3.0 Land Use and Development - Town of Amherst

More documents

Recommendations

Info

TOWN OF AMHERST BICENTENNIAL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN • Protection of visual resources: Areas that reflect community or rural character are important resources to be preserved and enhanced where possible, including land along “special character” roads or around scenic natural and man-made features. The Town currently has a Recreation and Open Space Fund derived from fees charged for residential and commercial land development. The proposed acquisition program will require funding well beyond the levels generated by this fund. Nevertheless, in evaluating options for funding land acquisition, the Town should consider adjusting the fee schedule to more accurately reflect the value of the land being developed. Another option to consider is providing the Town with the first option to purchase privately owned land shown on the Parks, Open Space and Trails Plan or as open space on the Conceptual Land Use Plan before it is offered for sale on the open market. This approach would not obligate the Town to purchase such properties but would allow it to act if preservation of a property as open space is deemed to be in the best interest of the Town and funding is available. F. Development Review and Approval Process Along with the revised regulations and standards enacted as part of Comprehensive Plan implementation, the Town’s policies and procedures for reviewing and approving proposed developments are a tool that can be used to promote the goals and objectives of the Land Use and Development Element. Several points are of particular importance. First, the application of clearly defined principles and standards based upon the goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan will improve the predictability of the review and approval process and increase certainty regarding project outcomes for both developers and residents. Second, review and approval policies and procedures can be used to facilitate desired types of development (e.g., reinvestment in older areas or conservation development can be encouraged through the application of incentives coupled with simplified and expedited reviews). Conversely, review standards and procedures could be more stringent where protecting the integrity of established residential areas is of paramount importance. As a general rule, development review and approvals would be enhanced by an open process, including: Improving the predictability of the development review and approval process is an important part of the Governance Key Initiative. • User-friendly regulations that are readily understandable and clearly convey the Town’s objectives to both developers and residents • Opportunities for informal interaction (developers/town staff, developers/neighbors) in the conceptual planning stages 3-24 Town Board Adopted Plan (Amended March 2009) – Land Use and Development
TOWN OF AMHERST BICENTENNIAL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN before development plans are finalized and applications are filed • Use of digital technologies to allow for electronic submissions of applications and dissemination of information on the applications after they are submitted. Clear criteria tied to Comprehensive Plan policies and the Conceptual Land Use Plan should be established and used in reviewing requests for rezoning. 3-16 Improve the predictability and consistency of the rezoning and other development approval processes through the application of clear town-wide land use policies. Requests for changes in use or rezoning creates a climate of uncertainty regarding future land uses. A large proportion of the requests involve conversion of property from zoning allowing lower intensity to more intensive uses. These rezonings generally involve conversions to higher density residential or retail commercial of land zoned S-A and to retail commercial, office, or multi-family residential of land zoned single-family residential. The predictability and consistency of development review and approval processes would be improved by the establishment of clear criteria for rezonings that are tied to the policies contained in this Comprehensive Plan. These criteria should include the following: • Rezonings from single-family to higher intensity uses (commercial retail, office, and multi-family residential) should support the establishment of mixed-use centers as described in Policy 3-1 and shown on the Conceptual Land Use Plan. • Land to remain in rural uses as described in Policy 3-3 and designated on the Conceptual Land Use Plan should not be rezoned to higher intensity uses. • Rezonings should help implement other comprehensive plan policies, for example: − Providing alternatives to automobile use (transit, bicycle/pedestrian connections, etc.) − Advancing the revitalization of underutilized or obsolescent properties (see Policy 3-9) − Providing open space as part of the development − Consistency with the established character of the highway corridor • The applicant should be required to address significant impacts on roads or other significant infrastructure systems. A traffic impact analysis should be required for projects above a certain size threshold. • The applicant should demonstrate that the proposed rezoning would not cause adverse impacts on adjacent land uses with respect to scale, visual intrusion, light, noise, etc. Town Board Adopted Plan (Amended March 2009) – Land Use and Development 3-25
Page 1 and 2: TOWN OF AMHERST BICENTENNIAL COMPRE
Page 3 and 4: CREEK TONAWANDA RANSOM BLACK CREEK
Page 23 and 24: Amherst Vetrans Canal Park Tonawand
Page 27: TOWN OF AMHERST BICENTENNIAL COMPRE
Page 33 and 34: Creek RD Tonawanda Ransom k MILLERS
Page 57: TOWN OF AMHERST BICENTENNIAL COMPRE

3.0 Land Use and Development - Town of Amherst

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?