junction of Pye Lane and Montfort. An existing trailer park on
New Hackensack Road northeast of Lakeside Road is currently zoned RMF-3 but
the density of dwelling units on the site is approximately 4.7 units per acre. This
site should be changed to RMF-5 zoning to make the site more conforming.
6.The Route 9 Corridor consists of a patchwork of Highway Business, Highway
Office, and Highway Design zoning districts, and the northern section is partially
under the control of the Village of Wappingers Falls.The Town should initiate a
discussion with the Village of Wappingers Falls with the goal of coming to a
consensus on the use of land in the northern section of the Route 9 Corridor. In
the southern section, the Town has an opportunity to create uniform standards
regarding setbacks, landscaping, and access to sites which could improve the
character and function of the Corridor.
1
Text changes suggested by Alex Reese and Jennifer Van Tuyl.
Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan94
Land Use
Goal
Guide the dev
elopment of the Town in a way that preserves environmentally
significant features, improves housing choice, and encourages a balanced economy.
Objectives
A.Designate areas of the Town intended for low-
density residential development,
farmland protectionand open space.
B.Designate areas of the Town that are well situated for medium- and high-
density residential development.
C.Designate areas of the Town that, due to transportation links, the intensity of
proximate land uses and other features, are appropriate for current and future
use as Town centers.
D.
Designate areas of the Town where only commercial, industrial or institutional
land uses are appropriate.
Land Use Plan
The plan for future land use in the Town of Wappinger is depicted in the Land Use Plan
Map, and is further identified and explained in this section. The following categories are
a part of the land use plan. The purpose, definition and location of each land use
category are described below.
x
Residential–Low Density
x
Residential–Medium Density
x
Residential– High Density
x
Affordable / Workforce Housing Overlay Zone
x
Hamlet
x
Mixed Office / Retail / Residential
x
Commercial
Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan95
Land Use
x
Conservation Commercial
x
Offices
x
Conservation Office Park
x
Industry
x
Institutional
x
Recreation
x
Floodplain and Conservation
Residential– Low Density
This category calls for two- to five-acreminimum lot sizes to protect groundwater
supplies and quality (both of which have gradually diminished over the course of the last
30 years of housing development) and to prevent the incidence of septic system failure,
as soils north of Widmer Road and Myers Corners Road, and west of Route 9D generally
pose severe limitations to the proper functioning of septic systems. This Low Density
Residential area is also intended to help preserve open space in the areas furthest from
central sewer service and in areas with clusters of protected forest and parkland and
working farms.Finally, theLow Density Residential areas are intended to limit traffic
burdens on rural roads and hamlets.
Within the Low Density area, new residential uses are expected to rely on individual or
group septic systems designed to protect groundwater quality, with a residential density
no greater than one unit per two acres. The use of private treatment plants should be
discouraged.
As in the Residential– Medium Density category, cluster development should be
encouraged, as long as it is designed to rely either on individual private septic systems or
a collective septic system.
The category includes areas east of the Maybrook Rail Trail in the northeast corner of
Wappinger, the sensitive uplands and wetlands that surround Smithtown Road, and the
southwestern corner from the Hudson River inland to Route 9D and east of 9D along
both sides of Stonykill Road.
Residential–Medium Density
The one-half to one-acreminimum lot sizes of this residential area cover most of
Wappinger.This area extends from the proposed Maybrook Rail Trail west to
Hughsonville and parcels west of Ketchamtown Road. It includes lands east and west of
the Route 9 Corridor, with the exception of theGreenfly Wetland and the steep slopes
and wetland areas around Smithtown Road.
Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan96
Land Use
Much of the area is already devoted to residential development at densities of one-half to
one acre per lot. The one-half acre lots are concentrated within the area currently zoned
R-20 both west and east of Route 9, and west of Lake Oniad and Myers Corners along
Old Hopewell, Myers Corners and Widmer Roads.
To protect groundwater quality and to support central utilities, new development within
this area should either connect to central sewer systems within existing sewer districts or
sewer improvement areas, or be designed to connect to the regional municipal sewer
system. Cluster developments should be used where appropriate to preserve natural
features, such as riparian buffers, open space / conservation areas shown on the Land Use
Map, and to allow for more cost-effective utility systems and roads.
Residential– High Density
This category includes multi-family (apartment) housing, townhouses, and duplexes. It
covers scattered sites in the Route 9 Corridor and three existing locations on the
southwest and northeast ends of Town. This category currently includes over one-third
of the existinghousing units in the Town,which comprise 9% of all residential land uses.
This Land Use Plan proposes that high-density residential districts be eligible for density
bonuses for affordable/workforce housing andaffordable senior housing.Under this
plan,adensity bonus would be available if a specified portion of the additional housing
unitsare affordable to working residents and a density bonus would be available if a
specifiedportion of theadditionalhousing is age-restricted to seniors.Specific
guidelines and definitions would be established through local legislation.
Workforce/SeniorAffordableHousing Overlay Zone
An overlay zone applies an additional layer of incentives or controls over an area, which
determines the way in which the underlying zone functions, or add uses and standards
which would not ordinarily apply to the underlying zone.TheWorkforce / Senior
Affordable Housing Overlay Zonewouldencourage the construction of housing that is
affordable to working people and seniors in the Town through a density bonus. The
bonus would be available if a specified portion of the additionalhousing developed is
affordable to working people in the Town or seniors. Specific guidelines and definitions
would be established through local legislative action.
Conservation Residential
This category includes lands with special environmental features and scenic value. The
intent of this category is to recommend that housing development in these areas – the
Meadowbrook Farm area near Myers Corners and the lands surrounding Chelsea Hamlet
Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan97
Land Use
– be developed only through cluster development, concentrating residential uses in areas
with the least impact and preserving large areas with scenic and environmental value.
Hamlet
Two historic hamlets within the Town demand special attention in the land use decision-
making process: Hughsonville and Chelsea. The land use plan designates as hamlets the
existing densely settled portions of these areas, and a limited amount of undeveloped land
on their perimeters. The plan calls for carefully designed zoning and transportation
improvements needed to preserve the character of these areas and to ensure that
surrounding development pressures willnot destroythe functionality oftheir road
systems and theirhistoric character.
This plan proposes expanding the Chelsea Hamlet to an area roughly the same size as
Hughsonville.The development of the lands surroundingthishamlet shouldbe
encouraged to beclusteredto preserve the sharp visual contrast between the hamlet and
countryside. If sewer and water service can be extended to this area (perhaps through
cooperation with the Town of Fishkill) this area could accommodate the need for housing
through the traditional development pattern of a hamlet. This would help deflect
development pressure from the rural areas of the Town. Providing additional public
access to the Hudson River and controlling futuretraffic through the hamlet are also
essential to futuresuccess.Regarding current land uses, careful monitoring of drinking
water quality and vigilant maintenance of individual septic systems is needed until central
sewer and water systems are available.
In Hughsonville, mixed residential and commercial uses and building renovations are
needed, along with a plan for accommodating increasing traffic volumes through the
hamlet (see Transportation and Community Character Chapters for a more detailed
explanation of proposed solutions and a graphic rendering of the District Design Plan for
Hughsonville). Also, dimensional requirements for lots within thishamlet should be
revised to reflect the existing, traditional development pattern and bring the majority of
the lots there into conformance with zoning.For instance, many attractive lots in
Hughsonville are between 50 and 70 feet wide, and between 90 and 170 feet deep. Total
lot size in the hamlet ranges from 3,500 square feet to 25,000 square feet. Lots of 4,000
to5,000 square feet are in keeping with village and hamlet patterns throughout the
region, and generally function well where central utilities are present.
Swartoutville,a third hamlet at the junction of Route 82 and All Angels Hill Road in the
southeastern corner of the Town, is nestled betweensteephillson the west and the
floodplains of Sprout Creek on the east. This Land Use Plan recognizes this hamlet
throughitsinclusion in the Hamlet land use category.
Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan98
Land Use
The preparation of concept plans for the Chelsea and Swartoutville hamlets (such as has
been done for the Hughsonville Hamlet as part of this Plan), should be accomplished in
the future.
Mixed Office / Retail / Residential
This use is intended to foster a compact, vibrant community center for the Old Route 9
District. The Town envisions a carefully arranged complex of shops and offices, with
residences above or behind buildings fronting main roads.Further development of
details for the Old Route 9 District will follow after this Plan.
Commercial
The purpose of this category is to allow for the continued commercial use of areas in the
Route 9 Corridor, in Myers Corners, and near the airport. These areas are generally
zoned as Highway Business, Highway Design, General Business or Shopping Center.
Due to the Town’s interest in protecting and enhancing the character and appearance of
the community, the areas planned for commercial use along Route 9 have not been
expanded. Businesses will be encouragedto make more efficient use of existing
commercial areas.
Conservation Commercial
TheConservation Commercial category appears in areas where commercial uses already
exist or would be more appropriate than any other use, but where severe environmental
constraints dictate that development be carefully designed and built at a relatively less
intensive scale than in other commercial districts.For this reason, gasoline stations
shouldnotbeallowedin the Conservation Commercial zoning district.Thethreeareas
shown are the lands between Route 376 and the Maybrook Line, a small area south of
Myers Corners Road near Route 9 and the area along both sides of Route 9D at its
northern intersection with Old State Road.
Office
The land use plan devotes several areas to office uses as a way of providing for new
employment opportunities, a broader Town tax base, and better organized land uses along
Route 9. The office uses planned outside the Route 9 Corridor are on the southwest end
ofDutchess County Airport.
Conservation Office Park
Areas appropriate for office uses, but which contain extensive wetlands, streams or steep
slopes, thereby requiring special treatment, are included in the Conservation Office Park
Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan99
Land Use
(COP) category. This category represents the greatest opportunity for the large-scale
development of attractive, environmentally sensitive non-residential uses that could
expand the Town's tax base and make its economy more secure. Imaginatively designed
office campuses in these areas would leave ample open space networks and could
incorporate wetlands and streams as site amenities.
Thearea designated for this land use is the “Contrail” property west of All Angels Hill
Road and north of Tor Road.
Industry
Industrial areas have been designated to the northeast of the Airport, in the area of the
former IBM facility just west of Myers Corners, and on the southern end of the Route 9
Corridor.This represents a significant strategic change from former land use plans,
whichsought to encourage primarily office and office/research uses. The 1988 Plan had
only one small site designated as industrial – the lumber company site on the Hudson
River. With IBM now gone, and with the Fairchild property still underutilized, the Town
has begun to diversify its land use strategy.
Institutional
The institutional category includes existing public facilities that are not also recreation
areas or floodplains, and includes school grounds, the TownHall and Emergency
Services Building, the Chelsea pump station owned by New York City, fire department
propertyon Myers Corners Road, and the Dutchess County Airport. In the event that
additional schools or other public facilities are needed in the future, specific siting studies
should be undertaken to determine the best locations.
Open Space
TheOpen Space category includes areas of the Town intended to remain green space,
because of important or fragile environmental features.This category includes 100-year
floodplains and lands not owned by the Town but which are publicly owned lands for
active and passive recreation (primarily the New York State Stony Kill property), and
lands conserved in perpetuity. The plan proposes that these areas be kept permanently
undeveloped.
Recreation
Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan100
Land Use
This category includes Town-owned lands that are used for active and passive
recreational purposes, and any proposed lands for such use (such as the lands to the north
of the Dutchess County Airport, adjacent to Wappingers Creek).
Recommendations
1.Revise Hamlet zoning to work with existing hamlet settlement patterns and to
reduce the occurrence of nonconforming lots. Lots of 4,000 to 5,000 square feet
in size are in keeping with village and hamlet patterns.For instance, many
attractive lots in Hughsonville are between 50 and 70 feet wide, and between 90
and 170 feet deep. Total lot size in the hamlet ranges from 3,500 square feet to
25,000 square feet.
Providing sewer service to the area will help achieve land use goals and minimize
environmental problems associated with waste water disposal on existing lots.
Small lot sizes can also be a way of encouraging affordable housing. By
encouraging small lots with central sewer service, developers have an opportunity
to construct modest-sized houses on these lots and sell them for more affordable
prices.
2.In order to preserve the particular rural and scenic qualities of the Obercreek area,
andtoreinforce the hamlet of Hughsonville,revise zoning in and around
Hughsonsville, to include the followinginter-related landuse changes as
representedon the large-scaleObercreekArealand use map (Figure IX-3):
a.Extend Hamlet zoning to the west of the current hamlet area;
b.Change a medium density residential area opposite Ketchamtown Road on
Route 9D to low density;
c.Change a medium density residential area north of the hamlet and just south
of the Village of Wappingers Falls, on land that has direct access to the
sewage trunk line, to high density residential land use.
Other recommended adjustments toresidential density in this area include
allowing medium density residential in small areas along Marlorville Road north
of the hamlet and in two locations where there are existing houses along Creek
Road. Due to the scenic and historic nature of the area and to maintain the visible
definition of the hamlet, low density areas to the north of the hamlet should be
zoned for three- to five-acre minimum lot sizes. Conservation easements should
be encouraged where even larger lot sizes are proposed in the rural and open
farmland areas.
Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan101
Land Use
These changes represent an inter-related and comprehensivezoningprogram to
reinforce the hamlet of Hughsonville, while strengthening the distinctiveness of
the hamlet from its outlying environs, and to preserve the unique character of the
farmland and rural areas of Obercreek. All changes are intended to be enacted
2
together.
3.Develop a zoning district to implement the mixed retail, office and residential uses
intended for the Old Route 9 District in the Land Use Plan.
4.Consider zoning changes in the areas between the Wildwood Sewer District and
Route 376, where there are several parcels of 10 or more acres which have the
same severe soil constraints as other areas in the Town with high rates of septic
system failure. Within this area, two areas near the intersection of St. Nicholas
Road and Widmer Road are zoned for half-acre lots, and the rest is zoned for one
acre lots.These areas should be rezoned to R-80. The area outside of the
WST/TIA boundary to the north should be rezoned from R-20toR-80 and the
area to the northeast from R-40/80 to R-3A to reflect the unsuitability of the soils
there for septic systems, the need for more area for absorption of septic flow, and
the fact that there are no plans to extend sewer service to these areas. The other
areas that have soils with severe septic limitations andare not within existing
sewer districts are either already largely developed according to existing zoning,
or are zoned for two-acre lots, posing less of a demand on the soils.
5.Inthe residential zoningdistricts with variable densities (R-20/40 and R-40/80),
the intermediate densities of 30,000 or 60,000 square feet should be eliminated, in
that these zones allow for these densities under circumstances that may not be
environmentally sound. Currently, the intermediate densitiesare allowed if either
central water or central sewer are present. Central water without central sewer
will protect homeowners from some public health consequences of failing septic
systems, but will not protect the overall environment from failing systems.
Conversely, central sewer without central water will not protect homeowners from
droughts and other potable water problems.
6.In order to improve the function and appearance of the Route 9 Corridor, the
Town should consider offering density bonuses for development occurring on
larger lots. This would encourage the assembly of small lots, which would result
in fewer curb cuts, greater opportunities for landscaped buffers along the
highway’s edge, better internal circulation and better traffic flow on Route 9.The
Town should also study the appropriateness of current zoning in the Route 9
Corridor and the possibility of consolidating two or more zones in the corridor, or
2
Text changes to Item 2 suggested by Alex Reese and Jennifer Van Tuyl.
Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan102
Land Use
developing uniform dimensional regulations for lands within the Corridor. The
study should examine current land uses, current lot sizes, existing lot widths and
depths and setbacks.
J:\DOCS2\500\Wappinger\Comprehensive Plan\RevisedChapters\Land Use 12-8-06.doc
Town of Wappinger Comprehensive Plan103