PREPARED FOR: T OWN OF W OODSTOCK, NEW Y ORK PREPARED BY: W OODSTOCK C OMPREHENSIVE P LANNING C OMMITTEE D ALE H UGHES, CHAIR R ICHARD A. ANTHONY J OSEPH A. DAIDONE D AVID C. EKROTH J ON L EWIS J OAN L ONEGRAN J ANINE M OWER E LIZABETH R EICHHELD J EAN W HITE A ND T HE S ARATOGA A SSOCIATES Landscape Architects, Architects, Engineers, and Planners, P.C. Saratoga Springs New York Boston This document was made possible with funds from New York State Department of State Division of Local Government and the New York State Planning Federation Rural New York Grant Program THE SARATOGA ASSOCIATES. All Rights Reserved T HE T OWN OF W OODSTOCK C OMPREHENSIVE P LANNING C OMMITTEE AND THE T OWN B OARD WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND A SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL THE VOLUNTEERS WHO ASSISTED WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE PLAN. E SPECIALLY: J ERRY W ASHINGTON AND B OBBIE C OOPER FOR THEIR ASSITANCE ON THE C OMMUNITY S URVEY TABLE OF CONTENTS April 2003 TOWN OF WOODSTOCK COMPREHENSIVE PLAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (Bound under separate cover) I. INTRODUCTION 1 A. A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR WOODSTOCK 1 B. THE COMMUNITY PLANNING PROCESS 2 C. PUBLIC INPUT 3 D. DEVELOPING A PLANNING APPROACH FOR WOODSTOCK 9 II. INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS 12 A. REGIONAL SETTING AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT 12 B. EXISTING LAND USE 14 C. DEMOGRAPHIC & ECONOMIC TRENDS 19 D. HOUSING & NEIGHBORHOODS 29 E. RECREATIONAL FACILITIES 34 F. RELIGIOUS / SPIRITUAL ORGANIZATIONS 37 G. ARTS AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS 37 H. ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES 38 BUILD-OUT ANALYSIS 52 I. TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION 53 III. GOALS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 56 A. VISION OF THE COMMUNITY PLAN 56 B. RECOMMENDATIONS 56 1. Environment and Natural Resources 56 2. Recreation and Open Space 66 3. Hamlet Preservation 73 4. Housing/Neighborhoods 80 Town of Woodstock Comprehensive Plan TABLE OF CONTENTS i 5. Economic Sustainability 84 6. Transportation 89 7. Infrastructure and Community Services 93 IV. IMPLEMENTATION 97 A. COORDINATED IMPLEMENTATION 97 1. “Maintaining Distinctive Character in the Face of Change” 97 2. Immediate Steps for Plan Adoption 99 3. List of Zoning Changes 100 4. Resources 101 APPENDIX A - LIST OF STAKEHOLDERS APPENDIX B - FIREHOUSE MEETINGS APPENDIX C - SURVEY – FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION APPENDIX D - RECOMMENDATIONS APPENDIX E - SEQR DOCUMENTATION APPENDIX F - BIBLIOGRAPHY Town of Woodstock Comprehensive Plan TABLE OF CONTENTS ii LIST OF MAPS 1. LAND USE................................................................................................................... 16 2. TOWN AND COUNTY POPULATION DENSITY ............................................................... 22 3. TOWN AND COUNTY MEDIAN HOUSING VALUE ......................................................... 33 4. ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES AND LAND ACQUISITION AREAS ................................... 36 5. WATERSHED BOUNDARIES.......................................................................................... 41 6. SLOPES........................................................................................................................ 51 7. WATER RESOURCES SYSTEM PROTECTION ................................................................. 59 8. RECREATION AND OPEN SPACE SYSTEM MAP 1 OF 3.................................................. 68 9. RECREATION AND OPEN SPACE SYSTEM MAP 2 OF 3.................................................. 68 10. RECREATION AND OPEN SPACE SYSTEM MAP 3 OF 3.................................................. 68 11. CONNECTING TO THE CENTER OF THE COMMUNITY AND NATURAL SETTING............. 79 12. PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES TO ENHANCE CULTURAL DIVERSITY .............................. 83 13. MAINTAINING THE TOWN’S DISTINCTIVE COMMUNITY CHARACTER.......................... 88 Town of Woodstock Comprehensive Plan TABLE OF CONTENTS iii I. INTRODUCTION A. A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR WOODSTOCK In the late 1940s, New York State Historian Albert Corey visited Woodstock for the first time. He was told that he should have come earlier, that Woodstock was losing its distinction, and that the art colony was disintegrating. Whimsical Corey replied, “I’m not so sure of that. It has been my observation that while it’s very easy to start an art colony, once it’s established, it’s almost impossible to root it out.” Alf Evers, Woodstock: History of An American Town, The Overlook Press, 1987, p. 676. The founding of the Byrdcliffe colony in the Town a century ago placed arts, crafts, and culture at the very center of public life in Woodstock, yet, as a review of the documentation accompanying this plan makes clear, the Town of Woodstock is much more than an art colony. Over the intervening decades, Woodstock has experienced a variety of economic, demographic and social changes. And at every juncture, some residents have raised the specter of the Town “losing its distinction”, losing its character. Yet through it all, Woodstock has remained unsurpassed in its ability to delight residents and visitors alike with its unique combination of scenic beauty intermixed with opportunities for personal solitude and expressions of cultural and artistic vitality. In a sense, each generation in Woodstock is challenged to respond to that legacy. Each generation makes its effort to preserve Woodstock’s natural and cultural riches, while providing opportunities for residents to prosper and enjoy the exceptional quality of community life in the Town. It is sentiments such as these that have helped shape this comprehensive plan for the Town of Woodstock. The committee of volunteers that has overseen this plan continually sought input and advice from all components of the community. Every recommendation included herein has been carefully reviewed and extensively discussed by the committee. The resulting plan will not be a panacea for all of the challenges facing Woodstock in the new century. But it does represent a community-wide effort to identify and address critical issues and opportunities facing Woodstock at a particular point in its history. At its core, this plan is intended to be useful guide to public and private actions taken on behalf of the Town. In that way, this plan attempts to honor the community’s legacy while embracing the ever-emerging opportunities and energies that continue to make Woodstock an interesting and enjoyable place in which to live. Town of Woodstock Comprehensive Plan INTRODUCTION 1 B. THE COMMUNITY PLANNING PROCESS Planning activities, such as a comprehensive plan, play an important role in setting a course for the future, as they address a variety of aspects of community life. Specifically, a comprehensive plan: Provides a strategic occasion to formally consider the need for town-wide changes in development patterns on a basis that is community-based and community-driven; Systematically identifies and creates a public record of community assets, opportunities, and needs; Produces a vision for the future of the community that is shared across a variety of community perspectives and interests including neighborhoods, businesses, institutions, and environmental interests; Outlines specific actions to achieve that shared vision; Establishes a framework for community-wide collaboration on plan implementation. The Town of Woodstock Comprehensive Plan Update was initiated in November 1998 under the direction of the Town Board. Central to the process was the Comprehensive Planning Committee (CPC), made up of residents with a variety of interests derived from their roles as community volunteers, professionals, and interested citizens. The committee convened twice monthly during the planning process, and guided the development of the plan to respond to a wide range of interests. The Comprehensive Planning process began with an inventory and analysis of existing conditions followed by an extensive public outreach process. This included monthly stakeholder meetings, a series of public meetings held at firehouses in the hamlets (termed “firehouse meetings”), and a survey sent to all Town residents and property owners. In addition to these formal public outreach methods, all of the CPC meetings were open to the general public. Next, specific policies and actions were developed to address problems and issues that were defined as part of the inventory, stakeholder meetings, firehouse meetings, survey, and general public input. After the policies and actions were developed, strategies and tools to meet the objectives of the vision were refined. These components were graphically summarized in a series of maps. The maps are intended to act as a blueprint to help chart the Town’s growth and redevelopment in a direction that meets the established vision. Town of Woodstock Comprehensive Plan INTRODUCTION 2 C. PUBLIC INPUT To ensure that all of the residents of Woodstock had the potential to contribute to the comprehensive plan, the CPC designed a public outreach program that reached as many people as possible. To begin the process, a number of firehouse meetings were held in the hamlets including Woodstock, Zena, Lake Hill/Shady/Willow, Wittenburg, and a Saturday meeting was held for people who reside in Woodstock on weekends. In addition to the firehouse meetings, the CPC held a number of stakeholder interviews with different interest groups including business interests, senior citizens, youth groups, environmental groups, artists, etc. Appendix A contains a listing of all the stakeholder groups. These methods of public input were complemented by a community-wide survey designed and administered by the CPC. A discussion of the preliminary