Zoning and Build-out Analysis in Warwick

This report attempts to answer several critical questions relating to the future growth and development of the Town of Warwick along with the Villages of Warwick, Greenwood Lake and Florida. These questions are: 1.) What are the current zoning practices in each of the municipalities?; 2.) What will the Warwick communities look like in the future if built out according to the current zoning and what are the implications of this growth?; 3.) How consistent are the zoning laws with each other and with any adopted comprehensive plans?; and 4.) What are the options for inter-municipal cooperation and how can these communities become more consistent in their planning?

These questions were answered by conducting a thorough review of all the zoning laws and comprehensive plans in the Town of Warwick and the villages, and by conducting a build-out analysis. The build-out analysis estimates the impact of growth on the area once all developable land has been converted to uses permitted under existing zoning. Please note that the build-out does not predict the time frame under which a final build-out may occur.

The review of each of the zoning codes was done with specific emphasis on understanding the planning and zoning techniques being used to accomplish municipal goals. This review included a) identifying the major goals, zoning techniques used, and direction the zoning takes the community through a build-out analysis, b) identifying inconsistencies or deficiencies within the code, if any, c) determining how well the laws conform to any adopted comprehensive plan, and d) determining what levels of consistency there are between the laws.

Current Zoning Practices

Town of Warwick: In addition to promoting the general health, safety and welfare of its residents, Warwick’s zoning law (Chapter 164) has other stated purposes that include providing efficient and adequate public facilities and services; reducing traffic congestion; preserving an attractive environment for residential areas; providing for appropriate locations for commercial and industrial uses; enhancing the appearance of the Town, preserving natural and scenic qualities of open lands; and protecting and preserving the environmental resources such as groundwater supplies, stream banks, water bodies, steep slopes and natural vegetative cover. Its Comprehensive Plan, adopted in August of 1999, defines the vision of Warwick as a residential and agricultural community with the villages serving as the commercial centers of Town. Throughout the Plan, the interconnections between the Town and Village are recognized. The Plan sets the overall goal of preserving the natural beauty of Warwick and its rural quality of life. It does this by setting specific goals for agriculture, residential growth, business development, recreation and open space, transportation, public facilities, and environmental protection.

Analysis of the Town’s zoning uncovered some inconsistencies in the regulations that likely will result in the regulations not meeting many of the stated goals of either the zoning or the plan. These are detailed in the full report, and include such problem areas as use of minimum lot sizes as the density control, density levels set too high and spread out, restrictions on agriculture, lack of flexibility in design to preserve rural character and open space, lack of design and site layout standards for commercial uses, and the amount and location of commercial districts in the Town of Warwick.

Village of Warwick: In addition to promoting the general health, safety and welfare of its residents, the Village of Warwick’s zoning law (Chapter 145) has among others, additional stated purposes including protecting environmental, human and community resources; controlling growth to provide adequate facilities and services, and to achieve planned growth; decreasing negative impacts on circulation and community appearance; and increasing the role of the public in planning processes. The Village of Warwick has a Comprehensive Plan dating from 1965 which includes recommendations for residential development, commerce and industry, community facilities, and streets and highways. The Comprehensive Plan is in the process of being updated. Some provisions of their zoning code are inconsistent with either the Comprehensive Plan or stated zoning goals. Some of these include inconsistencies between the densities recommended in the plan and zoning, lack of guidance for review of historic properties, and lack of design standards and guidelines for commercial buildings. The Planned Adult Community (a PUD for senior citizens) as a floating zone has excellent development standards designed to ensure that such new communities will result in traditional neighborhoods consistent with the rest of the character of the Village. These standards are applied only to PAC projects, however and are quite different from standards required for other type of development. They should be the standards for new development (with the exception of infill of existing neighborhoods).

Village of Florida: In addition to promoting the general health, safety and welfare of its residents, the Village of Florida’s zoning law (Chapter 119) has among others, additional stated purposes including provision of efficient and adequate public facilities and services, ensuring adequate sites for residential, commercial and industrial uses, preventing or reducing traffic congestion, giving maximum protection to residential areas, eliminating nonconforming uses, and enhancing the appearance of the Village. The Village of Florida does not currently have a comprehensive plan. Some of the issues uncovered with the Village’s zoning include: lack of landscaping requirements for commercial uses; lack of guidelines offered for developing, layout or review of a clustered development; lack of adequate control of signs; inability to count on-street parking spaces as part of meeting parking requirements; and the site plan and conditional use permit sections are very general and lacks solid guidelines and standards.

Village of Greenwood Lake: In addition to promoting the general health, safety and welfare of its residents, the Village of Greenwood Lake’s zoning law (Chapter 120) has among others, additional stated purposes which are quite similar to the Village of Florida’s. These include provision of efficient and adequate public facilities and services, ensuring adequate sites for residential, commercial and industrial uses, provision of privacy, preventing or reducing traffic congestion, giving maximum protection to residential areas, eliminating nonconforming uses, protecting the physical, historical and aesthetic character of the Village, and enhancing the appearance of the Village. The Village of Greenwood Lake has a relatively new Comprehensive Plan (1997).

In general, there is good consistency between the Comprehensive Plan and Greenwood Lake’s zoning ordinance. This ordinance also has good clarity and specific language tied to the goals detailed in the plan. There were a few issues uncovered however, and these include a lack of control of sign design and height, and lack of illustrations to show the design requirements already including in the zoning.

Build-Out Analysis

The build-out analysis resulted in the following:

¨The Town of Warwick (excluding the villages) has 63,600 acres of land, of which 20,000 acres are buildable. If all the buildable land were developed as currently zoned, this would result in the addition of 6,806 new units, 6,703 households, 21,450 residents (at 3.2 residents per household) and 5,314,320 square feet of commercial space. The implication of this build out is that the Town could have a 117% increase in population to 39,820 people, an additional 3,930 students needing to go to school, 1,018 acres devoted to new roads, 13,406 additional automobiles on the roads, an additional 1,608,750 gallons of water per day, and the need to add 21-22 new police officers and 21-22 new firefighters.

In comparison, if the existing zoning were changed to increase the required minimum lot sizes (for example, RR-.5 from 2 to 4 acres), the total population, student aged children and infrastructure impacts are reduced as compared to the above figures as follows: There would be potentially 4,040 new units, 3,946 new households, 12,628 new residents. This represents a 69% increase in population to 30,998 people, with an additional 2,314 children needing to go to school,1,008 acres devoted to new roads, 7,892 additional automobiles on the roads, an additional 947,100 gallons of water per day, and the need to add 12-13 new police officers and 12-13 new firefighters.

¨The Village of Warwick has a total of 1,424 acres of land, of which 235 acres are buildable. If all the buildable land were developed as currently zoned, this would result in the addition of 505 new units, 633 households, 1,665 residents (at 2.63 residents per household) and 630,792 square feet of commercial space. The implication of this build out is that the Village could have a 26.5% increase in population to 8,077 people, an additional 430 students needing to go to school, 12 acres devoted to new roads, 1,266 additional automobiles on the roads, an additional 124,875 gallons of water per day, and the need to add 1 to 2 new police officers and 1 to 2 new firefighters.

¨The Village of Florida has a total of 1,185 acres of land, of which 399 acres are buildable. If all the buildable land were developed as currently zoned, this would result in the addition of 813 households, 2,325 residents (at 2.86 residents per household) and 102,910 square feet of commercial space. The implication of this build out is that the Village could have a 90% increase in population to 4,896 people, an additional 428 students needing to go to school, 20 acres devoted to new roads, 1626 additional automobiles on the roads, an additional 174,375 gallons of water per day, and the need to add 2 new police officers and 2 new firefighters.

¨The Village of Greenwood Lake has a total of 1,097 acres of land, of which 269 acres are buildable. If all the buildable land were developed as currently zoned, this would result in the addition of 290 new units, 177 households, 467 residents (at 2.64 residents per household) and 1,490,569 square feet of commercial space. The implication of this build out is that the Village could have a 14% increase in population to 3,878 people, an additional 81 students needing to go to school, 13.45 acres devoted to new roads, 354 additional automobiles on the roads, and an additional 30,025 gallons of water per day. There would be a slight impact on police and fire resources.

Consistency Between Zoning Laws

Is there consistency between the four communities’ zoning goals and purposes?

Yes, there is some consistency in goals. All four communities have expressed their desire to: provide for adequate public facilities and services; to decrease traffic congestion; and to enhance the appearance of their community. All except the Village of Florida have also expressed goals to protect the environment, even though they state them slightly differently.

Is there consistency between the comprehensive plans?

No, there is not a great deal of consistency between plans. First, the Village of Florida has no comprehensive plan yet. Second, the Village of Warwick’s plan is very outdated and needs a major review and revision. Although outdated, it does recognize the role of the Town, the interaction between the Town and Village and supports regional planning. This is an excellent starting place for inclusion in an updated plan. Greenwood Lake’s plan has no strong component that recognizes the need for more town-wide planning. While the Town of Warwick’s plan strongly acknowledges both the role of the villages and the influences the town has, it does not offer specific mechanisms to implement the general strategies that are recommended.

Is there consistency between the different zoning districts (locations, standards and bulk dimensions)?

Yes, but there is more consistency between the three villages than between the villages and the Town. Within the villages, the major concerns include: a). Expansion of commercial areas away from the central shopping areas in the villages (especially in Warwick and Florida) may serve to weaken the traditional downtown sections of these villages; b.) Lack of strong design standards in Warwick and Florida for commercial structures that mesh with the traditional village setting will change the character of these villages over time; and c.) Lack of coordination in setting use schedules so that commercial development complements and strengthens the whole area and each village rather than detracting or competing with each other.

The Town of Warwick is likely to have much more influence on the villages, than the villages will have on the Town. Warwick’s zoning is not consistent with their stated goals, and implementation of the Town’s zoning is likely to have significant impacts on both the Town and villages over time.

Is there consistency in how the municipalities administer the zoning law?

Yes, there is consistency. For example, each community uses special use permits issued by their planning boards, requires site plan review for most new commercial development, and has subdivision regulations. Care should be taken to amend each zoning law so that it is up-to-date with New York State law.

Opportunities for Intermunicipal Planning and Cooperation

Municipalities in New York are given vast authority for intermunicipal cooperation by the New York State legislature. Cooperation should serve to strengthen the unique character and identity of each municipality and at the same time reinforce the identity of the Town.

The opportunities for intermunicipal cooperation can be organized into several major categories:

A. Development of a town-wide comprehensive plan that ensures appropriate economic roles for each community, that establishes future infrastructure needs in a regional context, that coordinates transportation and land use planning, and that preserves the unique characteristics and strengths of each community.

B. Establishment of mutually beneficial districts, each with clearly stated purposes. New districts can be used to protect and enhance agriculture, open space and the environment. They should be established to prevent fragmentation of existing agricultural parcels, important open spaces and areas of environmental concerns such as wetlands and watersheds. Other districts such as scenic byways or corridors, intermunicipal bike/hike trails, and careful designation of commercial districts can be employed to help meet mutual goals.

C. Establishment of consistent standards and regulations, especially for building design and site layout for commercial projects and major subdivisions. An intermunicipal agreement to develop one set of standards that would be adopted by all of the municipalities is recommended. These standards should be clearly illustrated with drawings and pictures. Zoning standards should establish setbacks and other bulk requirements that are consistent with existing traditional centers. Commercial areas of the Town should have bulk standards that emulate existing hamlet and village characteristics. In both the Town and villages, regulations for highway commercial areas should be adopted that will result in higher standards for parking, curb cut layouts, sign controls and landscaping. It is recommended that there be town-wide erosion and stormwater guidelines adopted by all four municipalities. The Warwick communities should consider establishing future growth boundaries around the three villages with formal agreements not to extend infrastructure beyond a certain point. Finally, standards and regulations should allow a transfer of development rights program, have clustering ordinances that mandate where and how they should be done, and should set realistic and appropriate density levels to meet the rural character, agricultural, and open space goals in a consistent manner across the communities.

D. Establishment of mutually beneficial mechanisms to administer, communicate, and jointly review projects. Initiation of an intermunicipal planning council or a planning working group can provide leadership and coordination of the many planning efforts underway. Writing a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) that discusses planning and zoning in Warwick (Town and villages) is recommended as another important tool to promote certain desired types of development and discourage undesired projects.

Introduction

The purpose of this report is to provide information to the Quality Communities Demonstration Committee on the status of zoning in the Town of Warwick and the Villages of Warwick, Greenwood Lake and Florida, and provide them with recommendations on how they can work towards more intermunicipal cooperation and planning in the future. To accomplish this, this report discusses and attempts to answer the following questions:

1. What are the current zoning practices in each of the municipalities?

2. What will the Warwick communities look like in the future if built out according to the current zoning and what are the implications of this growth?

3. How consistent are the zoning laws with each other and with any adopted comprehensive plans?

4. What are the options for intermunicipal cooperation and how can these communities become more consistent in their planning?

These questions were answered with the help of land use planning consultants who did a thorough review of all the zoning laws and comprehensive plans in the Town of Warwick and the villages, and who conducted a build-out analysis. The procedures for the build-out analysis are noted below. The review of each of the zoning codes was done with specific emphasis on understanding the planning and zoning techniques being used to accomplish municipal goals. This review included a) identifying the major goals, zoning techniques used, and direction the zoning takes the community through a build-out analysis, b) identifying inconsistencies or deficiencies within the code, if any, c) determining how well the laws conform to any adopted comprehensive plan, and d) determining what levels of consistency there are between the laws.

Build-out Analysis Procedures

The completion of a Build-out Analysis results in tabular and mapped data that demonstrate the potential impacts of growth subject to current or assumed zoning ordinances and other development regulations. The analysis can help to measure of the long-range effectiveness of zoning laws and visualize the patterns of growth through maps and images. The tabular data interprets the raw data and demonstrates the impact development may have on infrastructure and community resources.

This Build-out Analysis estimates the impact of growth upon the study area once all developable land has been consumed and converted to uses permitted under the existing regulatory framework. It does not predict the time frame under which the final build-out will occur.

Data used in the development of this project was analyzed with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spreadsheet software. Due to the differences in the Town of Warwick zoning ordinance it was necessary to develop two distinct processes for analysis of future development. The generalized steps for the Town of Warwick, Villages of Greenwood Lake, Warwick, and Florida were as follows:

Town of Warwick, Villages of Greenwood Lake, Warwick, and Florida

Gather data

a. zoning codes from involved municipalities

b. GIS data (Orange County Water Authority, CUGIR data clearinghouse)

Convert data to useable forms

a. spatial analysis of slopes

b. development of DEC wetland buffers (100')

Town of Warwick

Villages of Greenwood Lake, Florida, and Warwick

Selection of developable lands

a. removed wetlands and water bodies

b. removal o f parkland, development easements, government and public use facilities, and roads.

c. removal of developed parcels (cross-checked with 2000 tax data)

Selection of developable lands

a. removal of wetlands and water bodies.

b. removal of steep slopes (>25%)

c. removal o f parkland, development easements, government and public use facilities, and roads.

d. removal of developed parcels (cross-checked with 2000 tax data)

Analysis of soil types

a. soils isolated and grouped based on environmental factor (Town of Warwick zoning code 146-41)

b. unbuildable soils removed according to the environmental codes

Analysis of zoning districts

a. developable lands isolated

b. development assumed based on total buildable acreage for each soil group within each zoning district (minus 25 percent for odd lot configurations and roads) and divided by minium lot size according to environmental control formula or the minimum lot size, which ever factor controls.

Analysis of zoning districts

a. developable parcels isolated

b. development assumed based on total buildable acreage (minus 25 percent for odd lot configurations and roads) and divided by minimum lot size

Development visualized through dots

a. appropriate number of units dispersed upon buildable land - please note that these dots are not “parcel specific.” They represent the number and potential intensity of development within a specific zoning district, not within a specific parcel

Analysis of impacts of development on infrastructure and community resources

a. number of units

b. number of households, residents, school age children, and automobiles

c. water consumption (gallons per day per person)

d. road construction (acres of land dedicated to roads)

e. square footage of commercial space

Build-out Analysis: Town and Villages Summary

Municipality	Total Acres	Developable Land (Acres)	New Units	New Households	New Commercial Space (sq. ft.)	New Residents
Town of Warwick	63,612	20,364	6,806	6,703	5,314,320	21,450
Village of Warwick	1,424	235	505	633	630,792	1,665
Village of Florida	1,185	399	681	813	102,910	2,325
Village of Greenwood Lake	1,097	269	290	177	1,490,569	467
Totals	67,318	21,267	8,282	8,326	8,538,591	25,907

Build-out Population Comparisons

1990 Census

2000 Census

Population Totals at Build-out

Percent Change (from present)

Developable land

N/A

21,267 Acres

- 100%

Total Households

9,137

10,369

18,695

80%

Total Residents

27,165

30,764

56,671

84%

Total households = 2000 census + new households at build-out.

Total Residents = 2000 census + new residents at build-out.

These summary tables show the cumulative impacts of population growth at build-out for each municipality within the study area. According to the build-out analysis, the study area will see a 84 percent increase in population and a 80 percent increase in school age children.

Additional Build-out Impacts:

Water Consumption: additional 1,943,025 gallons per day (assumes 75 g.p.d./person)

Road Construction: additional1,063 acres dedicated to roads (5% of developable land for roads)

Automobiles: additional 16,652 (2 automobiles per household)

Police and Fire: additional 26 police officers, 26 firefighters (1 per thousand residents)

School Age Children at Build-out: Census Comparison

1990 Census

2000 census*

New students attending classes at Build-out

New Schools needed**

Total population and students at build-out*

Total population

27,165

30,764

56,671

5-11 year old children

2,724

3,090

2,627

additional

4 elementary schools (~ 600 students / school)

5,717

12-13 year old children

740

837

709

additional

1-2 middle schools

(~ 600 students / school)

1,546

14-17 year old children

1,356

1,540

1,373

additional

1-2 high schools

(~ 1150 students / school)

2,913

Total school age children

4,820

5,467

4,709

additional

10,176

*Number of children per age group calculated at the same percentage of the total population in 1990

**Does not take into consideration existing capacity for new students

In 1990, the study area (Town of Warwick, Village of Warwick, Village of Greenwood Lake, Village of Florida) consisted of 4,820 school age children. Using 1990 as a base year for student age children and extrapolating the percentages through build-out it is likely that the study area will see an increase of 4,709 students from present conditions (2000 census) to build-out. Please note that this table is a summation of each municipality. Tables with municipal level details can be found in the build-out discussions that follow.

School Age Children at Build-out: Households Method

Using an alternative method to determine the potential number of students can help in the decision making process and in determining the accuracy of the build-out analysis. According to the Warwick Valley School Board, there are typically 0.68 school age children per household. The build-out analysis suggests there will be an additional 8,326 households at build-out leading to an increase of 5,662 students (households multiplied by 0.68). It should be noted that this number is 953 students larger than the census method featured above.

Click here to view the Zoning and Build-out Map for the Town of Warwick and Villages of Florida, Greenwood Lake, and Warwick.

Summary and Analysis of Current Zoning in Warwick (Town and Villages)

Town of Warwick Zoning

Description of Zoning Districts: The law designates 13 different zoning districts where densities and permitted uses for each are established. These districts include five for residential use: Mountain Residence (MR-.3); Rural Residence (RR-.5); Suburban Residence (SR-.2); Suburban Residence (SR-.7); Conservation Residence (CR-.25); one agricultural zone (A), two local business - hamlet districts (LB and LB-H), and three additional commercial districts including Office/Research/Industrial Park (ORIP); Manufacturing (M); and Designed Shopping Center (DS). The main difference between the commercial districts are in acreage requirements and to a certain extent, allowed uses. Additionally, there are two floating zones: Planned Development (PD - a mixed use zone), and the Senior Housing (SH -specifically for senior housing).

Agriculture plays a prominent role in Warwick as it is a permitted use in the A, RR-.5, SR-.7, ORIP, and M zones. Single family residences are permitted uses in the MR-.3, RR-.5, SR-.2, SR-.7, and CR-.25 districts. Most all other uses within the Town require a special use permit.

Town of Warwick Build-out Analysis (Excluding Villages)

	Zoning District	Use (use Group)	Total Acres	Buildable land (acres)	New Units	New Households	New Commercial Space (sq. ft.)	New Residents*
Residential Zones	RR-.5	SF-Detached (b)	22,340.5	12,204	4,084	4,084	0	13,069
	SR-.7	SF-Detached (u)	4,566.6	2,109	973