Bending zoning rules in Woodbury might have benefits

Bending zoning rules in Woodbury might have benefits

By Chris McKenna
Times Herald-Record
cmckenna@th-record.com

Woodbury – The controversy du jour in a town full of them is known as "the zoning changes," in the shorthand of some of the people arguing about them.
It refers to requests by two developers to loosen the town's zoning rules to increase the number of homes they can build in two gated communities they want to erect on opposite sides of town.
Among the purported benefits offered in return are large tracts of dedicated open space and improvements to the town's water and sewer systems.
Since the requests surfaced in November, the Town Board, which must decide on them, has held hearings to field initial concerns and begun overseeing environmental reviews for each project that could take months, if not years, to complete.
Officially, the board has no position on the projects, which would total 731 homes. Supervisor Sheila Conroy assures residents the reviews will be thorough and open to the public and must answer any major concerns, such as traffic.
"This is going to take time, and it guarantees input from the public," she said at the end of the board meeting last Thursday. "Let's go through the process and see what it says."
But critics have been flaying the board.
In their view, the board has already signaled its support and is rushing toward a foregone conclusion. They've called for more public hearings, a referendum, a delay while the town revises its master plan – anything to stop the process trudging forward.
"It smacks of back-room politics," said Aimee Fitzgerald, who lives in Central Valley near one of the projects involved – 450-home Woodbury Suburban. "And the public was never consulted about whether it wanted high-density changes in their master plan."
The Woodbury Suburban developer asked for a zoning break to allow 450 homes, instead of the 175 allowed under current zoning. The developer behind the Legacy Ridge project in northern Woodbury wants to build 281 homes instead of 164.
Conroy said in an interview yesterday that the board had no legal obligation to consider the requests but saw enough potential benefits – such as senior-citizen units in the Woodbury Suburban project and open space in both – to go forward.
"We said we were willing to look at these projects because there were some things we liked about them," she said.
She pointed out that, on a personal level, she lives near one of the proposed communities – Legacy Ridge – and would prefer to keep the unblemished view she's had for 26 years.
And she emphasized that the projects could shrink as the developers go through the environmental reviews and adjust to various limitations.
Critics, meanwhile, are unmoved by the perceived benefits, especially open space.
"Land you can't build on," Fitzgerald said with disgust. "You put it behind a gate and call it a gift to the people of Woodbury."