 | DIAGNOSIS
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study is to analyze the previous studies of
physical, social and economic conditions as a means of concisely
identifying the assets, problems and potential problems of the Town.
This analysis plus policy decisions as reflected by the Planning
Board, elected officials and citizenry is the basis for the formulation
of specific goals and objectives to be accomplished by the development
plan and which serve as a guide for preparation of the development plan.
DIAGNOSIS
Physical
The primary asset of the Town of Marbletown is its physical
setting. The Shawangunk Mountains, Catskill Mountains, Ashokan
Reservoir, Esopus Creek and Rondout Creek are the major physical
attributes. Both the Shawangunk Mountains and the Catskill Mountains
present problems in terms of development because of their slope and
lack of soil mantle. However, these mountains because of their physical
development problems present an opportunity to the Town to maintain its
present open or rural character to the benefit of Town residents and
people of the Eastern seaboard.
The Rondout Creek and the Esopus Creek although esthetically pleasing
present development problems along their banks because they are subject
to periodic flooding. The areas subject to flooding, however, are
ex-cellent agricultural land and also present opportunities for park
and re-creation use.
Existing residential development in the Town is essentially scattered.
Only the High Ridge Estate subdivision has been developed. Two other
subdivisions have been filed and started but home construction has been
slow. Two concentrations or hamlets exist in the Town--being Stone
Ridge and High Falls. Much of the area of the Town situated between
the Cats-kills and the Shawangunk Mountains is devoted to agricultural
use. Some business uses do exist along Route 209 and Route 213 and
some industrial uses exist. A rural character is evident in the Town
and is generally re-vered by local residents. One of the prime
objectives should then be to accommodate expected future growth while
preserving as much as possible the rural character of the Town. No
sewage disposal system exists in the Town and only the
High Ridge Estates Development located at the south-east intersection
of Route 209 and Route 213 is served by a private water company. The
provision of a water system and/or sewage disposal system needs to be
considered for areas selected for close development (Z families per
acre).
Route 209 and Route 213 are the major highways in the Town. A
reloca-tion of Route 209 to the east of its present location is being
considered by the New York State Department of Transportation.
Improvement of Route 213 is needed in the High Falls area and also at
the jog intersection with Route 209.
The Ulster County Community College is having an impact on the Town of
Marbletown. The College brings a cultural atmosphere and esthetic
build-ing to the Town but does present traffic problems and has
increased the demand for rental housing.
In short, the Town of Marbletown physical setting is a major asset
which the residents value. However, it is also known that the
population will increase both from regional growth and demands for
rental housing to accommodate college faculty and students.
Social
The past heritage of the Town has been preserved by the many
historical buildings (see Esthetic Characteristics Map). The Ulster
County Community College is a cultural asset to the Town. The College
offers night courses which can be utilized by residents.
The population of the Town was 3,736 persons in 1966. Between 1950 and
1960 the under 15 age group showed the most significant increase. As a
result of the increases of school age population in Marbletown and in
ad-jacent Towns, the Rondout Valley Central School District which
serves a major portion of Marbletown is in the process of expansion and
further expansion is proposed. Recreation space in the Town is limited
and addi-tional space is needed to serve the present and future
population.
A population forecast for the Town based upon County, regional, State
and National factors and future planning and zoning policies and the
availability of land suitable for development indicate that the
popula-tion of the Town will increase to 4,500-4,800 by 1975,
5,600-6,300 by 1985 and 7,600-9,300 by the year 2000. Although the
present population is expected to be doubled in the late 1990's
numerically this increase can be accommodated without seriously
affecting the objective of preserving the rural character of the Town.
Economic
In 1960 15% of the employed persons residing in the Town of
Marbletown were employed in the Industry Group of Agriculture and 31%
in manufac-turing. The median family income of residents in 1959 was
approximately $750 lower than the median income of Ulster County.
In terms of agriculture the number of farms and land area per farm
de-creased between 1950 and 1964 but the number of acres per farm
increased, indicating a trend of fewer but larger farms. Between 1959
and 1964 the number of acres of cropland increased. The predominant
types of agri-cultural activity in the Town are hay and corn crops, the
raising of cattle and dairy farming. In view of the fact that the
relatively small population increases are expected compared to the
large land area of the Town (54. 9 square miles) and because the
agricultural activities in Town tend to give the Town a rural
character, provide substantial employment and benefit the region by
producing agricultural products, it is another objective of the plan to
preserve as much as possible the good agricultural land for continued
agricultural use.
Many of the Town's residents are employed outside of the Town although
some industrial establishments do exist in the Town. Another objective
of the plan is to provide suitable location for future industrial uses,
the pur-pose of which is to provide a source of employment and to
provide increased ratables to help provide tax income to the Town to
pay for increasing costs of services and capital improvements.
In terms of business activity provisions should be made for
neighborhood business center development to service the day-to-day
needs of present and future residents.
Town Planning Questionnaire
Opinions and suggestions from the property owners and residents of
the Town of Marbletown were obtained by use of a questionnaire. The
answers to the questions were an invaluable guide in formulating
objectives and pre paring the Development Plan. The results of the
answers to the question-naire were tabulated by the Marbletown Planning
Board and are summarized below. Over 400 questionnaires were completed
and returned to the Plan-ning Board.
1) Would you be in favor of efforts to attract new industries to the Town?
Yes 233
No 98
No opinion 30
2) Are you in favor of attracting more stores and shops into Town?
Yes 210
Yes 177 (neighborhood facilities only)
No 58
No opinion 21
3) Are you in favor of additional parks and recreational areas in Town?
Yes 221
No 113
No opinion 62
4) If yes, are you in favor of:
a. Several parks and rec areas placed in different
parts of the Town 98
b. One large park and recreational area
132
5) What recreational facilities do you feel the Town should provide?
Ballfields 150
Picnic Areas 171
Swimming 213
Skating 177
Tennis 31
6) Are you in favor of:
Yes No No opinion
a. Prohibiting Billboards 313 42 31
b. Sidewalks on Heavily
Traveled Streets 246 76 40
c. Sidewalks on Local Streets 124 159 62
d. Sewage Diposal Facility 123 145 87
e. Adtl Water Supply Facilities 144 119 93
7) Are you in favor of 2-story garden apartments locating in Town?
Yes 183
No 140
No opinion 55
8) Do you feel that house trailers should be
a. Permitted in any area of town 54
b. Restricted to certian locations 248
c. No opinion 26
d. None at all 50
9) Realizing that the population of the Town is going to increase, would you favor efforts:
a. To retain as much as possible the
present character of the Town 312
b. Become more urbanized 59
10) Is there anything which you particularly like about the Town?
Rural Atmosphere 152
11) Is there anything which you particularly dislike about the Town?
Route 209 & other poor roads 66
High taxes 41
Junked cars 30
Untidy properties 26
Trailers 15
12) In your opinion what are the most important things which need to be done to make this a better Town?
Improve roads and traffic, especially
Route 209 135
Zoning 78
Lower taxes 39
13) Are you in favor of attracting desirable new residents to the Town through constructive planning?
Yes 265
No 36
Qualified 14
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Based
upon the survey and analysis of existing conditions and trends, Town,
County, State and National population and economic trends pre-viously
discussed such as population growth, changes in the younger and older
age group relationship to the total population, natural increase and
net in-migration, changes in number of farm sizes and expected location
and needs of industrial and business uses and discussion with the
planning board of various developmental alternatives, discussion of
concept plans with elected officials and citizenry and based upon the
re-sults of a questionnaire sent to residents of the Town the following
set of goals and objectives has been formulated. These goals and
objectives establish the long-range developmental policy of the Town
and
establish the framework for preparing the development plan.
TO PRESERVE THE RURAL CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE
As previously discussed one of the goals and objectives is to
preserve the rural or open character and appearance of the Town while
recogniz-ing that the population is going to increase. This is
proposed to be ac-complished by the following:
By
allocating good and ample sites for future residential growth in hamlet
or concentrations, thus leaving the majority of the land in large lot
residential use, agricultural use, vacant or wooded;
By preserving as much as possible agricultural activity and wooded areas;
By
providing a system of flexible zoning regulations (includ-ing cluster
zoning) designed to encourage physically attractive and socially
desirable developments;
By
protecting and enhancing the natural waterways (Ashokan Reservoir,
Esopus Creek and Rondout Creek and other various streams, lakes and
ponds) and scenic areas (Shawangunk Mountains and Catskill Mountains);
By prohibiting billboards;
By providing a system of open spaces and park and recreation facilities.
TO PRESERVE THE RESIDENTIAL CHARACTER
Another
goal and objective of the plan is to preserve and improve the Town's
residential character. This is proposed to be accomplished as follows:
By
creating an orderly pattern of growth through encourage-ment of
concentrations of new residential developments in areas which presently
are or which can conveniently be ser-ved by road, utility, school and
other facilities, and to dis-courage intensive residential development
in scattered areas and areas of difficult accessibility which if
developed would involve excessive costs for road improvement, road
mainten-ance, school bus transportation and utility installation;
By regulating population densities to reflect the desired character of the Town;
By
preventing intrusion of incompatible uses in residential areas, by
requiring good standards of improvements in new residential
developments and by preserving, protecting and using natural beauty
wherever possible;
By providing adequate public green spaces and recreation areas;
By encouraging cluster development;
By providing a variety of living environments to suit a range of tastes and needs.
TO IMPROVE THE TRANSPORTATION AND CIRCULATION SYSTEMS
It is proposed to improve the transportation and circulation system as follows:
By
considering the effect of the Ulster County Community College on
traffic patterns and providing for convenient cir-culation to and from
the College;
By rearranging inconvenient intersections and reconstructing hazardous areas;
By requiring adequate amounts of off-street parking for both resi-dential and non-residential uses;
By preventing strip business development on frontage access highways.
TO IMPROVE THE TOWN'S ECONOMIC BASE
It is the goal and objective to improve the Town's economic base:
By preserving the Town's agricultural activity;
By
providing sites for compatible industries (but always keeping in mind
that the predominant character of the Town is residential);
By providing sites for resort activities;
By providing sites for neighborhood business development and highway business development;
By preserving and enhancing the natural beauty and man-made
environment, thus assuring the maintenance and increase of property
values.
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