ELDRED, NY — In a process that was almost two-and-a-half years in the making, the Town of Highland passed its rewritten zoning law with the approval of the National Park Service (NPS) on Tuesday, April 13.

In 1990, Highland was one of the first towns to have their zoning in conformance with the Land and Water Use Guidelines set by the River Management Plan. Subsequent amendments caused the law to be found out of conformance when reviewed by the Upper Delaware Council (UDC) staff in 2019.

Councilmember Fred Bosch and former councilmember and current code enforcement officer Jim Hanson worked in conjunction with town’s consultants, the Albany-based Laberge Group, and former NPS Land Use Planner Jennifer Claster, to mend deficiencies in the zoning document, which had been altered 11 times over the years.

For the town, this meant the zoning rewrite had to clearly identify that certain activities, while permitted in other districts in the town, would not be permitted within the boundaries of the river corridor, supervisor Jeff Haas said in an interview after the meeting. “It really is a good thing that all of the towns and townships along the river are on the same page and have the same agreement, in terms of protecting the river,” he said.

Established in 1988 as a formal partnership of local, state and federal governments and agencies that manage the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, the UDC provides technical assistance and acts as an intermediary. While it routinely reviews zoning ordinances and makes recommendations for changes, it is the NPS Northeast Regional Office that has the final authority to rule whether zoning laws are in substantial conformance with the river guidelines. Officials received word on April 5 that the town’s plan was approved.

Beyond language cleanup, other changes to the zoning ordinance were aimed at the changing demographic and emerging uses. Those include an expanded section about requirements for short-term rentals, remote offices, major utility lines and wastewater treatment plants.

“I can already see how the plan will need to be amended,” Haas said. “But we’ll give it a little bit of time for the code enforcement officer to work with it and see what we need to tweak.”

In other business, the board announced that the town would be receiving $247,000 from the American Rescue Plan. While seemingly a windfall, deputy supervisor Jim Gutekunst said that it was “money that we need,” as the town was shorted some $270,000 last year that had been promised and never materialized. This included money for the salt shed, highway CHIPS funds, money from FEMA for the generator, as well as a State and Municipal (SAM) facilities grant and an Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM) grant. “Our general fund has been supporting the town,” Gutekunst said.

In other financial news, he announced that the switch to LED street lights was saving the town $100 per month.

As part of public comment, Highland Lions Club President Claudia Bocker requested town support for the placement of a permanent shredder at the Highland Senior Center. Working with the company Pro Shred Security, the cost would be $1,140 per year for placement of a 100-gallon collection receptacle. The group is looking for four sponsors to cover the $95 fee per month. Bocker asked whether the town would be one of those sponsors. Hass indicated that the board would discuss it at its May workshop in preparation for the next town board meeting on May 11.

Following an executive session, the board voted to appoint Sue Hoffman as town clerk at an annual salary of $36,000. Hoffman replaces retiring town clerk Doreen Hansen and will need to run for election in November.