Pine Plains holds public hearing with a view to the future

PINE PLAINS — In keeping the Pine Plains community informed of the changes being made to the latest version of the town’s Comprehensive Plan, the Comprehensive Plan Review Committee held a public hearing on Wednesday, Sept. 25, gathering additional feedback to aid in revisions.

About 22 local residents attended in the Community Room above the Pine Plains Free Library. Pine Plains town Supervisor Darrah Cloud called the hearing to order at the stroke of 7 p.m. 

Cloud delivered an overview of the process as well as a timeline of procedures taken to get the latest version of the plan off the ground, including the identification of goals and principles; hiring the consulting firm BFJ Planning; preparing a future land use plan; and collecting community responses to the month-long survey on what residents would like to see in town and in the latest version of the comprehensive plan. She then explained that the evening was intended to serve as both a public hearing and as an update on what she considered “a pretty beautiful plan.

“This is the work of a very dedicated committee who read and reread the plan numerous times,” Cloud said, adding that committee members contributed some of their own knowledge and insight into the plan as it was being updated.

Following an explanation by Frank Fish, a planner from BFJ Planning, as to how the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process works in relation to the plan’s update, the Pine Plains Town Board voted unanimously to become the lead agency for the plan. Taylor Young, another planner from BFJ Planning, shared what the firm envisions as goals and highlighted its future land use plan with regard to the town’s hamlet, rural area, wellhead protection and conservation development.

Following that review, Cloud opened the floor for public comment.

As the first public speaker, Pine Plains resident Dick Hermans questioned the plan’s limited definition of agriculture, explaining that the definition should include access to land and providing land to new and existing farmers. On the subject of housing, he noted that the plan didn’t include any information about Airbnbs.

“It’s something to think about because it impacts housing, particularly affordable housing,” Hermans said.

Pine Plains Councilman Rory Chase confirmed that there had been some responses on the public survey related to bringing Airbnbs into town. While the town doesn’t have a complete inventory of available Airbnbs, he mentioned that a soft estimate has identified four active Airbnbs in town. Later that evening, he commented that the strategy section for affordable housing in the area seemed “too narrowly cast.”

Speaking as a member of both the Comprehensive Plan Review Committee and the Pine Plains Board of Assessment Review, Matt Finley said, “I had an opportunity to reread the entire plan, and I wanted to compliment the committee and Frank and the firm you hired. I think it’s an excellent document to represent the town’s goals going forward.”

Pine Plains Councilwoman Sarah Jones asked why the plan didn’t address the “blip” between primary and part-time residents as well as the tension that exists between both groups.

“The community has created a new asset in The Stissing Center,” Jones reminded her fellow board members, “ and they have worked very hard to bridge some of the cultural divisions in the community.”

Jones then suggested that the committee look into more ways to bridge that gap and to confront the cultural divisions present in the community rather than dismiss them. She also asked how the plan addressed developments in terms of zoning and the conservation development mentioned in the future land use plan, and said that she wanted to see an acknowledgment of the attempts being made to improve communication.

“I don’t really think we should rush this process,” said Zoning Board of Appeals Chairman Scott Chase, and he recommended that the committee organize more meetings to address the key issues highlighted in the updated plan.

Another resident, Tully Lyons, raised her concerns about the impact of road traffic, particularly in terms of how it appears to create divisions in the town and discourage business as well as the use of local businesses. 

“I feel very strongly that the traffic makes the town feel as small as a pebble in the leg of progress, and it’s very discouraging,” she said. “I think there’s a lot of traffic and it’s too fast.”

Speaking to Lyons’ concerns, Hermans mentioned that there had been previous talk of reducing the speed limit on Church Street and Main Street.

Cloud asked the Town Board for a motion to continue accepting written comments until Monday, Oct. 7, which the board approved. Written comments can be sent to Cloud via email at supervisor@pineplains-ny.gov.

The public hearing officially adjourned at 7:52 p.m.