Builder Bruno Schickel doesn't like the zoning proposal the Town is considering. Did he miss the last twenty years or so of conversation that led to the 2005 Comprehensive Plan? These aren't new issues, and the zoning draft actually softens some of what the plan suggested.
He also doesn't seem to have read it very carefully. I'm not happy that the draft bans non-commercial workshops in the Rural Residential zone, but I think that's fixable without pretending that everyone across the town will need a special permit to set up a home workshop. And larger shops probably do actually rate a conversation about whether they belong in the neighborhood. (I'd like to build one eventually, so I'm perhaps excessively interested in this issue.)
Oh well - I'm sure we'll hear a lot more of this to come. Zoning's been in Dryden a long time, but that doesn't mean everyone's come to love it. I was suprised last fall that it wasn't a major part of the campaign conversation. I do agree with Schickel about one thing, though:
The Town of Dryden is holding an informational meeting on the proposed zoning draft at 7 p.m. on March 22 at the Varna Community Center. Dryden residents who care deeply about their hometown's future should educate themselves on this important matter and make their voices heard.
You can find the key documents here.
Posted by simon at February 20, 2010 3:28 PM in Ithaca Journal , planning and zoning