Comprehensive Planning Committee Report for

April Issue of Beacon Dispatch:

COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING UPDATE

On March 15^th, David Stolman and Chris Holme of Frederick P. Clark Associates presented to the Comprehensive Planning Committee the second in a series of two presentations related to the Basic Studies document that will used as the basis for Beacon’s planning efforts.

The March presentation included a summary of land use, demographic, housing and community service findings originally presented in November 2005, as well as new information related to Beacon’s infrastructure. Because the earlier findings were published in the February issue of the Beacon Dispatch, they will not be presented here. That information is available on-line at www.beacondispatch.com and on the City of Beacon web-site at www.cityofbeacon.org. A copy of the entirety of the Beacon Basic Studies Document described below is available for viewing and printing at www.cityofbeacon.org.

Beacon Today: Highlights from a Basic Studies Document

Presented by David Stolman and Chris Holme

Part II

The purpose of the Beacon Basic Studies: Inventory and Analysis document is to indicate where Beacon has been and where it is now. The information contained in this report provides the basis for current planning efforts that will shape Beacon’s future physical, economic, social and environmental development and conservation.

Beacon’s first Development Plan was completed in 1962. It was followed in 1974 by the Development Plan that has served as the basis for Beacon’s planning efforts until the present. Other state and regional plans that impact Beacon’s development include the Dutchess County Regional Plan, adopted in 1987; the Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan, adopted in 1990; and the Greenway Connections Plan, adopted in 2000. When completed, the Comprehensive Plan being developed now for Beacon will both supercede Beacon’s 1974 Development Plan and will guide the City’s development and conservation decisions for many years to come.

TRANSPORTATION

Based on transportation circulation in other communities, weekday traffic in Beacon is considered to be acceptable. This finding is based on a general finding that it is possible for a car stopped at a red light to get through an intersection during the time period of the next green light. The study did not show findings for weekend traffic circulation, which will be studied and added to the current Basic Studies document.

Research indicates that parking use is at 50% capacity. In addition, research shows that of the 900 or so parking spaces that exist in the Central Business District (along Main Street), approximately 1/3 consists of on-street parking, 1/3 of municipal parking spaces and 1/3 of spaces in private parking lots.

DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL

Vacant / undeveloped usage, including some acreage already proposed for development, constitutes approximately 14% of Beacon’s land use. In 1960, undeveloped land constituted approximately one-third of Beacon’s land use.

There are three primary types of vacant land in the City that have development potential: The areas along Main Street, large properties that have never been developed, and large properties that were once developed for industrial use but are currently vacant.

There are 34 acres in the entire Main Street central business district with a total of approximately 890,000 square feet of existing building floor area. Adjoining this area is PB district, which includes land zoned for residential usage and for parking usage. The PB district, which is 19 acres in total area, contains approximately 4.5 acres that is used for parking, representing about 400 of the City’s existing 900 parking spaces.

The current height of buildings along Main Street ranges from 1 to 3 stories tall, with 2- and 3-story buildings at either end of Main Street and 1-story buildings in the central area of Main Street.

If Main Street were to be completely built out according to current zoning, the amount of building floor area could triple to 3 million square feet. That said, current parking requirements would cap commercial build-out at 500,000 square feet. A build-out that resulted in 2/3 new residential space and 1/3 commercial space would result in 390,000 square feet of new commercial space and 1,180,000 square feet of residential space, or 521 additional residential units. Based on weekday parking availability, a maximum of 90,000 square feet of commercial space could be built on Main Street utilizing existing parking facilities.

With regard to vacant undeveloped land elsewhere in the city, there are approximately 425 acres that have the potential for development. If fully developed, this would result in up to 320 new lots including up to 1,000 new housing units if all properties were developed for residential uses, or 700 new housing units and 3000,000 square feet of commercial floor area.. At present, among these types of properties, approximately 200 residential units and 167,000 square feet of commercial space have already been proposed before the City’s Planning Board.

With regard to vacant industrial properties, Beacon currently has seven former industrial sites available for development, or approximately 700,000 square feet of empty industrial space that is available for use. If these sites were fully developed as half commercial and half residential, up to 900 new residences could be built, and up to 370,000 square feet of commercial space could be renovated or re-built.

The consultants emphasized that these studies of development potential were not recommendations or predictions of what was likely to happen, although development of the large undeveloped areas and some of the vacant industrial areas appeared likely. The development potential of Main Street is less likely to be realized. Most of the recent construction on Main Street has involved renovation of existing buildings. Only 4 new construction permits have been issued for properties on Main Street in the last 25 years.

UTILITIES

Beacon currently has access to water from three reservoirs: The Beacon Reservoir, which holds approximately 200 million gallons; the Cargill Reservoir, which holds approximately 150 million gallons; and the Melzingah Reservoir, which holds approximately 50 million gallons.

The current sewage treatment plant is designed to treat 6 million gallons of sewage per day, including 1 million gallons from the Town of Fishkill, which are processed as part of a lease agreement between Beacon and Fishkill. Because Beacon’s current sewage system is a combined sewer/storm drain system, during heavy rainstorms, the flow of water and sewage can exceed 10 million gallons at the plant, leading to insufficient wastewater treatment.

With regard to water supply, in 1974 Beacon was facing a potential water supply problem. The city had a demand of 2.4 million gallons per day, and a drought-resistant capacity of 1.4 million gallons per day. The leasing of water from an aquifer in the Village of Fishkill has added to the City’s water supply capacity by 1.2 million gallons per day, plus a second well drilled at a City-owned site, which increased daily capacity by 0.8 million gallons per day. Indeed, Beacon will reach the limits of its drought-resistant water supply capacity only if its current population increases by 25%. At the current rate of population increase, which is 4.5% over the past decade, Beacon will reach a total population of 14,500 in 2010, and 15,300 in 2020. The maximum population that can be served by Beacon’s current water supply is 17,800. At the current rate of population growth, maximum capacity will not be reached until the last part of the current century.

The maximum capacity of the City’s water and sewer capacities are described above and in more detail in the Inventory and Analysis document. Electric, transportation, and other infrastructure capacities are currently unknown.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND AUDIENCE QUESTIONS

The following information is still being researched by consultants for inclusion in the Basic Studies document:

o Housing Vacancy Rate: Because of the influx of new residents to Beacon from 2000-2005, the vacancy rate of 5.8% may have declined. In addition, there may be more residents than indicated in the census report, which was based on 1999 data. Consultants will compare the census report with the number of building permits for new construction issued in the past several years.

o Beacon Population: Consultants will research new voter registration in Beacon from 2000-2005 to gather additional information about the population of Beacon, particularly the number of new residents who have moved to Beacon during this time period.

Below are questions that were asked by members of the Comprehensive Planning Committee and Beacon residents who were in attendance at the presentation:

o Possible Increase in Rate of Population Growth: Has Beacon’s rate of population growth increased in the past few years? Because Dutchess County’s growth rate has begun to increase, perhaps Beacon’s has as well.

o County Vision for Beacon’s Build-Out: The County sees a regional role for Beacon that involves greater population density. According to the Dutchess County plan, what is the ideal build-out for Beacon?

o Impact of Regional Planning Efforts on Beacon: Mid-Hudson Pattern for Progress and other planning agencies are hard at work on economic development plans for the entire Hudson Valley region. What are the regional benchmarks and how will Beacon’s economics and development be impacted by development in the region?

o Impact of State Road Development on Beacon: What are the State’s plans for the expansion of Route 9D and what impact could this have on Beacon’s infrastructure?

o Water Capacity: Is the aquifer located in Beacon underneath the Fishkill Ridge currently being used as a water supply? If so, by whom?

o Beacon City Water Consumption from Non-City Residents: What portion of the City’s current water consumption is directed to areas adjacent to Beacon—including the prisons, Glenham and Dutchess Junction—and what is the anticipated rate of growth for these populations?

o Income Levels of Beacon Residents: Since many of the new residents moving to Beacon earn their living outside Dutchess County, does the income data provided by the 2000 Census accurately reflect income levels for Beacon residents?

o Increase in Student Population: What is the projected increase in the number of students in the Beacon City School District who come from outside the City of Beacon, and what impact will such an increase have on Beacon’s infrastructure?

o Community Services: How do Beacon’s existing community facilities and services (fire, police, arts and recreational facilities, medical facilities) compare in number and scale with those in other Dutchess County communities?

o Tax-Exempt Properties: What are the number of land parcels in Beacon that are currently not on the City’s tax rolls? What percentage of Beacon’s total land use consists of properties exempt from taxation?

o Ownership of Large Vacant or Undeveloped Parcels: Are the large parcels that are available for development, and which could have a huge impact on Beacon’s development, privately or publicly owned?

o Traffic Circulation: What is the status of Beacon’s traffic circulation—particularly its Main Street traffic—on weekends, when both tourists and residents who work outside Beacon visit Main Street.

NEXT STEPS

Beacon’s Comprehensive Planning consultants are asking local organizations and groups with building projects currently on the boards or in the planning stages to submit information to them so this land use information can be reflected in the Comprehensive Plan.

Input from Beacon’s residents is key to the success of the Comprehensive Master Plan.

An information survey is now being prepared to ensure that the Comprehensive Plan is based on the needs and desires of its citizens. In addition to mailings to every household, the Comprehensive Planning Committee will host public workshops to gather input about what residents and business owners want to become of Beacon, and to answer questions . The schedule for these workshops is now being planned for May 2006.

For information about the comprehensive planning process, and to view the Beacon Basic Studies document, visit www.cityofbeacon.org or contact Committee Co-Chairs John Gunn at johnfgunn@verizon.net, 831-6055, or Sara Pasti at sarapasti@aol.com, 831-0025. The public is also invited to attend monthly meetings of the Planning Committee, held on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:30PM in the Ground Floor meeting room at City Hall.