A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE: TOWN OF MONROE 2017 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE 2017 TOWN OF MONROE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE 2017 Monroe Town Board Harley Doles, Supervisor Anthony Cardone, Acting Supervisor Assistance Provide by: Richard Colon Michael McGinn Gerard McQuade June 2017 2017 TOWN OF MONROE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE TABLE OF CONTENTS Page I. INTRODUCTION TO THE 2017 PLAN UPDATE ........................................................................ I-1 A. OVERVIEW OF THE PLANNING PROCESS .......................................................................... I-1 B. IMPLEMENTATION AND NEXT STEPS ................................................................................ I-3 C. REGIONAL LOCATION AND CONTEXT ............................................................................... I-5 D. 2017 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE – A SUSTAINABLE FRAMEWORK ......................... I-9 II. VISION FOR THE FUTURE .................................................................................................... II-1 A. VISION STATEMENT ......................................................................................................... II-1 B. MAJOR ISSUES IN 2017 .................................................................................................... II-3 C. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES .................................................................................................. II-5 D. CONCEPTUAL LAND USE PLAN ....................................................................................... II-10 III. A SUSTAINABLE FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................... III-1 A. ENVIRONMENTAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................................... III-1 B. COMMUNITY CHARACTER FRAMEWORK ....................................................................... III-7 C. INFRASTRUCTURE FRAMEWORK .................................................................................. III-12 D. ENFORCEMENT ............................................................................................................. III-15 IV. MONROE TODAY: A BASELINE UPDATE .............................................................................. IV-1 A. DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS ................................................................................................. IV-1 B. NATURAL RESOURCES ..................................................................................................... IV-8 1. Geology, Topography and Soils......................................................................... IV-11 2. Ecology .............................................................................................................. IV-16 a. Federal Studies ............................................................................................. IV-16 b. National Audubon Important Birding Area .................................................. IV-19 c. Sterling Forest Bird Conservation Area ........................................................ IV-20 d. Significant Species ........................................................................................ IV-21 e. Ecological Habitat ......................................................................................... IV-23 3. Groundwater Resources ................................................................................... IV-26 4. Surface Water Resources .................................................................................. IV-29 a. Watersheds and Streams ............................................................................. IV-29 b. Freshwater Wetlands ................................................................................... IV-35 c. Floodplains ................................................................................................... IV-36 C. LAND USE AND ZONING ................................................................................................ IV-38 1. Existing Land Use Pattern ................................................................................. IV-38 2. Zoning................................................................................................................ IV-50 3. Property Valuation Trends ................................................................................ IV-56 Page i 2017 TOWN OF MONROE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.) Page 4. Existing Residential Development Potential ..................................................... IV-58 D. HISTORIC AND SCENIC RESOURCES .............................................................................. IV-62 1. Historic Resources ............................................................................................. IV-62 2. Scenic Resources ............................................................................................... IV-73 a. Trail Viewsheds ............................................................................................ IV-74 b. Scenic Roads ................................................................................................. IV-75 c. Heritage Areas .............................................................................................. IV-77 d. Natural Areas ............................................................................................... IV-78 E. UTILITIES ........................................................................................................................ IV-79 1. Wastewater Facilities ........................................................................................ IV-79 a. Orange County Sewer District No. 1 and Moodna Basin Commission ........ IV-79 b. Septic Systems.............................................................................................. IV-82 2. Water Supply ..................................................................................................... IV-83 3. Stormwater ....................................................................................................... IV-88 F. TRANSPORTATION ........................................................................................................ IV-94 1. Transportation Planning ................................................................................... IV-94 a. Southeastern Orange County Traffic and Land Use Study ........................... IV-94 b. Complete Streets ......................................................................................... IV-95 c. NYS Route 17 Conversion to I-86 ................................................................. IV-96 2. Commuting Patterns ......................................................................................... IV-96 3. Road .................................................................................................................. IV-98 a. NYSDOT Functional Classification ................................................................ IV-98 b. Road Jurisdiction ........................................................................................ IV-100 c. NYSDOT Traffic Data ................................................................................... IV-101 4. Passenger Rail Service ..................................................................................... IV-101 5. Bus Transportation.......................................................................................... IV-102 6. Air Transportation ........................................................................................... IV-103 7. Pedestrian Network ........................................................................................ IV-103 G. COMMUNITY FACILITIES AND SERVICES ..................................................................... IV-105 1. Town Governmental Services ......................................................................... IV-105 a. Town Government ..................................................................................... IV-106 b. Emergency Services ................................................................................... IV-107 c. Recreational Facilities ................................................................................. IV-109 d. Public Educational Facilities ....................................................................... IV-111 e. Library Services .......................................................................................... IV-114 Page ii 2017 TOWN OF MONROE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.) ............................................................................................................................Page V. IMPLEMENTATION MATRIX ................................................................................................ V-1 Tables IV.A-1 Population, Households and Housing Units – Townwide and Unincorporated Area ................ IV-3 IV.A-2 Population, Households and Housing Units – Villages and Unincorporated Area ..................... IV-4 IV.A-3 2015 Population Estimate (Persons) ........................................................................................... IV-4 IV.A-4 2010 Household Size (Persons) ................................................................................................... IV-5 IV.A-5 2010 Family Size (Persons) .......................................................................................................... IV-5 IV.A-6 Median Age (Years) ....................................................................................................................