To the Editor:

The town of New Scotland and the Capital District Transportation Committee are currently sponsoring development of zoning guidelines for the hamlet area surrounding the Route 85/85A intersection.  An engineering/planning consultant, AECOM, was retained to complete the zoning work and a Study Advisory Committee was formed to assist the consultant.

This study is the culmination of planning for the area and will create mixed-use zoning to reflect recommendations made by residents and the Hamlet Master Plan.  Specific zoning code language and design guidelines will be written, which can be adopted by the town. 

It will be important for the new zoning district to balance its significance as the town’s largest commercial zone with community wishes for scaled development. Much of the study area is currently zoned commercial and was previously zoned industrial.  As spelled out in the recent planning documents, mixed-use zoning incorporating commercial, residential, open space, and maybe even agriculture, will be appropriate use of the land.

The Study Advisory Committee meets periodically to be updated on the consultant’s progress.  Our third meeting is at Town Hall on Thursday, July 30, at 7 p.m.  While the committee meetings are mostly informational and not formatted for extensive public interaction, two workshops will be held for detailed public input.  The first is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 24.  So please consider attending the meetings, especially the public workshops.

For updates, please check the CDTC website at http://newscotlandzoning.blogspot.com/ or our new town website at http://www.townofnewscotland.com.  The new website is running great and significantly improves access to town information!

Bill Hennessy, councilman

Town of New Scotland