Five- or 20-acre zoning"
RFP lambasts citizen survey



RENSSELAERVILLE — Citizens are being surveyed on how farmland should be developed while a farmland protection group is pointing out flaws in the survey.

The debate has spilled over from a committee charged with developing a comprehensive land-use plan for the town. The original chairman, Vernon Husek, quit over the issue of lot size in the agricultural district; he helped form an ad hoc group of farmers and residents, Rensselaerville Farmland Protection.

Husek favors large-acre zoning in the agricultural district. The planning committee’s new chairman, Thomas Mikulka, favors five-acre zoning.

Surveys were sent out last week by the land-use committee to each resident, who will decide on either one dwelling per five acres or one dwelling per 20 acres in the agricultural districts.

Two days after the committee’s surveys were sent out, the farmland protection group sent out a bulletin, encouraging residents to vote for 20-acre zoning.

Over 2,600 surveys were sent out to residents Sept. 5 to be returned to Town Hall by Sept. 17, said Margaret Saddlemire, a member of the land-use committee.
"It’s not a binding survey," said Thomas Mikulka, the committee’s chairman. Supervisor Jost Nickelsberg has said the town will do whatever the majority wants. Nickelsberg said last month the town’s judges will count the surveys. "We don’t know that the town justices will count them," Mikulka said yesterday, adding that the count should be supervised because it is "such a hot issue."

Mikulka said the survey was sent out by the town board because Husek was threatening to sue the town. Husek has sued the town before.
"We had heard that that was a possibility," said Nickelsberg, adding that the information was by rumor.
"I have not threatened anything yet. I simply resigned without comment," Husek said.

The farmland protection group formed after the town board adopted the comprehensive plan this spring because it was clear the reconstituted committee was going to encourage development in the agricultural districts, said Husek.
"I was not the only person to leave the committee"A number of people decided they’d had enough," said Husek.

The farmland protection group sent bulletins to residents because it was concerned the survey did not describe the effect of the two choices, said Husek.
"When our best soils are used for house lots, the potential for local food production is destroyed; quality of life is irrevocably lost," the group’s bulletin says.

The cost of sending out the bulletin was roughly $1,300, said Husek.

Two views on zoning outcome

Since the town last adopted zoning laws and subdivision regulations in the early 1990s, lot size in the agricultural districts has been five acres. The land-use committee is recommending the zoning in the agricultural district remain at five acres, said Mikulka.
"That just doesn’t make sense," Husek said.

Mikulka has repeatedly said larger lots in the agricultural district could devalue farmland while other property owners who are able to subdivide their land see increases in their land’s value. Mikulka is currently selling his house on Barger Road.
"That’s the scenario that I believe"We have taken the position that it’s unfair," Mikulka said.

The town’s planner, Nan Stolzenburg, disagrees.
"Lower density does not equate to making the land less valuable. There are many studies that show that lower density that is couple with a preserved landscape and preserved character actually is more value, even with lower numbers of lots sold," she has said.
"It is not a straight line and it is not correct to say or imply this as fact. In some cases, depending on the market and the type of subdivision, it might cause a decrease. In other cases — especially where the quality of life is ‘preserved’ — that creates value," Stolzenburg has said.
"Our best agricultural soils are in danger of being developed for housing subdivisions and lost forever," says the RFP bulletin. "More houses mean more people, more roads, more traffic, and more classrooms," it says.
Husek said small lots in the agriculture district will lead to more development and higher taxes. "The most expensive kind of development is residential"It doesn’t pay for itself" he said, adding that cost is distributed across the community and results in more roads, services, and larger municipal facilities.
"All these things go up if development comes into town," Husek said.

Mikulka was critical of the bulletin, which contains one of his emails. He said he doesn’t know who authored the bulletin as it does not contain a name or address.
"Who wrote the survey"" Husek responded through The Enterprise.
According to the American Farmland Trust, a "respected organization," the only town in New York State that has adopted large-acre zoning is the town of Seneca (Ontario County), Mikulka said.

Seneca has a population of about 3,000 and four hamlets; 26,000 of the town’s 32,000 acres are located in the agricultural district, according to Jerry Hoover, Seneca’s building inspector and zoning and code enforcement officer.
"Farming is a very viable part of our industry here," Hoover said.

When Seneca worked on its comprehensive plan in 1999 and 2000, the public showed a strong desire to protect farmland, he said. Its zoning laws restrict subdivisions to properties in the agricultural districts. In order to subdivide, a parcel must be at least five acres, and any parcel between five and 100 acres is only allowed one subdivision, Hoover said.
"They saw the value in doing that," Mikulka said. "There is no agriculture in Rensselaerville," he said, adding that the exception is hay-cutting. Farmland protection, he said, is "a complex issue."

RFP points to surveys sent out to residents last year, which showed 83 percent were concerned with losing farmland.
"Subdividing a large number of house lots in the agricultural zone will only benefit a few landowners who wish to sell and move elsewhere," the group’s bulletin said.

Mikulka cited the Lewises and Kropps, both long-time farming families, and said they aren’t going to leave. Becky and Susan Lewis are members of the land-use committee. The Lewises operate two dairy farms.
"They don’t have any pension plans. The land is their pension," Mikulka said, adding that he doesn’t want to "screw over" farmers, who are the backbone of the community. They want to pass their farms on to their children, he said.

Mikulka said there are ways other than using zoning to preserve farmland, such as conservation easements and clustered development. He has recommended a fund be created for the town to buy farmland. There are many wealthy people in Rensselaerville who would contribute to a private fund, said Mikulka, as they do to the Huyck nature preserve.

The American Farmland Trust and Stolzenburg have recommended 20- and 25-acre zoning, Husek said.
Mikulka is concerned voters who answer the survey will be unable to make an informed decision. "It’s such a complex issue"You almost have to go with a gut feeling," he said. He called agricultural zoning "one of the most divisive issues that’s ever hit this town."

Mikulka recommended holding a debate, where voters could better understand the issue.

The town will soon be applying for a $25,000 grant from the American Farmland Trust to study farmland protection. The town board approved $1,250 for the application; the money will be returned if the town does not receive the grant. A commission other than the land-use committee will study the issue, said Mikulka.

At a public hearing in April, farmers said their land is their retirement and all they have to pass on to their children.

While creating the town’s master plan, used as a template for the town’s zoning laws and subdivision regulations, the committee split the agricultural and rural residential districts to protect the town’s prime soils.