Town of Minden Draft Comprehensive Plan July 2012
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Town of Minden Draft Comprehensive Plan July 2012 Prepared by the Town of Minden Planning Board 0 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... 3 Part I: Introduction and the Planning Process ................................................................ 4 Historical Background on the Town ........................................................................... 6 Community Strengths and Weaknesses .................................................................... 8 Part II: Vision, Goals and Actions ................................................................................. 10 Minden’s Vision ........................................................................................................ 10 Long Term Goals for Minden ................................................................................... 11 Recommended Actions ............................................................................................ 14 A. Agriculture ........................................................................................................................... 14 Rural and Small Town Character ......................................................................................... 17 Environmental Resources ..................................................................................................... 22 Economy .................................................................................................................................. 29 Infrastructure............................................................................................................................ 33 Recreation and Cultural Opportunities ................................................................................ 33 Government Services ............................................................................................................. 37 Part III Putting the Plan to Work .................................................................................... 39 Implementation Plan ................................................................................................ 39 Part IV Town Profile and Inventory ............................................................................... 43 Maps ........................................................................................................................ 43 Population Analysis .................................................................................................. 44 Housing Data for Minden ......................................................................................... 49 Commercial/Economic Resources ........................................................................... 52 Industries and Businesses in Minden ....................................................................... 52 Income Data ............................................................................................................. 56 Physical and Environmental Features ...................................................................... 57 Ecological Data ........................................................................................................ 62 Agricultural Resources ............................................................................................. 64 Schools .................................................................................................................... 68 Historic Resources ................................................................................................... 72 Recreational Resources ........................................................................................... 78 Community Facilities and Services .......................................................................... 78 Transportation and Highway .................................................................................... 78 1 Emergency Services ................................................................................................ 81 Water and Waste Water ........................................................................................... 81 Land Use ................................................................................................................. 81 Budgets .................................................................................................................... 88 Part V Public Input ........................................................................................................ 91 Part VI Models and Examples ................................................................................... 105 A. Density Bonus ................................................................................................... 105 B. Conservation Subdivision Model ....................................................................... 110 Conservation and Clustered Subdivisions ................................................................... 110 Part VII Groundwater Study ...................................................................................... 122 2 Acknowledgements Town Board Thomas Quackenbush Janice Zoller KarolAnn Grimm Douglas Simmons Stephen R. Heiser Janet Trumbull, Town Clerk Planning Board James Welch, Chairman Keith MacGregor, Secretary David Rivkowich, Member Al Florian, Member Joshua Welch, Member Christopher Patterson, Member Diane Raffa, Member Consultants Community Planning & Environmental Associates, Berne, NY Nan Stolzenburg, AICP CEP Don Meltz, AICP Steve Winkley, New York Rural Water Association 3 Part I: Introduction and the Planning Process A comprehensive plan is a written document that identifies the goals, objectives, principles, guidelines, policies, standards, and strategies for the growth and development of the community. It is designed to answer three critical questions: Where are we now? Where do we want to be? How do we get there? The town is authorized to develop and adopt a comprehensive plan by New York State Town Law Section 272-a. New York State considers adoption of a comprehensive plan to be a critical tool to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the people of the town and to consider the needs of the people. A comprehensive plan is the policy foundation upon which communities are built. Once a comprehensive plan is adopted, there are several implications: All government agencies involved in planning capital projects in Minden must consider this plan before they start any capital project. That means the Town has a stake in what other governmental agencies want to do when they are proposing a project in Town. In New York State, all land use regulations must be in accordance with a comprehensive plan (Section 272-a). The plan is the basis for regulations. All land use laws should be reviewed, and updated where necessary to be in accordance with this plan. Programs and regulations may be adopted to implement the plan to protect the Town’s resources and encourage desired development and growth. Community consensus and support can be built on the shared vision, goals, and strategies presented in the plan. Comprehensive plans are also important documents to help the Town be successful in obtaining grant monies to implement items contained in the Plan. The Planning Process In the July of 2010, the Minden Town Board began a planning process to update the existing Town Comprehensive Plan. They assigned updating of the existing plan to the Minden Planning Board and hired a planning consultant to assist them in developing the draft plan. The Planning Board had previously conducted a survey of the residents and augmented that public input with two focus group meetings with area farmers, and a public workshop. Together, this public input provided the basis for the development of the vision and goals for the Town outlined in this Plan. Town Input and Data Collection The issues, goals and recommended strategies detailed in this comprehensive plan are also based on new information gathered about the Town of Minden, new public input, 4 and relevant information from the old plan. Specific sources of information used to prepare this plan included: Background studies of land use patterns in Minden, including a build-out analysis Population and demographic information Housing (number of units, type of units, etc) Community facilities and services Transportation resources Recreation and educational resources Public safety programs Environmental conditions of the Town A groundwater study Analysis of the regional growth patterns and trends that have affected, and will continue to affect the area’s growth. 2000 Town of Minden Comprehensive Plan Organization of Plan Part I: Introduces the planning process used to update the Comprehensive Plan and outlines the community strengths and weaknesses. Part II and III: Part II of the Plan re-affirms and establishes the vision and goals for the Town and then offers a series of recommended actions that the Town can take in the future to accomplish each goal contained in this plan. Part III also helps the Town Board implement the plan by offering priorities, time frames, and identifying assistance needed. These two sections answer the “where do we want to be” and “how do we get there” questions. These parts answer the “Where does the Town want to be in the future and how do we get there” questions. Part IV and V: The profile and inventory of resources along with and public input sections