Serving the Towns of Wawarsing, Crawford, Mamakating, Rochester and Shawangunk, and everything in between
(none)   
SJ FB page   

Gutter Gutter
What Does Crawford Want to Be?
Master Planning Reveals Quandaries

PINE BUSH – In 2014, the Crawford Town Board decided to have Pattern for Progress produce a community development plan as a precursor to the full reworking of the town's master plan, which is due to begin soon. In general, the report produced no great surprises, but it did confirm a number of things. It also gave the community a chance to voice its opinions about how the town should develop... or not.

A series of well-attended community forums were held in Pine Bush in the fall of 2014, and a questionnaire was mailed out and returned in considerable numbers. The pros? A great school district, a low crime rate, a strong community that supports its schools and other things like Little League, youth soccer and football, nice parks and a good library. The cons? Primarily high taxes and the pressure they bring, especially on seniors, to quit the area.

"While there wasn't anything new that jumped out from the report, it was good to know what the community was thinking," said town supervisor Charles Carnes. "We can use this report going forward for seeking grants so, overall, it wasn't without value."

Reading through the report recent trends and issues become visible. Crawford almost doubled in population over the last twenty years and enjoyed a significant boost in numbers during the boom years before 2007, but since then growth has slowed dramatically. Also, accordingly, there are a number of contradictory impulses now becoming evident: On the one hand, preservation of agricultural land and open space is deemed highly important, but so is the demand for jobs and even for light industry, as well as the streamlining of local approval processes for new businesses... except when neighbors are concerned.

"Our location is an extreme disadvantage in that respect for light manufacturing. Our only areas are the site on Stone School House Road and perhaps on 17K in the BP zone," Carnes added, noting challenges to increasing a business profile for the town. "So, we might see some small scale industry, but nothing big. We have to go with tourism, and the attractions of the natural beauty of the area."

Further contractions highlighted by the report included residents' wish for better dining options in town, and less fast food, as well as more lodging options... albeit in a community with no tradition for such things.

" know that in that business you need something like 50 occupancy year round. I don't know that we could do that in certain months of the year," Carnes said in regards to the possibility of atracting new motels to Pine Bush. "The community also expressed a strong preference for single lot housing, although we do need senior housing too."

Meanwhile, Carnes and the town board have started looking at what Crawford can offer as a jumping off place for exploration of the Shawangunk Ridge and the wider Catskill area.

"With some research, we will see what we can do to boost our profile there," the supervisor added. "We'd love to be a tourism destination."

Stay tuned...



Gutter Gutter






Gutter