Village aims to balance growth with community character

RHINEBECK, N.Y. » With the number of building permits issued by the village doubling this past year, Mayor Gary Bassett wants to make sure future growth doesn’t compromise the character of the community.

Bassett said during a recent phone interview that the recent surge of construction projects suggests to him that the COVID-19 pandemic is not slowing progress.

So the village’s top priority in 2022, he said, should be “redoing our 1993 comprehensive plan.”

“That’s important,” he said, “because the comp plan takes in factors like affordable housing, workforce housing, multilevel housing and zoning laws. It’s all those things that haven’t been looked at in detail and need to be refreshed.”

The mayor said the village has to plan for its future while respecting its past.

“We have state-level and federal-level preservation, but we don’t have the historic overlay district within the village,” he said. “That’s part of our culture. We need to protect what we have here.”

Bassettt also wants the village to focus on environmentally sound practices. To that end, it plans to institute a pilot program in which 100 homes and five businesses begin composting.

“The environmental impacts of climate change are real, and we’ve seen the impact with the Landsman Kill,” he said, referring to a waterway. that runs through the village.

Bassett also hopes the state next year will approve the village’s application for a Water Infrastructure Improvement Act grant, which would pay for a $6.5 million overhaul of the local water treatment plant and bring the facility up to current standards.