Windham Town Supervisor Thomas Hoyt announced today that the Town Board has recently taken steps to implement several recommendations contained in the new Comprehensive Plan, which was formally adopted in February. The plan recommends, among other things, strengthening Windham’s existing land use regulations, and exploring the possibility of adopting new laws to guide future development, including zoning. In May, the town formed a “Land Use and Zoning Advisory Committee” to work with planning consultant Delaware Engineering to review existing regulations and apply for a zoning grant from the NYS Department of State.
“Drafting a Zoning Law from scratch is labor-intensive, and is a task that should not be taken lightly or rushed into,” explained Senior Planner Helen Budrock, who added “It will be a few months before we know if the zoning grant is awarded.” In the meantime, the committee has been researching different zoning approaches, collecting examples of zoning laws from similar communities, and discussing possible revisions to the Subdivision Law and Site Plan Law.
In addition, the Town Board asked the committee to draft a law that would regulate “unreasonable noise” in response to several comments and complaints made by Town residents at recent meetings. “There is a draft noise law ready for the Town Board’s review that I think is very reasonable,” commented Supervisor Hoyt. An initial draft of the Noise Law will be discussed at an upcoming Town Board meeting, and would require a public hearing prior to being adopted.
The committee will report its findings and recommendations to the Town Board in writing before the end of the year. Based on those recommendations, if the Town Board decides to proceed with zoning, a separate “Zoning Commission” would need to be appointed to comply with State law. Check back here for future updates!
Windham Comprehensive Plan Update 