NEW SCOTLAND — Residents will have another chance to weigh in on the proposed New Scotland Hamlet zoning district, after changes were made to the plan. The revisions were deemed significant enough to warrant another public hearing, which will take place on April 11.  

At a public hearing in February, residents spoke out against what they saw as an anti-business, heavy-handed plan. Although their concerns may not have been answered, their voices were heard.

Most notably, there is a revision in the plan that incentivizes landowners or developers to donate open space to the public.

The list of incentives designed to encourage a developer to deed the property to the town or to a land trust include:

— Up to a 10-percent increase in the number of residential units;

— Up to a 5-percent reduction in required open space in the the hamlet-expansion and hamlet-development areas; and

— Up to a 10-percent increase in impervious-surface coverage, which includes concrete, asphalt, brick, and stone.

Also included in the changes is an open-space exemption for lots that are two acres or smaller at the time of adoption of the proposed law. Those lots are exempt from the new minimum open-space requirements, but if the lot were developed it would have to have 25-percent open space.

Also, typographical errors and formatting mistakes were corrected, revisions were made to some definitions, and sections of the plan were reshuffled to align with corresponding regulations.

The plan

The plan, which was developed after a grassroots uprising opposing a big-box mall, proposes new zoning for the hamlet of New Scotland, which is currently zoned as commercial. The hamlet is bounded by the town of Bethlehem to the east, the village of Voorheesville and railroad to the west, the Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail to the north, and commercial and medium-density residential districts to the south of Route 85.

The plan ascribes specific “character areas,” or sub-districts, to the hamlet:

— A concentrated hamlet center will have the character of a traditional village, including a central area for greenspace. It will be mostly commercial space, but could also include multi-family housing that is incorporated into mixed-use development, which would have commercial space on the ground level. In the plan, this area covers the corner of routes 85 and 85A, extending to Falvo’s Meat Market to the north and extends past Stewart’s to the east;

— The hamlet expansion area, currently zoned for commercial use, will now include mixed use to incorporate more housing. It radiates out from the hamlet center, south of route 85 and extends west across Route 85A to the railroad tracks and north a few hundred feet past Falvo’s; and

— The development area extends north to the rail trail and crosses over to the west of Route 85 to the proposed LeVie Farm housing development and extends east to existing, developed land. This area would include more residential space than commercial.

The plan lays out permitted uses and development standards that would be allowable in the sub-districts in order to preserve New Scotland’s small-town, rural character.

There are design standards for new residential housing as well as standards of re-use for existing buildings; circulation standards, meaning the hamlet should be designed to incorporate vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle use; street standards; street lighting; parking; and open space.

The idea behind the development standard is a trade-off: Developers must preserve open space, but in exchange they are allowed to build more condensed developments, which makes for a more pedestrian-friendly arrangement.

The plan sets design standards for the quality of materials used for the front facades of buildings and the amount of window space or openings on each story.

Street design includes: Lower speeds; requiring sidewalks; encouraging bike paths; on-street parking; and allowing for alleys for garage access, trash, and recycling.