It's been eighteen months in the works, but on August 13 at the "Vision Meeting" on the fourth floor of Ellenville's Government Center, Consultant Peter Fairweather presented the draft of the Comprehensive Plan for Ellenville. Fairweather has had previous dealings with the village; he was instrumental in the Ellenville/Wawarsing Joint Economic Team in 2000 and 2001.

Gathered to see the presentation were a group of about twenty people with an interest in Ellenville's revival. From Matthews Pharmacy's Ray Mathews, to ArtsWAVE's Iris Friedman, to Ellenville Public Library's Asha Golliher, everyone was intent on the charts and maps that Fairweather put up on his screen.

The key concept was the designation of three parts of the village as "Catalytic Zones" — areas that could serve as the centers of development and growth strategies.

The Catalytic Zones were identified as:

1) "The Market Place" in the heart of downtown, on Canal and Center Streets.

2) "The Civic Square" on the west side of Route 52, where the library, Government Center, and Provident Bank form an area with similar styles of architecture.

3) "The Mountain Gateway" at the eastern edge of town, where mixed use areas, larger commercial premises, and some light manufacturing might be allowed.

"This is the basis of a grant that we received several years ago to help us form a generic environmental impact statement, and a comprehensive plan for the village," says Ellenville's Village Manager Elliott Auerbach regarding the plan's origins. "What it's allowing us to do is to step back and look at the catalytic areas that have potential for development, and to craft a floating zone, a PUD [Planned Unit Development] Zone."

The advantages of a PUD are that it involves financial incentives and allows for speeding up the planning process for a large development project.

"An example would be the nine acres we have on Clinton Avenue, which is zoned for industry and borders right up on a residential area," explains Auerbach. "A PUD for that area would allow us to produce a mix of single family homes, multi-family dwellings, retail shops, and some light manufacturing — plus professional services, too. How great would that be, to have a neighborhood like that?"

Another area of interest for Ellenville lies with tourism. "If we shift over to a tourism related area, I'm thinking of somewhere near the Berme Road Park, a 25 unit hotel would be a great benefit," says Auerbach. "A restaurant too, as well as shops that could cater to hikers and bikers using the trails up into [Minnewaska] Preserve or along the canal.

"This plan gives us the flexibility to step back and apprise each one of these catalytic areas and make any necessary changes to them that will help us achieve growth." And just how would these Planned Unit Development Zones be paid for?

"It involves financial incentives, from a combination of different sources," answers the village manager. "Not in the form of hard dollars, but in tax incentives, in reductions of property taxes and tax phase-ins, something that's often called Tax Increment Financing. There are also density bonuses for producing high-density residential and office areas."

So, a developer puts together a PUD, builds something and never has to pay property taxes to the village or town?

"No, it would be just for a specified period and it would depend on the balance of other kinds of financing available and the kind of building involved in the project."

According the Auerbach, there are even PUD options available for developers with several small properties, instead of simply for those with larger properties.

"One could string together small parcels and still take advantage of the program and qualify for a PUD."

Auerbach also informs about the next steps for the proposed comprehensive plan from Fairweather and Associates.

"Peter Fairweather is going to make a public presentation of the plan to the Village Board in the fall," he says.

In the meantime, the release of the draft of the plan is to solicit comments and ideas from the general public. The plan can be seen at fairweatherconsulting.com/Ellenville, and comments can be left there too. Written comments are also welcome.

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