Hamlet planner presents preliminary plans

AMENIA — Based on suggestions made by residents at meetings held through October, hamlet planner Harry Dodson presented three potential plans for growth in Amenia at Thursday night’s Town Board meeting.

"The goal is to explore and see what is possible given the new comprehensive plan and new zoning plan and doing it in a creative way, taking the spirit of both plans but not being bound by it," Dodson said. "But no planning and zoning law is perfect. We’ve looked at all of this with fresh eyes to develop these plans."

Dodson presented three concept plans to both councilmen and residents who attended the meeting.

"In America, we are pretty wasteful about how things are laid out," he said. "We see a big lot and stick something in the middle of it and put parking around it. In Europe and Japan, they have learned to make much more efficient use of land and as a result they have had great quality in urban areas and villages and great protected countrysides."

The first concept plan presented is what Dodson called a "hamlet-oriented" concept with development focused in the middle of the town, where the Freshtown Plaza is located.

"The concept is also to bring a street from gaps between buildings parallel to Route 22," he said. "It would be to have a village type of street that would complement the hamlet with mixed-use buildings."

Dodson said that the concept of the plan would include parking behind the proposed buildings as opposed to in front of them to preserve the character of the street.

The plan also adds larger parking lots to serve multiple users and renovation of existing commercial properties. The first concept plan is listed as having 188,000 square feet of mixed use space, 108,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, and 24,000 square feet of service, repair and light industry space.

The second plan adds a mixed-use area with residential and retail space and a mixed-use village that would include single and multifamily housing.

The second plan calls for 211,300 square feet of mixed-use space, 164,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, and 37,000 square feet of service, repair and light industry space.

The third plan adds even more development, with 260,000 square feet of mixed-use space, 201,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, and 37,000 square feet of service, repair and light industry space.

All three plans call for "traffic calming" on Route 22, which would include roundabouts, curb extensions and pedestrian crossings.

"We recommend them especially at Freshtown Plaza, the main section of the hamlet and possibly several other places," he said. "With traffic going through the hamlet at high speeds, it takes away from its character. This is a way to slow things down."

His plans were not free of criticism, however, as resident Sharon Kroeger criticized all three plans for marking the Amenia Elementary School building as the site for future town offices.

"We told you at the work session that [the school] was a third rail and not to touch it," Kroeger said. "We really did explain that."

"I really goofed," Dodson admitted and said he would fix the description.

The board is expected to talk about the hamlet plans sometime during next year’s session.

In the meantime, copies of all three plans are expected to be online on the town’s Web site at www.ameniany.gov.