Hundreds jam town hall for zoning hearing
April 7 hearing to offers another chance for comment
By: Matt Peppe Hyde Park Townsman April 7 , 2005

HYDE PARK - More than 300 people flooded town hall for the board's public hearing on the 2005 proposed comprehensive master plan and zoning ordinance.

Inside, the meeting room was packed to standing room capacity, and the hallways were also full.
Some citizens stood outside the building, trying to hear the proceedings through the opened doors.
The March 31 meeting, which lasted five hours, until midnight, began thinning out after people outside realized they would not be able to hear or see inside the room.
One woman said she had left and gone home to watch the meeting on television and returned for her turn to speak.
About 80% of the 90 citizens who spoke at the hearing voiced their opposition to the proposed 2005 plan.
Changes in the 2005 plan would create three additional commercial districts and lower density requirements for zoning in several districts, including the Greenbelt district.
After a motion to close the floor to public comment, Councilman Bob Linville (D-Ward 1) said there should be another meeting to accommodate people who left because of overcrowding and were unable to speak.
Linville noted there seemed to be "lots of frustration among people who stood outside the building."
After a brief recess, Supervisor Yancy McArthur said he spoke with each board member individually and decided to keep the floor open for public comment.
Another public hearing date was set for April 7 at 7 p.m. at the town hall. McArthur said everyone would have the opportunity to speak, but priority will be given to those who did not speak at the March 31 meeting.
The period for written comment to be received by the supervisor will end on April 15 at 4 p.m.
After that date, the board will be legally entitled to take action on the proposed plan.

Residents discuss impacts
Florence Rosen, chairwoman of the zoning review committee, which created the 2005 comprehensive master plan, spoke about the work the committee did in forming the new plan.
She called the documents a "compromise" that is "the result of thousands of hours of thought and work."
"We want to make Hyde Park the best possible place it can be. That's our only agenda," Rosen said.
Marc Gerstman of Albany, attorney for Stop the Sprawl, said the group he represents thinks there aren't enough initiatives in the 2005 comprehensive plan for "smart growth."
He urged the board to extend the public comment period, underscoring the importance of the comprehensive plan.
"The future of your community for decades to come depends on this plan," Gerstman said.
Ned Sullivan, president of Scenic Hudson, took issue with the documents' density requirements, calling them "too low in the greenbelts and too high in the center." Sullivan said this would weaken historic and scenic protection.

Town center concerns
Many people voiced opposition to the removal of the "town center core" district from the 1997 master plan. That has been replaced with a village historic district in the latest draft.
"We moved here because we were looking for a town that had a center and a village-like atmosphere," said Roberta Brody. "You have taken away the idea of a walkable town center," she said.
Bob Baxter, owner of Park Plaza on Route 9, also expressed frustration with the removal of the town center district.
"I've spent millions to turn around a once-vacant center into something we can all be proud of," Baxter said. "This is no longer part of a town center."
Others said there was no town center to hold onto.
Stephanie Parisi of Hyde Park said she thought of the town as a thruway for people travelling north to Kingston or south to Poughkeepsie to shop.
Parisi and others said they would like to see zoning changes allow for more shopping in Hyde Park, rather than travelling to other towns.
Another issue was the affects proposed changes would have on the school population.
Christina Rumshuttle, employee of FDR High School and mother of three children in Hyde Park schools, said she sees the effects of overcrowding every day at work and fears more with changes that would allow more residential developments.
Michelle Dinapoli said new zoning would create an even greater burden on schools. She suggested requiring developers to provide funding for a new school.

©Hyde Park Townsman 2005

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