Bethel board passes comprehensive plan

Meeting marred by dispute over zoning issue

By FRITZ MAYER

BETHEL, NY — Bethel lawmakers voted three-to-two to approve the town’s new comprehensive plan, but the vote sparked controversy among many members of the public in attendance. The most contentious issue was the provision that all new single-family homes erected outside of sewer districts must be built on lots that are a minimum of one acre in size. The majority of the public at the meeting favored a minimum of two acres.

The current minimum lot is 40,000 square feet, or slightly less than an acre, which is 43,560 square feet. But the old law allowed for much of the lot to be wetland, steeply sloped or otherwise not buildable. The new law requires that lots be a full acre that is fully “build-able,” with no wetlands or slopes in excess of 25 degrees. Lots with slopes or wetlands may be used if they are larger than an acre and contain a buildable acre within the boundaries.

These new conditions, while stricter than in the past, were not enough to silence the critics. Denise Frangipane, who has been active in the formation of the comprehensive plan, said, “…the community has reached a consensus,” and that consensus is a two-acre minimum.

Susan Brown, who is a member of the planning board, argued in favor of the two-acre standard. She said, “…people move here to get away from density.”

Dr. Hal Teitelbaum said that after five years of study and an expense of $25,000, the issue should have been decided. But in fact, it had not been definitively decided and further study was needed. He urged the board to vote against one-acre zoning.

At one point the meeting nearly erupted into shouting when Ted Yeomans, who was recently defeated in a run for a seat on the town board, accused Supervisor Harold Russell of once admitting he had a financial stake in the zoning decision. Russell, who owns a large farm on Route 17B, reacted angrily, saying, “I never made the statement that it would affect me financially.”

A few residents spoke in favor of the one-acre decision, arguing that the town needed to move forward now, and changing the language from one acre to two in the relevant documents would create a six-month delay on a vote for the comprehensive plan. This assertion was backed up by consultant Tom Shepstone and Russell.

When the board responded to criticism, they repeated arguments heard at past meetings, that two-acre zoning would put the price of housing beyond the reach of people who were born in the town, by forcing them to buy bigger lots. Russell and councilman Robert Blais made this argument, along with the claim that two-acre zoning would result in developers gobbling up agricultural land faster than with one-acre zoning.

Several members of the audience countered that affordability in Bethel was already a thing of the past, and two-acre zoning would result in the preservation of more open space.

Newly elected councilman Andy LaPolt said that while he was not sure if there was a “magic number” concerning the amount of acreage needed to site a new home, he was backing the one-acre plan because “… we need to move forward.” Planning board chairman Leon Smith also favored the one-acre option.

On the other side of the issue, councilman Richard Crumley said he had struggled with the issue and had finally come down on the side of two-acre zoning. Councilman Daniel Sturm said he favored two-acre zoning as a way of protecting the environment.

Toward the end of the discussion, Russell noted that the majority of the people at the meeting were probably in favor of the two-acre option, but that he was responsible to represent all the residents, 98 percent of whom do not turn out for meetings.

After the votes were taken, Sturm called the process flawed and referred to a majority of the people who participated in the creation of the comprehensive plan when he said, “All these voices have been ignored; the board did not listen to the residents.”

The plan, and an associated local law that was passed along with it, will allow the town to move forward with a myriad of development issues. Those changes were overshadowed by the strong passions aroused by the two-acre/one-acre debate.