Hastings Comprehensive Plan
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Village of Hastings-on-Hudson Draft Comprehensive Plan VILLAGE OF HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON DRAFT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN VILLAGE OF HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON, WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW YORK Prepared for The Village of Hastings-on-Hudson, NY Prepared by Hastings-on-Hudson Comprehensive Plan Committee with Phillips Preiss Shapiro Associates, Inc. 33-41 Newark Street Third Floor, Suite D Hoboken, NJ 07030 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Village of Hastings-on-Hudson Board of Trustees Mayor Peter Swiderski Nicola Armacost Bruce Jennings Jeremiah Quinlan Meg Walker Francis A. Frobel, Village Manager Susan Maggiotto, Village Clerk Hastings-on-Hudson Comprehensive Plan Committee Kathy Sullivan, Chair Richard Bass Stephen Corrigan Ellen Hendrickx Betsy Imershein Robert Mayer Lynda Merchant Jim Metzger Rebecca Strutton Carolyn Summers Harry Thomas Fred Wertz Village of Hastings-on-Hudson Draft Comprehensive Plan 2 for Review 1/25/11 Table of Contents Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ 3 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 4 Process ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Goals and Objectives of Comprehensive Plan......................................................................... 8 Document Organization ............................................................................................................ 9 Chapter 2. VILLAGE OVERVIEW ............................................................................................ 13 Chapter 3 THE DOWNTOWN ................................................................................................. 25 Chapter 4 LARGE TRACTS .................................................................................................... 43 Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 48 The Waterfront ........................................................................................................................ 63 Chapter 5 CIRCULATION ........................................................................................................ 73 Chapter 6 ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY .................................................................. 90 Chapter 7 SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE ................................................................... 100 Chapter 8 QUALITY OF LIFE ................................................................................................ 109 Chapter 9 IMPLEMENTATION MATRIX .............................................................................. 125 APPENDIX 1 ............................................................................................................................... 126 APPENDIX 2 ............................................................................................................................... 127 Existing Zoning Definitions ................................................................................................... 127 APPENDIX 3 ............................................................................................................................... 128 Financial Analysis ................................................................................................................. 128 Village of Hastings-on-Hudson Draft Comprehensive Plan 3 for Review 1/25/11 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Introduction The Village of Hastings-on-Hudson (―the Village‖) is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River about 20 miles north of midtown Manhattan. Panoramic views of the Hudson River and Palisades are offered throughout this compact community, which is two square miles in area. Because of its setting, the Village has long attracted artists and writers who strive to capture and share its beauty. At the same time, however access to the Hudson River has also made the Village a desirable place for industry, which historically, attracted a diverse workforce. The main goal of the Comprehensive Plan is to protect those assets which make the Village such a desirable community to live in while planning for and responding to potential impacts to its community character. It provides a positive vision for a sustainable community that balances financial realities, potential development, quality of life issues and much more. It captures our aspirations for what we can be while holding on to what we treasure. The Village’s assets include: location, population diversity, historic architecture, natural resources and tree-lined corridors and small town feel. Potential impacts include the anticipated redevelopment of the contaminated Waterfront area, the potential development of long-held large tracts of land whose landscape defines the Village’s corridors, rising housing prices, and the continued escalation of property taxes due in part to the loss of tax ratable Waterfront industry. Although the Village has periodically updated its zoning code over the years, a formal comprehensive plan for its development has never been prepared. The Village government and its associated committees have, however, over the years prepared a number of planning documents and assessments that have provided guidance to the Village government. Some of the more important documents are listed below. The However, the Comprehensive Plan builds upon these earlier planning efforts, often logically expanding on these earlier documents: including: The Planning Principles (1988) Planning Review (1996) The Community Vision Plan (1998) A Redevelopment Plan for Hastings-on-Hudson Waterfront (2001) Walkable Communities Workshop Report (2003) Waterfront Implementation Strategy (2004) Assessment of Park and Recreation Facilities and Fees in Lieu of Parkland (2005) Transportation Plan and Pedestrian Enhancements (2007) The Draft Local Waterfront Revitalization Program Plan (2004, updated 2007) Village of Hastings-on-Hudson Draft Comprehensive Plan 4 for Review 1/25/11 Large Tracts draft documentation (2006?) The Village has been moving toward adopting a comprehensive plan for several years. In July 2007, the Village Board of Trustees (―the Trustees‖) passed a resolution to initiate the development and consideration of a comprehensive plan for the Village. Later that year, the Comprehensive Plan Committee (―CPC‖) was empanelled. The CPC wasis made up of 11 resident volunteers from a variety of neighborhoods within the community and who have diverse backgrounds and experiences. Process From the start, the CPC’s goal was to create a Comprehensive Plan that would grow out of the Village’s strong sense of community involvement and activism. Starting in October 2007, the CPC met twice a month at the Community Center. By early 2010, the CPC had met more than 50 times. All but one meeting were open to the public and recorded by WHOH-TV. In addition, an e-mail address was made available to the public for the CPC to answer questions and receive feedback. Each month, a different member of the CPC responded to the e-mail. The Village set up a webpage for the Comprehensive Plan, which became a repository for all information related to CPC activities and reports. The CPC began by gathering data. CPC members divided into subcommittees that were focused on land use and zoning; transportation and infrastructure; economics; community background, and history and planning history; demographics; regional and local setting and intergovernmental and municipal structure; community facilities and cultural resources; community services and scenic, historic, recreational and natural resources; and sustainability. As part of a studio project during the spring 2008 semester, 11 graduate students from the Urban Planning Department of Hunter College, lead by CPC member Richard Bass, began to study the Village. The students interviewed most of the elected leaders in the Village and conducted two extensive surveys to reach the broader community. A community survey was distributed to the Village's email list. The survey was sent to almost 1,100 email recipients and 388 usable responses were received. While not a controlled scientific study or strictly limited to just Village residents, the survey did start to identify community concerns. Almost 75% of respondents were over the age of 45. While this number was slightly disproportionate to the total population, the distribution was useful in the CPC’s later focus on the Village’s aging population and its needs. Economic development and Waterfront redevelopment were the most important issues to respondents. The survey also revealed that pedestrian safety and sidewalks were a greater concern than traffic and congestion. Two-thirds of respondents indicated they Village of Hastings-on-Hudson Draft Comprehensive Plan 5 for Review 1/25/11 would like to retire in Hastings, with the majority hoping to reside in their current residence. Finally, the majority of respondents indicated they would participate in and support regional and historic tourism. The following are key findings: 40.6% of respondents indicated that their 'vision' for the future of Hastings is as a regional destination. 84.8% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that there is a need for waterfront redevelopment as soon as possible. 91.8% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that the Village needs