BETTER THAN HEARSAY - Something Gained, Something Lost

JEWETT - Land use is a recurring theme in multiple mountaintop towns as the landscape changes amid an influx of development. Quiescent places are being disturbed with a rural way of life possibly vanishing.

Windham is tackling the creation of zoning legislation after clinging for decades to the old notion - “don’t tell me what to do on my land.”

While it is expected a law could be put in place sometime this year, many residents and officials say the barn door is being closed long after the development horses were let loose.

In the neighboring town of Jewett, government leaders were recently visited by resident Andrew Wrabel, requesting that serious thought be given to making significant modifications to their existing zoning regulations.

Wrabel sits on the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals, sending town council members an email prior to the session and arriving with a potentially transformative written proposal in hand.

Jewett presently has four basic zoning designations, each with a minimum acreage, including Hamlet Residential (1.5 acres), Rural Residential (2.5 acres), Rural Conservation (3 acres) and Conservation (5 acres).

Wrabel would like to group all designations except Hamlet Residential into one neat package with the smallest legal parcel being 5 acres.

“The logic behind this proposed bill is to allow the entire town of Jewett to continue to maintain its country appeal,” Wrabel wrote.

“Simply stated, this proposal requires that all future subdivisions for Rural Residential and Rural Conservation, regardless of its location or current size, be a minimum lot size of 5 acres (467 x 467).

“The goal of this proposal is to avoid the smaller 2.5 acres (330 x 330) and 3 acre (361 x 361) subdivisions, thus eliminating or at least discouraging the possibility of having major land development potentially used for:

—(1) Visiting skiers/boarders lodging. (2) Hunter/Windham [ski center] worker’s housing. (3) Increasing number of short term rentals. (4) Small tent sites with removable septic systems (country experience).

“Most of the above [create] additional traffic, garbage and garbage pickup, party noise (which is difficult to manage), clean water/septic issues etc.”

“All pre-existing laws will remain in effect and…setback rules, septic issues, roads etc. will not change in any way.

“All that is lost is the ability to create future lots of less than 5 acres in size in the Rural Residential and Rural Conservation areas,” Wrabel wrote.

“My concern is a potential population increase which our neighboring towns are currently experiencing.

“This bill will take away some of an additional revenue stream, decreasing the potential number of housing plots available, but it will retain [the town’s] beauty and privacy.

“I would find it difficult to understand why anyone would be against this bill other than a loss of potential revenue stream,” Wrabel wrote.

Despite that difficulty for Wrabel to understand, town supervisor Greg Kroyer was among those on the board opposed to the concept.

“You think it’s a good idea. I don’t,” Kroyer said. “We’ve had a very strict zoning law since 1990. What you are proposing would make our zoning code twice as strict as it is currently.

“By doing that, you would be telling residents we’re breaking the agreement we already have with them. I don’t want to do that,” Kroyer said.

Wrabel responded, saying, “I’m not buying we would violate the confidence of these people,” explaining his concern has arisen from, “an issue we had with a next door neighbor” after a nearby house became a short term rental, resulting in frequent loud gatherings.

“Our bedroom window is 93 feet from their deck. I called the owner and he said ‘call the cops,’” Wrabel said, noting the town responded promptly to a subsequent appeal for help with the matter.

Supervisor Kroyer went to the location and “made him play by the rules,” Wrabel said, satisfactorily resolving the situation but not ending it there.

“I know I happened to get a bad Airbnb next to me as opposed to a place where people come just to relax but anybody who has an Airbnb or Vrbo next to them wants this five acres” as a buffer, Wrabel said.

His worry goes beyond one bothersome Airbnb, extending to the increasing potential for widespread housing developments in Jewett and in surrounding communities such as Windham and Hunter.

“I grew up in Westchester,” Wrabel said. “The gist of it, is we came up here for the quiet and to see the stars at night. That’s what I want.

“People lose sight of that. If we lose that, there is no going back. I see “For Sale” signs on large parcels and roads being made, maybe for houses.

“The relief is when you see that someone is selling 18 acres for one house rather than six houses. I understand people may say there would be a revenue loss but I don’t want it to be like Westchester here.”

Councilman John Pumilia responded, saying, “I’m not sure you understand the financial impact. What happens to the guy who was planning to build six houses and now he can only build three houses?

“What do we tell him? That has a big financial impact on him and on the town,” Pumilia said, adding, “it will never be like Westchester here.”

Councilman John Giordano, also offering a fiscal theme, said, “by doing this, we could be cutting our future revenues in half.

“As a town, we’re always trying to make our budget without increasing taxes and, with inflation, we can’t make it as it is. This wouldn’t help.”

Supervisor Kroyer assured Wrabel his suggestions are, “not falling on deaf ears. We are documenting everything you are saying.”

There was, however, no movement toward continuing the discussion and in a subsequent phone interview, Wrabel said, “this is their decision.

“I wanted to at least put it on them. It’s in my heart. I did what I could. I am doing it more for the future of the town, so it stays a beautiful place to be.

“I know the town can’t make a rule for one person but I don’t think that’s the case. There can only be X number of houses before something is lost.”