TRR photo by Charlie Buterbaugh Chris Cunningham, left, a Sullivan County Legislator, and Neil Halloran, a code enforcement official for the village of Jeffersonville and the Town of Cochecton and Fallsburg, share ideas at a June 6 Visioning Committee meeting. (Click for larger image)

Grasping for a common stronghold

By CHARLIE BUTERBAUGH

SHOHOLA, PA — The Visioning Committee of the Upper Delaware came away from its recent meeting with a better understanding of the inherent challenges communities will confront working across state lines to address similar wants and needs.

Thirty-two residents from the Town of Highland and Lumberland in New York met with residents of Shohola Township in Pennsylvania early Friday morning at the Shohola Township building to continue discussions about working together to prepare town and township officials who will ultimately be responsible for strengthening or weakening the cause of smart growth.

Pike County Commissioner Gerry Hansen said that of all growing U.S. counties, Pike County comes in 81st.

“We’re running behind, and we need to update our planning and zoning boards,” he said.

Before the cause of smart growth can be understood, the consequences of random population growth and construction need to be clarified. Sullivan County Legislator Kathy LaBuda explained that the visible suburban sprawl in Orange County is beginning to creep into the Town of Mamakating in Sullivan County.

Neil Halloran, a zoning officer in the Village of Goshen in Orange County, brought to the meeting anecdotes from his experiences with sprawl.

“Many people think that a subdivision of half-million dollar houses is productive for a community. But you always have to look at the cost of public education. Our town loses $17,000 a year on a half-million dollar house with four children,” Halloran said.

“The cheapest thing we have is open space,” he said.

Halloran encouraged committee members to push for real-estate transfer instatement in their communities, which would accumulate funds for towns and townships to purchase open space and preserve farmland.

 Hansen explained that Pennsylvania already requires homebuyers to pay a one-percent tax, which was news to many PA residents unaware of that funding stream for towns and counties.

Mike Mrozinski, Pike County Director of Planning, raised concerns of water availability and argued that more precise zoning should work to conserve resources. He explained that the Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Association has model ordinances available for incorporation in townships zoning laws.

The meeting revealed that residents in the river valley often exist in separate worlds with separate sources of knowledge, though discussions during and after the meeting appeared to connect disparate groups, and the committee is on a mission to understand the available tools that can provide municipal bodies with a system to chart a sustainable future in Sullivan, Wayne and Pike Counties.

The next visioning committee meeting will gather residents and officials from Buckingham and Manchester Townships in PA and the Towns of Fremont and Delaware in NY.

For more information call 845/252-7414.