Public Hearing September 14th on the most important document in town.
The Town of Ballston Comprehensive Plan is being updated and almost complete. The Town of Ballston has released the draft of the new updated Comprehensive Plan. ALL RESIDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO READ THIS IMPORTANT BLUEPRINT TO OUR TOWNS FUTURE! As of August 30, 2021, the Draft Update to the 2006 Comprehensive Plan is available for Public Review online or in person at Town Hall or at the Town of Ballston Community Library. Residents can visit www.EnvisionBallston.com and public input is encouraged.
You can review the draft by clicking a direct link below.
click below to view the maps
If you are unable to attend the Public Hearing in person to comment on September 14th, a virtual Zoom Public Hearing will be conducted on Wednesday, September 15th at 7pm as a online Public Hearing Continuation.
Please click the link below on Wednesday evening September 15tth, 2021 at 7:00pm to join the online hearing:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89354562707
The public also has access to written summaries of Public Workshops, Stakeholder Meetings, the Online Student Survey, the Online Community Survey, the Town Board Report Card Exercise and Farm and Rural Audit of Current Town Zoning.
Click on the appendices below to read summaries:
Here is the Draft Comprehensive Plan Recommendations as written in section 4 of the August 2021 DRAFT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN:
Rural
Character and Targeted Growth
Goals
Maintain rural character by limiting growth in rural areas and enhancing land conservation.
Expand the Town’s active and passive recreational resources to meet the growing demand for these amenities.
Overview
Ballston’s rural area is characterized by working farms and open spaces, with scattered small scale commercial lands and single family residential development along the road frontages. This area is generally the area west of Route 50, but there are also areas east of Route 50 that are rural in nature.
These rural areas often include resource based economic activities and typically have less demand for public services. Outside of the hamlets and the Village of Ballston Spa, agriculture has historically been the primary land use. Today, economic trends have reduced the vitality of agriculture in this area, but many working farms continue to exist and the land remains the primary asset of many property owners in this area. With its remaining agricultural businesses, undeveloped lands, and natural resources, this portion of the community is highly valued for its rural character and contributions to the Town’s overall quality of life.
One challenge for Ballston is that it is not currently built out and is a highly desirable place to live with easy access to key employment and services centers. Ballston is also surrounded by neighboring municipalities that are either nearly built out near the municipal borders (Town of Malta and Village of Ballston Spa), have limited growth opportunities near the municipal border through regulatory means (Town of Clifton Park) or are taking a no or limited growth approach (Town of Charlton). Without effective and meaningful land use tools to direct growth to targeted areas of the Town and protect important undeveloped lands, the rural character that has served as the roots of the Ballston community for so long could be lost.
With continued residential development pressure in the Town, there is a concern about the impact on the character of the rural area and impact on working farm operations. However, a lack of sewer and water infrastructure will most likely limit intense development. The challenge in this area, therefore, is to provide options for rural landowners so that rural lifestyles, community character and economic opportunity can be maintained here over the long-term. Along the Route 50 corridor, this will also need to be balanced with future expansion of sewer and water infrastructure to support growth in targeted areas.
The most straightforward approach to maintain rural character is to limit growth opportunities in the rural area. To do this fairly and successfully, it is important to identify where increased density is appropriate, considering environmental capacity, and sewer and water infrastructure that exists or where it is appropriate for expansion. Through public engagement activities, the community has identified the following areas would be most appropriate to focus future growth at a scale appropriate for each specific area:
·
Hamlet Areas
·
Hamlet Residential Areas
·
The northern and southern
portions of the Route 50 Corridor
·
Area east of Ballston
Lake
· Existing Industrial Area
The conservation of land through tools such as the purchase of development
rights (PDR), conservation subdivision, density transfers and other tools can limit growth. Land conservation can be complex, includes many factors and requires a series of tools working
together to be effective. Buy-in from the community, property owners, farmers, conservation partners as well as buy-in from the land
development community is important. For this reason, the Comprehensive Plan process included
a stakeholder group meeting focused
on land conservation and agriculture with representatives that may have at first appeared to be unusual but critical to process. Representatives from
the farming community, elected officials,
developers, a realtor, Saratoga P.L.A.N and large property owners participated
and provided insight on practical, implementable methods to both conserve
lands in the rural areas while
targeting future residential growth to specific
areas in Town such as the
hamlet areas and areas
east of Ballston Lake.
The Town’s current zoning has some key tools to protect
the rural character
and focus growth.
A 2019 zoning update was intended to create a more ‘farm-friendly’ zoning ordinance. However, the current mix of tools have not always worked together
well and have not been effective in adequately managing current development pressures. Additionally, some existing
zoning tools, such as the Planned Unit Development District
(PUDD) which can be a useful tool for creative development approaches, have instead allowed higher density
growth to occur in a manner
that has changed
the landscape of the Town.
Targeting growth to the areas listed above can also serve to enhance the Town tax base by promoting a concentrated
mixed of uses or additional commercial activity to increase tax revenue. This is important to support Town services
and the school districts. It will be important
for the Town to ensure appropriate sewer and water infrastructure exist in the areas identified for target growth to allow that growth to occur in those locations and keep the rural areas rural. Also in targeting
growth, recreational amenities
should be considered
as well
as connections to those amenities.
The Town has also experienced challenges with the implementation of its Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) program. A TDR program is a method of land conservation that establishes sending areas (areas to be conserved) and receiving areas (areas to receive development rights). Development rights are ‘transferred’ from sending areas to designated receiving areas. The current program is voluntary and lacks the administrative capacity to be successful.
In the face of significant population growth, the community concern about a loss of rural character is also growing. The recommendations below are intended to work together to protect the rural area while creating opportunities for landowners to realize their property investment and opportunities for new development to occur in specific areas to meet the residential and tax revenue generation needs of a growing community.
Recommendations
RC-1. Remove the existing Transfer of Development Rights section of the zoning and replace with a local Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) program. PDR is a mechanism to offer compensation to willing landowners for the restriction of development on the land, usually through a conservation easement. The landowner maintains ownership and still has use of the land for activities not restricted in the conservation easement, such as farming.
A local PDR program would establish a dedicated fund administered by the Town to accept fees from developers for density bonuses to be applied within areas of the Town targeted for growth. Those funds would only be used for the purchase of open space and/or farmland outright or the purchase of development rights. This flat fee would be established by Town and likely be on a per dwelling unit basis. The density bonus can benefit an eligible development, while the Town and general public will benefit from the conservation of important open spaces and farmland. To maintain the goals of the rural area, the local PDR program density bonus should not apply to the Rural District. The success is also tied to removing the use of PUDDs for residential development as that would discourage use of this technique.
The establishment of the local PDR program should also consider the follow key items:
Identify a maximum density bonus to be applied
Establish the fee per dwelling unit to be applied.
a process for determining eligibility for and applying for the density bonus. Approval of the density bonus would be discretionary by the Town.
Identify the entity responsible for the long-term management of the program as well as easement monitoring and ownership responsibilities.
Any established density bonus would need to be consistent with Town Law 261-b – Incentive Zoning
Create a process for selecting properties to conserve with the PDR funds including:
Criteria to evaluate potential lands for purchase of development rights.
A map of conservation priorities to understand lands within the community that meet the Town’s conservation criteria.
RC-2. Reduce the allowed density in the Rural District See Map 7 – Existing Zoning in Section 2 for location of Rural District and other existing districts referenced.
RC-3. Reduce base density in the Ballston Lake Residential, Mixed Use and Hamlet Residential Districts and provide density bonuses to facilitate transfer of density from other areas into these areas targeted for growth.
RC-4. Require a permanent protection of 50% of the parcel as open space within a conservation subdivision.
RC-5. Decrease maximum allowed square footage of commercial uses in Rural Highway Transition district and provide square footage bonus for participation in the Town land conservation program or clean energy incentive program.
RC-6. Consider changing name of Business Highway District to Neighborhood Commercial to better reflect the type of development desired in that location.
RC-7. Consider expansion of the Hamlet Residential District to accommodate new growth.
RC-8. Encourage commercial development in the Burnt Hills Hamlet.
RC-9. Expand and improve parks and recreational facilities within the Town. RC-10. Identify additional public access to Ballston Lake.
RC-11. Encourage provision of parkland instead of park and recreation fee in lieu of for major subdivisions. Location of that parkland (on-site or off-site) and maintenance responsibilities would need to be carefully considered.
RC-12. Establish an educational program for landowners and potential developers to understand incentive programs within the Town. This could be in the form a brochure, videos or in-person programming.
Goals
Support existing farming community and promote new farming opportunities.
Encourage agri-business opportunities and support existing agribusinesses.
Encourage the conservation of farmland and significant open spaces and ensure the long-term viability of agriculture.
Overview
Growth pressure and economic trends create a challenging environment to keep farming viable. However, several farms do exist and continue to thrive through diversification in their farm businesses. Encouraging diversification within the farm business will be important for future success. Creating flexibility and an environment supportive of the farming industry will also assist to maintain the rural character so valued by the Ballston community.
A Farm-Open Space-Rural Character Friendly Audit (Appendix F) of the existing zoning was conducted as part of this planning process to understand what land use tools are currently in place to support the community goals related to farming, open space, and rural character.
The results of the audit indicate the Town has a solid foundation of tools that are farm- friendly, address environmental protection and rural character. However, there are critical land use items that need to be addressed to ensure the tools in place are more effective and are being utilized. The changes in the community character as a result from ineffective or underutilized land use tools are evident on the landscape today.
To support existing farms now and encourage continued success of those farming operations in the future, a series of land use tools and programmatic recommendations are outlined below.
Recommendations
A-1. Update the 2013 Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan. Establish a planning committee with local farmers as well as representatives from the Farmland Protection and Preservation Committee, Saratoga P.L.A.N, Saratoga County Cornell Cooperative Extension, and other key partners.
A-2. Work with Saratoga P.L.A.N. and the Saratoga County Farm Bureau to increase Saratoga County’s commitment to land preservation. This may include increased funding for land conservation or consideration of a County-wide land preservation plan.
A-3. Expand the Farmland Protection and Preservation Committee role to include:
· Serving as the information clearinghouse and forum for farm-town relations.
Facilitating the technical, educational, business, and regulatory assistance needed to farm and to live near farms.
Fostering a working relationship among farmers, residents, and institutions.
Advocating agriculture, farmland protection, and agricultural economic development at county, state, and federal levels.
Marketing, promoting, and initiating community agricultural events and awareness programs,
Assisting the Town Board
in grant seeking
and writing for ag programs.
Facilitating existing programs that match farmers with available
land.
Promoting sustainable farming to landowners and farm
As part of the Town’s website, create a local farm inventory page that lists location, products, availability, prices, etc. Work with local farms and encourage them to be listed in this and other similar websites
Creating an easy-to-understand brochure on the realities of living in agricultural areas, and make it available for distribution, including adding such information to the Town website.
A-4. Consider use of the real estate transfer tax option. This is where the municipality imposes a fee of up to two percent of the sale price of real property to fund open space and agricultural protection programs. Currently used in several Long Island towns and several other locations, the real estate transfer tax would need to be approved by the State legislature and then locally through a voter referendum. A similar program is in place for the Hudson Valley area, but some non-Hudson towns are seeking to do this too.
A-5. Develop additional rural siting guidelines for new residential development that could be given out with all building permits for new dwellings in the Rural District to help educate landowners not going through the Planning Board on the best ways to site a new home in an ag and environmentally friendly manner. This could be an educational tool to help site new residences in a way that is least disruptive to agricultural operations. These guidelines would not be requirements but could assist to address a changing character within the Rural District.
A-6. Support the creation of a multi-town or county-wide community kitchen and other local food processing to enhance the local food system.
A-8. Use town-owned land as a farm incubator site for new, young, or veteran farmers.
A-9. Support farmland protection applications (federal and NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets) from local farmers and farmland owners who wish use conservation easements to permanently protect their farmland as part of State and Federal programs.
A-10. Amend current farmland buffers requirements to apply to all development adjacent to active farms, including minor and major subdivisions
A-11. consider expanding definition of agri-tourism and standards related to agri-tourism to be consistent with the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets guidelines.
Goals
· Focus new growth to the hamlet areas and enhance walkability.
· Enhance gateways within the hamlets.
· Maintain community character.
· Celebrate and protect historic character of the hamlets.
Overview
The hamlet areas in the Town are reflected in the Mixed Use Center North (near Village of Ballston Spa) and Mixed Use Center South (near Burnt Hills) zoning districts. The hamlet area for the purposes of this discussion also includes the Hamlet Residential districts. These are the historic centers of settlement within the Town and continue to be locations to focus growth. The historic qualities of the hamlets, particularly the Burnt Hills hamlet (south) is important to the community and should be preserved and celebrated.
The hamlets serve as gateways into the Town. Gateways signify the arrival to a community and can include a welcome sign, landscaping, or other enhancement. Street and sidewalk treatments also serve as a gateway as well as provide safe, convenient connections for residents. The north hamlet is immediately adjacent to the Village of Ballston Spa and serves as an extension of the Village.
An interactive virtual focus group discussion with the community highlighted key themes related to the hamlets including:
· Improve walkability
·
Enhance aesthetics
·
Preserve historic
architecture and character
·
Strong connection to the Village of Ballston
Spa (north hamlet)
·
Support local businesses and small scale development
The following recommendations are intended to address the key themes identified by the community.
Recommendations
H-1. Enhance hamlet gateways including streetscape improvements, an enhanced pedestrian environment, etc. Work with volunteer groups to partner on maintenance of gateways.
H-2. Maintain village look and feel adjacent to the Village of Ballston Spa extending from the Village boundary south to Route 67
H-3. Coordinate with the Village of Ballston Spa on land use and planning initiatives at the north hamlet area to ensure complimentary growth.
H-4. Implement existing design guidelines for the hamlet areas that respect the historic qualities and promote walkability.
H-5. Expand the sidewalk system within the hamlets to provide safe and convenient pedestrian access, including connections between neighborhoods, schools, and commercial activity.
H-6. Consider traffic calming techniques along high traffic areas within the hamlets. Coordinate with NYS Department of Transportation as needed.
H-7. Partner with existing groups such as Burnt Hills Ballston Lake Business and Professional Association, the Ballston Spa Professional Business Association, and the Saratoga County of Chamber of Commerce to attract and promote local businesses within the hamlets.
H-8. Work with outside agencies at the state level to support and enhance small, local business.
H-9. Consider investing in sewer and/or water infrastructure within the hamlet areas to support growth and environmentally sound practices.
H-10. Utilize the ‘build-to-line’ currently in the zoning to more effectively control placement of buildings to maintain streetscape and support more attractive pedestrian environment.
H-11. Consider establishing a local historic district within the Burnt Hills hamlet to protect and maintain the historic character as growth occurs.
H-12. If the opportunity presents, create a gateway on Route 50 as a marker for the south hamlet.
Clean Energy and the Environment
Goals
Promote use of clean energy alternatives.
Create a network of open spaces to provide wildlife habitat and potential
greenway/recreational trail corridors.
Ensure the protection of the Town’s important natural resources such as soils, stream corridors, wetlands floodplains, and in particular, the water quality and scenic qualities of Ballston Lake.
Explore incentives for residential and commercial growth that will utilize alternative energies and designs.
Enhance Ballston's sustainability and resiliency.
Overview
The natural setting of Town is one of its greatest assets and has enticed many people to live and move to Town. From a global perspective a challenge for Ballston is the threat of climate change. Climate trends that are anticipated to impact the area are increasing temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns and sea level rise. This may lead to more intense heat waves, stronger storms, and areas of increased flooding, particularly along the lake and streams. It is critical for Town to continue to foster clean energy and sustainable development in the future.
A recent priority for the Town has been participation in the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation / New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Clean Energy Communities Program. The Ballston Clean Energy Committee was formed in January 2020 and is responsible for leading the implementation of this program. The following priority items on the program’s High Impact Action List have been a focus of effort for the committee:
· Benchmarking
·
LED Street Lights
·
Clean Fleets
·
Unified Solar Permit
Completed items by the Clean Energy Committee include:
· Benchmarking
·
Benchmarking upgrade
·
Clean Fleets
·
Unified Solar Permit
·
Clean Energy
Upgrades
The Clean Energy Committee, in coordination with the Town Board, has been making great progress toward these efforts. For example, an electric vehicle charging station was recently installed at Town Hall, the town is budgeting for purchase of an EV truck and the Town has drafted and is in the process of gathering public feedback on a proposed solar local law.
Recommendations
EE-1. Encourage installation of electric vehicle charging stations at public and civic locations as well as in commercial areas.
EE-2. Upgrade municipal buildings as the opportunities allows to energy saving technologies.
EE-3. Encourage and promote the use clean energy town-wide, including Town-owned facilities.
EE-4. Development lighting standards that promote energy efficiency and reduce light pollution while providing adequate lighting for safety. Consider upgrading streetlighting to LED.
EE-5. Evaluate and update zoning on environmentally constrained lands to ensure adequate buffers.
EE-6. Incorporate Ballston Lake Watershed Management Plan and other more current recommendations into the zoning.
EE-7. Protect water quality of Ballston Lake. Continue working with partners such as the Ballston Lake Improvement Association and Saratoga County Cornell Cooperative Extension to identify water quality issues and solutions.
EE-8. Continue seeking funding opportunities to address water quality for Ballston Lake.
EE-9. Revise the Ballston Lake Watershed district boundaries to reflect the true watershed boundary as presented in the Ballston Lake Watershed Management Plan instead of parcel boundaries.
EE-10. Update stream buffer requirements to apply consistently for C(t) and C class streams. Currently the zoning treats these stream classes differently outside the Ballston Lake watershed.
EE11. Implement and enforce stormwater management requirements for all development in accordance with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation regulations, especially in areas within the Ballston Lake Watershed Protection District.
EE-12. Prepare Ballston Green Infrastructure Map. Using the existing conditions mapping within Section 2 – Community Profile, data from Saratoga County, Saratoga P.L.A.N and other sources, the Town can overlay natural resources, environmentally sensitive areas, active farmland, trail networks, and work with the community to identify priorities for conservation and connectivity.
EE-13. Establish a green energy incentive program. This program would allow for square footage bonuses for new development that incorporates green energy. The program would need to establish eligible practices and a mechanism to apply for the incentive.
EE-14. Continue seeking funding opportunities to support the Clean Energy Communities program implementation.
EE-15. Adopt and implement a local solar law.
EE-16. Update building codes to reflect the latest energy-efficient building code standards for new and rehabilitated housing (e.g. International Green Construction Code or the NYStretch Energy Code) and ensure staff are fully trained and supported to implement.
Infrastructure
Goals
Maintain existing public water and sewer infrastructure
Limit the unnecessary expansion of urbanizing infrastructure (especially sewer service) in areas of the Town where increased growth is not encouraged and provide adequate service where growth is encouraged.
Improve mobility and connections in the Town. This includes investments in needed highway infrastructure, improved access to public transportation, and enhancements to the safety and attractiveness of non-motorized modes of travel such as bicycling and walking.
Overview
Infrastructure related to stormwater, wastewater and the drinking water supply are critical for a community’s health and wellbeing. Infrastructure can also be related to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in the form of sidewalks and trails. Transportation infrastructure also falls within this topic. Infrastructure is directly related to the pattern of development and types of land uses that occur within a community and also imposes a maintenance cost on the Town and future generations.
Recommendations
I-1. Maintain existing systems. The Town should continue to maintain existing water systems as needed.
I-2. Limit extension
of sewer and water infrastructure to those areas of Town targeted for growth only. The expansion of water and sewer systems
should only occur to support
specific
development opportunities that have been identified through this
plan, or when necessary to protect the public
health, safety, and welfare. The Town should continue to work with the County to provide
sewer service where necessary.
(See Governance Section for related recommendation of official map)
I-3. Require accessible sidewalks or pedestrian access for new developments to the greatest extent possible.
I-4. Expand existing trails such as the Ballston Veteran’s Trail to enhance mobility and increase connectivity to neighborhoods and key destinations in Town.
I-5. Explore the feasibility of new trail connections to publicly accessible conserved lands such as the Ballston Preserve, existing trails such as the Saratoga County Zim Smith Trail, and existing neighborhoods.
I-5. Investigate the current condition of, and improve as necessary, the technology infrastructure available in the Town. In previous decades, transportation, electricity, and water and sewer infrastructures were considered necessary ingredients for economic development. Today, in addition to these forms of infrastructure, the availability of technology infrastructure for high-speed communication is necessary for many technology based or technology dependent industries.
I-6. Coordinate with CDTC, CDTA, the County and NYSDOT as needed to promote the Town’s vision. Areas of coordination may include traffic improvements at key intersections, enforcement of speed limits along certain roadway corridors, traffic calming within the hamlets, promote safer bus stops to keep folks out of the elements and more.
I-7. Continue to comply with NYSDEC stormwater regulations.
I-8. Explore and work with Saratoga County on securing bike lanes for County routes.
Strive for a balanced tax base. As the community continues to grow, the cost of providing services (such as road maintenance, infrastructure, recreation, etc.) for new residential development will grow as well. It is important to ensure that the community maintains a balance of residential development, commercial development, and open space.
Cooperate with neighboring municipalities and school districts within the Town on issues of mutual concern and look for opportunities to partner in the delivery of services when appropriate.
Continue to provide effective and efficient Town services.
Towns are units of local government that are responsible for providing the practical needs of its citizens. Those needs include a variety of functions, such as highway maintenance, recreational services, land use and development permitting, property assessment as well as sewer, water, and storm drainage infrastructure to protect public health. The Town strives to provide these services in an efficient and streamlined manner with a focus to meet the changing needs of the community.
Local government functions in Ballston are carried out and directed from Town Hall located at 323 Charlton Road, Ballston Spa, NY. Town Hall is open to the public for a variety of needs and functions.
Recently, the Town has worked to address staffing needs within Town Hall to better serve the public. Improved processes and systems, particularly for the development review process, have been implemented to improve the overall experience and enhance efficiency. The Town is also exploring opportunities to improve the Town Highway Garage to meet current needs.
In addition to the responsibility for regular municipal functions, the Town must also be ready to address new and emerging land use trends. On March 31, 2021, Governor Cuomo signed legislation (S.854-A/A.1248-A) legalizing adult-use cannabis. The bill created the Office of Cannabis Management to implement a comprehensive governing structure that covers cannabis use. The legislation provides licensing for marijuana producers, distributors, retailers, and other actors in the cannabis market, and creates a social and economic equity program to assist individuals disproportionately impacted by cannabis enforcement.
Cities, towns, and villages may opt-out of allowing adult-use cannabis retail dispensaries or on-site consumption licenses by passing a local law by December 31, 2021 or nine months after the effective date of the legislation. Cities, towns, and villages cannot opt-out of adult- use legalization. The Town Board has sought public input on this emerging land use through an online survey and at board meetings.
The following recommendations address a range of governance functions and administration.
G-1. Amend the zoning ordinance to reflect changes recommended within this plan including recommendations for targeted growth, incentives, and land conservation. It is also recommended that the following items be considered within the zoning amendments.
Update Definitions
Administration of lot line adjustments
Enforcement of conditions and requirements associated with a development project approval
Establish minor and major home occupation
Allowance of accessory dwelling units in additional locations to support affordable housing options
Discourage multi-family residential development. Attached, single family development should be encouraged where higher density residential growth is desired.
G-2. Prohibit the use of PUDD within the Town.
G-3. Continue to assess current municipal staffing needs, planning for additional staff and evaluating strategies for improving efficiency such as the use of automation and balance these needs with financial capacity.
G-4. Build on e-government initiatives such as updating the Town website, hosting remote meetings, virtual public engagement, live-streaming board meetings, continued use of social media. Continue to use technology to improve Town services and enhance stakeholder access to information.
G-5. Coordinate with the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake CSD, the Ballston Spa CSD and the Shenendehowa CSD regarding school facility planning and needs.
G-6. Encourage diversity in the workplace that supports all cultures, races, and genders.
G-7. Modernize data systems and integrate interactive opportunities for public access to digital information. Leverage automation technologies to expand service delivery capacity.
G-8. Consider allowance of cannabis retail dispensaries within industrial or commercial areas of the Town only. Prohibit on-site consumption facilities within the Town.
G-9. Evaluate fee schedule and update to reflect the true costs of development. It is recommended the fee schedule be reviewed and updated annually.
G-10. Develop a Town-wide Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) to analyze future growth and potential impacts of that growth and establish mitigation methods to address those impacts. Mitigation methods may include mitigation fees related to traffic and infrastructure impacts.
G-11. Prepare Town street standards and specifications to ensure new public streets are designed and constructed properly.
G-12. Implement the Traditional Neighborhood Design (TND) within the Hamlet Residential district for all development. TND is a concept that was introduced in the Town’s 2006 comprehensive plan and is currently defined in the zoning as “a set of design standards applied to subdivision and developments for the purpose of promoting pedestrian-friendly and compact residential or mixed use neighborhoods designed to emulate traditional hamlets or villages." Pursue funding for new Town facilities, such as the highway garage
G-13. Establish an Official Map for the Town to identify the future location of infrastructure investments.
