HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-01-24Planning Board
January 24, 2019
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TOWN OF DRYDEN
PLANNING BOARD
January 24, 2019
Present: John Kiefer, Joseph Wilson, Deborah Cipolla-Dennis, Craig Anderson, Martin
Hatch, David Weinstein, Thomas Hatfield, James Skaley (alternate)
Absent:
Liaisons: Alice Green & Daniel Lamb, Town Board; Craig Schutt, Conservation Board
Chair John Kiefer opened the meeting at 7:05 p.m. He noted the agenda was very full and after
discussion the board decided to hold a special meeting on Thursday, February 7, 2019, at 6:00 p.m. to
discuss the Trinitas environmental assessment form Part 3.
Public Comment - None
Approval of Minutes – D Weinstein made a motion to approve the minutes of December 6 and
December 19, 2018. Seconded by J Skaley – all in favor
The town attorney will be at the February 28, 2019 Planning Board meeting. J Kiefer asked that
members send him any questions they may have for her in advance of the meeting so they can be
passed on.
ZBA Request for Review – 30 Hollister Road, Warren Currier
Ray Burger explained that NYS Town Law §277 requires that any area variance coming before the Zoning
Board of Appeals dealing with a minor subdivision has to get a recommendation from the Planning
Board. This is a large lot in a conservation district. The current home is built on the back of parcel and
accessed via an existing easement along the neighboring parcel. The subdivision proposal is to connect
the back lot via the pole (25’) of a flag lot. The remaining lot will not have the required 250’ of frontage.
They are asking for relief of about 10% and will go to the ZBA for a variance. This is in a denser
neighborhood with other lots there not having 250’ of frontage.
Comments:
• When the property was purchased the frontage requirement was less.
• Neighboring lots have less frontage.
• Applicant’s daughter wishes to build on the new lot.
• This is consistent with what is going on in the neighborhood.
• Should there be a way to decide comprehensively how to deal with these requests?
• It is a good use of land.
• There is no plan to further subdivide the property.
Planning Board
January 24, 2019
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RESOLUTION #1 (2019) – 30 HOLLISTER ROAD – RECOMMEND APPROVAL TO ZBA
J Wilson offered the following resolution and asked for its approval:
RESOLVED that the Dryden Town Planning Board hereby recommends that the Zoning Board of
Appeals grant the request for a frontage variance requested by Warren Currier (TM# 76.-1-18.622)
because the reduced frontage is consistent with adjacent properties in the neighborhood.
2nd D Weinstein - all in favor
Building Energy Committee
J Kiefer explained that last fall the Planning Board developed a list of projects that they should be
involved in. The town’s Comprehensive Plan doesn’t address climate change and several members of
this board wanted to do some work on that. One specific item that came up had to do with greenhouse
gasses associated with the built environment. The Building Energy Committee has taken on that task.
Last fall the Planning Board via resolution recommended to the Town Board that the Comprehensive
Plan be updated and that will include a much more substantial piece on climate change. The Building
Energy Committee has chosen to focus on this smaller piece.
J Wilson said in 2014 the Town Board passed a resolution asking a consulting group to review the comp
plan with particular attention to sustainability. That group went through the entire plan. They found
that energy and climate was the weakest component in the entire plan. In 2016 the Town Board passed
a resolution adopting a climate smart pledge promising to undertake a series of steps to address climate
change and, to date, only a few have been accomplished in the process to become a climate smart
community. Essentially, we have only done ones that were in place before the pledge was passed. One
way to begin earning certification is to do what this subcommittee is attempting to do.
D Cipolla-Dennis reviewed the attached slide presentation with board members.
Board members have a copy of the Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan with recommended additions
proposed by the Building Energy Committee highlighted (attached). D Cipolla-Dennis led the group
through review and discussion of the proposed changes.
Comments include:
• Some suggested actions may be more easily accomplished than others or may not be able to be
done for a variety of reasons.
• The information about current structure inventory was obtained from Tompkins County
Assessment, not Tompkins County Planning Department.
• Remove references to “sister municipalities” and add goals and standards of New York State; New
York State may provide grant funds to help accomplish established goals.
• This committee is focused on building energy; broader pieces can wait for a general update to the
plan.
• There should be an incentive mechanism because rehab of existing buildings can be difficult;
perhaps a real property tax exemption.
Planning Board
January 24, 2019
Page 3 of 3
• “Toxic sources” and “carbon intensive” should be removed. Use the term fossil fuels.
• Power purchase agreements could be added under Recommendations in the Climate, Energy and
Emissions section.
• Remove “solar” when talking about car charging stations.
• More specific alternatives could be suggested – perhaps in a separate document.
D Cipolla-Dennis will make the changes discussed tonight.
Public Outreach – The Comprehensive Plan is a statement of what the community wants to see happen.
This committee has put together introductory language to share. Much of this voluntary and in the end
it is up to individuals to decide what to do with their homes. In the end its about education, financial
incentives and such.
The board discussed how to present the proposed changes to the public and gather public input. There
could be a couple of sessions in different parts of town where the changes would be presented and
discussed, perhaps in breakouts. The proposed changes would be available in advance of those
sessions. The public would also be made aware the board intends to do a full review of the entire
Comprehensive Plan.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Bambi L. Avery
Proposed Changes to
Comprehensive Plan
from Planning Board’s
Building Energy
Subcommittee
18 January 2019
Overview
•Subcommittee formed November 2018
•Members: Joe Wilson, Jim Skaley, Deborah Cipolla-
Dennis
•Purpose: To begin implementation of the Tompkins
County Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Policy.
Scope of Work
•Based on the County’s Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Policy, review and recommend updates to:
•Comprehensive Plan
•Local Zoning Law and Building Codes
•Building Project Application Templates
•Site Plan Review
•The intent is to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions from the built environment in Dryden.
15 January 2019
What is not in the Scope of Work
•Transportation
•Renewable Energy Production
•Carbon Capture
•Agriculture Practices
•Reduction of Waste
•General Update of the Comprehensive Plan
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 5
•Add at the end of Introduction section under Ongoing Initiatives:
The 2018 International and National Climate Assessments indicate that the planet, at the current rate of warming, will exceed the 2ºC warming resulting in an irreversible trend that is an existential threat to humans and the earth’s ecology. Scientists have stated that it is essential to attempt to reduce the rate of increase in eCO2 to zero by 2030 to keep warming at 1.5º C by 2100. Keeping global warming to 1.5º C would be the best option to reduce the most deleterious impacts of warming. County data collected in 2014 indicates that the greatest sources of GHG emissions, locally, are from transportation followed closely by residential and commercial structures.
As of 2018 the Town of Dryden had no energy or GHG emissions policy. For the Town to contribute to GHG reductions will necessitate changes to the Town’s governing policies. Initial steps could include:
•A baseline survey of current GHG emissions
•Revisions to Planning Department Applications
•Revisions to Site Plan Review
•Revisions to the Town Building Code
•Revisions to the Town Zoning Laws
•Local amendments to SEQRA as authorized by State law
•Initiatives to assist homeowners and developers to make necessary changes to increase energy efficiency and take conservation measures.
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 15 -16
•Inventory and Analysis section add new subsection Current Structure Inventory:
The following table lists the current structures in the Town as of 2018. This inventory was obtained from the Tompkins County Planning Department in December 2018. The “Town of Dryden” column excludes the structures in the villages.
•Add new Table 2-4.1 on Page 16 (next slide)
15 January 2019
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 33
Goals and Objectives section –under Introduction add
following bullet:
•protect current and future residents’ wellbeing by
increasing climate change resilience throughout our
community through strengthening infrastructure
systems, increasing the use of renewable energy,
reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing
energy use through building and renovating structures
to be highly energy efficient.
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 33
Goals and Objectives section –under Generally -
Objectives add #7:
7.Efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
adapt to a changing climate.
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 34
Goals and Objectives section –under Commercial
Development –Objectives, paragraph #6:
Develop design standards to ensure safe, sustainable,
and attractive commercial development site designs,
including standards for traffic circulation, parking,
pedestrian facilities, buffer areas, landscaping, site
coverage, stormwater management, signage and
outdoor lighting design.
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 35
Goals and Objectives section –under Housing and
Residential Development –Goal:
Provide for a variety of energy efficient, affordable,
high-quality housing options for all town residents
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 35
Goals and Objectives section –under Housing and
Residential Development –Objectives, add paragraph:
Maintain an active search for funding to encourage
existing homeowners and new developers to convert
to renewable energy sources and improve building
energy use to reduce energy consumption and
greenhouse gas emissions.
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 36
Goals and Objectives section –under Open Space and
Environmental Protection –Objectives, 3rd paragraph:
Encourage development that promotes conservation
of energy and water resources, minimizes greenhouse
gas emissions ,and minimizes where possible adverse
impacts such as loss of agricultural and forest lands,
soil erosion and sedimentation, and stormwater run-
off.
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 39
Plan Synthesis section –under Introduction:
The overall goal of this plan is to balance a community-wide desire for preserving the existing character of the town along with and its open space resources, and address the challenge of a rapidly changing climate with the accommodation of anticipated growth and development, including residential, commercial and industrial development. Striking such a balance is attainable. However to achieve the balance a number of issues must be addressed in the plan.
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 39
Plan Synthesis section –add new subsection –Energy, Emissions, and Efficiency:
In the years since the adoption of the Plan, the issues of climate change and its mitigation
have become crucial to the promoting the health, safety, and welfare of the community.
Cornell University in collaboration with the Northeast Region Climate Center have
released data documenting the dangers and negative, local effects of climate change10.In
March of 2014, an analysis of this Comprehensive Plan commissioned by the Town Board
found that the weakest element in this Plan was in an area the authors labeled “Climate
and Energy.11”
In 2016, the Tompkins County Legislature adopted a goal of reducing community
greenhouse gas emissions by 80% from 2008 levels by 2050 and described methods for
emissions calculations. In the same year, the Town Board in stated, “Climate change poses
a real and increasing threat to our local and global environments and is primarily due to
the burning of fossil fuels”; “our response provides an unprecedented opportunity to save
money, build a livable, energy independent and secure community...”; and “we believe the
scale of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions required ... will require sustained and
substantial efforts.12”
10CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE COUNTY LEVEL, Cornell Small Farms Program, October 31, 2018, https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2018/10/31/climate-
change-on-the-county-level/
11Town of Dryden –Comprehensive plan Sustainability Assessment, Findings from Matrix Analysis –March 24, 2014. Report is on file with the Dryden
Town Clerk.
12Town Board Resolution #137 (2106) Adopt Climate Smart Communities Pledge, Town Board Meeting Minutes 2016-08-18, Pages 7-8.
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 39
Plan Synthesis section –add new subsection –Energy, Emissions, and Efficiency (continued):
Since 2008, a rejuvenated economy and the attractiveness of the Tompkins County as a place to live—especially in the areas near Cornell and the City of Ithaca have created unprecedented pressure for residential development with its attendant demands for facilities and services.
All these factors necessitate amending this Plan to create a basis for updating our laws, regulations, and practices to address these new challenges. At a minimum areas to be addressed in these revisions should include energy use, emissions, and efficiency of structures.
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 51
Plan Recommendations section –under Introduction, add the following bullets:
•Review and take recommended actions to increase the resiliency of Town’s infrastructure to mitigate current and future impacts due to our changing climate.
•Establish a goal for GHG emission reductions that is in line with the goals and standards of the county and sister municipalities.
•Encourage sustainable development, and the reduction of fossil fuel usage in the built environment by reviewing, and where necessary, modifying land use laws, building codes, planning and code enforcement regulations, and Town policies and procedures.
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 77
Plan Recommendations section –add new subsection Climate, Energy, and Emissions -Climate Change:
Climate change poses risks to the health, safety, security, and the economy of our Town. Prioritizing strengthening the resilience of the Town’s built, natural, economic, and social systems is necessary given the existential threat of accelerating climate change as described in the Plan Synthesis section of this Comprehensive Plan.
Greenhouse gases from human activities are the most significant driver of observed climate change since the mid-20th century17.
Joining with the County and sister communities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, will provide a consistent and synergistic response to the challenges of climate change. This can be accomplished by adopting the same goals of the County as described in the County’s Energy Roadmap18 which advocate for reductions of energy and fossil fuel usage along with the reduction greenhouse gas emissions. This process will require consistent monitoring, updating, and intermunicipal collaboration to maintain consistency with the most rigorous local and national standards.
Where the Town can coordinate its greenhouse gas mitigation policies, practices, or activities with the County, adjacent municipalities, and/or those located in the County, it should try to do so.
17US Department of Environmental Protection. Climate Change Indicators: Greenhouse Gases. https://www.epa.gov/ ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gaseshttps://www.epa.gov/ climate-indicators/greenhouse-gases
18Tompkins County Energy Roadmap. March 2016. Page 2. http://tompkinscountyny.gov/files2/planning/ energyclimate/ documents/Energy%20Roadmap%203-25-16.pdf
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 77
Plan Recommendations section –add new
subsection Climate, Energy, and Emissions –
Greenhouse Gas Inventories:
It is recommended that the Town create and maintain
an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions and use the
most up to date, scientific methods for quantifying all
greenhouse gas emissions.
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 77 -78
Plan Recommendations section –add new subsection Climate, Energy, and Emissions –Efficient Buildings:
The built environment accounts for roughly 40% of energy use in the United States, and as a result the building sector is a major contributor to carbon emissions and global climate change.
The following policies, laws, regulations, standards and practices are recommended to improve the efficiency with which the Town's residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional structures are constructed and perform. Specific actions include:
Incorporate Ithaca's Green Building Policy (GBP) and/or County's 239 building standards into our Residential and Commercial Guidelines
Incorporate GBP and/or County's 239 standards into Varna Plan.
Review and modify the site plan checklist as needed to reflect changes in the laws, policies, and regulations.
Building Codes Assistance Project. Climate Change. Energy Codes and Climate Change. http://bcapcodes.org /topics/climate-change/
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 78
Plan Recommendations section –add new
subsection Climate, Energy, and Emissions –
Efficient Public Infrastructure:
The Town should minimize resource use and demand
in local public infrastructure as a means to mitigate
greenhouse gas emissions and conserve water.
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 78
Plan Recommendations section –add new
subsection Climate, Energy, and Emissions –
Greening the Energy Supply:
The Town should adopt policies, laws, regulations,
standards and practices which cause the local energy
supply to transition away from carbon-intensive or
toxic sources toward renewable sources of energy.
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 78
Plan Recommendations section –add new subsection Climate, Energy, and Emissions –Recommendations:
The following are examples of policies, laws, regulations, standards, and practices to support the Town’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support GHG reduction goals:
•Adopt the most up to date version of energy, fossil fuel, and GHG reduction goals
•Adopt science-based greenhouse gas emission goals that include upstream methane emissions.
•Include language which automatically adopts County standards if they become more rigorous than the one's we are using
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 78
Plan Recommendations section –add new subsection Climate, Energy, and Emissions –
Recommendations (continued):
•Develop and promote the use of the rail trail as an alternative to commuting with cars
•Install solar-powered public electric car charging stations
•Require PB to review County and other municipalities policies and practices every two years to remain consistent or to increase our standards
•Add Town SEQRA form which requires the estimation of energy use and GHG emissions for all SEQRA Type 1 actions
15 January 2019
Proposed Changes –Page 78
Plan Recommendations section –add new subsection Climate, Energy, and Emissions –Recommendations (continued):
•Add to required information for Town's building permit form answers to all applicable questions raised by the County’s 239 Review including the source and efficiency of energy usage
•Require developers to go through the County Energy Navigator process and share the Navigator's recommendations with Planning Department.
•Partnering with other municipalities, the County, and/or NGOs to seek funding to improve the Town’s “green” infrastructure and improve energy efficiency of current building stock.
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
1
1. Introduction
Foreword
This document is a plan, a framework within which
Town of Dryden leaders and residents can work
together in the coming years to guide the future growth
and development of the town. It has a long-range
outlook, to the year 2020 and beyond. It attempts to
identify both issues that the community may face, and
opportunities that it might exploit for the common
good.
Because this document has a twenty-year horizon the
many positive impacts of implementing it will not be
readily apparent. Implementation of the plan in fact
will take place over the course of years, and in the case
of some recommended courses of action decades.
Implementation will not yield any quick return on the
time and effort invested by the Town of Dryden
Planning Board, but it will yield a substantial return,
one that will be evident five, ten or fifteen years into
the future.
Because certain assumptions have been made with
regard to future growth and development, some of the
trends, issues or needs that this plan anticipates may
not come to pass. The anticipated levels of population
growth and attendant new home construction, major
factors in any community's comprehensive planning,
may not occur. Agriculture, a critical component of
the town's economy and contributor to the town's
scenic beauty, continues to evolve. Technology
continues to evolve. As a result some of the
recommended policies, capital improvements and
other recommended actions may not need to be
implemented.
It is thus critical to the success of this plan that Town
leaders and Town residents review this plan and
update it every five years.
1
Goodrich, George E. "Centennial History of
the Town of Dryden, 1797-1897".
Brief History of the Town
The Town of Dryden encompasses some 94.9 square
miles in eastern Tompkins County. It was established
in 1797 as one of the 28 townships created and set
aside by the State Legislature to be divided into lots
and conveyed to Revolutionary War veterans as
payment for their services. It was named after the
English poet John Dryden. The new township was
square in shape with each side being ten miles long
and consisted of some 100 lots, each approximately
one square mile in size. With the exception of seven
military lots along its southern boundary that were
annexed to the Town of Caroline, the Town of Dryden
has retained its original shape and area.
Settlement by European Americans began in 1798 and
the town's population grew rapidly to 1,893 persons
according to the 1810 census and to nearly 5,000
persons by 1835.1 Early settlers entered an area
covered with large expanses of white pine and
hardwood forests. As a result in the early years of
European American settlement lumbering was a major
economic activity within the town. Agriculture
gradually replaced lumbering as the economic basis of
the community as the forests were depleted.
In terms of population, the Town of Dryden is the
second largest town in Tompkins County and third
largest municipality after the City of Ithaca and Town
of Ithaca. According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census,
the town in 2000 was home to some 13,532 residents.
Of these, some 1,832 lived within the village of
Dryden and 505 in the village of Freeville. Other
concentrations of population are located in and around
the hamlets of Varna, Etna and McLean, and in the
Ellis Hollow area.
The town is located along the NYS Route 13
transportation corridor connecting Elmira, Ithaca and
Cortland. Its location between Ithaca and Cortland has
a major factor in its growth since World War II. The
growth of the industry and higher education sectors in
Cortland and Ithaca has stimulated substantial
residential development and population growth in the
town. In recent decades, too, industrial and
commercial development has begun to extend
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
2
eastward into the town along the NYS Rte. 13 and
NYS Rte. 366 corridors from Ithaca and Lansing.
Despite the growth that has occurred in the town over
the past several decades, Dryden for the most part still
qualifies as a rural municipality. Outside the villages
and hamlets population density averages only about
110 persons per square mile. In this regard it mirrors
the predominant characteristics of the majority of its
neighbors. With the exception of the built-up areas in
the Village of Lansing and town of Ithaca along its
western border, land use in the areas of the towns of
Lansing, Groton, Virgil, Harford, Richford, Caroline
and Danby that border Dryden are agricultural and
rural residential in nature.
Prior Planning Initiatives
The Dryden General Plan, 1968
In October 1968 the firm of Egner and Niederkorn
completed The Dryden General Plan on behalf of the
town and the villages of Dryden and Freeville. The
230 page document, funded under the Department of
Housing and Urban Developments Section 701
Program, provided an extremely detailed analysis of
the town and villages then, including population,
housing and economic data. It then proposed a series
of policies to guide the development of the
communities through the 1970s, 1980s and into the
1990s.
The General Plan assumed a population in 1990 of
about 16,200 persons, of which 2,000 would live in
Dryden village, and 700 in Freeville. (Actual
population in 2000 was 13,532. See below.) This
projection was partly in response to the anticipated
construction of a limited-access NYS Rte. 13 between
Ithaca and Cortland that was expected to stimulate
new industrial development and residential growth.
The substantial growth of manufacturing in Cortland
at the time and growth in the education sector in
Tompkins County were also major factors in this
growth projection.
In summary, the 1968 General Plan proposed that:
• Future major residential development should be
channeled into Dryden village and along the NYS
Rte. 13 corridor, with lesser levels occurring in
the Etna and Freeville areas.
• The better agricultural lands in the northeast
portion of the town should be protected from
extensive development.
• Commercial development should be concentrated
in specific areas and scattered, low- density strip
commercial development should be discouraged.
Dryden village should remain the major
commercial activity center in the town, with
Varna and Freeville serving as secondary centers.
The General Plan also considered as appropriate a
"large regional shopping center" in the vicinity of
Etna Road and Pinckney Road upon completion
of the proposed limited access NYS Rte. 13.
• Light industry should be encouraged in two
locations: in the NYS Rte. 13 corridor in the
vicinity of the NYS Rte 366 intersection, and on
the northern edge of Freeville. The rationale for
the Freeville location was proximity to both the
anticipated limited access NYS Rte. 13 and (then)
rail service.
• Major development should be channeled away
from the more rugged terrain of the Allegheny
Plateau portion of the town and land uses in the
area should be limited to farming and recreation
or conservation-oriented uses.
• The existing undeveloped lands in the immediate
vicinity of Fall Creek and Virgil Creek should be
preserved as open space and possible acquisition
for public park and recreation purposes. These
areas would tie together the villages of Dryden
and Freeville and extend southward from Dryden
to include Dryden Lake and areas beyond. The
Plan also recommends that some 1,600 acres of
land along Fall Creek and Beaver Creek upstream
of Malloryville and extending to Cortland County
be acquired as a nature preservation/wildlife
refuge.
• At least one larger park to serve the entire town
and a number of smaller neighborhood-oriented
parks should be established.
The 1968 General Plan dedicates an entire section to
Fall Creek and issues related to water quality and its
future use and use of the land along its banks. The
plan envisioned Fall Creek and Virgil Creek as
regional natural and open space assets. It goes into
considerable detail in proposing a program to protect
the two streams from inappropriate development, and
to enhance public access to them.
Future Land Use in the Town of Dryden:
Alternatives and Recommendations, 1999
Completed by the Department of City and Regional
Planning at Cornell University in December 1999, this
document includes an in-depth inventory and analysis
of population and housing, public utilities, economic
development, transportation systems, natural
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
3
resources and recreation, and recommendations for
further actions. Although not officially adopted by the
Town, the document has provided valuable
information and direction to officials and residents.
Some of the data and concepts contained within
Future Land Use in the Town of Dryden:
Alternatives & Recommendations, 1990 have been
incorporated into this plan.
The Future Land Use in the Town of Dryden:
Alternatives & Recommendations, 1990 document is
not a comprehensive plan as they have typically been
written. It presents four possible scenarios illustrating
how the Town might develop in the coming decades:
• Business as Usual. This scenario assumes that the
town will continue to develop in a dispersed,
fragmented and somewhat random pattern. It is
based on an analysis of past development patterns
in the town and extrapolates them into the future.
• Cluster. This type of development scenario
would include provisions such as a Clustering for
Open Space Conservation Plan (COSP), zoning,
and subdivision design provisions that would
channel future development away from key open
space and environmental assets. The intent is to
"cluster" development in those areas most suitable
-- from an open space and environmental
protection standpoint -- for development.
• Compact Center. This approach focuses future
growth and development in and around the
existing population centers of Dryden village,
Freeville, Etna and Varna, and Ellis Hollow at
village-like densities of around four dwelling
units per acre. In addition to its potential for
preserving substantial quantities of open space,
this scenario has the potential for revitalizing
village and hamlet downtown areas and creating
more intimate neighborhoods.
• Corridor Development. Under this scenario
future development in the town will be directed
toward its major transportation corridors where
public water and sewer services already exist or
can be easily provided, and away from areas
without such services or away from key open
space and environmental assets. Provisions
would be made to reduce the anticipated traffic
and safety impacts to targeted highways, such as
NYS Rte. 13, such as access controls and road
infrastructure improvements. Depending on
location within the corridor, small-lot (1/2-acre)
residential development, mixed-use development,
industrial development and more intensive
commercial development would be allowed.
Outside the corridors large-lot (5-acre) and rural
residential/ agricultural/forest areas would be
identified and zoned for lower intensities.
The key goals of each of the above scenarios are to
accommodate the level of growth that the town of
Dryden is expected to experience over the next two
decades, while at the same time preserve the town's
important open space and environmental assets, and
the rural character many residents enjoy.
In addition to the scenarios, the 1999 document
outlines for the community a Recommended Land Use
Framework based on the following principles:
• New mixed-use, compact development should be
promoted in established hamlets and villages;
• Natural resources and groundwater should be
conserved and protected;
• Agricultural and forest resources should be
protected;
• Existing viewsheds and the sense of place many
residents enjoy should be protected.
The proposed Recommended Land Use Framework is
also grounded in an analysis of the suitability for
development of land and natural resources in the
various areas of the town. Attributes such as steep
slopes, environmentally sensitive areas such as
wetlands, riparian corridors, Cornell University lands,
state forest land, Tompkins County Unique Natural
Area and poorly drained soils have been identified and
mapped. The result is a map showing areas where
constraints to environmentally sound development
exist and, conversely, areas where opportunities for
environmentally sound development exist.
The Recommended Land Use Framework specifically
recommends that the town:
• Create new incentives to focus economic and
residential development in or around hamlets and
villages and in the industrial/commercial area
along the western stretches of NYS Rte. 13.
• Implement measures to better control
development in areas such as northwestern
Dryden, Ellis Hollow, the Dryden Lake vicinity
and where scenic vistas occur along Rte. 13.
• Implement measures to reduce development in the
agriculturally important northeastern section of
the town, and in the Allegheny Plateau hill
country.
The Future Land Use in the Town of Dryden:
Alternatives and Recommendations, 1999 report is
not in itself a comprehensive plan. It does provide
however both background data and insights into the
town that are important in the development of a new
comprehensive plan. The document also provides a
palette of ideas and concepts that have the potential to
provide for anticipated future growth in the town,
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
4
protect the attributes that make it an attractive and
unique place to live, and protect the many unique and
valued ecological resources within its boundaries.
In 2000 the Town of Dryden along with the Village of
Dryden and Village of Freeville completed and
adopted a joint Hazard Mitigation Plan under the
Federal Emergency Management Agency's Project
Impact program. The objectives of the Hazard
Mitigation Plan are to:
• Assess potential hazards in the town and the
villages;
• Identify problems that may be caused by such
hazards;
• Set goals to eliminate of reduce the problems;
• Review alternative mitigation measures that could
reduce disaster losses in the community;
• Develop and implement an action plan to
eliminate hazards and problems identified in the
Plan;
• Evaluate and revise the adopted Plan on a regular
basis.
The plan identified a number of natural hazards facing
residents of the town, including: floods, hurricanes and
tropical storms, windstorms and tornadoes, winter
storms, ice storms, wildfires and earthquakes. Ten
floods causing substantial damage have hit in the
Town over the past 100 years. There has also been a
number of windstorms and major snow- or ice storm
events in the past half century.
A number of technological hazards, or hazards
produced by our use of modern technology. These
include the transportation of hazardous materials
through the community by trucks; the potential for
airplane crashes due to the presence of the Ithaca-
Tompkins Regional Airport; hazardous materials
stored in various locations within the town; and
abandoned underground storage tanks. An accident
involving a bus or truck within any of the villages or
hamlets is of particular concern.
The plan then identified a number of specific policies
and actions the town and villages could take in order
to reduce or eliminate such hazards.
Although it is a county document, the Tompkins
County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan
adopted by the County Legislators in 1998 addresses
issues of importance to the Town's agricultural
community. The plan outlines a number of strategies
and actions steps to be taken to enhance the economic
viability of agriculture in Tompkins County, and help
protect agricultural land resources. It has been
consulted in the course of preparing this plan to ensure
conformance with its provisions.
Ongoing Initiatives
The Town of Dryden is currently involved in a number
of initiatives related to comprehensive planning. It is
actively participating in planning transportation
planning efforts of the Ithaca-Tompkins County
Transportation Council (ITCTC), The transportation
Council, as the metropolitan planning organization
(MPO) for Tompkins County, is responsible for
coordinating transportation planning and funding from
federal and state sources for transportation
infrastructure improvements. The agency has recently
completed a study of truck traffic in the county that
includes the town. It is also developing a plan for
improvements in public transit service in the Northeast
Sub-area portion of the county, which includes the
western part of the town.
The environmental resources of the Town of Dryden,
including air, water, and soil, are of relatively high
quality and are essential to a good quality of life,
public health, and a thriving economy. The Town of
Dryden has embarked on a number of initiatives to
protect its environmental resources.
The Town of Dryden Conservation Advisory Board
has completed an Open Space Inventory for the
town. This document details the location and
character of key environmental attributes such as soils,
steep slopes, wetlands, waterways and riparian
corridors, Tompkins County Unique Natural Areas
and public and private open space assets. It can serve
as an important reference to guide Town officials as
they make decisions regarding land use and
infrastructure investments.
Other ongoing efforts to protect and enhance
environmental resources include:
• A cooperative agreement between the US
Geological Survey and the Town of Dryden to
study and characterize the Virgil Creek Aquifer, a
highly productive valley fill aquifer with excellent
quality water that is almost entirely contained
within the Town boundaries;
• Active participation in the Cayuga Lake
Watershed Intermunicipal Organization, which
has resulted in a watershed characterization and
management plan and funding to begin restoring
stream banks in the southern end of the watershed;
• Supporting efforts of the Fall Creek Watershed
Committee, a volunteer, grassroots organization
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
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dedicated to protection and improvement of the
Fall Creek Watershed;
• Funding its share of the costs of a major upgrading
of the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Plant
that will substantially reduce the levels of
phosphorus discharges by the facility into Cayuga
Lake.
The 2018 International and National Climate
Assessments2 indicate that the planet, at the current
rate of warming, will exceed the 2ºC warming
resulting in an irreversible trend that is an existential
threat to humans and the earth’s ecology. Scientists
have stated that it is essential to attempt to reduce the
rate of increase in eCO2 to zero by 2030 to keep
warming at 1.5º C by 2100. Keeping global warming
to 1.5º C would be the best option to reduce the most
deleterious impacts of warming. County data
collected in 2014 indicates that the greatest sources of
GHG emissions, locally, are from transportation
followed closely by residential and commercial
structures.
As of 2018 the Town of Dryden had no energy or GHG
emissions policy. For the Town to contribute to GHG
reductions will necessitate changes to the Town’s
governing policies. Initial steps could include:
• A baseline survey of current GHG emissions
• Revisions to Planning Department Applications
• Revisions to Site Plan Review
• Revisions to the Town Building Code
• Revisions to the Town Zoning Laws
• Local amendments to SEQRA as authorized by
State law
• Initiatives to assist homeowners and developers to
make necessary changes to increase energy
efficiency and take conservation measures.
2 IPCC, 2018: Summary for Policymakers. In: Global warming of
1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming
of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse
gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global
response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development,
and efforts to eradicate poverty [V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, H.
O. Pörtner, D. Roberts, J. Skea, P.R. Shukla, A. Pirani, W.
Moufouma-Okia, C. Péan, R. Pidcock, S. Connors, J. B. R.
Matthews, Y. Chen, X. Zhou, M. I. Gomis, E. Lonnoy, T.
Maycock, M. Tignor, T. Waterfield (eds.)]. World Meteorological
Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, 32 pp
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2. Inventory & Analysis
Physical Geography
The Town of Dryden is located astride the boundary
between the upper reaches of the Lake Ontario Plain
to the north and the Allegheny Plateau to the south.
This boundary stretches east to west from Beam Hill
southwest of Dryden village to Turkey Hill
overlooking Varna on the west.(Map2-1) Simms Hill
and Bradshaw Hills along the eastern border of the
Town are also part of the Allegheny Plateau.
The portion of the Allegheny Plateau within the town
is heavily eroded and cut by numerous ravines as well
as deep glacially carved valleys such as the Virgil
Creek valley south of Dryden, Ellis Hollow and Six
Mile Creek valley in the southwestern corner of the
town.
Portions of six watersheds are located within the
boundaries of the town: Fall Creek, Virgil Creek,
Cascadilla Creek, Owasco Inlet, Six-Mile Creek and
Owego Creek. Owasco Inlet, Six-Mile Creek and
Owego Creek, have their headwaters within the town.
Most of the town drains into Fall Creek and Virgil
Creek. The valley of Fall Creek is the most dominant
feature of the northern half of the town. This major
tributary of Cayuga Lake begins north of McLean and
flows in a southwesterly direction through a relatively
broad, shallow valley. Virgil Creek, which begins in
Cortland County southeast of Dryden Village and Mill
Creek, which has its headwaters just northwest of the
town, are the two largest tributaries of Fall Creek, and
join it just south of Freeville.
Streams in the Town of Dryden are dendritic, or
branching, in pattern and have numerous large and
small tributaries.
Elevations in the town range from approximately 750
feet above sea level at Six Mile Creek where it exits
the town to approximately 2,015 feet in the vicinity of
Star Stanton Hill. Major hilltop elevations within the
plateau area include a low of about 1,280 at
Hungerford Hill, just over 1,460 at Turkey Hill, just
over 1,620 at Snyder Hill, 1,750 feet at Mt. Pleasant,
approximately 1,930 feet for Hammond Hill and
approximately 1,960 feet for Beam Hill.
Northeast of Dryden Village Simms Hill reaches an
elevation of approximately 1,640 feet, and
immediately east of the village an unnamed hill off
Bradshaw Road reaches an elevation of approximately
1,730 feet above sea level.
A majority of the many hills in the town are broad and
smooth with relatively mild topography at higher
elevations and slopes that are relatively gentle. The
slopes at the bases of hills however are generally
substantially steeper and can be precipitous in places.
In these areas slopes generally exceed 15 percent and
can be in excess of 25 percent.
Approximately 14,250 acres or 23.5 percent of the
total land area in the town have slopes of 15 percent or
greater. Lands having a slope of 15 percent or greater
are mainly located south of Route 13. The slope of the
upper Owasco Inlet valley west of Route 38 and north
of Freeville however is also marked by slopes of 15
percent or greater. Small areas covered by steep slopes
are located in other places in the town. Notable
examples are the bluffs along Fall Creek upstream of
Freese Road. There the stream has carved nearly
vertical bluffs by cutting into the glacial till which
forms the walls of its ravine.
Lands covered by steep slopes generally are not
extensively developed due to constraints such as
drainage, septic field and foundation problems. They
are also generally too steep for agriculture. Ideal uses
for such areas are recreation, open space, forestland or
as habitat for game.
The floor of the Fall Creek valley is approximately 870
feet above sea level where it flows out of the town,
about 1,130 feet at McLean, and a little more than
1,200 feet where Virgil Creek enters the town.
The portion of the Fall Creek valley between Freeville
and McLean, and the valley of Virgil Creek south of
Dryden village, are both notable for topographies
dominated by glacial moraine features. These include
large rolling hills of gravel and unconsolidated glacial
till and bowl shaped depressions. The glacial
Malloryville Esker winds
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
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Map 2-1. Physical Geography
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
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across the Fall Creek valley floor west of McLean.
Within the Virgil Creek valley south of the village,
Dryden Lake fills a glacial "kettle" or bowl shaped
depression. The 115-acre lake is part of a major
wetland complex created by the irregular moraine
topography of the area.
Some 85 different types of soils cover the land in the
Town of Dryden. In general terms the soils can be
classified according to one of three major
characteristics: gravelly, clayey or fragipan. In
general gravelly soils are located on the floors of
stream valleys. They also occur in kame, esker, and
moraine areas. Clayey soils were deposited in areas of
the town once covered by Ice Age period lakes. These
clay soils are limited in extent and are located mainly
in western and northern extremes of the town along
Fall Creek and in the Owasco Inlet Valley.
Fragipan soils are the dominant soils type in Dryden.
They are characterized by presence of a compact,
dense, impervious layer at varying depths in the upper
subsoil. This layer greatly impedes movement of
water through the soil and can cause creation of
perched water tables. Water can often move
horizontally across the surface of the fragipan layer a
considerable distance. As a result water-borne sewage
effluent and other contaminants can spread substantial
distances through the ground from their origins.
Soil permeability is a key factor in determining the
suitability of land for various uses. Soils are
categorized as rapidly permeable, moderately
permeable, slowly permeable and very slowly
permeable soils.
Approximately 65 percent of the town is covered by
soils that are moderately permeable. Slowly
permeable soils cover approximately 26 percent of the
land and rapidly permeable soils cover just under 9
percent. About 1 percent of the town is covered by
very slowly permeable soils.
Rapidly permeable soils are located in scattered
pockets throughout the town, but tend to be
concentrated in creek valleys. The largest
concentrations of rapidly permeable soils can be found
in a crescent-shape area that extends in an arc from the
vicinity of McLean in the northeast through the center
of the Village of Dryden and southeast up the Harford
Valley.
Table 2-1
Soil Permeability in the Town of Dryden
Soil Permeability
Characteristics Area Percent of Town Area Rapidly Permeable 5,270 8.7%
Moderately Permeable 39,370 64.8%
Slowly Permeable 15,750 25.9%
Very Slowly Permeable 345 0.1%
Source: 1968 General Plan
Slowly permeable soils are the dominant type in the
Ellis Hollow area, in the Fall Creek Valley between
Varna and Etna, and in an area running through the
eastern half of Freeville and north into the Owasco
Lake Inlet. Smaller pockets of these soils are also
found in all areas of the town except the northwest.
Up until recently, the development patterns that have
emerged in the Town of Dryden through the years
have been in response to soil potential or soil
limitations. In planning for future growth and
development, the characteristics of the soils that
overlay the town should be carefully considered.
Areas of the Town of Dryden that do not have
municipal or communal sewage systems must rely on
private on-lot systems. How long and how well a
septic system works however can depend largely on
the absorptive qualities, or the permeability, of the
soil. Slowly permeable soils may require much larger
filter fields and therefore bigger lots than are necessary
with more rapidly permeable soils, or require
increasingly complex and expensive disposal systems.
This is especially true in areas where soils are so
impervious that septic tank filter fields would be
unsafe regardless of the lot size.
Soils that are poorly drained can also impose severe
limitations on growth. Soils marked by high water
tables and poor internal drainage can become
waterlogged during wet weather and can remain wet
for long periods of time. Some soils in low and
swampy areas are permanently wet. When soils are
wet there is no capacity to absorb septic tank effluent
and filter fields are not able to function. Even though
municipal water and sewer service can eliminate the
issue of on-lot sewage disposal problem, other
problems such as wet yards and basements can still
seriously affect the quality of life in such areas.
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
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Water Resources
Extensive water resources exist within the Town of
Dryden, in the form of surface water (streams, lakes,
ponds) and groundwater resources. Maintaining the
quantity and quality of water resources within the town
is critical to protecting the natural environment as well
the general health and welfare of residents, and the local
economy local. Water resources are an important
recreational asset.
Major surface water resources within the town include
Fall Creek, Cascadilla Creek, Six-Mile Creek and their
tributaries, and Dryden Lake. There are also
approximately 260 ponds located within the town, the
majority of which are manmade. Significant areas of
wetlands mark the northwest corner of the town. This
area north of Lower Creek Road and west of Caswell
Road as late as the 1960s consisted primarily of open
farmland with relatively limited amounts of woodland.
Today about two-thirds of the area consists of woodland
or old field brush and meadow. Actively tilled farmland
accounts for only about 20 percent.
A large wetland area north of Freeville is the source of
Owasco Inlet, which flows northward into the Town
of Groton and ultimately into Owasco Lake. Owego
Creek begins on the southwestern flanks of Star
Stanton Hill and flows southward to the Susquehanna
River at Owego. It drains about three square miles in
the southeastern corner of the town.
Six-Mile Creek drains approximately 15 square miles
in the southern and southwest portions of the town.
The stream rises in the uplands near Irish Settlement
and Yellow Barn Roads and flows south into the Town
of Caroline, then turns northwest and cuts across the
southwest corner of Dryden.
Cascadilla Creek rises in the Town of Caroline and
flows northward and then westward through Ellis
Hollow into the Town of Ithaca. The creek drains
approximately 11 square miles of the town, including
most of the Ellis Hollow area.
Activity along and within streams, ponds, Dryden Lake,
and wetlands is regulated by state and federal agencies,
including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the
Clean Waters Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act of
3 Town of Dryden Conservation Advisory
Council. Draft Open Space Inventory. January 2003.
The AA through D stream class codes may be
1899. The Department of Environmental Conservation
(DEC) also has regulatory responsibilities under the
Environmental Conservation Law.
The DEC has classified most water bodies in the state
based on existing or expected “best use.” These uses,
shown in the table below, range from AA (highest class)
to D. Water bodies classified as C(T) or higher are
collectively referred to as protected streams and are
subject to more stringent regulation.3
Most of the major streams in the town are classed
C(TS) or higher. Downstream of Freeville Fall Creek
and its tributaries carry the "A" designation, as does
much of Six Mile Creek and its tributaries. The main
stem of Six Mile Creek upstream of the Town of
Caroline, and its major tributary that runs along
Midline Road, carry the "A(T)" designation.
Approximately 25 percent of Mill Creek and its major
tributaries, all of Owasco Inlet and Virgil Creek within
the town and much of Cascadilla Creek and its main
tributaries upstream of Genung Road carry a "C(T")
designation.
Two small tributaries of Fall Creek just west of
McLean are classed as "C(TS)" streams.
Table 2-2
DEC Stream Classification System
Stream
Class
Best Use
AA Drinking (after chlorination)
A Drinking (after chlorination and
filtration)
B Bathing
C (T) Fishing (trout)
C Fishing
D Secondary contact recreation
Data from Tompkins County Planning Department
In addition to the wetlands areas identified in the
discussion above, major wetland complexes can also
be found:
1. at the headwaters area of the Owasco Inlet north
of Freeville;
modified by the addition of “T” or “TS” if the water
body can support, respectively, trout and trout
spawning.
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
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2. along Fall Creek from the vicinity of Malloryville
upstream to beaver Creek and into Cortland
County;
3. along Virgil Creek, especially in the areas
northwest of Dryden village and to its southeast
toward Dryden Lake;
4. along Cascadilla Creek as it flows through Ellis
Hollow.
The above areas represent only the major wetland
areas within the Town of Dryden. Topography and
soil conditions have created numerous small wetlands
that are scattered throughout the town. Although some
3,350 acres of wetlands have been mapped, either by
the Department of Environmental Conservation, as
part of the National Wetlands Inventory overseen by
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Bureau, or on the Tompkins
County Land use/land Cover Map, many wetlands
remain undocumented.
Groundwater resources within the town constitute a
very important resource in the Town of Dryden. With
the exception of residences and businesses in the
western part of the town served by the Bolton Point
system, residents and businesses in the town depend on
groundwater as their primary water source. The Village
of Dryden municipal water system uses groundwater for
its municipal water supply.
Groundwater is not uniformly distributed in the Town,
but is concentrated in aquifers, the most significant of
which are found in the major valleys, and result from
fluvial and glacial processes. These aquifers are all
composed of sand, gravel, and coarser material
deposited by running water, originating either from
melting glaciers or from more typical streams.
Outside the major valleys a large number of residents
rely on wells that penetrate fractures in the bedrock,
which locally consists primarily of sandstone and
siltstone. These bedrock “aquifers” generally require
deeper wells to penetrate enough fractures to provide
even minimal water flows, and the water quality is
generally lower than that of sand and gravel aquifers
because of higher mineral content.
Most municipal and private water supplies in the town
are expected to continue to rely on groundwater for the
foreseeable future. It is thus a resource that needs to
be monitored and protected. Some aquifers are
relatively shallow and are recharged from rainfall and
stream flow. Because they are open to the surface, they
are particularly susceptible to contamination from
human activities such as fuel-tank leakage, sewage, oil
and gas spills, and agricultural chemicals.
Open Space & Environmental
Resources
As stated above, topography has endowed the town of
Dryden with significant open space resources. These
include the agricultural lands that create scenic vistas
across the several valleys of the town, the forested
slopes of the Allegheny Plateau and numerous
streams, ponds and wetlands.
Overall about 10,760 acres of land in the town, or
slightly more than one-sixth of its land area, can be
considered permanently preserved open space. (Map
2-2) This includes some 8,700 acres of state forest
lands in the Yellow Barn Road and Hammond Hill
area. These state lands consist of both mixed
deciduous hardwoods and conifer plantations, and are
managed for both timber and recreational purposes.
In addition there are about 1,870 acres of land that is
considered ecologically or geologically significant and
protected through inclusion in 16 private preserves.
These preserves are scattered throughout the town and
protect ecological resources that range from stream
corridors and wetlands to highland hardwood forests.
Eleven of these, encompassing just under 1,400 acres,
are part of the Cornell Plantations Natural Areas
system of preserves. The Cayuga Nature Center,
Finger Lakes Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy
own and maintain the 5 remaining preserves.
Another significant open space asset is the 196-acre
tract owned by the DEC at Dryden Lake. This parcel
protects a substantial portion of the lake shoreline as
well as provides public access to the water body for
fishing and boating.
The Tompkins County Environmental Management
Council has identified 57 areas in the town that harbor
rare or endangered flora and fauna, unique geologic
features or contain excellent examples of ecosystems
or biotic communities.(Map 2-3) These areas have
been designated as Unique Natural Areas (UNAs).
The Unique Natural Areas program does not afford an
identified open space resource any tangible
protections. The preservation of Unique Natural
Areas within the town is largely in the hands of private
landowners, and essentially voluntary. Less
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
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than 20 of the UNAs identified are wholly or partly
within any of the public or private preserves discussed
above. Education and advocacy are the primary tools
available to government and individuals to defend
such areas.
In addition to those lands managed through the
Plantations Natural Areas program, Cornell University
owns approximately 6,510 acres of land in the town.
These lands are utilized for agricultural field crops and
experimental plots, and field laboratories. Some are
woodland tracts.
Although not generally viewed as an open space
resource, there are substantial areas of floodplain
along the major streams in the town. Floodplains and
the adjacent riparian zones are subject to frequent
flooding, especially during the spring as streams carry
off snowmelt. Left in their natural state, floodplains
can reduce the damaging effects of flooding by
providing space for floodwaters to spread out and to
pond in the low areas adjacent to the stream. This
lowers the velocity of floodwaters, and the overall
height of flooding. In many locations where
floodwaters pond within the floodplain, water can
infiltrate into the ground and recharge the underlying
aquifer.
The relative flat character of floodplains, and the
deposition of silt that occurs during periodic
inundation also make many such areas ideal for
agricultural use. They can also be unusually rich in
botanical and faunal composition and offer linear
corridors for the movement of wildlife.
Population
The population of the town of Dryden, according to
the 2000 U.S. Census of Population, was 13,532
persons in April 2000. This number includes residents
of the villages of Dryden and Freeville. The town’s
population has increase by some 6,179 residents, or
84% from 7,353 residents in 1960. The largest
increase in population occurred between 1960 and
1970, when some 2,417 new residents were added,
followed closely by the decade between 1970 and
1980, when some 2,386 residents were added. Growth
has since tapered off substantially since 1980.
Between 1980 and 1990 population grew by 1,095
residents, or 9 percent. According to the 2000 Census
data, between 1990 and 2000 population growth was
just 281 residents.(Table 2-3) The population of the
two villages has fluctuated somewhat over the past
four decades. (Table 2-3)
Dryden village grew from 1,263 residents in 1960 to a
peak of 1,908 in 1990. Between 1990 and 2000
however the village population dropped slightly, to
1,832 residents. Freeville has experienced wider
swings in population, with 471 residents recorded in
1960, a jump to 664 in 1970, a decline to 449 in 1980
and then 437 in 1990. In 2000 however its population
rebounded to 505 residents. The town has grown at a
substantially faster rate than Tompkins County as a
whole.(Table 2-3) Between 1960 and 2000 the county
as a whole grew by 54,161 residents, or 128 percent,
while the population of Dryden has increased by 238
percent. The town in fact has
Radon Gas – Part of the Environment Too
Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and
chemically inert gas that is generated by the
natural radioactive decay of uranium in rock, soil,
and water. Naturally existing low levels of
uranium occur widely in Earth's crust. Radon gas
can be found in all 50 states. It moves through the
ground to the air above. It is known to infiltrate
into homes through basement and foundation
walls and can concentrate in basements and other
unventilated indoor areas built into the soil. When
radon breaks down, it produces charged particles
that adhere to dust and other fine matter that can
be inhaled by people. There is no way to tell if
radon is present in a home, or how much may be
present, without testing for it.
Radon has been identified as a lung carcinogen in
humans. Research continues to refine our
understanding of the precise number of deaths
attributable to radon. The Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Cancer
Institute (NCI) have independently placed that
number at about 15,000 lung cancer deaths each
year in the United States.
Tompkins County has been identified as a high risk
area for exposure to radon. No specific locations
within the county where the risk of radon is greater
or lesser have been identified, however, because
no detailed testing and mapping has been
conducted. The Town of Dryden should thus
consider itself to be a high risk area for radon.
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
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Map 2-2. Open Space Assets
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
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Map 2-3. County Unique Natural Areas
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
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Table 2-3
Comparative Population Growth
Town of Dryden and Tompkins County
Town
Population 1970 Population 1980 Change '70 - '80 % Change '70 - '80 Population 1990 Change '80 - '90 % Change '80 - '90 Population 2000 Change '90 - '00 % Change '90 - '00
Dryden
9,770
12,156
2,386
24%
13,251
1,095
9%
13,532
281
2%
Dryden Village
1,490
1,761
271
18%
1,908
147
8%
1,832
-76
-
4%
Freeville
664
449
-215
-32%
437
12
-3%
505
68
13%
Tompkins
County
77,064
87,085
10,021
13%
94097
7,012
8%
96,501
2,404
2%
Caroline
2,536
2,754
218
9%
3,044
290
11%
2,910
-134
-5%
Danby
2,141
2,449
308
14%
2,858
409
17%
3,007
149
5%
Enfield
2,028
2,375
347
17%
3,054
679
29%
3,369
315
9%
Groton (Town)
4,881
5,213
332
7%
5,483
270
5%
5,794
311
5%
Ithaca (Town)
15,620
16,022
402
3%
17,797
1,775
11%
18,198
401
2%
Lansing (Town)
5,972
8,317
2,345
39%
9,296
979
12%
10,521
1,225
12%
Newfield
3,390
4,401
1,011
30%
4,867
466
11%
5,108
241
5%
Ulysses
4,500
4,666
166
4%
4,906
240
5%
4,775
-131
-3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 1970, 1980, 1990 & 2000 Decennial Census.
accounted for 17.4 percent of all population growth in
Tompkins County. It ranked ahead of the town of
Ithaca, which grew by 9,126 residents and accounted
for 17 percent of overall growth, and Lansing, which
grew by 6,300 residents, or 12% of overall county
growth.
The population by age profile for the town differs from
that of Tompkins County, but is relatively close to that
4 The age groupings used in Table 2-4 match those
used in the 1968 General Plan to allow comparisons
between the 1960 and 2000 Census of Population data.
of New York as a whole. (Table 2-4) Children under
the age of 5 years make up a larger proportion of the
population in the town than they do countywide.
Persons in the age 5 to 24 bracket4 make up a
substantially smaller proportion of the town's
population than they do in Tompkins County as a
whole. This is likely because of the very large
numbers of college students living in Tompkins
County outside the town. In the city of Ithaca persons
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between 5 and 24 comprise 61% of the population. Of
this group over 10,500 are between the ages of 20 and
24.
Table 2-4
Population by Age, Town of Dryden, Tompkins County & New York State
Town of Dryden
Tompkins County
New York State
Age
1960 % of Total Population
2000 % of Total Population
1960 % of Total Population
2000 % of Total Population
2000 % of Total Population
Under 5 years
341
8.6%
857
6.3%
3,025
7.1%
4,285
4.4%
1,239,417
6.5%
5 to 24 years
1,277
32.4%
3,942
29.1%
13,259
31.3%
39,065
40.5%
5,216,143
27.5%
25 to 44 years
1,059
26.8%
4,162
30.8%
12,450
29.4%
25,250
26.2%
5,831622
30.7%
45 to 54 years
422
10.7%
2,159
16.0%
5,122
12.1%
12,028
12.5%
2,552,936
13.5%
55 to 64 years
382
9.7%
1,167
8.6%
4,216
10.0%
6,616
6.9%
1,687,987
8.9%
65 years or older
466
11.8%
1,245
9.2%
4,268
10.1%
9,257
9.6%
2,448,352
12.9%
75 years or older
N/A
N/A
531
3.9%
N/A
N/A
4,620
4.8%
1,172,306
6.2%
Total Population
3,947
100%
13,352
100%
42,340
100%
96,501
100%
18,976,457
100%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 1960, 2000 Decennial Census.
Residents of the town, like elsewhere, are living
longer. Indicative of this trend is the fact that in 1960
the Census had simply one category for persons 65
years old or older. For he 2000 Census, there were
three categories -- 65 to 74 years, 75 to 84 years and
85 or older. In 2000, there were 65 more people who
were counted as being 75 years or older than there
were persons counted as being 65 years or older in
1960. The number of persons who were age 65 or
older in 2000 however dropped as a proportion of total
population in both the town and the county between
1960 and 2000.
That residents of the town are living longer may have
significant land use implications in the coming
decades. The housing needs for retired and elderly
residents are different from those of other adults, for
instance those between the ages of 25 and 54 years,
who may have children. Across the country many
older residents are moving out of the traditional single-
family home and into smaller owner- or renter-
occupied dwellings, specialized senior citizen housing
or congregate care facilities that are conveniently
located close to retail and health services. Older
communities across the country have been the
beneficiaries of this trend, with revitalized downtown
areas and residential neighborhoods. The villages and
hamlets in the town offer or have the potential to offer
the types of amenities that would be attractive to older
residents.
Current Structure Inventory
The following table lists the current structures in the
Town as of 2018. This inventory was obtained from
the Tompkins County Planning Department in
December 2018. The “Town of Dryden” column
excludes the structures in the villages.
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Table 2-4.1
Current Structure Inventory – December 2018
Village of
Dryden
Village of
Freeville
Town of
Dryden
Single Family 519 127 2327
Two Family 43 51 225
Three Family 9 1 16
Mobile Homes 1 2 385
Rural Residential 0 0 358
Multiple Residential 7 2 96
Seasonal Residential 0 0 6
Residential w/Commercial Use 3 1 5
Apartment 21 2 63
Motel 0 0 1
Mobile Home Park 0 0 14
Restaurant 1 2 2
Diner 2 0 0
Bar 1 0 1
Fast Food 1 0 0
Auto Dealer 1 0 0
Auto Body 2 2 11
Parking Lot 1 0 1
Warehouse 2 0 12
Storage 5 1 18
Fuel Storage 0 0 1
Mini/Wholesale Storage 0 0 8
Lumber Yard 0 0 1
Truck Terminal 0 0 1
Shopping Center 1 0 0
Retail Service 0 0 3
Large Retail 2 0 1
Small Retail 2 0 1
Bank 1 0 2
Office Building 9 3 12
Funeral Home 1 0 0
Attached Row Building 9 0 0
Detached Row Building 6 1 1
Converted Residence 3 2 0
Single Use Small Building 8 2 17
Mini Mart 2 0 3
Manufacturer 3 1 4
Aged Home (Nursing) 0 1 0
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Land Use Trends
Although it has grown considerably in population over
the past forty years, Dryden is still very much a rural
township. Over 90 percent of its land area consists of
active or inactive agricultural land or undeveloped
meadow, brush, woodlands or wetlands. (Map 2-4)
Woodland is by far the largest land use or land cover
category, covering some 45 percent of the land area.
Actively farmed land is a distant second, covering just
over 22 percent of the town's land area.
Woodland is concentrated in the southern portion of
the town, and covers much of the Allegheny Plateau
hill country. In addition to privately held woodland,
there are also approximately 8,700 acres of land in
state forest holdings as well as some 1,050 acres in
private natural preserves in this portion of the town.
Extensive woodland also covers 40 and 50 percent of
the land north and west of Etna and Freeville. Much
of this woodland however is relatively young and
comprised of old field forest that has grown up since
1950.
Agricultural activities take place throughout the town.
Altogether approximately 13,500 acres, or about 23%,
of the land in the town are actively farmed. Another
3,500 acres of land are classed as inactive agricultural
land. The largest area of contiguous farmland
however extends along Fall Creek and Virgil Creek
from Freeville eastward toward McLean and Dryden
village. It extends southward past Dryden Lake to the
Cortland County line, and encompasses about 8,300
acres of land, or about 60% of the town's farmland.
Other major tracts of agricultural lands are located
northwest and southwest of Varna and atop Mt.
Pleasant, while smaller pockets exist in the
northwestern corner of the town, in the upper reaches
of Six Mile Creek along Irish Settlement and Midline
Roads, Ellis Hollow and north of Etna.
Residential development, excluding residential
development within the two villages, accounts for
about 3,150 acres of land, or about 5.2 percent of the
total land area in the town. Approximately 90% of
dwellings existing in the year 2000 were single-family
homes. According to the 2000 Census approximately
64% of all dwellings in the town were owner-
5 Town of Dryden. "Forest Home Circle
Housing Rehabilitation Project Application for Small
Communities Funding: Needs Description Narrative."
2002.
occupied, compared to 51% for Tompkins County as
a whole.
Manufactured housing (a.k.a. mobile homes) accounts
for a significant proportion of the housing stock.
There are an estimated 1,150 manufactured homes in
the town, of which approximately 890 are located
within 17 mobile home parks.5
Single-family homes, whether site-built, modular or
single- or double-wide manufactured homes
accounted for 94% of all new home construction
between 1984 and 1999.6
By far the bulk of the town’s residential development
and population gain since 1960 has occurred outside
its traditional centers of population of Dryden and
Freeville. The two villages in 1960 had a combined
population of 1,734 residents and accounted for 24%
of the town’s residents. However as the town grew
between 1960 and 2000, the villages accounted for
only 10% of the overall increase in population. By
2000 their proportion of town population fell from
24% to 17%.
Although census data are not available for the hamlets
of Etna and Varna, the evidence indicates that they did
not experience any substantial growth between 1960
and 2000. The detailed map of land use produced for
the 1968 Dryden General Plan shows roughly the same
number of structures in 1966 within the areas occupied
by the hamlets today, including the large mobile home
parks.
Hence the large majority of new homes built in the
town of Dryden since 1960 have been built outside
traditional centers of population. Comparison of the
1968 Dryden General Plan indicates that much of the
development has occurred in the Ellis Hollow/Snyder
Hill area, Yellow Barn/Ferguson Road area and south
of Dryden village. (Map 2-5) In addition the number
of homes in the area of the town west of Caswell Road
and north of Etna Road has grown from approximately
175 in 1968 to approximately 430 today, or an increase
of 255 homes.
The primary commercial area in the town of Dryden is
located in the village of Dryden and along North Street
between the village boundary and TC3. Smaller
commercial nodes include the intersection of NYS
Rte. 13 and NYS Rte. 366, Main Street in
6 Cornell University. Department of City &
Regional Planning. “Future Land Use in the Town of
Dryden: Alternatives and Recommendations.” Ithaca,
NY, 1999. p.73
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Map 2-4. Land Use & Land
Cover
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MAP 2-5
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Freeville and Dryden Road in Varna. Altogether there
are approximately 200 acres of land in the town
developed for commercial retail, services or office use.
This amount of land represents just under 5 percent of
total land area in the town.
In addition to the nodes discussed above there are also
approximately 40 commercial offices or retail
establishments scattered elsewhere throughout the
town. Most of these are located along the NYS Rte.
366/NYS Rte. 13 corridor between the town of Ithaca
and the Cortland County line. In recent years this
scattered development of small-scale retail and
industrial enterprises has created some land use
conflicts.
This has been especially true where such enterprises
have located within or near established
neighborhoods, or where new residential development
has occurred on surrounding lands. The amount of
traffic generated by some enterprises, noise, hours of
operation (very early morning, very late at night or 24-
hours), and light pollution have all been raised by
residents, at various times over the years, as impacts
on quality of life for surrounding neighbors.
Although some of these enterprises may not have an
adverse impact on adjacent residential properties, in
some cases a specific business enterprise, in a specific
location, may reduce the attractiveness for residential
use of an otherwise desirable and appropriate area.
This can result in residential development being
directed into areas of the town that, from an overall
land use planning standpoint, may not be as suitable.
Approximately 275 acres of land within the town are
dedicated to industrial uses. Industrial land uses for
the purpose of this report include manufacturing,
warehousing and distribution facilities and extractive
industries such as quarries and gravel mining. As with
commercial development, industry is scattered across
the town. Exceptions to this are the 50 acres at the
NYS Rte13/NYS Rte366 junction where a number of
manufacturing and wholesale or warehousing
enterprises are located, and off Hanshaw Road south
of NYS Rte. 13, where there is an industrial park
covering approximately 20 acres.
Of the 275 acres dedicated to industry, approximately
105 are quarry or gravel mining operations. Stone
quarrying and stone cutting occurs in Ellis Hollow.
Gravel mining take place in the Mott Road/Cady Lane
vicinity east of Freeville and south of Fall Creek.
7 Both schools own substantially more land than
the land occupied by their respective campuses.
Another major land use within the town is education.
The town is home to George Junior Republic, a private
residential school, and Tompkins Cortland
Community College. The facilities of these two
institutions occupy approximately 65 acres and 35
acres respectively7 acres. In addition the campuses of
the Dryden Central School District occupy another
115 acres in Freeville and Dryden villages, and at the
Middle- and High School campus off NYS
Rte38/Freeville Road.
Cornell University is a major landowner within the
town. Although the institution's campus is located
outside the town, it does own approximately 7,900
acres of land in the town. Approximately 3,600 acres
are utilized for agricultural research and agricultural
production. These lands are concentrated primarily
around the Animal Science Teaching and Research
Center south of Dryden, atop Mt. Pleasant and north
and south of Varna. Approximately 1,400 acres of the
University lands comprise part of the Cornell
Plantations Natural Areas system. The remaining
lands are primarily woodland.
Historic Resources
Prior to the arrival of European Americans the area
that encompasses the contemporary Town of Dryden
straddled the boundary between the Cayuga and
Onondaga nations of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois)
Confederacy. The border line ran roughly north and
south, approximately following the West Branch of
Owego Creek to its headwaters, thence northerly
through present day Freeville, thence north along the
Owasco Inlet.
Being on the frontier between the two nations, the land
was not subject to permanent settlement by either the
Cayuga or Onondaga. Rather, it apparently served as
hunting grounds. Vestiges of temporary occupation
have been found in the vicinity of Irish Settlement
Road and the headwaters of Six-Mile Creek, in the
northwest corner of the town, and in the vicinity of the
NYS Rte. 38/Peruville Road intersection.
European-American settlement in the town has left a
rich fabric of historic structures throughout the
community. Three structures in the town are listed on
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the National Register of Historic Places: the Eight
Square School on Hanshaw Road, built in 1827, the
West Dryden Community Center, built in 1832, and
the Ellis Hollow Methodist Episcopal Church, near the
corner of Ellis Hollow and Ellis Hollow Creek Roads.
The perception of what constitutes “historic” is many
times limited to structures or sites associated with the
18th or 19th century. Any structure that is fifty years
old or older however can be considered potentially
historic.
In addition to age, the criterion for National Register
eligibility are: 1) the property is associated with
events of broad historical importance; or 2) the
property is associated with the life of a historically
significant person – locally or nationally; or 3) the
property is an outstanding representative of a specific
architectural movement, period, distinctive method of
construction, or the work of a recognized master; or
4) the property has yielded or is likely to yield
information important in pre- or post-European
settlement history.
A survey of historic structures in Tompkins County
completed by Tompkins County Planning Department
in 1977 identified 173 structures in the town that
exhibited historical or architectural significance.
Among the structures identified in the inventory were
over 60 Greek Revival style houses, 34 Italianate style
houses and 19 Gothic Revival homes. These styles
were popular during the early to mid-1800s.
In addition to houses and other types of buildings, in
1999 students in the Department of City and Regional
Planning at Cornell identified four metal truss bridges
and over 200 barns in the town that may be of
historical significance.
Recreational Resources
Town residents today are served by three small park
facilities maintained by either the Town or the villages
of Dryden or Freeville, as well as the approximately
2.6 miles long Dryden lake trail bicycle/pedestrian
path. (Map2-4) Of the four parks the largest is the
Town-maintained park approximately 8 acres in size
at the outlet of Dryden Lake. This park offers access
to the lake for fishing and boating, playground and
picnic facilities and opportunities for informal leisure
activities. The Dryden Lake Trail connects it to
several residential neighborhoods and Main Street in
the village.
In addition to a portion of the Dryden Lake Trail, the
village owns the one-acre Montgomery Park, located
on Elm Street near the center of the village. Facilities
at Montgomery Park include lawn, playground, a
basketball court and a bandstand.
The village of Freeville owns a park located off the
end of Groton Avenue. The 6-acre site features a
playing field for soccer and baseball or softball, as well
as a picnic area and playground.
In addition to public park and recreation facilities, the
Etna Community Association, Varna Community
Association, Ellis Hollow Community Association
and Bethel Grove Community Association provide
community recreational facilities for residents in those
hamlets or neighborhoods.
Altogether Town residents have available
approximately 15 acres of developed public park and
recreation space. The four community associations
maintain another 37 acres of privately controlled park
and recreation space, of which 28 acres are located at
the Ellis Hollow Community Center on Genung Road.
In addition to the above facilities the Dryden Central
School District maintains playgrounds and playfields
to support recreation and physical education classes at
the elementary schools in Dryden, Freeville and
Mclean. The district also has extensive athletic
facilities at the middle and high school complex. The
elementary, middle and high school athletic and
recreational facilities are utilized by the general public
and non-school groups.
While they are recognized as a valuable community
recreational resource, the availability for non-school
use of the Dryden Central School facilities is
subordinated to their primary mission of supporting
the physical education and athletic programs of the
school district. For this reason they are not counted as
part of the inventory of recreational facilities available
to Town residents.
Standards recommended by the National Recreation
and Park Association (NRPA) recommend that
communities provide between 6.25 and 10 acres of
public park and open space for each 1,000 residents.
By these standards the town of Dryden, including the
villages of Freeville and Dryden, should have an
aggregate of between 84 and 142 acres of park and
recreation facilities. Such facilities should include
opportunities for active recreation, such as basketball
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courts (1 per 5,000 persons); tennis courts (1 per 2,000
persons); baseball and softball diamonds (1 per 5,000
persons); and soccer fields (1 per 10,000 persons). In
addition opportunities for informal activities such as
picnics and reunions, and passive recreational pursuits
should be provided.
Including the private community association facilities,
town residents have available approximately 52 acres
of park and recreation land. This is substantially lower
than the national standards. Some adjustment
downward of potential need may be warranted by the
presence of state forest and other open space preserves
and state parks elsewhere in Tompkins County. These
areas however have limited access and are not suited
for many of the types of activities that are
accommodated at typical parks. The state parks too
are regional recreational resources and should not be
considered substitutes for municipal parks.
As the town continues to grow in population, the town
and villages should work together to develop
additional public park and recreation facilities to
provide additional opportunities for residents.
Because they involve significant public expenditures,
careful consideration should be given to both locating
such facilities to ensure maximum ease of access by
residents, and the types of facilities developed.
Transportation
Roads and Highways
The Town of Dryden is served by a network of state,
county and town–maintained roads totaling
approximately 204 miles. Of these, approximately 31
miles are state highways, approximately 56 are county
highways, and the remaining 117 miles are town
owned and maintained.(Map 2-6)
With a few exceptions, Town of Dryden roads serve
primarily as local roads with relatively low volumes of
traffic. In general, they connect rural residences and
farms with the state and county systems. As a rural
road network the Town of Dryden road system is well
maintained and in line with generally accepted
standards for rural roads. Approximately 114 of
the177 miles of Town maintained roads, or 97%, are
8 Egner and Niederkorn Associates, Inc. The Dryden
General Plan. 1968. Census of Population and Housing, 1970,
2000.
oil and stone surface treated or paved roads, an above
average number for rural upstate towns.
Although the population has grown by approximately
3,800 persons and some 3,430 dwelling units have
been added to its housing stock, since 1968 the miles
of road the Town of Dryden owns and maintains has
increased by only about three miles.8 These new
roadways have been in the form of residential
subdivision streets such as the Bridle Lane/ South
Knoll/Catherine Drive; Hunter Lane/Eagleshead
Road; and Sunnyslope Road residential developments;
and the cluster of residential streets off Yellow Barn
Road in the vicinity of NYS Rte. 13.
This modest increase in the number of road miles
indicates that a large proportion of new residential
development has occurred through development of
frontage lots along existing roads and highways.
From a highway maintenance standpoint the Town of
Dryden has avoided the large increases in costs
associated with residential development that many
other growing communities have experienced. This
reliance on frontage lots however has exposed many
homes to the impacts of increased traffic, especially
along more heavily traveled corridors such as NYS
Rte 13, NYS Rte 366, NYS Rte 79, Thomas Road and
Ellis Hollow Road. As traffic on these roads has
increased issues such as safety and increased
congestion associated with numerous curb cuts have
also surfaced.
The state highways serving the town are NYS Routes
13, 38, 79, 366 and 392. By far the most important of
the highways, in terms of traffic volumes and
connections is NYS Rte. 13. The highway connects
Cortland with Dryden village, Ithaca and Elmira. It
roughly bisects the town from northeast to southwest.
NYS Rte. 366 is another key transportation link in the
town. It begins in Freeville and connects the village
and NYS Rte. 38 with major employment and retail
centers in Ithaca via Etna and Varna. Together with
Fall Creek Road between Freeville and McLean and
Cortland County Rte. 105 (a.k.a. McLean Road) the
highway also provides an alternative route between
Ithaca and Cortland for motorists who wish to avoid
congestion on NYS Rte. 13.
NYS Rte. 38 passes through the town from north to
south and passes through the villages of Freeville and
Dryden. To the north NYS Rte. 38 connects Dryden
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to Groton, Locke, Moravia and Auburn. To the south
it connects Dryden with Owego and NYS Rte 17/I-86.
NYS Rte. 79 passes through the southwestern corner
of the town. Its primary function is to connect Ithaca
with I-81 at Whitney Point and points south and east.
It does however serve as the primary link to Ithaca for
residents in that area of the town. According to N.Y.
State Department of Transportation data traffic
volumes on local state highways varies considerably.
As Table 1 illustrates, NYS Rte. 13 is the busiest
highway within the town, with an estimated average
volume of 15,200 vehicles per day in the stretch
between the NYS Rte. 366/Dryden Rd. and NYS Rte.
Table 2-5
Average Annual Daily Traffic Volumes AADT on
State Highways in the Town of Dryden
Highway Route No. Location
Year of Count Estimated Traffic Volume 13 between Warren Rd. and Hanshaw Road 2001 14,603
13 between Dryden Road (NYS Rte. 366) & Main St. (NYS Rte. 366) 2002 16,443
13 Main Street, Dryden village 2001 9,996
13 North Street, Dryden village 2001 12,543
13 NYS Rte. 38 to Cortland County line 2002 10,744
38 between Freeville and NYS Rte 34B/Peruville Road 2001 3,315
38 between Main Street, Freeville (NYS Rte. 366) and NYS Rte. 13, Dryden 2001 3,638
38 between intersection of Main Street (NYS Rte. 13) and Harford 2002 3,803
79 west of intersection with Brooktondale Road 2002 1,0072
79 Between Brooktondale Road and Midline Road, Slaterville Springs 1996 4,608
366 between Forest Home Drive, Varna and NYS Rte. 13 2001 7,914
366 Main Street, Freeville 2001 5,903
392 between Main Street, Dryden and Cortland County line 2002 1,176
Source: New York State Department of Transportation, 2002 Traffic Volume Report.
366/Main St. intersections. On North Street in Dryden
Village traffic on NYS Rte. 13 peaks again at
approximately 13,800 vehicles per day in the vicinity
of the NYS Rte. 38 intersection.
Both Dryden village and Varna experience substantial
amounts of traffic in their respective cores. Main
Street (NYS Rte. 13) carries an estimate average daily
volume of 10,500 vehicles. Dryden Road (NYS Rte.
366) through Varna carries an estimate average daily
volume of 9,800 vehicles. Main Street (NYS Rte. 366)
in Freeville also carries a substantial amount of daily
traffic, handling an estimated 5,800 vehicles per day
in the vicinity of the NYS Rte. 38 intersection.
Data showing the volume of truck traffic in the Town
of Dryden were released in August 2001 as part of a
study of freight transportation in Tompkins County by
the Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council.
Outside the City of Ithaca, NYS Rte. 13 through the
town carries the heaviest volume of truck traffic in
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Tompkins County.(Table 2-6)9 Despite the fact that it
is not a state highway, Fall Creek Road between
Freeville and McLean carried the fourth highest
amount of truck traffic in the county, outside the city.
The average volume of truck traffic on Fall Creek
Road was higher than the volume on NYS Rte. 13
southwest of Ithaca.
The study also included a survey of trucks to collect
origin and destination information on truck traffic.
Results of the survey indicate that only 6% of truck
traffic in Tompkins County qualifies as "through"
traffic -- truck traffic passing through the county
without stopping. Ninety-four percent of truck traffic
is either destined for a location within the county, or
has originated within Tompkins County.
Table 2-6
Average Daily Truck Traffic Volume in
the Town of Dryden
Route/Road
2-Way
Truck
Volume
Route 13 NE of Dryden 1,211
Route 38/13 through Village of Dryden 1,129
Route 13/366 Overlap E of NYSEG 1,145
Fall Creek Road NE of Freeville 591
Route 38 S of Dryden 285
Route 38 N of Freeville 276
Route 34B E of Route34 251
Route 392 E of Dryden 207
Ellis Hollow Road 184
Route 366 W of 13/366 Overlap 149
Source: Sear Brown
In addition to having the highest volume of truck
traffic outside the city, NYS Rte. 13 also carries a
substantially higher percentage of through truck
traffic. Some 15% of the truck traffic on that highway
is passing through the county without stopping. This
is due to the highway's function as a shortcut between
I-81 in Cortland and NYS Rte 17/I-86 in Elmira.
The relatively high levels of traffic through the
villages and hamlets of the town have both positive
and negative implications. Higher levels of traffic
make retail activities more sustainable economically.
As is typical in American land use and community
9 Sear-Brown. Tompkins County Freight Transportation
Study, Technical Memorandum # 3.(draft) August, 2001. Trucks
development patterns, however the respective
commercial cores of the villages and hamlets are
surrounded by and include residential development.
For these areas to remain sustainable as attractive
residential areas the impacts of heavier traffic volumes
must be mitigated.
Most of the County-level highways in the town can be
considered local collector roads that feed local traffic
to the state highways. Several of these highways
however can be categorized as connector roads
wherein a substantial proportion of the daily traffic is
through traffic. In addition to Fall Creek Road
mentioned above, Ellis Hollow Road and Peruville
Road have evolved or are evolving into important
connector roads. The resulting increases in traffic due
to the changing functions of these roads has in some
areas created adverse impacts to existing residential
developments along those roads.
Major issues that have been identified regarding roads
in the town include:
• increased traffic through Varna, Freeville
and Etna, and established residential areas
such as along Ellis Hollow Road;
• congestion on NYS Rte. 13;
• traffic exceeding the posted speed limits,
especially in the villages and hamlets, and
Ellis Hollow.
Public Transit
The town is served by the Tompkins Consolidated
Area Transit system, a.k.a. TCAT. Currently there are
five TCAT bus routes that serve town residents:
• Route 40. 4 outbound (from Ithaca) and 5
inbound (to Ithaca) trips per day between
Ithaca and Groton via Cornell University,
Cayuga Heights, Etna and Freeville;
• Route 41. 6 outbound and 4 inbound trips per
day between Ithaca and TC3 via Cornell
University, Cayuga Heights, Etna and
Freeville;
• Route 42. 2 outbound trips and 2 inbound
trips per day between Ithaca and McLean via
Varna, Etna and Freeville (2 Rte. 43 and 1
Rte. 40 outbound trips and 1 Rte. 40 inbound
trip extend to McLean as well);
• Route 43. 7 outbound trips and 7 inbound
trips per day between Ithaca and TC3 via
counted were those in FHWA Vehicle Classification 5 (min. 2
axles & 6 tires) or larger.
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
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Cornell University, Varna and Dryden
village;
• Route 52. 9 inbound trips and 9 outbound
trips per day between Ithaca and Newark
Valley via NYS Rte. 79.
Over the past two decades Tompkins County has
aggressively developed what is now one of the most
extensive rural transit systems in New York. As a
result the level of public transit service in the town is
well beyond that typically found in a rural
municipality. Nonetheless a key factor in the
continued existence of high levels of service is
increased ridership. For town residents to be able to
depend on the option of using public transit, future
growth and development patterns that make public
transit an attractive alternative must be encouraged.
Ithaca-Tompkins Regional Airport
The Ithaca-Tompkins Regional Airport is located in
the Town of Lansing just west of the town line. It
serves both commercial and general aviation aircraft.
Facilities include a 6,601-foot long paved runway, a
2,000-foot turf runway, air passenger terminal and
hangar facilities. The airport is home to Taughannock
Aviation, a charter aircraft and aircraft maintenance
and repair firm, as well as to the East Hill Flying Club.
In 2001 the airport handled slightly more than 53,800
take-off and landings, of which just under 40,000 were
by general aviation aircraft, approximately 13,600
were by commercial aircraft, and the remainder
military aircraft. More than 176,800 passengers
arrived or departed from the airport in 2001.
Although none of its facilities are located in the Town
of Dryden, the airport does influence land use in the
western portion of the town. The flight approach to
the main runway extends over three miles in a
southeasterly direction to the top of Mt. Pleasant. The
areas below this approach in the vicinity of the runway
are subject to certain restrictions, such as height and a
prohibition on places of public assembly. Moreover
aircraft noise reduces the desirability of the area for
residential development.
Public and Semi-Public
Infrastructure
Water and Sewer Service
There is a limited amount of municipal water and
sewer infrastructure in the town. (Map 2-6) In the
western part of the town there are five water benefit
districts that serve an area encompassing Varna and
Dryden Road eastward to NYS Rte. 13; northward to
include Freese Road and the southern portion of
Sapsucker Woods Road; and along Turkey Hill Road
south to Stevenson Road. Municipal water service
also extends eastward along NYS Rte. 13 to serve
NYSEG and northward along the highway to serve the
area along Hanshaw Road south of the highway.
Town sewer districts also provide municipal sewer
service to homes along Sapsucker Woods Road, Varna
hamlet and Dryden Road east to NYS Rte. 13, portions
of Mt. Pleasant Road and Turkey Hill Road.
Municipal sewer service is also available along the
sections of NYS Rte. 13 and Hanshaw Road served by
public water.
Altogether the above water and sewer service areas
provide municipal water and sewer to approximately
250 properties.
There is also municipal water available to
approximately 45 properties along Snyder Hill Road
adjacent to the town of Ithaca. Approximately 20
properties on the south side of the road, in the
Peregrine Hollow development, have access to
municipal sewer via the town of Ithaca system.
The Village of Dryden provides municipal water to
village residents and to a limited number of businesses
on North Street and Tompkins Cortland Community
College. The village also operates a sanitary sewer
system and wastewater treatment plant. It serves
village residents, and a Town sewer district that
encompasses land along NYS Rte 38 as far as the
Dryden High School, North Street to just beyond Mott
Road, and the Tompkins Cortland Community College
campus. Altogether there are just over 40 properties
served by this district.
The Village of Freeville maintains a municipal sewer
system and wastewater treatment plant that serves
village residents, and the George Junior Republic
campus east of the village.
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
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In New York a water supply or sewage treatment
system that serves five or more dwellings is classed as
a "public" system, regardless of ownership. In
addition to the municipally-owned systems, in the
Town there are 12 privately owned and operated
public water supply systems, and 9 sanitary sewer
systems. These systems serve a number of mobile
home parks and apartment complexes in the Town.
Two exceptions are the water supply and distribution
system for George Junior Republic, and the
approximately 80 homes on Yellow Barn Road,
Foothill Road, Spring Run Road, Corn Crib Road, Top
Forty Road and Thresher Place that are served by the
privately owned and operated Yellow Barn Water
System.
Table 2-7
Telecommunications Towers in the Town of Dryden
Location
Height
Owner
+/- 2,000 ft. north of Harford Rd, +/- 2,000 ft. west
of Schutt Rd.
+/- 243 ft. T&K Communications Systems, Inc.
+/- 700 ft. east of Beam Hill Rd. +/- 60 ft. Town of Dryden
1850 Dryden Road +/- 80 ft. New York State Police
south side Mt Pleasant Rd +/- 4,500 east of Baker
Hill Rd.
+/- 140 ft.
Tompkins County
+/- 3,000 ft, north of Mt. Pleasant Rd., +/- 2,500 ft.
west of Mineah Rd.
350 + ft.
Eagle Broadcasting
west side Whitted Rd. +/- 1,000 ft. south of Snyder
Hill Rd.
+/- 100 ft.
Time Warner
+/- 1,250 ft. north of Simms Rd., +/- 2,700 ft. east
of NYS Rte. 13
+/- 195 ft. Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems, In.
+/- 700 ft. east of Bradshaw Rd., +/- 5,500 ft. north
of NYS Rte. 392
+/- 190 ft. Ithaca Wireless Cellular Limited Partnership
west side of Walker Rd. +/- 800 ft. south of
Bradshaw Rd.
+/- 180 ft. Tompkins County
Telecommunications
Today within the limits of the town there are a total of
eight telecommunications towers. These structures
transmit and receive radio, television, cellular, paging,
personal telecommunications services or microwave
telecommunications. They range in height from
approximately 60 feet to over 350 feet. (Map 2-6)
These towers are critical to modern communications.
Nonetheless they can have substantial impacts on the
aesthetic quality of the community.
The Town of Dryden since 1998 has had in place a
Telecommunications Tower Siting Law adopted in
May of that year (Local Law #2 of 1998) Although
the Town cannot prohibit such towers in any zoning
district, it can regulate to a degree location and also
height and setback requirements for such facilities. It
can also require prospective applicants to demonstrate
that reasonable efforts have been made to co-locate
their proposed transmission/receiving equipment on
an existing tower.
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
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Map 2-6. Public & Semi-Public
Infrastructure
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
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Public Safety
Fire
Several volunteer fire departments provide fire
protection for town residents and businesses. Three of
the companies, Neptune Hose Company in Dryden,
Freeville Volunteer Fire Department, Etna Volunteer
Company and the Varna Fire Company are located
within the town. In addition volunteer companies in
South Lansing, McLean and Brooktondale provide fire
protection to small portions on the periphery of the
town. The volunteer fire companies are private not-
for-profit corporations that maintain their own
equipment and facilities, and provide services under
contract to the Town and the Village of Dryden and
Village of Freeville.
Table 2-8
Summary of Fire Department
Responses, Year 2002
Response Type Dryden Etna Freeville McLean Varna
Fire
37
14
22
21
12
Rescue
90
11
12
19
30
Emergency
Medical Call
898
125
136
102
118
Hazardous
Conditions
19
7
11
12
12
Gas or Smoke
Odor or
Condition
5
3
1
1
3
Service Call
81
9
11
13
13
Other
70
4
56
3
16
Total
1,200
173
249
171
204
Source: Tompkins County Fire/Disaster & EMS
Coordinator
The local volunteer fire companies are equipped with
up-to-date equipment housed in modern facilities.
They are dispatched through a centralized 911
dispatch system operated by Tompkins County. A
network of mutual aid agreements provides for back-
up support and when needed specialized equipment
from other fire departments should an incident require
resources above and beyond those of an individual
department.
In addition to providing fire and rescue services,
Neptune Hose Company also provides emergency
medical services to residents throughout the town of
Dryden, as well as to the town of Harford and portions
of the town of Virgil, through its not-for-profit Dryden
Ambulance, Inc. subsidiary. Altogether the
ambulance service responds to over 900 calls per year
from around its roughly 200 square mile service area.
A growing concern faced by the local volunteer fire
departments is the decreasing numbers of volunteers
available to respond to emergencies. One factor
behind this trend that has been identified is the
increase in the number of residents who commute to
employment locations outside the community, and
thus are no longer available to respond to calls while
at work. A second factor is the dramatic change in the
nature of fire fighting and emergency medical services
that has occurred over the past two decades. More
sophisticated response techniques, and recognition of
the dangers of hazardous materials that are many times
associated with fires and accidents, has substantially
increased the amount of training necessary to become
and remain a volunteer firefighter, and hence the time
commitment required of volunteer members. This has
decreased the pool of available volunteers.
Police
Police protection for town residents is provided by
three law enforcement agencies. The New York State
Police have a barracks facility on NYS Rte.13
approximately four miles west of Dryden village, and
provide public safety services throughout the town.
The Tompkins County Sheriff Department also patrols
throughout the town.
In addition to state and county-level law enforcement
agencies, the Village of Dryden has a professional
police force. This agency provides public safety
services to village residents. In addition it provides
police services to the Village of Freeville under
contract.
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
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Schools
Town of Dryden children are served primarily by the
Dryden Central School District and the Ithaca City
School District. A small number of town children who
live north and west of Freevile, along NYS Rte. 38 and
Peruville Road live within and are served by the
Groton Central School District.
The Ithaca City School District encompasses an area
in the southwestern corner of the town south of
Hanshaw Road and along NYS Rte.366 west of the
NYS Rte. 13/NYS Rte.366 intersection, the Ellis
Hollow and Snyder Hill areas, and the NYS
Rte.79/German Cross Road area. The Dryden Central
School District serves the remaining three-quarters of
the town, plus portions of the towns of Groton,
Cortlandville, Virgil, Harford and Caroline.
Within the Dryden School District, elementary school
age children attend school facilities located in Dryden,
Freeville and McLean. Middle- and high school
students are taught at the school district's main campus
on NYS Rte.38 northwest of the village of Dryden.
In addition to the public schools, the private George
Junior Republic Union Free School District serves the
educational needs of its resident population on a 650-
acre campus in and east of Freeville. The George
Junior Republic is a private, not for profit residential
treatment center licensed by the New York State
Office of Children and Family Services to provide
therapeutic and rehabilitative services to emotionally
disturbed adolescents. It is recognized by the State
Education Department as a junior/senior high school
authorized to issue credits/ units of study to students
who attend.
The George Junior Republic was established by
William R. George in 1895 on family property in
Freeville. It's distinctive self-governance structure,
economic system and work program were imitated by
schools in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and California.
Approximately 150 adolescent boys are currently
enrolled at George Junior Republic. The youth are
referred by probation or social services departments,
school districts and the Office of Children and Family
Services.
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
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PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
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Residents' Surveys
In 1990 and again in 1999 residents of the town were
offered the opportunity to participate in a survey to
solicit their input on various matters and issues they
face as town residents. Although the questions asked
might be different the two surveys are similar in that
they focus on planning and quality of life issues.
Some 4,849 surveys were mailed to residents in 1990
and 1,164 completed surveys were returned, for a
response rate of 24%. In 1999 some 6,000 surveys
were mailed to residents and 1853 were completed and
returned, for a response rate of 31%. As with all
mailed surveys, caution must be taken in the
interpretation of the results. Respondents to mailed
surveys do not generally form a representative sample
of the population being surveyed. Many times
recipients of such surveys do not respond because they
lack any strong opinions on the issues they are being
queried about, or they question the validity of the
survey itself and the motives behind its distribution.
Conversely individuals or groups of residents with
particularly strong opinions regarding specific town
policies or initiatives may respond more readily and in
higher percentages to a survey.
In both surveys the response rate by persons who
rented their dwelling was substantially lower than
their proportion of the total population. According to
the Census in 1990 some 30% of housing units in the
town were rented, while only 15% of survey
respondents identified themselves as renters.
According to the 2000 Census, some 32% of housing
units in the town are rented, while again only 15% of
survey respondents identified themselves as renters.
Both in 1990 and 1999 survey respondents were
predominantly homeowners who had lived in the town
of Dryden for more than 6years. In 1990 about 65%
of respondents said they had lived in the town for six
or more years, while in 1999 about 75% responded in
the same manner.
Although the two surveys posed the question
differently, just over half the respondents in both cases
indicated that they work outside the town of Dryden.
In 1990 5% of respondents identified themselves as
“self-employed,” while in 1999 6% worked in a “home
business.”
Both surveys posed several similar questions designed
to gauge respondents’ opinions on issues believed to
be important to the future of the town. The results of
both surveys show support for improved public transit,
more recreation facilities and preservation of the
town’s open space resources.
In 1990 68% of respondents indicated that improved
public transit was important or very important to them.
In 1999 the sentiment was slightly less widespread, but
not significantly so. Some 62% of respondents
indicated that improve public transit was important or
very important to them.
Support for improved access to public recreation
facilities was strong in both surveys. Facilities such as
playgrounds, hiking/walking/jogging trails, bikeways,
ballfields, tennis courts, swimming or fishing access
points were considered to be important or very
important by 63% of 1999 survey respondents.
Provision of “more recreation areas” was considered
important by 65% of respondents in 1990.
Support for open space preservation grew
considerably between the two surveys. In 1990 a
majority of respondents – 59% -- believed that open
space preservation was important or very important to
the future of the town. In the 1999 survey 86% of the
respondents indicated that open space preservation
was important or very important.
The 1999 survey appears to reflect another shift in
opinion on the questions of retail development and
industrial development in the town. In 1990 only 32%
of survey respondents believed that more retail
development was important or very important. In
1999 however 61% of respondents believed that the
town needs more retail businesses, specifically
grocery, restaurants and discount retail establishments.
Only 36% of respondents to the 1990 survey believed
that additional industrial development was important
or very important, while 53% of respondents in 1999
believed that the town needed more industrial
development.
The survey conducted in 1999 focused a number of
questions on growth and development and residents’
perceptions of the importance of open space protection
and how it might be accomplished.
Respondents appear to be comfortable with current
growth trends and the present expectation that the
town could add approximately 1,500 new residents
over the next two decades. At an average household
size of 2.43 persons (2000 Census), this would equate
to approximately 620 new dwelling being built.
Seventy-three percent of respondents supported
accommodating the current trend on population
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
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growth; 7% of respondents favored accelerated
growth; and 20% favored a slower growth rate.
Although no figures are available in the survey report,
from the map and bar chart depiction it appears that
slower growth sentiment is proportionately higher in
the Ellis Hollow/Ringwood Road area, Bethel Grove,
and the Dryden Lake/Beam Hill area. In these areas
30% to 35% of respondents appear to have supported
a slower growth scenario.
In response to the question regarding where future
growth should occur, the majority of responders – 53%
-- prefer that it occur in clustered locations or within
the existing villages and hamlets. Some 30% of
responders however believe that growth and
development should be encouraged anywhere in the
town and 8% recommended that it be encouraged in
rural areas.
Open space protection appears to be a priority with
survey respondents. Seventy-two percent believe that
the 8%-9% of the town’s land area that has some sort
of permanent protection (such as state forest lands,
privately held nature preserves) is not an adequate
amount, and that more land should be permanently
protected. The most desirable methods for protecting
additional open space resources chosen by respondents
were through acquisition of conservation
easements (24% of respondents) or Town acquisition
of land (22%).
Over 60% of the survey respondents believe the
streams and stream corridors require the most
protection. Some 50% indicated that wetlands, public
trail land and the Dryden Lake area warrant protection
as open space resources. Some 1,214 or 59% indicated
that they would be supportive of the Town utilizing
property tax revenues to fund open space protection
efforts.
The desires to accommodate anticipated growth and
protect the opens space assets identified by survey
respondents as being important to protect are not
necessarily contradictory. Permanent protection of
certain open space assets can also be achieved with
tools other than easement acquisition of public
ownership. Channeling much of the town’s future new
development into the villages and hamlets, as
recommended by a majority of respondents, could
protect large amounts of open space. Zoning densities
appropriate for the more environmentally sensitive
areas of the town, along with subdivision regulations
that encourage the use of cluster subdivision designs
can also be effective tools. In other places creative use
of cluster subdivision design has proven effective at
permanently preserving important open space assets
while providing needed housing and protecting private
sector investment.
In conclusion, the two residents’ surveys indicate an
acceptance on the part of respondents of continued
growth and development in the coming decades. At
the same time however there appears to be a strong
desire on the part of respondents that as the town does
grow, it does so in a manner that protects its rural
character, the viability of its villages and hamlets and
critical open space resources. Use of existing
infrastructure such as water and sewer systems should
be maximized, and extensions of such services have
little support among respondents. Both surveys show
support for improved public transit, more recreation
facilities and preservation of the town’s historic
resources.
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
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3. Goals & Objectives
Introduction
The basic principles of this comprehensive plan are
outlined in the following goals and objectives. In
comprehensive planning practice, goals are generally
defined as statements of a desired outcome, based on
values held by a community at large, and which may
not necessarily be attainable. Progress toward any
particular goal is also not generally quantifiable.
Objectives in contrast are intended to outline specific
desirous outcomes that are tangible, and for which
progress toward achieving can generally be measured
in some manner.
The overall goal of this comprehensive plan is to
promote the health, safety and general welfare of the
people of the town of Dryden. The avenue by which
this goal would be pursued is through fostering a
pattern of growth and development that would achieve
the following objectives:
• protect the quality of life of residents, and
provide opportunities for advancement in the
quality of life for residents;
• protect the unique natural assets of the town;
• make optimum use of existing and future
investments in public services and
infrastructure;
• minimize the cost of government to residents
and businesses;
• encourage intermunicipal cooperation and
communication in land use policies and the
provision of public services.
• protect current and future residents’
wellbeing by increasing climate change
resilience throughout our community through
strengthening infrastructure systems,
increasing the use of renewable energy,
reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and
reducing energy use through building and
renovating structures to be highly energy
efficient.
To further the above overall goal, the following goals
and objectives that address specific areas of land use,
quality of life for town residents, and the provision of
municipal services are set forth.
1. Generally
Goal
Preserve the rural and small town character of the
Town of Dryden, and the quality of life its residents
enjoy, as the town continues to grow in the coming
decades.
Objectives
Prepare a new Comprehensive Plan for the Town of
Dryden that recommends, among other actions:
1. Efforts to channel new residential,
commercial, industrial and other types of
development into existing villages and
hamlets and their immediate environs, or into
and around existing nodes of development
outside the villages and hamlets.
2. Efforts to ensure to the extent possible the
long-term viability of the town’s agricultural
community.
3. Efforts to protect to the extent possible the
important natural open space and scenic
resources of the town, including woodlands,
stream corridors, wetlands and steep slope
areas.
4. Efforts to protect and enhance the livability
of existing residential neighborhoods.
5. Efforts to ensure a safe and diversified
transportation system to serve the needs of all
town residents.
6. Efforts to provide for adequate and efficient
provision of necessary public facilities and
services.
7. Efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
and adapt to a changing climate.
2. Agriculture
Dryden has long been supportive of local agriculture,
as evidenced by the Town’s Right to Farm Law, and
zoning that has permitted agriculture in all districts.
This comprehensive plan will build on existing
strengths by taking the steps outlined below.
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
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Goal
Promote the long-term economic viability of the
agricultural community in the town, and preserve
agricultural land resources, without unduly infringing
on property rights.
Objectives
Adopt land use regulations which grant agriculture
primacy as a land use in areas zoned for agriculture,
and which recognize the nature of contemporary
agricultural enterprises in those areas of the town
designated for agricultural use in this comprehensive
plan. Agriculture and related enterprises will
continue to be permitted in other areas throughout the
town, but will have special rights in the areas where
primacy is granted.
Direct inappropriate intensity levels of residential
development away from productive agricultural areas
of the town to minimize loss of higher quality
agricultural lands, the unnecessary fragmentation of
agricultural land resources, and the potential for
conflicts between farm and non-farm residents. To
the extent possible, use non-regulatory methods to
achieve this objective.
Encourage investments in public infrastructure, such
as extensions of public water or sewer service, if,
when, and where such services become necessary for
agriculture related operations.
Permit commercial retail and service enterprises that
serve the needs of the agricultural community.
Promote the continued stewardship of the land
through agricultural practices that minimize soil
erosion, surface water runoff and water pollution.
Maintain a Town Agricultural Advisory Committee
that will review and make recommendations
regarding proposals for local ordinances that may
affect agricultural practices and lands.
Promote the use of existing programs to enhance the
viability of agriculture and to protect farmland, as
provided through the NYS Department of Agriculture
and Markets, the Tompkins County Soil and Water
Conservation District, and other governmental and
private non-profit organizations.
3. Commercial Development
Goal
Provide for a variety of options for town residents to
purchase goods and services at locations convenient to
home and work while preserving the rural and small-
town character of the town.
Objectives
Channel future commercial development into or in the
vicinity of existing downtown areas and other nodes of
retail and services activities.
Recognize Ithaca, Cortland and areas adjoining those
cities as the centers of regional commercial activity.
Allocate land resources for commercial development
on the basis of anticipated future town population and
attendant demand for retail and services.
Encourage new commercial development in villages
and hamlets through re-use of existing commercial
structures or through new in-fill development in their
traditional commercial centers.
Minimize the adverse impacts of commercial
development on adjacent residential areas.
Develop design standards to ensure safe, sustainable,
and attractive commercial development site designs,
including standards for traffic circulation, parking,
pedestrian facilities, buffer areas, landscaping, site
coverage, stormwater management, signage and
outdoor lighting design.
Review Town land development regulations to
identify opportunities for revisions that could assist in
mitigating some impacts of development by
minimizing the creation of impervious surfaces
through use of (for example) smaller parking lots,
shared driveways and reduced building setbacks.
4. Economic Development
Goal
Provide for a wide variety of employment options for
town residents.
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
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Objectives
Allow for continued development of light industrial,
warehousing, research and development and service
enterprises within and adjacent to existing industrial
and commercial areas of the town.
Develop design standards to ensure attractive
industrial and office park site designs, including
standards for traffic circulation, parking, pedestrian
facilities, buffer areas, landscaping, site coverage,
stormwater management, signage and outdoor lighting
design.
Ensure that areas designated for future light industrial
and office park developments are outside
environmentally sensitive areas such as mature
woodland, stream corridors, or wetland areas.
Ensure that adequate provisions for public water and
public sewer are available in areas designated for
industrial development.
Facilitate the development of state-of-the-art
telecommunications systems within the town to ensure
capacities and levels of service adequate to meet the
needs of residents and businesses.
Enact design and safety guidelines to ensure that the
development of future telecommunications facilities
be consistent with protection of community character
and the public health, safety and welfare
5. Housing and Residential
Development
Goal
Provide for a variety of energy efficient, affordable,
high-quality housing options for all town residents
Objectives
Protect the quality of life in existing residential
communities from the adverse impacts of
incompatible land uses and increased traffic.
Provide for the construction and placement of different
types and styles of housing, and different densities, to
serve the needs of different populations in the town.
Channel residential development toward areas where
public infrastructure such as water and sewer service,
park facilities and public transit exist or are planned in
future years.
Encourage where appropriate new residential
development within existing villages and hamlets.
Ensure that allowed residential development densities
take into account environmental constraints such as
slope, soils, vegetation and water resources.
Encourage where appropriate the use of cluster
subdivision design approaches for new residential
development to protect open space and other natural or
scenic resources.
Review Town land development regulations to
identify opportunities for revisions that could assist in
mitigating some impacts of development by
minimizing the creation of impervious surfaces
through use of (for example) narrower roads, shared
driveways and reduced building setbacks
Discourage creation of new residential lots with access
available only off major highways and collector roads.
Discourage development that leads to excessive noise
or light pollution in residential areas of the town .
Minimize conflicts between established and future
residential areas and established and future
commercial or industrial areas.
Maintain an active search for funding to encourage
existing homeowners and new developers to convert
to renewable energy sources and improve building
energy use to reduce energy consumption and
greenhouse gas emissions.
6. Open Space and Environmental
Protection
Goal
Preserve the natural open space resources,
environmentally sensitive areas and unique flora and
fauna of the town as it develops in the coming decade.
Objectives
Identify and map the significant environmental and
open space resources of the town and channel future
incompatible development away from such areas.
PB Energy Subcommittee Comp Plan Suggested Updates – last modified 14 January 2019
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
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Encourage the use of creative development concepts
such as cluster subdivision to protect sensitive
environmental resources on a site.
Encourage development that promotes conservation of
energy and water resources, minimizes greenhouse gas
emissions, and minimizes where possible adverse
impacts such as loss of agricultural and forest lands,
soil erosion and sedimentation, and stormwater run-
off.
Support private land trusts and similar organizations in
their efforts to protect significant open space and
environmental resources within the town.
Protect stream corridors, wetlands and other water
bodies from inappropriate levels of development.
Protect the functional capabilities of floodplains by
channeling development away from such areas.
Establish standards for stormwater runoff from new
development to decrease pollution from streets and
parking lots.
Identify and implement measures to protect key
viewsheds within the town.
8. Parks and Recreation
Goal
Develop a system of park and recreational facilities
designed to serve the variety of recreational needs of
town residents in a cost effective manner, and located
as to provide easy access from major town population
centers.
Objectives
Coordinate the development of town parks with
adjacent municipalities, schools, town community
associations, and local civic clubs to ensure optimum
use of public and private investment in park and
recreation facilities close to where residents live.
Identify and acquire locations close to existing and
future residential neighborhoods that are suitable in
terms of size and topography for park and recreation
facilities.
Use existing authority under State statutes to acquire
wherever appropriate park land through dedication by
the developer, or cash payment in lieu of land.
Ensure that town parks provide adequate recreational
facilities to serve the variety of athletics and other
recreational activities town residents engage in.
Incorporate natural features such as woodland,
meadows and stream corridors into town parks for the
purpose of preserving such natural assets and ensuring
their continued enjoyment by the public.
Create a system of bicycle/pedestrian paths that will
integrate existing and future park and recreation
facilities with residential and commercial areas.
Ensure, to the extent practicable, access to town parks
by persons with varying mobility capabilities through
compliance with the requirements of the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990 and its successors.
8. Public and Semi-Public Facilities
Goals
Develop and maintain public facilities such as water,
sewer and road infrastructure in an efficient and cost
effective manner.
Improve and enhance the electronic infrastructure
within the town.
Objectives
Maximize the use of existing public water and sewer
infrastructure by channeling future growth and
development toward areas of the town where public
facilities and services are available or easily
accessible.
Allow the extension of public water and sewer services
into areas not designated for more intensive
development where required for the protection of
public health and safety.
Evaluate future expansions of public water and sewer
infrastructure based on cost and the need to protect
environmental resources.
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Utilize future expansions of public water and sewer
infrastructure to encourage development in areas
identified as being best suited for growth.
Ensure a continuous and systematic program of
monitoring, maintenance and upgrading of existing
water and sewer facilities to maximize their efficiency
and life span.
Continue to work cooperatively with other
municipalities to minimize the cost of public water and
sewer services and to maximize the efficiency of such
systems.
Wherever appropriate, promote the efficient use of
frontage on existing and future roads in the town in
order to minimize the amount of such infrastructure
and associated maintenance costs.
Facilitate the development of state-of-the-art
telecommunications systems within the town to ensure
capacities and levels of service adequate to meet the
needs of residents and businesses.
9. Public Safety
Goal
Ensure the provision of a comprehensive system of
fire, police and emergency services and
communications to protect life and property
throughout the town.
Objectives
Channel future growth and development toward areas
of the town where fire, police and emergency services
are available or easily accessible.
Promote the continued recruitment and retention of
volunteers by local volunteer fire and emergency
services organizations.
Continue to work cooperatively with Tompkins
County and other municipalities to enhance the
provision of fire police and emergency services and to
minimize the cost of such services to the public.
Implement the recommendations of the Hazard
Mitigation Plan adopted in 1999, including proposed
infrastructure improvements, awareness education,
and training and equipment for local public safety and
public works staff.
Work cooperatively with police and other emergency
services organizations to ensure an effective program
of public education and awareness of hazards to life
and property, and appropriate action in case of public
emergency
10. Transportation
Goal
Provide for a safe, efficient and diversified
transportation system to serve the needs of all town
residents.
Objectives
Ensure land use and growth management policies that
promote efficient use of existing streets, roads and
highways.
Provide for a network of streets, roads and highways
that have adequate capacity to accommodate traffic
without congestion.
Wherever feasible channel excessive vehicular traffic
around established neighborhoods.
Work with the State and Tompkins County to initiate
steps that will channel truck traffic away from
residential areas of the town and off minor highways
within the town.
Develop and implement tools to control access to and
from major highways within the town to limit
congestion along those routes and limit the need to
upgrade such facilities in the future.
Wherever feasible provide for a network of bicycle
and pedestrian paths that interconnect residential
neighborhoods, commercial centers, schools, parks
and places of employment.
Provide for residential streets that are designed,
constructed and maintained in a manner that protects
the livability of neighborhoods, and ensures the safety
of local residents.
Identify and provide for a network of existing and
future collector roads, and standards for development
along such roads to ensure the safety and efficiency of
said roads, and the protection of adjacent development
from the impacts of anticipated traffic.
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Wherever feasible encourage the increased use of
existing or new public transit services as an alternative
to individual automobiles.
Work with the Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit
to expand public transit routes within the town and to
develop a network of bus stops, park and ride
facilities and other facilities that will attract increased
use of public transit.
Where population densities warrant, develop a
system of sidewalks and off-street walkways to serve
existing and future residential neighborhoods.
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4. Plan Synthesis
Introduction
The overall goal of this plan is to balance a
community-wide desire for preserving the existing
character of the town along with and its open space
resources, and address the challenge of a rapidly
changing climate with the accommodation of
anticipated growth and development, including
residential, commercial and industrial development.
Striking such a balance is attainable. However to
achieve the balance a number of issues must be
addressed in the plan.
Energy, Emissions, and
Efficiency
In the years since the adoption of the Plan, the issues
of climate change and its mitigation have become
crucial to the promoting the health, safety, and welfare
of the community. Cornell University in collaboration
with the Northeast Region Climate Center have
released data documenting the dangers and negative,
local effects of climate change10. In March of 2014, an
analysis of this Comprehensive Plan commissioned by
the Town Board found that the weakest element in this
Plan was in an area the authors labeled “Climate and
Energy11.”
In 2016, the Tompkins County Legislature adopted a
goal of reducing community greenhouse gas emissions
by 80% from 2008 levels by 2050 and described
methods for emissions calculations. In the same year,
the Town Board in stated, “Climate change poses a
real and increasing threat to our local and global
environments and is primarily due to the burning of
fossil fuels”; “our response provides an unprecedented
opportunity to save money, build a livable, energy
independent and secure community...”; and “we
believe the scale of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
10 CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE COUNTY LEVEL,
Cornell Small Farms Program, October 31, 2018,
https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2018/10/31/climate-change-on-the-
county-level/
reductions required ... will require sustained and
substantial efforts12.”
Since 2008, a rejuvenated economy and the
attractiveness of the Tompkins County as a place to
live—especially in the areas near Cornell and the City
of Ithaca have created unprecedented pressure for
residential development with its attendant demands for
facilities and services.
All these factors necessitate amending this Plan to
create a basis for updating our laws, regulations, and
practices to address these new challenges. At a
minimum areas to be addressed in these revisions
should include energy use, emissions, and efficiency
of structures.
Population
Although the population growth of the town between
1990 and 2000 was relatively small at 281 persons, the
average growth per decade since 1960 has been about
1,540 persons. While the town's population has
grown, however, the average size of households has
shrunk. According to the Decennial Census of
Population and Housing, the average size of a
household in the Town of Dryden was 2.43 persons in
2000, a decrease in size from 2.47 in 1990. This trend
in the declining size of households dates from the
1960s, when the average household size in the town
was 3.39 persons.
This decline in the average size of household has
implications for land use policies of the future.
Simplistically put, in 2000 it took about 1,575 more
new dwellings to accommodate the town's residents, at
an average household size of 2.43 persons per
household, than it would have had average household
11 Town of Dryden – Comprehensive plan
Sustainability Assessment, Findings from Matrix Analysis – March
24, 2014. Report is on file with the Dryden Town Clerk.
12 Town Board Resolution #137 (2106) Adopt Climate
Smart Communities Pledge, Town Board Meeting Minutes 2016-
08-18, Pages 7-8.
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size remained at the 1960 level of 3.39 persons per
household. Between 1990 and 2000, the town actually
experienced a growth in the total number of new
dwellings 419, which equates to 50% more new
dwellings than new persons.
No data exists on how much additional land has been
needed to accommodate the additional dwellings
needed due to reduced household size. While it's
known that in 2001 some 3,150 acres of land, or about
5.2 percent of the total land area in the town (outside
the villages) was devoted to residential development,
no data on the amount of land devoted to residential
development in the town in 1960 exists. According to
building permit data, however, since 1984 single-
family homes have accounted for 94% of all new
dwellings built outside the villages. Hence it is safe to
assume that, on a per capita basis, substantially more
land is being consumed for residential development
today than has been in previous decades.
The net gain in the number of dwellings in the Town
of Dryden between 1960 and 2000 was 3,615, or an
average of 904 more dwellings per decade.
Current zoning densities and regulations governing the
provision of on-lot sewerage systems that allow a
maximum net number13 of between 1 and
approximately 1.3 dwellings per acre for single-family
homes. By applying the average per decade growth
rate of 904 dwellings per decade to these densities, the
Town of Dryden can expect that somewhere between
1,390 and 1,810 acres will be developed over the next
two decades. This is if the traditional reliance on the
single-family detached home as the housing of choice
for town residents continues. This would represent an
increase of between 44 and 57 percent in the amount
of land within the town dedicated to residential
development.
The community can accommodate the level of
population growth that it has experienced over the past
four decades, and at the same time further the stated
goals to maintain its rural character, protect its
agricultural and other open space resources, as well as
ensure the efficient delivery of public services. Rather
than accepting the status quo, represented by the above
projected need for new land for residential
development, the Town of Dryden should strive to
reduce this projected need by 50 percent, or to between
695 and 905 acres of new lands. To meet this goal will
require the development of zoning tools and
13 The net number of dwellings factors in the
amount of land typically needed for streets and other
infrastructure.
infrastructure that allows for a higher number of
dwellings per acre than has been traditionally possible.
A population trend that is also likely to influence
patterns of residential development is the aging of the
town’s population as average life span increases. This
is likely to translate into demand for a broader
selection of housing options, smaller dwelling units
and alternatives to the single-family detached homes.
This demand for housing can be met in a number of
ways: construction of smaller owner-occupied
housing, including single-family and attached housing
(townhomes, condominiums); rental housing; and
elder cottage (ECHO) housing.
Another type of housing for which demand may
increase is the "life care" facility. Life care facilities
may offer features or amenities such as individual
dwellings or cottages, congregate apartments where
residents may share common meals, nursing home
facilities, laundry services, common recreational
facilities, and other personal services for residents.
Kendal at Ithaca and the Longview facility operated by
Ithacare are two such facilities that have been built in
Tompkins County in the past decade. The Town of
Dryden in its planning for the future should ensure that
its zoning regulations accommodate such facilities,
and that necessary public infrastructure, including
public safety resources, are available. In taking such
a step it will help ensure that a variety of housing
options will be available to residents of all ages, and
reduce demand for land resources for residential
purposes.
Land Use
Critical issues in land use planning for the future of the
Town of Dryden include:
§ the extent and locations of new residential
commercial and industrial development;
§ balancing such development with the expressed
desires of residents to preserve the rural and
small-town character of the community;
§ preserving and enhancing the villages and hamlets
within the town;
§ protecting its agricultural and other open space
resources;
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§ provide for appropriate levels of residential,
commercial and economic development.
Hand in hand with these desires is the demand that the
Town of Dryden provide municipal services at the
lowest possible cost. Residents through surveys in
particular have expressed concerns regarding the
potential high cost of providing public water and
sewerage services. The ability of the Town to provide
such services is also governed by limits on debt and
other parameters for financing infrastructure
improvements set by the Office of State Comptroller
in Albany. The provision of these services at the same
time is critical to the Town’s ability to encourage
denser levels of development in its efforts to avoid
sprawl.
Residential growth over past 15 years has been
occurring in areas that are less than ideal in light of the
goals and objectives outlined in Chapter 3. (Map 2-5)
This growth has also been contrary to perceived desire
of residents to preserve rural character and open space
resources.
Commercial development, too, has been occurring in
scattered fashion throughout the town, due in part to
zoning regulations that allow commercial
development within many residential areas by special
permit. Specifically, within the R-B1, R-C residential
districts, retail establishments such as grocery stores,
restaurants, gasoline sales, auto repair or motels are
among relatively high intensity uses that are allowed
by special permit. In the R-D residential zoning
district even more intense uses, such as light industry,
wholesale storage and warehouse facilities and
shopping centers, are allowed by special permit.
Such uses when allowed in discrete locations within a
community, (e.g. along North Street) and with
adequate buffers between such uses and residential
areas, have relatively little adverse impact. When
permitted in or in close proximity to established
residential neighborhoods, however, they can result in
adverse impacts on nearby residential or other non-
commercial development. In recent years there have
been a number of occasions where such uses have been
the source of problems and concerns to residential
neighborhoods.
In the new comprehensive plan accommodations must
be made to allow commercial and industrial
development within the town, but in a manner that
minimizes the impacts on existing and future
residential neighborhoods, and the overall character of
the community.
The villages and hamlets of the town represent both
challenge and opportunity. A majority of survey
respondents indicated a desire to cluster future
development in the town within or near existing
villages and in close proximity to the hamlets. In Etna
and Varna, and somewhat in Freeville, however, there
is evidence of disinvestment in both commercial and
housing stock. There are a number of factors involved,
including the changed nature of retail sales and
competition from newer retail sales establishment that
have been permitted to build outside these traditional
population centers. There is thus a need to encourage
more investment within the tradition village and
hamlet cores on the part of the Town of Dryden. A
key mechanism for accomplishing this would be better
coordination of village and town zoning regulations
related to commercial development.
Factors such as increased traffic, the widening of the
highways through the hamlets, and speed limits that
are set too high by the State are perceived problems in
the hamlets of Etna and Varna. In Varna the lack of
maintenance of rental properties owned by absentee
landlords is resulting in the appearance of blight and,
as elsewhere in the town, there have been adverse
impacts from incompatible commercial development
that has been allowed by special permit adjacent to
residential uses.
The longstanding application of the R-B, R-B1, R-C
and R-D zoning regulations more appropriate for
newer suburban areas to both Varna and Etna also does
not reflect the nature of hamlets and the dynamics of
land use within hamlets. The Town can aid in
stimulating new development, re-investment in and
revitalization of these hamlets by developing new
zoning tools that better reflects their character. Etna
and Varna can in the future act as magnets for new
residential development, at densities higher than
elsewhere within the town. This in turn can reduce the
demand for development land elsewhere in the town,
and further the goals of protecting valued open space
assets, and the town's rural character.
Both Dryden and Freeville have some potential to
accommodate future residential development within
their respective boundaries. The U.S. Bureau of the
Census includes their residents, and housing stock, as
part of the overall town population and housing stock.
Thus any future population growth, and development
of new housing within village limits will contribute to
filling the townwide need for new dwellings projected
above, while reducing the demand for development
land elsewhere in the town.
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Agriculture is valued by town residents for its
historical importance and its contribution to the scenic
and rural character of the town. Support for the
protection of agricultural land appears to be strong.
Current town land use policies however do not reflect
this. Although agricultural land uses are allowed
throughout the town, under current zoning the
agricultural sector and the land that it depends on for
its long-term economic viability is not adequately
protected. Farmers in Dryden must compete for land
with sometimes more lucrative permitted uses such as
residential, commercial and industrial development
It is desirous to protect important agricultural lands in the
town from inappropriate development, but it is just as
important to provide the town’s farm community with
options in land use that will enhance the economic
viability of their farms and ensure their long-term
existence. Contemporary agricultural operations many
times require supplemental sources of income in order to
remain economically viable. Many communities have
responded with the concept of "agriculture-related
commercial enterprises." These are businesses that are
subordinate to and compatible with the principal
agricultural use of the land. Examples include support
businesses such as grain, seed, fertilizer, farm equipment
or farm building suppliers, the processing of agricultural
products, as well as bed and breakfast inns.
Other businesses that may be appropriate include small-
scale manufacturing or service enterprises, not
necessarily related to agriculture, but which are owned
and operated by the property owner. Such enterprises ,
referred to sometimes as "cottage industries," could be a
useful means by which older barns and other farm
buildings could be preserved through adaptive reuse.
Such enterprises could include small construction
companies that require space for shops and storage of
equipment. Standards that govern the size and type of
such businesses must established, however, to ensure
that they are in keeping with the rural character of the
area.
Similar standards and criteria for approval should also be
established for bed and breakfast businesses in rural
areas. While such businesses are generally in character
with the surrounding area, limits on size and
requirements for parking and other site improvements
must be explicit to ensure adequate protection of
community character and public welfare.
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Open Space & Environmental
Resources
A number of environmental factors pose limits on the
desirability or feasibility of allowing intensive
development in many areas of the town. These include
floodplain areas, wetlands, prime agricultural soils and
steeper slopes.
As Map 4-1 shows, there are substantial areas along
Fall Creek, Virgil Creek, Cascadilla Creek and
Owasco Inlet located within 100-year floodplains.
Smaller floodplains also exist along Six Mile Creek.
In addition to the obvious benefit of reducing property
damage due to flooding, channeling future
development away from these areas will protect,
among other beneficial functions of floodplains, their
groundwater recharge functions and habitat and
wildlife corridor functions.
Intensive development of wetlands areas should also
be avoided. As Map 2-4 shows, approximately 3,360
acres of wetlands have been identified along the major
stream corridors, as well as in the northwest quadrant
of the town. Some 13,670 acres in the town are
covered by hydric soils (Map 4-1). These are soils that
are naturally saturated with water during at least part
of the year, and are a key indicator of the potential
presence of a wetland as defined under federal and
state law. Comparison of Map 2-4 and Map 4-1 shows
considerable overlap between areas identified as
wetland and areas covered by hydric soils. At the
same time, however, the amount of land covered with
hydric soils in the town indicates that many wetland
areas may be unidentified and unmapped.
Where possible intensive development should be
directed away from areas where wetlands and hydric
soils are present. From a practical standpoint the
higher levels of groundwater that many times exist in
such areas can add to the cost of construction for new
homes, streets and other infrastructure. The long term
maintenance costs of such investments can also be
high. As with floodplains, wetland areas should also
be protected because of their natural benefits such as
groundwater recharge and water purification
capacities.
Steep slope areas should also be avoided wherever
feasible when allocating land for future growth.
Development of steep slope areas can entail both
14 George R. Frantz & Associates, American Farmland
Trust, Thomas L. Daniels, PhD. Tompkins County Agricultural
higher costs to construct improvements (e.g. added
earthmoving costs, costs associated with shallow
depth to bedrock) and higher maintenance costs once
improvements are completed. The environmental
costs can be higher also, as the potential for soil
erosion and landslides increases on steep slopes. Also,
because many of the areas in the town that have steep
slopes are also wooded, development can adversely
impact the habitat function of woodland.
Finally, the prime agricultural soils that are being
actively cultivated, especially in the upper reaches of
Fall Creek, Virgil Creek, the headwaters of Six Mile
Creek and atop Mt. Pleasant, warrant protection from
inappropriate levels of development. These soils
sustain a key economic sector of the town and
contribute greatly to the natural scenic beauty of the
town and its rural character.
Although there may be strong support for the
preservation of important open space assets, the
limited fiscal resources of the town mean that it will
likely have to rely on growth management regulations
and outside agencies to protect many of its important
open space resources. Approaches such as purchase
of development rights have proven effective ways to
permanently protecting valued open space assets in a
fair and equitable manner. Purchase of development
rights is however a relatively costly approach, with
cost estimates for preserving lands in Tompkins
County running between $500 and $1,000 per acre14.
Historic Resources
The historic resources of the town are an integral part
of its character and contribute to the attractiveness of
its communities. Collectively and individually
however these resources face a number of threats. Not
the least of these is their age, and the continuous need
for vigilance and maintenance on the part of owners.
Obsolescence also contributes to the decline and,
ultimately, deterioration and disappearance of historic
structures from the landscape. Finally, the lack of
knowledge of a structure's significance can result in
well-intentioned renovations or alterations that
irreparably damage the historic integrity of a structure.
Lands & Natural Areas Preservation Feasibility Study. January
2002.
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Map 4-1. Development
Constraints
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
A complete inventory of its historic and architectural
resources is the first step any community should take
to protect those resources. The last time such an
inventory was completed in the town of Dryden was in
mid-1977, almost 25 years ago. The data in this
inventory needs to be updated. Some structures are
likely to have succumbed to the elements, the
wreaking ball or fire. At the same time, however, a
number of structures built between 1927 and 1952,
structures that were ineligible for consideration during
the 1977 inventory, may now qualify as historically or
architecturally significant. Steps taken to identify
these structures now can ensure that they will be
maintained and have an increased chance of surviving
into the next century, and continue to contribute to the
historic fabric of the town.
It is important also that the Town of Dryden take steps
to identify and protect Native American sites and
cultural artifacts within its boundaries. This is a more
difficult task, as the archaeological record of Native
American presence in the town is sketchy.
The State Historic Preservation Office, however, can
be a useful resource in any initiative. The State
Environmental Quality Review process includes
questions regarding the potential presence of
historical and cultural resources as part of the short-
and full environmental assessment form. Positive
response to these questions provide the Town with
the rationale it needs to require further investigation
of potential archaeological site before a development
proposal is approved
Recreational Resources
The Town of Dryden in the past has relied primarily
on community organizations and the schools to
provide park and recreation facilities. This
arrangement has worked well in the past, however it
has resulted in some gaps in the availability of some
recreational facilities, especially the more expensive
facilities needed to host sanctioned team sports such
as lacrosse, soccer and baseball. As the town
continues to grow a more comprehensive approach to
providing park and recreation facilities will be
necessary. Such approach will serve to provide
facilities that are adequate to serve the town’s
population, in a cost effective manner.
The level of investment necessary to develop a future
Town maintained park system could be substantial.
For example, according to National Recreation and
Park Association standards by the year 2022, Dryden
should ideally have up to 166 acres of public park and
open space lands, up to 2 soccer fields and 3 baseball
or softball fields, among other park and recreational
facilities. Currently there is one field large enough to
accommodate a regulation size soccer field, at the park
off Groton Avenue in Freeville.
Both the Dryden Central School District and Ithaca
City School District have extensive sports fields that
are utilized to some extent by the community. The use
of these fields by non-school groups however is
limited, and subordinate to their availability for school
district athletic programs. Reliance on these facilities
can thus put substantial constraints on the ability of
youth and adult recreation programs in the town.
Recreational programs, and their support facilities,
must also be designed to accommodate the needs and
interests of all age groups within a community.
Opportunities for active recreational pursuits can be
just as important to older residents as they are to youth
in the community. It is thus important that the Town
of Dryden approach the provision of park and
recreational development in a holistic manner that
accommodates the needs of all town residents.
Such a holistic approach would include provisions for
informal leisure activities such as walking, picnicking,
hiking, biking and other individual or group
experiences. To accommodate these activities, a
future Town park system should include areas that are
less organized or developed, or left in a naturalistic
state. Park users could then create their own
experiences within these areas. Bicycle and pedestrian
trails are also key elements in any contemporary park
system. They can serve as recreational walking paths,
jogging paths, and bikeways. They can also serve a
purpose beyond strictly recreational, by connecting
future parks to nearby communities and
neighborhoods and providing an alternative
transportation mode to the automobile.
The development of a future park system for the town
will not necessarily be an expensive proposition for
taxpayers. State law for instance allows the Town to
require dedication of land for public park and open
space purposes from private sector developers as part
of any new residential development project, or funding
for such facilities in lieu of land. To date the Town
has not taken advantage of this provision, but in the
future there will be a number of such opportunities to
do so.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Moreover, town residents and community associations
have a longstanding tradition of fundraising and park
construction projects that utilize community
volunteers. This tradition should be continued and
applied in the development of a future public park
system. While community associations have played a
significant role in building and providing recreational
facilities, their performance has been uneven. In
general the fortunes and ability of the individual
associations has varied from year to year, as has their
capacity to provide labor and materials for capital
improvements or ongoing park maintenance.
Transportation
Roads
Traffic volumes, traffic congestion and excessive
speed are of increasing concern in a number of areas
of the town. In most cases, because the roads that are
the focus of concern are either state or county
highways, the Town of Dryden has no direct control
over the situation, or the solution. There are
nonetheless steps that the Town can take that can
ameliorate at least somewhat the adverse impacts of
traffic on its major roadways.
Of particular concern is traffic congestion along NYS
Rte 13 between its intersection with NYS Rte. 366 and
Dryden village. One of the prime determinants of how
well traffic on a highway flows is the number of access
points, or curb cuts, to and from the highway. Traffic
flows more smoothly when there are few curb cuts and
hence fewer potential conflicts between moving traffic
and traffic that is pulling onto the road, slowing down
to turn, or stopped to make, for instance a left hand
turn.
NYS Rte. 13 is classed as a controlled access highway
from its intersection with NYS Rte. 366 and Hall Road
westward to Warren Road. As a result there are no
curb cuts along the highway, only intersections with
other public roads. East of the intersection, adjoining
properties with frontage on the road have access
directly onto the highway.
Although it has no direct control over the issuance of
curb cut permits on NYS Rte. 13 or other highways,
the Town of Dryden through its land use policies and
growth management regulations can still exert some
control over the number of curb cuts. The primary tool
is by controlling the intensity of development along
the highways. A second tool, applicable during the
review of residential subdivisions, is limiting access
from new developments to intersections with a
minimum number of streets. Thirdly, the Town can
adopt specific design standards for driveway entrances
to commercial and industrial development that would
govern width, distance between curb cuts and use of
joint access points. These standards would be
enforced through the site plan approval process.
It is important that the Town of Dryden strive to limit
congestion caused by new development in the coming
decades, especially on NYS Rte. 13. Local drivers are
already seeking alternative routes through the town,
such as NYS Rte. 366 and County highways such as
Etna Road. By utilizing to the extent possible the land
use controls that it possesses, the Town of Dryden can
limit congestion on NYS Rte. 13 and other major
highways, and ensure that they continue to attract the
bulk of traffic.
By encouraging more compact development in
discrete nodes around existing population centers, the
Town can limit the proliferation of curb cuts along
major highways and reduce the amount of traffic using
those highways. With denser development, the
provision of public transit becomes more efficient, and
more convenient for the user. Carpooling, bicycling
and other alternatives to the single-occupant
automobile become more attractive. At least a few
residents would be within walking distance of work.
While there is an expressed desire by town residents to
cluster future development in the existing villages and
hamlets, traffic volumes and speed on the highways
that pass through some of these places is adversely
impacting the quality of life and their desirability. The
primary problem, in many cases, is that the residential
development in these locations predates the age of the
automobile. The architecture of the dwellings is not
designed to shield the occupants from the noise and
other impacts of traffic. Zoning too, discourages the
type of compact development that could create denser
communities which in turn force reductions in speed
limits. New zoning for the hamlets of the town is
needed to encourage reinvestment in them, and their
redevelopment into more traffic resistant
communities.
Truck traffic has been identified as a major concern by
residents in several areas of the town. Both Dryden and
Freeville villages are located astride two of the
heaviest traveled truck routes in Tompkins County.
NYS Route 13/North Street corridor in Dryden village
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
carried the third highest volume of truck traffic in the
county outside Ithaca city proper in a survey
conducted in 2001. Fall Creek Road between Freeville
and Cortland carried the fourth highest amount of
truck traffic.
Because both of these roadways are state or county
highways, there is little in terms of direct action the
Town of Dryden can do to limit the volume of truck
traffic or to mitigate the impacts of truck traffic.
Geography also works against the local communities,
as the Town of Dryden is located between two of the
major regional generators of truck traffic: I-81 in
Cortland and Ithaca. Moreover, no feasible alternative
routes for truck traffic have been identified to date.
The Town of Dryden, however, can take some steps to
reduce the impacts of truck traffic on future
development along the major highway truck corridors.
Requiring additional setbacks, from the right-of-way
line along major highways, particularly for residential
development, would provide additional buffering
between homes and truck traffic. Also limiting the
number of curb-cuts along major routes would help
reduce highway congestion and one of the major
impacts of truck traffic: the added noise created by
trucks braking to a stop, and the added noise generated
by trucks accelerating from a stop.
The Town of Dryden can and should continuously
lobby for enforcement of speed limits and truck safety
regulations.
Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities
Nationally and on the local level, there is growing
interest in the bicycle and in walking for recreational
use and as a mode of transportation. Across the
country moderate daily physical activity, such as
bicycling or walking, is recognized as an important
component of a healthy lifestyle. One result is
demand for increased opportunities for community
residents to walk and bicycle safely, easily, and
conveniently. The Jim Schug Trail from West
Main Street to Dryden Lake is a local example of
the utility and popularity of such facilities.
As is the case in many communities, the Town of
Dryden has relatively limited facilities to
accommodate and encourage increased walking
and bicycling, either as a recreational pursuit or
as an alternative to the automobile. Outside the
villages and hamlets there are few opportunities
for such activities except along the shoulders of
roads. Although several roads and highways in
the town do have wide shoulders in good
condition, high traffic and speed limits reduce the
safety and attractiveness of these road for the
average bicyclist or pedestrian.
Infrastructure, however, is but one facet of the
issue. Land use planning, public facilities location
decisions and public safety are also important
factors in the utility and success of bicycle and
pedestrian path networks. For bicycling and
walking to be attractive transportation options
places of work, school, goods and services must
be located relatively close to home.
In terms of overall land use policies, this means
that the major proportion of future growth and
development must be channeled toward existing
centers of population. Residential development,
commercial development and business and
industrial nodes need to be clustered in discreet
centers where distances between different
activities are relatively small.
Although there are some low-volume streets and
roads in the town that can safely accommodate a
mix of auto, bicycle and pedestrian traffic, these
tend to be concentrated in and around the
villages and hamlets. For many residents traffic
and speed preclude any level of comfort walking
or biking along a roadway.
In many cases improvements to streets and roads to
accommodate bicycle and pedestrian traffic are not
feasible due to cost or terrain.
Historical development patterns within the town
provide the opportunity for the Town of Dryden to
develop an efficient network of bicycle and pedestrian
paths. Four of the primary centers of population,
Dryden, Freeville, Etna and Varna were at one time
linked by railroad. Substantial portions of the former
railroad roadbed remain intact. These portions can be
converted with relative ease to a bicycle pedestrian
path. Several sections of the former railroad roadbed
have been removed or built upon since abandonment,
however these sections can either be rebuilt or a viable
alternative route for the path can be constructed.
Integrating a bicycle and pedestrian path program with
land use planning can produce an additional benefit.
The town of Dryden can exploit its ability under NYS
Town Law to in some cases require developers of
residential subdivisions to dedicate land for public
park and open space uses, including land for bicycle
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
and pedestrian paths. To be successful, however, the
Town must have a clear vision of where its network of
paths will be located, and what activity nodes they will
connect to.
Integration of bicycle and pedestrian path
development and land use also will allow the
development of shorter feeder paths from within new
residential neighborhoods to a main path running, for
example, from Dryden to Freeville to Etna, Varna and
Ithaca beyond.
Unfortunately, the success of the nationwide “rails to
trails” program has convinced many communities that
lack abandoned railroad corridors that they lack the
opportunity to develop bicycle and pedestrian paths.
In developing a future bicycle and pedestrian path
network the Town of Dryden should look beyond the
presence or lack of an abandoned rail corridor in
determining the feasibility of such a path. Although
construction off a railroad grade can generally cost
more, on average a mile of new bicycle/pedestrian
path built to the highest standards costs approximately
one-tenth as much as a new highway.
Future bicycle/pedestrian facilities should link a
community or neighborhood with another community
or neighborhood, or a center of commerce or
employment. In designing a network that emphasizes
such connections the Town can maximize their utility
to residents, as alternative transportation corridors.
Public Transit
Public transit can and should play an increased role in
the town's transportation system. Public transit has the
potential for reducing traffic congestion by providing
a viable alternative to the automobile for commuters.
For this to happen however bus routes must be easily
accessible to the general public, operate at time
convenient to potential users, be designed to be a short
as possible, and located in a manner that maximizes
the number of prospective riders. Because of these
constraints, public transit cannot be expected to be
available in the town except where populations are
concentration or major activity nodes such as retail,
employment or educational centers exist.
The provision of public transit service is not under the
direct control of the Town of Dryden. Town land use
policies of the future however can have a direct
positive influence on the availability of service and
level of use by residents. The key is Town policies
that channel future growth and development into
existing nodes of population such as in and around its
villages and hamlets, in order to increase the pool of
potential transit users. The Town should also work
with Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit to develop
new transit routes, bus shelters, park and ride lots and
other facilities to encourage increases in ridership.
Ithaca-Tompkins Regional Airport
Land use decisions for the western portions of the
town need to continue to factor in the presence of the
airport. To date development under the flight path
approach to the airport from the southeast has been
primarily industrial and commercial enterprises, with
limited residential development. This development
pattern extends to the top of Mt. Pleasant, which is also
within the flight path approach area. Although it is
some 4.5 miles from the end of the airport runway, the
area of Mt. Pleasant in the vicinity of Mt. Pleasant and
Baker Hill Roads is high enough that future
development must consider the airport and the flight
path approaches to it.
Much of the land under the flight path approach is
owned by Cornell University, and is dedicated open
space through inclusion in the Sapsucker Woods Bird
Sanctuary and the Cornell Plantations Monkey Run
Natural Area, or it is utilized for agricultural research
fields. There are however several parcels not owned
by the University and may be subject to development
in the future. Currently the Town of Dryden Zoning
Ordinance does include provisions that limit the height
of structures, as well as preclude developments such
as multi-family housing, hospitals, nursing homes, and
places of assembly within a defined "flight hazard
area."
The new plan should ensure that these restrictions on
land use within the areas under the flight approaches
to the airport continue and are up-to-date.
While single-family residential development is not
considered a public safety issue, over the past two
decades airport noise has become a major quality of
life issue in many communities across the country, as
communities have expanded and large numbers of new
homes have been built in the vicinity of airports. To
avoid possible noise-related conflicts in the future, the
potential for significant residential development
within the flight path approach area, including the
crest of Mt. Pleasant, should be reduced as part of a
town-wide land use plan.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Public & Semi-Public
Infrastructure
Water & Sewer Service
The extension of municipal water and or sewer service
to limited areas within the town will be necessary in
order to provide the foundation for denser residential
development in and around existing centers of
population. At the same time, residents responding to
recent surveys express little support for paying for
extensions of water and sewer infrastructure.
Intermunicipal cooperation will be critical to
providing municipal water or public sewer service to
future development, at a reasonable cost. This plan
does not recommend that the Town embark on a
capital program to construct independent systems, but
rather the Town should work with the Village of
Dryden, Village of Freeville and with its partners in
the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Plant and
Southern Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Water
Commission. (a.k.a. Bolton Point) The Village of
Dryden for example has both a water system and
wastewater treatment plan. The Village of Freeville
operates a wastewater treatment plant also.
A Town of Dryden approach to providing public water
and sewer service to future neighborhoods should
piggyback on these existing facilities. Contributing to
upgrading these facilities is likely to be more cost
effective that building new ones solely to serve town
areas outside the villages.
In order to facilitate denser development in
appropriate areas, the Town of Dryden will likely
construct some new water and sewer extensions to
serve select areas. These extensions need to be
carefully staged. The likely mechanism for financing
such extensions is the benefit district. Hence they will
be dependent upon compliance with NYS Office of the
Comptroller regulations regarding public debt for such
projects, and the ability of existing residents and
landowners to pay local benefit assessments.
Much of the cost of the envisioned public water and
sewer infrastructure of the future, however, will also
be borne by the private sector developers that build the
neighborhoods of the future. As with new streets, the
water and sewer infrastructure within new residential
development that is built by the developers would be
dedicated to the Town upon completion.
Telecommunications
Telecommunications technology is changing the
landscape as wireless technology continues to evolve.
The Town of Dryden has a Telecommunications
Tower Siting Law adopted in May of 1998 that
provides some local control in the siting of such
facilities. The Town however needs to develop
additional standards that would provide the citizens of
Dryden access to the needed wireless services of the
future, preserve the character of the Town while
complying with parameters set forth in the
Telecommunications Act (TCA) of 1996. It also
should offer siting alternatives and standards to
personal wireless service providers such as but not
limited to cellular and personal communications
services that embrace the concept of co-location
within the Town of Dryden.
As the needs of providers change and evolve to data
services requiring the use of increasing data rates,
signal densities, and more sites for personal wireless
services, the Town should address the needs of those
providers to ensure continued high quality services for
residents.
Although the tower structures needed to facilitate
wireless technology have potential adverse impacts on
aesthetic resource and require careful review by the
Town, the wireless technology that they support is
important to the continued economic health of the
town. The education and industrial sectors are
increasingly reliant on wireless communications.
More and more town residents are also becoming
reliant on the technology. There is thus a need ensure
that to the extent possible new telecommunications
technologies are available to residents, the educational
and business communities in the coming decades.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Public Safety
As population increases in the coming decades the
community can expect some increase in the demand
for public safety and emergency services. The average
age of town residents is also expected to increase in
the coming decades, a trend that is expected to also
increase demand for such services. This increase in
demand due to these two factors is expected to be
incremental in nature. A critical issue with regard to
the capacity of fire and medical emergency service
(EMS) organizations to serve the community is the
decrease in the number of volunteers needed to
adequately staff such services. Although the number
of fire calls has trended downward in recent decades,
there has been a much larger increase in EMS and
rescue calls.
The capacity of the several volunteer fire and
ambulance companies in the community is adequate at
present levels. If the current downward trend in the
ability to recruit and retain volunteer fire and EMS
personnel continues, especially as population grows,
the capabilities of existing organizations may no
longer be adequate to serve the needs of residents.
Town land use policies can play a positive role in
reducing the need to expand emergency service
delivery capabilities. A policy that channels future
development into and adjacent to the traditional
population centers of the town can reduce the length
of response times during emergencies. Along with
such a policy however, the town must also develop a
street system that ensures the ability for emergency
personnel and equipment to respond quickly and
efficiently.
Outside the areas of land use and transportation
infrastructure, the question of adequate numbers of
volunteers for fire and ambulance services will
continue to be a major issue in the coming years.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
5. Plan Recommendations
Introduction
As part of an overall approach to accommodating
anticipated future growth in population while
preserving the character and quality of life residents
enjoy the Town of Dryden should pursue a holistic
strategy that includes:
¨ Encouraging higher density residential
development in and around the existing village
and hamlet centers of population;
¨ Encouraging the construction of a wider variety of
housing types within existing and future
neighborhoods to meet the needs of an aging
population;
¨ Providing for attractive amenities such as
neighborhood scale parks and off-street bicycle/
pedestrian paths in areas where higher density
residential development is planned;
¨ Encouraging the use of cluster subdivision
designs that create areas of permanent open space
within future residential neighborhoods without
reducing overall site density.
¨ Directing future commercial development into
existing village and hamlet downtown cores
where practical, or into existing nodes such as the
North Street area between TC3 and the village,
and the corner of NYS Rte. 13 and Dryden Road
(NYS Rte. 366)
¨ Review and take recommended actions to
increase the resiliency of Town’s infrastructure to
mitigate current and future impacts due to our
changing climate.
¨ Establish a goal for GHG emission reductions that
is in line with the goals and standards of the
county and sister municipalities.
¨ Encourage sustainable development, and the
reduction of fossil fuel usage in the built
environment by reviewing, and where necessary,
modifying land use laws, building codes, planning
and code enforcement regulations, and Town
policies and procedures.
A key goal of this plan is to also ensure decent
affordable housing for all Town residents. For many
communities across the country the most successful
approach to providing decent affordable housing is
development at the community level through public /
private partnerships. To this end this plan encourages
partnerships between the Town and private for- and
not-for profit organizations, both for the rehabilitation
of older houses and for the development of new small
scale multi-unit housing with an emphasis on owner
occupied homes.
A number of land use and infrastructure policies or
initiatives to further the above strategy are outlined
below and illustrated on Map 5-1, Map 5-2 and Map
5-3.
The zoning revisions brought about by this plan should
be constructed to permit gradual evolution of change
in community character. Although the plan
accommodates more than 5 times the anticipated need
for housing over the next 20 years, the desire is to
encourage growth to remain at historical levels to the
extent possible.
Future Land Use
In terms of future land use this plan proposes the
creation of a hierarchy of land uses. This hierarchy is
based on the intensity of the proposed land uses and
their anticipated environmental, social and fiscal
impacts. At the highest level of the hierarchy, in terms
of intensity of use, are the Suburban Residential,
Hamlet, Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional land
uses. These land uses can affect the greatest amount
of change to the land and the character of their
surroundings, and to the community as a whole.
At the second level is the Rural Residential category.
This category of land use, the primary character of
which is low density single-family detached homes,
can have a low to moderate impact, and effect little
change in neighborhood or community over the short
term. If not controlled however this type of land use
can, over a period of two or three decades, have
significant impacts on land use patterns and
dramatically alter the character of a community.
At the third and lowest level in terms of intensity of
land use and potential to change the land, and level of
impact on the community, are the Agricultural and
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Conservation/Open Space land use categories. The
shared goal of these two categories is to conserve the
most important agricultural, environmental and scenic
land assets within the town. These assets include the
most important agricultural lands and woodland areas,
steep slopes, wetlands, stream corridors and lands with
specific ecological resources worthy of preservation.
In some instances this plan recommends that land that
is currently being actively farmed be designated for
higher intensity development in the future. It
recognizes the importance of agriculture to the
character and economy of the Town, however, and that
the amount of land that is proposed for Suburban
Residential, Hamlet, Commercial, Industrial, and
Institutional uses in the future is more than adequate to
meet reasonably expected demand for land for such
uses. Hence although later in this Plan there is a
proposal for a zoning district specifically for
agriculture, it also anticipates that agriculture would
also be explicitly permitted as a land use by right in all
other future zoning districts in the Town of Dryden.
Moreover this plan recognizes that farms located
within Tompkins County Agricultural District No.1
are afforded specific protections from unreasonable
restrictions on farm operations under NYS
Agricultural and Markets Law Sect 305.
Farmers who desire to continue to farm should be
provided with whatever support the Town of Dryden
can provide them in their efforts.
As the Town proceeds with implementation of the land
use components of this plan, through zoning and
infrastructure improvements, it must ensure that these
actions do not conflict with AML Sect.305 or
undermine the viability of farm operations.
Suburban Residential Development
The Town of Dryden needs to take measures that will
encourage denser residential development in and
around the traditional centers of population in the
town. The areas around the village of Dryden are
particularly suited to accommodate much of the
anticipated future residential development, with
limited investment in municipal water and sewer
infrastructure development.
This plan envisions residential development densities
on the periphery of the town’s villages and hamlets
that would average four dwellings per acre. These
areas, shown as Suburban Residential on Map 5-1,
Future Land Use Plan, are where the majority of the
estimated 1,800 new dwellings that may be needed to
accommodate future population growth should be
built.
Agriculture is also expected to continue to be a major
land use within the proposed Suburban Residential
areas, and permitted under any new zoning regulations
that may be adopted in the future.
Altogether approximately 3,400 acres of land are
designated as Suburban Residential on Map 5-1. Of
these approximately 1,740 acres are currently
undeveloped.
In addition to the lands designated for Suburban
Residential uses in this Plan there is an area of
approximately 910 acres of land immediately west of
Dryden village that is designated as an Agricultural
Reserve area. From an overall land use standpoint
these lands are well suited for development as future
residential neighborhoods. Yet at the same time they
are high quality agricultural lands that are owned and
farmed by families that are committed to continue
farming their lands.
To balance these two competing interests the Town
should treat these lands as if they were designated for
agricultural uses and apply the actions and policies
recommended in the Agriculture section below to
these lands. Not including these lands in the
"development" land use categories will not have any
measurable impact on the Town of Dryden's ability to
accommodate all expected future growth and
development. In future decades, however, should their
use for agricultural purposes be abandoned then they
can be treated as other lands in the Suburban
Residential category.
These undeveloped lands designated Suburban
Residential or Agricultural Reserve represent only
about 4.4% of the town’s total area. At an average
development density of 4 dwellings per acre, however,
they are adequate to accommodate over 10,000 new
dwelling units – about 5.5 times more than the total
number of dwellings that may be needed in the coming
two decades. This allocation of land well in excess of
what may actually be needed is to provide both
flexibility in the location of future new residential
development, and to ensure that the amount of land
made available for this type of development is enough
to preclude artificial inflation in land prices.
Projected residential development within the proposed
Suburban Residential areas will be a mix of housing
types. Most new homes will likely be single-family or
two-family homes (a principal residence with
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
accessory apartment) on lots that would range in size
between 10,000 and 30,000 square feet. Multi-family
housing however will also be part of the fabric of these
new neighborhoods. Envisioned densities for multi-
family housing would be between 10 and 15 dwellings
per acre, which are typical of garden apartment multi-
family development.
Map 5-1 Future Land Use
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
The Suburban Residential areas shown on Map 5-1 are
not proposed zoning districts and should not be viewed
as such. In reality the proposed Suburban Residential
areas of the town are expected to encompass a number
of different types of residential zoning districts. These
new zoning districts will govern the types and
densities of development allowed. For example there
may be a district that allows single-family homes on
lots as small as 10,000
square feet; one that requires a minimum of 20,000
square feet per lot; and one that may require lots one
acre in size or larger, probably at the periphery of the
Suburban Residential area.
As is the case in many municipalities, multiple
residence development in the future could be
accommodated in Dryden through a discrete zoning
district. Such a district would set a maximum density
in terms of the number of dwellings per acre allowed,
maximum height of structures and minimum parking
requirements. In addition such a district should also
include specific requirements for building setbacks
and buffer areas, maximum lot coverage by
impervious surfaces and standards for the amount and
quality of open space available for use by residents.
The use of cluster subdivision design can enhance the
quality of development in these new areas in a number
of ways. This form of residential subdivision platting
allows land to be developed at the density allowed
under zoning regulations in place. However it gives
the developer flexibility in the design of the owner-
occupied housing. Reduced lot sizes, condominiums
and townhome designs can be utilized separately or
integrated together as part of an overall development
concept. Cluster subdivision does not increase the
amount of development on a tract of land, but rather
condenses it, using less land for the same number of
dwellings and maximizing the amount of useable open
space.
Integral to these new Suburban Residential
neighborhoods would be a network of off-street
bicycle/ pedestrian paths that will connect different
sub-neighborhood areas together, provide access to
one or more small neighborhood parks, and access to
transit stops. This network could also provide access
to downtown Dryden through links with the street and
walkway network of the village. In addition to
proposing new Suburban Residential development
around Dryden village, this plan proposes similar
development in an area northwest of Freeville and
west of Etna hamlet.
The area northwest of Freeville is proposed as a means
of increasing population in the vicinity of the village,
to enhance the market base and economic viability of
its small commercial center. The specific area was
selected because 1) it avoids the prime agricultural
lands northeast of the village, and the wetland
complexes to the north and south; 2) the commuter
traffic to and from Ithaca that the new residential area
is expected to generate will not have to drive through
the village and exacerbate existing traffic problems;
and 3) the location uphill of the village affords the
opportunity to utilize the existing village sewer
system.
The area west and north of Etna was selected for
similar reasons. The new residents could provide a
larger market base for retail business development in
the hamlet. The majority of commuters generated by
the new residential areas would not be passing through
the hamlet. Finally, encouraging development west of
the hamlet could provide the critical mass needed to
make the cost of extending municipal water and
sewerage service to the hamlet financially feasible.
A critical element in the above vision is the provision
of municipal water and sewerage service. This is
discussed below in the Public and Semi-Public
Infrastructure section.
Hamlet Areas
The hamlets of Etna, Varna, McLean (Dryden
portion), and Dryden (north of the Village of Dryden)
require an approach to land use and development that
differs substantially from the rest of the town.
The goals of development in hamlets should be:
1. Encourage new development that would increase
the attractiveness of the area by offering a diversity of
development options, including townhouses,
duplexes, small multiunit complexes, and mixed
residential-commercial.
2. Encourage home ownership.
3. Regulate hamlet transformations so that the
character of the community is maintained or shifts
slowly, not in dramatic steps.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Typically hamlets are more densely developed, with
residential land uses mixed with or in close proximity
to small scale commercial development. Lots tend to
be smaller and population denser than in the rest of the
town. However, it is important to maintain a healthy
balance between home owners and renters. This
balance encourages long-term residents who are
invested in the community. Hamlets are attractive
areas to live in because they can offer many of the
amenities of village living.
To create a more attractive environment for new
commercial and residential development within its
hamlets the town of Dryden needs to create new land
use regulations. These regulations should offer a
mixture of opportunities, some that allow more dense
development, on smaller lots and without the large
yard setback areas typically found in suburban areas,
and some that maintain the current average of one-half
acre lot sizes. Another feature of hamlet development
is the use of two story structures that house
commercial, office and residential use under one roof.
With more compact development, amenities such as
sidewalks are also possible.
The residential development density proposed for the
hamlet areas is a maximum of 4 dwellings per acre. As
with the Suburban Residential areas of the future, the
Hamlet areas would be comprised of several types of
residential zoning districts with varying maximum
allowed densities. Multiple residence zoning districts
could be appropriate within the Hamlet areas. Mixed-
use zoning that would allow, for example, apartment-
style residences above ground floor commercial space
would also be an appropriate land use tool. To
maintain the balance between home ownership and
rental housing and to prevent rapid change in the
hamlet character, multiunit developments should be
limited to a maximum of 20 units.
Higher density single-family owner-occupied
residential development, such as a collection of town
houses, can be encouraged through the creation of
What is a "Cluster Subdivision?"
The term "cluster subdivision" simply refers to a way by which a new residential subdivision
can be designed. Cluster subdivision design is allowed Under Section 278 of New York State
Town.
If authorized by the Town Board through a Local Law a planning board may modify the
minimum lot area, width, depth, setback and other dimensional requirements of the zoning
ordinance in order to provide for an alternative method for configuring building lots,
dwellings, roads, utility lines and other infrastructure in order to preserve the natural and
scenic qualities of open land. Townhomes and other types of attached single -family dwellings
are typical examples of cluster subdivision development, however today an increasing number
of cluster subdivision designs feature the traditional single-family detached home, albeit on a
smaller lot.
The purpose of cluster subdivision design is NOT to increase site density, but to preserve open
space and reduce the amount of road, water, sewerage and other public infrastructure needed
to be built and maintained to serve residential development. It also allows for the development
of a wider variety of housing, styles.
The use of cluster subdivision design can result in the permanent setting aside and preservation
of 30% or more of any given tract of land as permanent open space. This permanent open
space can encompass a significant environmental feature on the site, or be an amenity for
residents of the new development.
Figures 5-1 and 5-2 illustrate how a cluster subdivision concept could be applied in the Town
of Dryden to better protect the Etna Swamp and its environs. Primarily because of its
environmental sensitivity the area is projected in the Future Land Use Plan Map to be
developed at a Rural Residential density (1 dwelling per 2 acres) with some land in a
designated Conservation/Open Space area (1 dwelling per 7 acres). With the availability of
public water and sewer service, however, a prospective developer could design a subdivision
that consists of single-family homes on one-acre lots. As a result the Etna Swamp, much of the
woodland and other open space assets can be permanently protected, without sacrificing the
density allowed under zoning.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Figure 5-1. A conventional subdivision plat under proposed Rural Residential and
Conservation/Open Space densities in the Etna Swamp area east of Kirk Road and north of NYS
Rte. 13.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Figure 5-2. A subdivision plat utilizing cluster subdivision design principles and proposed Rural
Residential and Conservation/Open Space densities in the Etna Swamp area east of Kirk Road
and north of NYS Rte. 13. The reduction in lots sizes down to a nominal size of one acre results
in considerable open space being saved, and a considerable reduction in infrastructure costs.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
small zoning districts, comprised of 1 to 3 acres each,
that allow detached and attached dwellings on a few
small lots scattered through the hamlet. These districts
should be widely spaced through the hamlet at a
minimum distance between them to minimize their
visual impact on hamlet character.
Multi-family developments with a maximum density
of 8 units per acre could be constructed in new
multiple residence zoning districts. The size of these
districts should be limited to preclude the construction
of large-scale apartment complexes that could
adversely impact the character of the community.
Instead the Town should limit the size of such districts
to between 2 and 2.5 acres in area so that a maximum
of no more than 20 units could be built in any one
complex.
Village- or hamlet-residential zoning districts have
been developed elsewhere in Upstate New York to
accommodate such development. These zoning
districts encourage more compact development by
reducing lot size requirements as well as setback
requirements. Side yard requirements are reduced to 5-
10 feet or less and lot coverage limits raised. These
special districts should be established in a manner that
keeps them from dominating a hamlet, but maintains a
mixture of development opportunities.
Crafting land use regulations and guidelines that
would allow the hamlets in the town to evolve into
attractive, vibrant communities will require
considerable care. Clear guidelines for mixed use
development that might combine residential with retail
Some Guidelines for Multi-Family Development
A critical component of the housing stock of any community is multi-family rental housing. If
not properly controlled, however, this type of housing can adversely impact a community, as
well as the quality of life of the residents of the development itself. This can be especially true
in communities where college students comprise a substantial portion of the housing market.
Specific design standards are an effective means of ensuring that multi-family housing provides
quality, affordable living for residents without negatively affecting the character of the
surrounding community.
Examples of design standards used in other communities include:
1. A cap on the density allowed, usually measured in terms of dwellings per acre or dwellings
per square feet( examples);
2. A cap on the maximum amount of land occupied by buildings, parking lots and other paved
surfaces to ensure adequate provision of open space;
3. A cap on the size and height of structures allowed to ensure any multi-family development
fits the scale of the community. This can be accomplished by limiting the number of
dwellings per building , and number of stories allowed;
4. Minimum yard setbacks that ensure adequate buffering for adjacent lower density
residential areas. Buildings and parking would be prohibited within any required yard;
5. Minimum setbacks between buildings on the site to ensure adequate provision for light, air,
access, and privacy in the arrangement of the buildings to each other;
6. Minimum requirements for the set aside of land for outdoor recreational uses by residents
(10% of the site or 1,000 square feet per dwelling unit is commonly used);
7. Minimum requirements for landscape plantings within and on the periphery of the site,
including numbers and sizes of trees and shrubs.
Standards such as the above can still allow for both substantial density on a site and
tremendous flexibility in design, while still protecting existing community character. A
hypothetical zoning ordinance that allows within a multi-family development buildings no
larger than two-stories and housing 8 three-bedroom dwelling units, one parking space for
every 1.5 bedrooms and a maximum limit on site coverage of 50 percent can easily
accommodate a density of 12 to 13 units per acre.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
commercial uses are necessary to ensure that future
development results in quality affordable housing,
adequate parking, and a design and character that is
compatible with the existing community character.
They must continue to encourage home ownership.
For most parcels in the hamlet the density should be
maintained at its current level. To control the
development process, the town should require that a
developer seeking a higher density on a given parcel
request a zoning change, placing the responsibility on
the developer to prove why their proposal fits with the
plan’s vision for hamlet growth. This procedure for
the approval of new development is much more likely
to give the town the power to create the type of
heterogeneous set of densities sought for the hamlets.
These special districts within the hamlet could be
designated for higher density opportunities with the
following standards:
1. Setback and design standards for the street-facing
facades of buildings. Maximum front yard setbacks
are a tool commonly used in many communities,
primarily to encourage return to the historic pattern
of downtown commercial buildings being built at
the edge of the public right-of-way;
2. No side yard setback requirements for attached
structures, and minimal setback requirements for
detached structures;
3. Limiting parking in front of buildings to that
provided for on the street. Off-street parking must
be located to the side or the rear of the property;
4. Increased lot coverage limits to 80 percent or more;
5. Strict definition of the types of retail or service
establishments that would be allowed within the
mixed-use area. Automobile-oriented businesses
such as gas stations, convenience stores and fast
food restaurants should be excluded as permitted
uses.
6. Additional side- and rear yard buffers where a
mixed-use zoning district would abut a residential
district.
In communities where municipal water and sewer
services are available lot sizes in the range of 11,000
square feet are used to encourage compact residential
development in areas surrounding the core of a hamlet
or village.
Specific standards for such development are critical,
and should include:
1. Limiting uses to single- and two-family homes;
2.Street design standards that ensure on-street parking
lanes, curbs and underground stormwater drains,
and sidewalks;
3. Standards for landscape plantings within the public
right-of-way, including spacing, types and sizes of
trees and shrubs;
4. Provisions for garages, including prohibitions of
free-standing garages in front yard areas, standards
for alleys that could provide access to garages in the
rear yard areas of lots, and for additional setbacks
and shared driveways where alleys are not practical;
5. Maximum overall site densities, building height
limit of 2 stories, bulk limits and maximum site
coverage limits;
6. Development done in a manner that architecturally
fits with the current styles of the town;
7. A mixture of appropriate commercial and residential
uses in the hamlets controlled through initiating
maximum set-backs and preventing drive-through
businesses.
Municipal water and sewerage services give greater
flexibility in designing a hamlet environment. These
are available in Varna, but not in Etna. Etna however
is close enough to the existing water and sewer lines
that serve the area around the NYS Rte. 13/NYS Rte.
366 intersection, that extension of service is possible.
As with all areas designated in this plan to be logical
locations for future implementation of water and sewer
line, this plan does not advocate construction of new
lines in advance of development. Such extension of
service should be considered after a density has built
up in the area to warrant supporting it. Once such
service has been added, it can provide the catalyst for
redevelopment of that hamlet and provide the
infrastructure to support the envisioned Suburban
Residential area to the hamlet’s west.
In addition to the recommended changes in land use
policies within the hamlet areas, there needs to be an
investment in the physical infrastructure of the hamlet
areas, particularly in Varna.
NYS Rte. 366 in Varna, with its wide travel lanes and
road shoulders and attendant 40-MPH speed limit, is
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
designed solely to function as a highway that allows
traffic to move quickly and effortlessly through the
hamlet. The width of the highway and attendant 40
MPH speed limit, while successful in moving traffic,
have had a significant adverse impact on the quality of
life of Varna residents, and the character of the
community.
The roadway should be reconfigured wherein its
original primary function of quick and efficient
movement of traffic is subordinated to it functioning
as a village "Main Street." Toward this goal the Town
should work with the New York State Department of
Transportation to redesign and secure funding to
rebuild the roadway to:
1. Eliminate the existing highway shoulders and
replace them with curbing, tree lawns and sidewalks
within the highway right of way;
2. Provide for on-street parallel parking opportunities
on at least one side of the on-street;
3. Create a safe intersection at Freese Road and Mt.
Pleasant Road;
4. Reduce the speed limit through the hamlet to 30
MPH.
Reconfiguration of NYS Rte. 366 from a road
designed as a highway to one designed as a main street
would significantly enhance the livability of Varna.
This in turn would make the hamlet more attractive to
investment in new family-oriented residential and
neighborhood scale commercial development. Figure
5-3 illustrates how the highway-to-main-street and
proposed hamlet zoning concepts could be applied in
the vicinity of the Freese Road/Mt. Pleasant Road
intersection.**
It is important to the maintenance of the hamlet of Etna
that the area south of the hamlet and north of Rt. 366
is kept as a green-space corridor of low-density
conservation land use, with some rural residential land
use surrounding the intersection where Rt. 366 leaves
Rt. 13 to move north. A green-space corridor of low-
density conservation land should be maintained to the
west of this area along Rt. 13 as an important visual
break for travelers on Rt. 13, separating the built-up
areas surrounding Ithaca from the rural residential
community of Dryden.
*
* Figure 3 is for illustrative purposes only and
does not represent any proposal or proposals for developing
Rural Residential Development
Beyond the periphery of villages and hamlets, lower
residential development densities would be allowed in
areas designated as Rural Residential. The intent of
these Rural Residential areas is to allow residents that
desire to do so the option of living in a rural
environment. In these areas agriculture is also
expected to be a major land use well into the future and
permitted in any future zoning regulations.
In the Rural Residential areas single- and two-family
homes would represent the predominant form of
development, at an overall density of 1 dwelling every
two acres. This overall density is proposed as a means
of reducing the overall development potential of the
area. It should not be interpreted however as a
recommendation that a minimum lot size of two acres
be established. Rather within the areas designated for
Rural Residential development the Town should
promote the use of cluster subdivision design
whenever possible.
In many areas, even without municipal water or sewer
services being available soil conditions and County
Health Department regulations may allow lots as small
as one acre or less. As Figure 5-1 illustrates, even at
the envisioned lower development density cluster
subdivision can be an effective tool in protecting open
space resources in such areas.
Because of their scenic and ecological value, there are
three areas within the town where cluster subdivision
should be made mandatory. These areas are:
1. The areas adjacent to Dryden Lake, in order to
maintain a substantial buffer between future
development and the lake shore as well as to
preserve views of the lake from nearby roads;
2. The areas adjacent to Etna Swamp, in order to
maintain a substantial buffer between future
development and the wetland complex as well as to
preserve significant views across the valley from
NYS Rte. 13;
3. Undeveloped areas of Ellis Hollow and Snyder Hill
where Rural Residential land uses are proposed, to
preserve ecologically sensitive areas such as
or re-developing the properties shown, nor any
endorsement by the Town of Dryden of any specific
designs for development or re-development.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
wetlands and the Cascadilla Creek corridor, and to
protect scenic vistas from nearby roads.
Fig. 5-3
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
The provision of municipal water or sewerage service
is not proposed for such areas, nor is public transit
service, unless a transit route happens to pass through
the area.
Approximately 2,270 acres of land are classed as Rural
Residential on Map 5-1. At the overall target density
of one dwelling every two acres about 1,135 new
dwellings could be accommodated in these
areas. Since 1985 residential dwelling construction in
rural area of the town has averaged about 290
dwellings per decade. This growth is well above a
desirable rate of growth in rural areas. Even if should
it continue, however, there is adequate capacity within
the proposed Rural Residential areas for about twice
this number of new dwellings. This capacity when
combined with the development potential within the
proposed Agricultural and Conservation/Open Space
areas, is expected to adequately accommodate demand
for rural homes in the coming decades.
Commercial Development
Reflecting the desire of residents that large-scale
commercial development should be limited to existing
centers of population in the town and elsewhere in
Tompkins and Cortland County, the Future Land Use
Plan envisions only a small increase in the amount of
land dedicated to commercial retail and service
enterprises15. The type of commercial development
that this plan envisions would be a continuation of the
pattern that exists in the town today, specifically small
neighborhood-oriented businesses providing goods
and services to a primarily local market. Commercial
development that is out of scale with existing
businesses should not be encouraged in Dryden.
In these areas agriculture is also expected to be an
appropriate land use and should be permitted in any
future zoning regulations.
Outside the hamlets and villages, such land uses are
proposed to be limited to existing pockets of
commercial development located primarily along
NYS Rte.13 and NYS 366.
Some opportunity for expansion of commercial
development – approximately 55 acres – is provided
15 The Future Land Use Plan map is a generalized
map and not intended to illustrate proposed land use at the
level of individual parcels of land. It thus does not show
for in the plan. This opportunity for future commercial
development is located in and around the existing
commercial areas along North Street, and around the
intersection of NYS Rte. 13 and NYS Rte. 366.
Available land in these areas, combined with land
available in the hamlets and village business districts,
is expected to be adequate for the amount and type of
commercial development necessary to serve town
residents in the coming decades.
Industrial/Office/Research
Although it occupies a small proportion of the town’s
land area, industry continues to be an important
economic sector. Currently there are approximately
275 acres of land dedicated to industrial uses in the
town and another 412 acres dedicated to utilities.
These utilities include the electrical distribution
system of New York State Electric and Gas
Corporation, and the gas pipeline compressor station
in Ellis Hollow.
This plan proposes that approximately 125 acres of
undeveloped land be allocated for future development
for industrial, office and research and development
type enterprises. The types of industry envisioned in
this plan would be light industrial and warehousing
enterprises. These manufacturing establishments
would be characterized by manufacturing processes
that include fabrication, assembly, treatment,
packaging and distribution of finished products or
parts, predominantly from previously processed or
prepared materials. The processing of raw materials is
generally absent in light industry, and energy demands
are generally limited to electricity.
In addition to light industry, the areas proposed for
future industrial development could also
accommodate the development of office buildings that
could house corporate administrative operations and
service enterprises. Research and development
enterprises such as computer software and equipment
design businesses are another type of use in these
areas.
In these industrial/office research areas agriculture is
also expected to be an appropriate land use and should
be permitted in any future zoning regulations.
many of the existing stand alone businesses in the town,
which are expected to continue under this plan.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
This land is located within and adjacent to the existing
industrial areas in the vicinity of the NYS
Rte.13/Hanshaw Road intersection; the area south of
Etna between NYS Rte. 366 and Kirk Road, and north
of Dryden village off NYS Rte. 38. The largest
expansion of industrial land is proposed for the area
north of Hanshaw Road and southeast of the Ithaca-
Tompkins Regional Airport. Because it is below the
flight approach to the airport runway this area is not
ideal for intensive residential development. It is also
located away from major concentrations of residential
development, and easily accessible to municipal water
and sewerage service, as well as NYS Rte. 13.
Although municipal water and sewerage service is not
available to the area south of Etna, extension of service
to Etna would make it possible to also serve this area.
Institutional
In terms of land use planning, little change in the
amount of land used for institutional uses, or any
changes in existing zoning or land use policies related
to institutional uses is envisioned in this plan. The
amount of land dedicated to such uses increased
substantially in the 1960s and 1970s with construction
of the Dryden Central School and TC3 campuses north
of Dryden village.
The proportion of town population comprised of
school age children (ages 5 to 19) in 2000 was
approximately 22 percent according to the 2000
Decennial Census. This represents a decrease from 30
percent in 1960, a decrease that can be accounted for
by the overall decline in family size in the United
States in the last four decades. If the town experiences
the maximum envisioned population growth of just
over 3,000 residents in the next two decades, and the
proportion of school age students remains the same
over the next two decades as it was in 2000, there
could be an increase in school age children of about
675 students. This potential increase in student
population may require expansion of Dryden Central
School District or Ithaca City School District facilities
at some point in the future, however given the
locations of existing facilities and the amount of land
owned by Dryden Central School District in particular,
any such expansion is not expected to have any
significant land use implications.
Highway Corridor Overlay
The Rte. 13 corridor between Irish Settlement Road
and Etna Lane poses a particular planning challenge.
High traffic volumes adversely impact the utility of
land adjacent to the highway for residential
development. Also as the corridor experiences further
development in the future, there is the potential for
substantial increases in the level of congestion on Rte.
13 unless steps are taken now to control that potential.
The conflicts that have occurred where commercial
and industrial development has occurred in close
proximity to residences are an ongoing land use issue
within the corridor. In several instances long-time
residents of the area have been adversely impacted by
new non-residential development adjacent to their
properties. These newer industrial or commercial
enterprises are seen as exacerbating the impact of the
heavy traffic on the road.
The Town of Dryden should establish a Highway
Corridor Overlay area in the areas recommended for
Rural Residential along Rte. 13 between Irish
Settlement Road and Etna Lane. Overlay districts are
commonly utilized in zoning ordinances to
supplement the provisions of a zoning district. They
are commonly applied in cases where particular
circumstances warrant an added measure of control
over development, such as historic districts, highway
corridors or environmentally sensitive areas. They can
also be utilized to expand upon the allowed uses within
designated areas of one or more zoning districts.
This proposed overlay area would extend to a depth of
500 feet from the highway. It would allow a mix of
small-scale retail, service enterprises, office buildings
that could house corporate administrative operations
and research and development enterprises such as
computer software and equipment design businesses
as well as residential development. Churches and other
institutional land uses would be appropriate uses of
frontage lands along Rte. 13 within the proposed
Highway Overlay District.
The objectives of this proposed Highway Corridor
Overlay area are to:
1) Allow for mixed use development within the
corridor that can both exploit the opportunities for
economic development and encourage the
development of decent affordable housing;
2) Ensure that highway access standards are in place
that would adequately control future development
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
in the corridor in a manner that reduces potential
traffic congestion;
3) Ensure that standards for the envisioned
residential development and retail, office,
research and development businesses are in place
that would mitigate potential adverse impacts of
such development and reduce potential land use
conflicts.
Examples of standards that could be included in an
adopted Highway Corridor Overlay would be
standards that control access to and from Rte. 13. In
some communities, access to major highways such as
Rte. 13 is limited to one curb cut or driveway entrance
per parcel. This standard works well especially where
large tracts of undeveloped land front on the highway,
because it discourages the subdivision of small
frontage lots along the highway and a proliferation of
new driveways. In lieu of multiple frontage lots and
driveways along the highway, future development
would be directed to a new road off the main highway.
Two other approaches that can be utilized by
communities are 1) the establishment of minimum
distances between curb cuts and 2) requiring that
adjacent properties share a common driveway or curb
cut. These approaches spread out and control the
number of curb cuts or driveways. They allow the
community to reduce the potential number of conflict
points between traffic entering or exiting the highway,
and through traffic. In doing so the potential for
highway congestion can be reduced, highway safety
levels maintained and the need for costly widening and
other improvements avoided.
Finally, where a tract of land has frontage on both Rte
13 and one of the several side roads that intersect it,
the Town should encourage access off the side road.
This would both eliminate added curb cuts along Rte
13 and take advantage of an existing intersection.
Although the envisioned resident and non-residential
land uses such as retail, office, services and research
and development businesses are not compatible, they
can still occur adjacent to or in relative proximity to
each other without adverse impact to the quality of life
in future residential neighborhoods. This is easily
accomplished by establishing ahead of time standards
to guide residential and non-residential development.
16 The two-prong approach of limiting the number
of stories above grade to two, and overall building height to
40 feet or less, would allow the design option of peaked or
gabled roofs on commercial or office structures, but
Particular attention should be paid to the interface
between future residential and future non-residential
land uses within the overlay area. The most effective
tools for reducing conflicts in these areas are distance
and visual buffers. Additional setbacks for future
residential lots (i.e. requiring 60-ft. rear yard setbacks
instead of 30-ft. setbacks.), and additional buffer areas
on future non-residential development sites where
they abut future residential development, should be
mandated. Also visual buffers such as earth berms and
landscape plantings should be required where non-
residential development abuts residential
development. This combination of distance and visual
screening would substantially reduce the potential
adverse impacts such as noise, light pollution, odors
and other aspects of retail, office, service and other
non-residential land uses.
Controlling the scale of future office or research and
development enterprise development within the
proposed Highway Corridor Overlay area will be
critical to maintaining the desired semi-rural character
of the corridor. An effective approach to controlling
development scale is to: 1) limit the number of stories
to two stories or less and overall building height to 40
feet or less16; 2) limit the amount of site coverage by
buildings, parking lots, driveways and other
impervious surfaces to 40 or 50 percent; and 3) require
substantial front yard setbacks from the highway right
of way.
Limiting lot coverage would ensure the reservation of
enough open space on a development site to provide
for adequate landscaping, setbacks between adjacent
properties and buffer areas. Landscape plantings can
also be more effectively utilized within these required
open space areas to screen unsightly views into the
site. Parking lots, driveways and other exterior
impervious surfaces should be included in the lot
coverage calculation. In general the amount of land
taken up by parking facilities for office complexes is
equal to approximately 1.5 times the gross floor area
of the building(s). For instance, utilizing the above-
recommended definition of site coverage, a two-story,
10,000 square foot office building, parking (1
space/200 sq. ft. floor area) and attendant driveways
would cover approximately 25,000 square feet of land.
With a 50 percent ceiling on site coverage, another
25,000 square feet of land (0.57 acre) would be
dedicated to open space. With a 40 percent ceiling,
preclude more massive three and four story structures with
flat roofs.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
some 37,500 square feet of land (0.86 acre) would be
dedicated open space. This open space can be in the
form of landscaped lawns, left in a natural state or a
combination of both.
Highway noise can have major ramifications for
residential development along busy corridors such as
Rte. 13. Two commonly identified sources of
highway noise are tire noise and noise associated with
large trucks accelerating or decelerating. The most
effective remedies for highway noise are solid barriers
between the source of the noise and distance. Solid
barriers have become very common along major
expressways in urbanized areas; however they are
expensive and unattractive. In areas like the Town of
Dryden, additional setbacks from the highway right of
way can be a cost-effective approach. Generally, the
level of sound decreases fifty percent for every two
hundred feet of horizontal distance from the source.
Within the proposed Highway Corridor Overlay the
Town should enact larger setbacks from the highway
right of way for residential development. Because the
Highway Corridor Overlay area will allow a mix of
land uses, setting a two-hundred feet buffer setback for
residential development would not completely
eliminate use of the frontage along the highway. Those
lands could be reserved for non-residential
development. The use of cluster subdivision design
for residential development would be another effective
means of creating an open space buffer between
residential development and Rte. 13.
Agricultural Areas
This plan anticipates that agriculture can continue to
be a major and valuable land use in the town. Even as
this plan anticipates a need to accommodate up to
1,800 new dwelling units, still envisions placing some
16,000 acres of land currently farmed in areas reserved
primarily for agricultural use. Several hundred acres
of actively farmed land in small, non-contiguous tracts
also fall into the Rural Residential and
Conservation/Open Space categories, where
limitations on development afford some protection
also.
Notwithstanding the above, the agricultural sector in
the town will require a level of attention that it has
traditionally not received.
The primary emphasis of future land use policies in the
town as they affect agriculture must recognize
agriculture as a legitimate, long term land use on par
with residential, commercial, industrial and other
traditional land use, and not as merely a temporary
state pending development for a “higher” use. This
plan thus recommends a new zoning district for the
agricultural areas designated on Map 5-1 Such district
should grant agriculture the primacy as a land use that
is in practice according residential development in a
residential zoning district, commercial development in
a commercial district, or industrial development in an
industrial zoning district.
The town also needs to recognize the enterprise nature
of contemporary agriculture. Any new zoning
regulations for the agricultural areas must be flexible
enough to allow farmers to make a reasonable
economic return on their substantial investments.
Today many farmers supplement their incomes with
income generated by an agriculture-related business
such as grain, feed, seed, farm implement or farm
building dealerships, as well as wholesale and retail
distribution of agricultural products. By providing
such options for generating revenue in its zoning
regulations, the Town can allow the farmer or
farmland owner alternatives to the sale of land for
development purposes.
It is critical however that any zoning regulations that
would allow agriculture-related enterprises carefully
define what such enterprises could and could not
include. A sample definition might contain language
such as
“…retail or wholesale enterprise providing services
or products utilized in agricultural production, such
as structures, agricultural equipment and agricultural
equipment parts, batteries and tires, livestock, feed,
seed, fertilizer and equipment repairs. Wholesale or
retail sale of grain, fruit, produce, trees, shrubs,
flowers or other products of agricultural operations
are also included in this definition.”
Care must be taken in crafting zoning language that
such enterprises do not evolve into retail operations
that primarily sell products not produced on a farm or
non-farm-produced items or services that are not
marketed primarily to the farm community. For this
reason some communities place limits on the sale and
service of items such as lawn mowers and other lawn
and garden equipment and supplies, ATVs, or
snowmobiles
Important to ensuring the continued viability and
presence of agriculture in the town of Dryden will be
preserving large tracts of contiguous, actively farmed
land, without adversely impacting the equity farmers
have in their lands.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
An effective and equitable way to do so would be
through a purchase of development rights (PDR)
program. The Town of Dryden should establish an
Agricultural Land Preservation Program as a means of
protecting its best agricultural lands. This program
would provide the means by which the Town of
Dryden could preserve the Town’s farmland resources
for future generations by purchasing the development
rights to the land.
The program would be a voluntary program through
which a willing buyer -- the Town Board on behalf of
all Town residents -- would purchase from willing
sellers the development rights to their land. In
exchange for a monetary consideration the landowner
would convey to the Town of Dryden an agricultural
conservation easement.
The purpose of the proposed Agricultural Land
Preservation Program would be to:
1. Protect the most viable agricultural lands by
acquiring agricultural conservation easements that
prevent the development or improvement of the land
for any purpose other than agricultural production.
2. Provide agricultural landowners with monetary
compensation in exchange for their relinquishment
of the right to develop their property.
3. Encourage a long-term commitment to preservation
of agricultural land by landowners through financial
incentives and stabilization of land use patterns
favorable to agriculture.
4. Enhance the economic viability of the Town’s
agricultural economy.
5. Protect the Town’s farmers and agricultural
landowners from incompatible non-agricultural land
uses that may render farming impracticable.
6. Concentrate financial resources in a manner that will
ensure the purchase of agricultural conservation
easements for the protection of the largest amount
of agricultural land possible.
The purchase of development rights (PDR) as a way to
protect agricultural and other open space resources is
based on the tradition that ownership of land conveys
to an individual or individuals a variety of rights.
Examples of such rights include the right to sell or
lease, enter onto the premises, water rights, mineral
rights, or easements for utilities or access.
Landowners have the ability to convey such rights,
through sale, lease or other mechanism, to other
parties, while retaining ownership of the land.
Another right that comes with land ownership is the
right to develop the land to the extent allowed by law,
including zoning and subdivision regulations. By
purchasing from the landowner the rights to develop
their property (development rights) the Town of
Dryden would remove the potential for development
from the land, and permanently preserve it for future
agricultural use. The landowner would retain all other
rights to their land, including the right to farm, rent,
sell or give it away.
After the sale of their development rights, landowners
retain the right to control access to their land. The sale
of development rights to the Town of Dryden would
not convey to the Town the right to allow the public
access to the landowner’s property for hunting, fishing
or other activities. Conversely, the sale of
development rights to the Town does not limit a
landowner in the right to allow public access to the
land.
In some cases, the sale or donation of an agricultural
conservation easement to the Town of Dryden may
have positive tax benefits for the landowner.
Participation in a PDR program can also be a useful tool
in estate planning and the transfer of a farm to the next
generation. The various tax-related and estate planning
implications of conveying an agricultural conservation
easement however are too numerous and complex to be
discussed in this document. Farmers and farmland
owners should consult their own advisors prior to
participating in any PDR program.
An additional method that should be utilized to
channel large-scale residential development away
from agricultural areas is to reduce the potential
density of future residential development in those
areas designated Agricultural from the current level of
approximately one dwelling per acre to a lower
density, such as one dwelling for every two acres. This
overall density is proposed as a means of reducing the
overall development potential of the area. It should
not be interpreted however as a recommendation that
a minimum lot size of two acres be established. Rather
within the proposed agricultural areas the Town
should promote the use of cluster subdivision design
whenever possible.
In many areas, even without municipal water or sewer
services being available soil conditions and County
Health Department regulations may allow lots as small
as one acre or less. As Figure 5-1 illustrates, even at
the envisioned lower development density cluster
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
subdivision can be an effective tool in protecting
valuable agricultural land resources in such areas.
To ensure that the Town’s agricultural community
continues to have a voice in local government decision
making, the Town Board should establish an advisory
committee comprised of members of the farming
community. The primary charge of this committee
should be to advise the Town Board and other local
boards and committees on matters related to
agriculture in the Town of Dryden. The committee
could also serve as a liaison with the Tompkins County
Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board and
oversee the administration of the proposed purchase of
development rights program.
Another consideration with regard to the agricultural
landscape in the town is the disappearance of the
traditional wooden barn. The decline in the number of
these structures can be attributed to the abandonment
of agriculture, consolidation of farm operations into
larger units and functional obsolescence.
If the Town of Dryden desires to preserve these
traditional rural landmarks, then ways to encourage
adaptive re-use of the structures need to be pursued.
New York State has recently established a grant
program to fund private restoration of historic barns
still actively utilized. This is an extremely limited
program, however.
The Town of Dryden should consider ways in which it
can encourage adaptive re-use of barns. One means
may be to allow, through zoning regulations, small
business or manufacturing enterprises owned and
operated by the owner of the structure. Such “cottage
industries” could be limited in their scale and impact
through controls on number of employees and types of
business activities.
Conservation/Open Space
As detailed in Chapter 2, the town contains within its
boundaries a variety of ecological and open space
assets within its boundaries. Many of these are
afforded some protection by being within the bounds
of the 10,760 acres of state forest land or within the 16
privately owned preserves located in the town. This
acreage however only represents about one-third of the
land within the town that warrants protection from the
impacts of intensive development. The remaining
two-thirds consist of land that is opened to
development and in most cases zoned for
development.
As with agricultural land, a key means of protecting
these assets will be to channel major development
away from these areas. This plan thus proposes that the
Town enact zoning that provides for reduction in
development densities from the current level of
approximately one dwelling per acre to a density of
one dwelling for every ten acres or more. In addition
other more intense land uses such as commercial or
industrial uses, quarrying and other extractive
industries should not be allowed.
In the areas designated as Conservation/Open Space
agriculture is also expected to be an appropriate land
use well into the future and should be permitted in any
future zoning regulations.
This reduction in density level and intensity of land
uses will still allow for a substantial amount of
residential development within the areas
recommended for Conservation/Open Space
designation. Even at one dwelling per ten acres, there
is still potential for over some 2,000 dwellings within
these areas. Residential development will still
continue to occur, albeit not at the same levels as
possible in the past.
The use of cluster subdivision design can be an
effective tool for the protection of UNA’s and other
open space resources. As shown previously in the
Etna Swamp case study (Fig. 5-1), cluster subdivision,
even when the development consists of single-family
detached homes, can create substantial buffer areas
between development and environmentally significant
resources. An additional benefit of cluster subdivision
design in the Conservation/Open Space areas is that,
with a 1 dwelling/10 acre density, and a two-acre
maximum lot size cap within a development, up to 70
or 80 percent of a tract can be protected as permanent
open space.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
This permanent open space could have a conservation
easement placed on it and be incorporated into one of
the subdivided lots – creating a “mega-lot.” The open
space however could also be donated or sold to a
public or private preserve or park. In recent years
Cornell University has received two such donations of
land, totaling almost 50 acres, for incorporation into
its Clausen Swamp Natural Area holdings in the Town
of Ithaca.
The Town of Dryden will encourage other political
entities (i.e., the County and the State) to recognize
lower assessed values on land encumbered by
conservation easements.
Open Space & Environmental
Resources
While the above land use recommendations regarding
future land use can reduce the impact of future growth
on the environment, the Town of Dryden should
continue and expand its efforts to protect and enhance
environmental quality through direct actions.
The Town of Dryden Conservation Advisory Board
(CAB) can play an important role in such efforts. The
Town Board established the CAB in 2000 to provide
advice and input on issues related to natural resources
planning in the Town of Dryden. The group has
completed an Open Space Inventory of the town. This
document provides data for developing sound open
space planning and protecting natural and scenic
resources of the Town of Dryden.
The CAB can be an effective partner with the Town
Board and Planning Board in future land use planning
decisions. The Town Board and Planning Board
should take steps to integrate the CAB into their
decision making processes by soliciting the body's
input early on, and by incorporating the Open Space
Inventory into resource management and land use
planning efforts.
A second step that the Town can take to enhance the
protection of important ecological lands would be to
designate specific areas as being Critical
Environmental Areas. (CEA) A CEA is defined by
the State under 6 NYCRR PART 617 as being a
specific geographic area designated by a state or local
agency, having exceptional or unique environmental
characteristics.
The criteria for designation as a CEA include the
presence of an exceptional or unique character
covering one or more of the following:
1. a benefit or threat to human health;
2. a natural setting (e.g., fish and wildlife
habitat, forest and vegetation, open space and
areas of important aesthetic or scenic
quality);
3. agricultural, social, cultural, historic,
archaeological, recreational, or educational
values;
Dealing with Radon
While radon gas is not typically considered a
factor in land use, transportation and other
policy matters covered in a comprehensive plan,
it is a serious health concern and quality of life
issue that the Town of Dryden can nonetheless
address on a local level. Education about
radon, the dangers it poses and steps that can be
taken to reduce exposure to radon, is considered
key to reducing the danger nationally. The Town
is in a unique position to provide information and
educational materials to contractors and
residents who are planning to build within the
town through the Building and Code Enforcement
Office. Informational packets for homeowners
and others that are readily available from state
and federal agencies should be acquired and be
made available at Town Hall to residents
Town residents can and should take action
themselves. Radon testing kits are now widely
available, relatively inexpensive and easy to use.
Individual homeowners should thus test their
home for radon. If levels of radon above the
recommended safe thresholds set by the
Environmental Protection Agency are detected, in
most cases fairly simple steps can be taken to
reduce them to a safer level.
The Town of Dryden should also investigate
amendments to local building codes that could
require radon resistant design for new structures.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
4. an inherent ecological, geological or
hydrological sensitivity to change that may
be adversely affected by any change.
Many of the Tompkins County Unique Natural
Areas (Map 2-3) within the town are likely to
qualify as Critical Environmental Areas as well.
Designation as CEAs would give these areas the
added protection of requiring a more detailed
review of environmental impacts under the State
Environmental Quality Review process.
To permanently protect particularly environmentally
sensitive lands, the Town of Dryden can also work
with the Finger Lakes Land Trust, Cornell University
Plantations and the Tompkins County Environmental
Management Council to and encourage landowners to
take steps to preserve their lands through donations of
conservation easements.
Steps to better protect the water resources of the town
are necessary at this time, in order to protect them for
future generations.
Wetlands continue to be at risk. State and federal
maps that are the traditional sources of wetland
location information do not show all wetland areas.
The Town of Dryden should adopt the criteria set forth
in the Federal Manual for Identifying and delineating
Jurisdictional Wetlands as a means of identifying and
protecting wetlands. Such a step would both enhance
the protection of wetlands in the town, and protect
landowners from violating the Clean Waters Act and
other federal laws.
The Virgil Creek Aquifer study should be completed
and the results incorporated into planning and
environmental management efforts. The remaining
aquifers in the town, including bedrock sources, also
need to be inventoried and mapped in order to
determine effective protection and management
strategies. Given that Route 13 parallels the edge of a
large aquifer along Fall Creek (according to
Unconsolidated Aquifers in Tompkins County, USGS,
2000), any proposed new development along Rt. 13
should be carefully evaluated with respect to its
potential impacts on the Fall Creek Aquifer.
The Town of Dryden comprises a large portion of the
Cayuga Lake watershed. Water quality in Cayuga
Lake is affected by discharges and runoff from a wide
spectrum of land use activities in the town. These
include non-point sources such as runoff from
construction sites, agricultural fields and barn yards,
residential lawns, and parking lots. Wastewater
discharges from both municipal and private sources
within the town also enter the lake.
The Town should continue to be an active participant
in the Cayuga Lake Watershed Intermunicipal
Organization. This organization furthers watershed
studies and protection activities through the IO and
other watershed organizations.
Historic Resources
The state of the town's substantial number of historic
or architecturally significant structures should be
determined through a comprehensive inventory. Such
an inventory should be conducted in accordance with
the national standards set by the Secretary of the
Interior. Adherence to these standards will ensure
appropriate levels of uniformity and objectivity in
assessing structures for their significance. It will also
ensure that any documentation efforts can be used in
future applications for designation of a structure or
structures for listing on the State and National Register
of Historic Places, or the creation of historic districts.
The completion of an inventory can have secondary
benefits as well. They can provide an opportunity to
educate residents of their local history, and even the
history of their home. This in turn can raise awareness
of the importance of protecting historic and
architectural resources and the proper approaches to
doing so amongst members of the public. Finally,
property owners may be encouraged to take measures
to preserve their properties of significance.
After completion of an inventory the Town of Dryden
should establish a process by which historic structures
can be better protected. Communities can enact
landmark preservation ordinances that allow
municipal review proposed changes to structures or
the sites that they sit on if they are listed on an
officially adopted list of local historic structures, or are
listed on the State or National Register. Outside of a
formal process, the Town of Dryden should tap the
resources available through the State Office of
Historic Preservation (SHPO) in cases where concern
arises over specific structures. The agency has a
substantial database of cultural and historical sites
throughout the state, and can also assist local
municipalities in interpretation of and adherence to
state and national regulation regarding historic sites.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Park & Recreational Resources
To address the current lack of park and recreation
amenities in the town, and to meet future needs, this
plan proposes that the Town of Dryden create a system
of public park facilities in the coming decades.
The envisioned park system would comprise up to ten
parks. (Map 5-2) Nine of the proposed parks would be
small facilities -- about one acre in size -- nested within
existing and future Hamlet or Suburban Residential
areas. These parks are intended to serve homes within
a one-half mile radius, or comfortable walking
distance. They would offer limited recreational
opportunities, generally in the form of a play structure
for children, benches, picnic tables, a lawn area for
informal activities, and walkways. The typical uses of
these parks would be neighborhood residents and
children who will generally stay for an hour or less.
Hence facilities such as comfort stations and water
fountains would not be included in their design.
Because the primary access to these parks will be by
foot or bicycle, whenever possible these parks should
be located along the proposed bicycle and pedestrian
path system. Parking facilities will be limited to
parking for handicapped persons only.
In Etna and Varna and Ellis Hollow, it may be more
cost effective for the Town to partner with the
community associations to maintain and improve the
existing community association facilities instead of
developing a new park for those locations. There are
already precedents for such partnerships, such as the
tennis courts at the Ellis Hollow Community Center,
constructed with government grant funding. At the
Coddington Road Community Center in the Town of
Ithaca a baseball diamond and pavilion are another
example of local government and community
association working in partnership to provide
recreational facilities.
Section 277 of NYS Town Law grants town planning
boards the authority to require that residential
subdivision plats show "a park or parks suitably
located for playground or other recreational purposes."
Section 274 grants planning boards authority to
require similar dedications in cases where they review
a site plan for residential development such as
apartment complexes. Prior to requiring that land be
dedicated, the planning board must make an
evaluation of the present and future needs for park and
recreational facilities, based on projected future
population growth to which the proposed subdivision
would contribute.
The use of this authority appears possible in several
locations in the town (Map 5-2), such as in areas of
future development around Dryden and Freevile
villages, and west of Etna. In these locations there are
several large tracts of land where potential exists for
relatively large-scale residential subdivisions.
Development of these parcels is thus likely to create
population growth that would warrant request to
dedicate land for park and open space purposes.
Both Section 277 and Section 274 further grants a
town planning board the authority to require a
payment of cash in lieu of land, should the board make
a finding that a park site is warranted, but determines
that no suitable site exists on the property on which
development is being proposed. The amount that the
planning board could require in lieu of dedication of
land is established by the town board. The funds
collected through this mechanism must be deposited
into a trust fund dedicated exclusively for park land
acquisition or the development of park, playground or
other recreational facilities.
A system by which the Town of Dryden can accept
both dedications of land or cash in lieu of land should
be established in the near future. The payment of cash
in lieu of land could be especially important, given that
many of the tracts of land within the Suburban
Residential areas are relatively small and are likely to
not yield suitable sites for public parks. Nonetheless
their development will likely generate a significant
percentage of the new homes in the town, and hence a
significant percentage of new park and recreation
facility users.
Proposed Community Park
The tenth proposed park would be a community park -
- a larger facility designed to serve the entire town and
feature areas for organized athletics as well as areas to
accommodate a wide variety of informal recreational
activities. The program for such a park should
include, at a minimum, two soccer fields and three
baseball or softball diamonds, all designed and built to
standards for league sports competition. In addition
up to two basketball courts and four tennis courts
should be included.
Up to three picnic pavilions to accommodate larger
group gatherings, plus a number of individual picnic
tables with nearby charcoal grills area also
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
recommended, as well as one play structure or
playground facility. Because the average user of this
facility will be staying for one to two hours or longer,
a comfort station with restrooms, drinking fountain or
other source of potable water should be included in the
park program. Parking too is a necessary program
element and given the activities envisioned, some 100
to 120 parking spaces may be needed.
The minimum recommended size of this park is 20
acres. Of this land area, 8 to 10 acres need to be
relatively level in order to accommodate the
envisioned baseball/softball fields and soccer fields
with a minimum amount of earthmoving.
Approximately five acres would be required to
accommodate the remaining program elements. This
acreage would not require a flat site.
The remaining 5 to 8 acres would be dedicated a third
program element, the opportunity for park users to be
in and enjoy a naturalistic area within the park. Also,
acreage on the perimeter of the park should be
reserved as a buffer area between the park and nearby
residential areas. Although parks are generally
perceived as being low impact land uses, they can
generate substantial levels of noise from athletic
events, concerts and other large community events.
The recommended location of the future community
park is along Virgil Creek and the former Lehigh
Valley Railroad grade between Dryden and Freeville.
This area is recommended for several reasons:
1. It would be at the approximate center of
population for the town.
2. It would astride the future bicycle/pedestrian path
between the two communities, and hence be
easily accessible via that path and others shown
on Map 5-2.
3. The riparian corridor along Virgil Creek would be
an ideal natural area component for a community
park.
4. The park would be easily accessible by
automobile from both NYS Rte. 13 and NYS Rte.
38 via George Road.
5. There is very little residential development in the
area that could be negatively impacted by noise
and traffic from major athletic or other events at
the park.
Bicycle and Pedestrian Paths
Although covered in detail below under transportation,
a system of bicycle and pedestrian paths should be
developed as an integral part of the proposed system.
These paths are envisioned as transportation linkages,
but they can at the same time be extensions of the
future town parks themselves.
Funding Future Parks
Using this plan as a basis, the Town of Dryden should
establish a process whereby developers of future
residential neighborhoods contribute land for public
park and open space purposes, or contribute money to
fund development of new park facilities in lieu of land
dedication. This is allowed under the provisions of
NYS Town Law, Section 277. Taking advantage of
this provision of State law can substantially reduce the
cost of developing a new town park system.
The development of the town’s future park system will
likely take place over a period of years, as new
residential developments are approved and built out.
Although it is possible to construct the proposed
community park as a single capital improvement
project, this is neither necessary nor recommended.
The development of the proposed community park can
be completed in several phases, as funding becomes
available. By taking this approach the Town of
Dryden can continue to tap its longstanding tradition
of community volunteerism and private donations of
funds for park improvements.
Locally the Town of Lansing has taken such an
approach in developing its extensive and popular town
parks system. Many of the facilities in Lansing’s
parks, such as baseball field and picnic pavilions, have
been constructed through donations of funds and labor
from various community groups.
Finally, there are continued grant programs at the state
and federal level that provide matching funds for park
development that the Town would be eligible to apply
for. The Town has already successfully tapped such
programs for the development of the Dryden Lake
Trail and other park and recreation or bikeway
projects. Upon adoption of this master plan the Town
should aggressively pursue similar such grants to fund
specific aspects of park system development.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Insert Map 5-2
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Transportation
The existing transportation system in the town of
Dryden is well developed and generally adequate for
accommodating any future growth envisioned in this
plan. The land use patterns proposed above are
intended to maximize the efficient use of existing
roads and highways, and minimize the need for major
investments in new roads by the Town, County or
State.
The primary issues with regard to the town’s road
network that should be addressed are: 1) controlling
traffic congestion along NYS Rte 13; 2) the impact of
excessive speed and the need to limit traffic volumes
within the hamlets, villages and other concentrations
of residential development; and 3) providing
alternatives to the automobile as a means of
transportation.
Most, and perhaps all of the new road infrastructure
that may be required due to the development
envisioned in the plan is expected to be constructed
by the private sector, as future neighborhoods are
being developed.
Controlling Congestion
Because it is a State highway, the most effective role
that the Town of Dryden can play in controlling
congestion on NYS Rte 13 is through land use and
growth management policies. There are a number of
policies that the Town should enact to limit the impact
of future development on NYS Rte. 13.
The first would be to concentrate future commercial
development within discrete areas, as recommended in
the land use section above. The Town however should
also, within these areas, implement regulations that
also control the number, size and locations of curb
cuts. Outside the hamlets, front yard setbacks in
commercial areas should be deep enough to
accommodate potential future highway widening
projects.
In areas designated as Suburban Residential, future
curb cuts on State and County highways should be
limited to those needed for new public streets.
Driveways should enter onto interior residential streets
of new developments. Implementation of this policy
will be especially important along Irish Settlement
Road and Etna Road and West Dryden Road where
they pass through proposed Suburban Residential
Areas. Avoiding driveway curb cuts to the extent
possible on these County highways will enhance their
capacity to accommodate the increased traffic from
future residential development.
This policy would both reduce potential for congestion
and enhance the quality of life for residents. The
Town should also maintain its requirement for deeper
front yards for new homes built along County or State
highways, and enact a similar requirement for new
homes where the backyard borders a County of State
highway.
In the case of both commercial and residential
development, the construction of shared driveways to
serve adjacent properties as a means of reducing curb
cuts should be mandated.
Excessive Speed and Traffic Volumes
The problems of excessive speed and traffic volumes
are issues that the Town of Dryden can address only
partially. Speed limits on streets, roads and highways
in areas outside village limits, such as in Varna, Etna,
Ellis Hollow and along Slaterville Road are set by
NYS Department of Transportation using criteria such
as density of development, traffic volumes and
accident data.
There are some actions however that the Town can
take to influence State decisions on speed limits. The
first is implementing the land use policies above that
emphasize increasing development densities,
especially in the proposed Hamlet areas. One of the
primary criteria used by the NYS Department of
Transportation is the density of development along the
subject road or highway. Both Varna and Etna have
undeveloped or under-utilized properties along NYS
Rte 366 that provide the opportunity for compact
development that in turn could trigger reductions in
speed limit to more appropriate levels.
The Varna Community Association has proposed such
an approach in its recently completed Varna
Community Revitalization Plan. The plan calls for
changes in zoning regulations that would better
segregate residential and commercial uses, but also
encourage higher density mixed residential, office and
retail centers between 922 and 999 Dryden Road.
Where it is not possible to have speeds reduced, the
Town should enact additional setbacks to help buffer
new residential development from highway noise.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Excessive traffic volumes are expected to continue to
be a problem for the several areas of the town
identified previously. This can be attributed to
regional geography, primarily the fact that these areas
are astride the major routes into and out of Ithaca from
the east. The Town however can take steps to mitigate
to some extent the impacts of traffic on
neighborhoods.
The first would be to support speed reduction efforts
of local civic and neighborhood groups wherever
possible, and stepped up enforcement of existing
speed limits. One of the major impacts of traffic on
residential neighborhoods is noise, and the level of
noise generated by traffic increases as speed increases.
Reductions in traffic speed thus can mitigate
somewhat the impacts of high traffic volumes.
Two areas of particular concern regarding traffic speed
have been identified. The first is the section of NYS
Rte. 366 between Freeville and NYS Rte. 13; the
second is Fall Creek Road through the hamlet of
McLean, a portion of which is in the Town of Dryden.
Promote the increased use of public transit and other
alternatives to the automobile through more compact
development patterns along transit routes,
development of park and ride lots and development of
a network of bicycle and pedestrian paths.
One of the reasons that high traffic volumes can have
an adverse impact on communities is that the
architecture many times is reflective of the pre-
automobile era. The Town should thus encourage the
use of new architectural technology that can both
substantially reduce the impact of traffic on property
and complement the character and fabric of the
community. This would be useful especially in Varna
and Etna hamlets, where there are opportunities for
redevelopment.
New Streets
Under this plan, the majority of the new dwellings that
would be constructed within the proposed Suburban
Residential areas will be located on new streets. For
the majority of new dwellings constructed within the
Hamlet, Rural Residential, Agricultural and
Conservation/Open Space areas, little or no new street
construction is expected. Instead the traditional
pattern if subdividing off land with frontage on an
existing road is expected to continue.
Ideally some 80% or more of future homes in the town
will be built within the Suburban Residential areas. If
80% of future homes were built within these areas, the
Town could expect between 1,015 and 1,320 new
dwellings within these areas. Assuming all of these
were built as single-family homes on conventional lots
fronting on new streets, somewhere between 12.0 and
15.6 miles of new streets may be built and dedicated
to the Town over the next two decades. If 10% of
these dwellings are constructed as attached
townhomes or other type of attached housing this
number could drop to between 11.1 and 14.4 miles.
If 10% of future new dwellings (i.e. only 70% of new
homes are built within the Suburban Residential
areas.) can be built within the two villages, then the
number of new miles of additional streets could drop
to between 10.8 and 14 miles if all new home were
single-family homes, and between 9.9 and 12.8 miles
of new streets would be necessary.
Specific recommendations for future streets are:
1. Setting the design speed for all new streets at 25
miles per hour. This will help create an
environment where drivers are less comfortable
exceeding speeds of 30 miles per hour.
2. Ensure that street construction specifications are
up to date, and that they are stringently applied to
developers as the construct new streets. This will
help reduce maintenance costs after the Town
assumes ownership.
3. Where appropriate, specifically on very low
volume residential streets develop standards that
allow for narrower streets to reduce impervious
surface areas within new developments.
4. Limit curb cuts for new streets off major
highways.
5. Ensure that the street network of the future allows
traffic to flow in all directions into and out of
neighborhoods, and provides residents with a
number of choices for entering or exiting their
neighborhood. This will help reduce the traffic
associated impacts of development but more
evenly distributing traffic from new
developments onto several streets, rather than
channeling it onto one or two.
6. Conversely, limit the use of cul-de-sacs in new
residential development. While attractive to
developers and prospective homeowners, cul-de-
sac street systems tend to concentrate traffic on
specific streets within a community and lead to
traffic congestion as well as adverse impacts on
the quality of life for residents on those streets.
Cul-de sac streets also increase the cost of winter
plowing and deicing, especially in cases where
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
turn-arounds are not adequate to accommodate
snowplows.
7. Where the use of a cul-de-sac is appropriate,
ensure that the cul-de-sac turnaround radius is
large enough to allow Town snowplows to turn
without having to stop and reverse. A number of
designs for cul-de-sac allow this, and should be
incorporated into Town street standards.
8. Utilize Ferguson Road and Irish Settlement Road
as a connector linking existing and future
development south of the village and along the
two roads to NYS Rte. 13. (Map 5-2) To ensure
both the capacity of this proposed link to
accommodate traffic, and to protect future
development along the two roads, the Town
should 1) limit access to both to intersections with
future public streets; and 2) require additional
setbacks from the two roadways for future
residential development.
9. The Town should work with Tompkins County to
reconstruct the intersection of Ferguson Road and
Irish Settlement Road to allow the two roads to
function efficiently as the connector roads
envisioned in 8 above.
The Town of Dryden can avoid almost all the cost of
constructing the new streets and roads needed to serve
the anticipated future development envisioned by this
plan by requiring that developers construct to Town
standards new subdivision streets, and then dedicate
them to the Town. This would include the proposed
connection between Ferguson Road and NYS Rte. 13.
This new street would serve as a minor collector street.
The amount of traffic that it might carry, even at a
maximum build-out of the surrounding Suburban
Residential area, should not exceed 6,000 to 7,000
vehicles per day. This level of traffic would be at the
high end of the acceptable volume of traffic for a
suburban residential street. A design that limits the
speed of traffic to 30 mph on the street, combined with
addition front yard setbacks, however can ensure even
that this level of traffic the street can still provide a
livable environment.
Bicycle/Pedestrian Paths
The Town of Dryden and Village of Dryden have
together developed the popular Dryden Lake Trail that
utilizes the abandoned railroad grade extending
southward from Main Street in the village to Dryden
Lake. The Town has received funding and is engaged
in the development of a second segment that will
continue the existing rail-bed trail into the Village of
Freeville. The Town also plans to develop a long trail
segment that will follow the former Lehigh Valley
Railroad grade eastward from the terminus of the East
Ithaca Recreation Way owned and maintained by the
Town of Ithaca, through Varna to Freeville. All of
these segments linked together could create a central
spine off which a network of bicycle pedestrian paths
can link town residents to the major centers of
employment, commerce, education and recreation in
the town.
This plan envisions a bicycle/pedestrian system.
(Map 5-2)
The network would be comprised of the trail between
Dryden Lake and the East Ithaca Recreation Way
development of which the Town has already embarked
on. Other linkages in the proposed network could
include (if further study determines that such a path
can be constructed without adverse environmental
impacts) a link through Ellis Hollow from the vicinity
of the Genung Road and Ellis Hollow Community
Center westward to connect to the Dryden Lake-Ithaca
spine in the vicinity of Stevenson Road.(approx. 1.8
miles).
Although it is represented on Map 5-2, no final
determination as to its desirability or specific route for
a path in Ellis Hollow has been identified. Any
prospective route for such a path must be carefully
analyzed to ensure that wetlands or other
environmentally sensitive areas are not adversely
impacted during or after construction. The Town
should work closely with local residents and the Ellis
Hollow Community Association to make a final
determination as to 1) the feasibility of such a path;
and 2) an appropriate alignment and design for the
path.
Other municipalities that have developed such
bicycle/pedestrian path systems have found that they
can provide an attractive transportation alternative to
the automobile, and an attractive amenity to residents
of both existing and future neighborhoods in the town.
Locally in the Town of Ithaca the East Ithaca
Recreation Way and the South Hill Recreation Way
have proven to be very popular for both commuter and
recreational purposes for residents of adjoining
neighborhoods. Because of its success a 1.3-mile
extension of the East Ithaca Recreation Way that will
connect the Eastern Heights neighborhood off Snyder
Hill Road is scheduled for construction in 2002.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Public Transit
Key steps that the Town of Dryden can take to improve
accessibility to and the utilization of public transit are
in the areas of land use and growth management.
Toward this end the Town should promote the
increased use of public transit through more compact
development patterns along transit routes,
development of park and ride lots and development of
a network of bicycle and pedestrian paths connecting
homes to bus stops.
To further the use of public transit, the location of
existing transit routes was considered in the
development of Map 5-1. The proposed Hamlet areas
and the locations for the proposed Suburban
Residential areas around Dryden and west of Etna are
astride existing transit routes.
The implementation of the land use plan
recommendations such as encouraging growth within
the villages and hamlets, and the Suburban Residential
areas adjacent to them will thus enhance the
attractiveness and serve to increase use of public
transit.
Other steps that the Town of Dryden should take
include:
1. Strongly advocating for improved public transit
service within the Town of Dryden, especially for
areas where there does exist or will exist in the
future major development and concentrations of
population.
2. Working with Tompkins Consolidated Area
Transit to ensure that bus shelters are
conveniently located and maintained.
3. Working with Tompkins Cortland Community
College, Tompkins Consolidated Transit and
Cortland County to develop bus service between
Dryden, TC3 and Cortland.
4. Ensure that the bicycle and pedestrian path
network envisioned above provides for
connections to existing bus routes.
5. Ensure that the street system within new
Suburban Residential areas is “transit friendly”
with, among other things, adequate turning radii
at intersections and elsewhere.
Climate, Energy, and Emissions
17 US Department of Environmental Protection. Climate
Change Indicators: Greenhouse Gases. https://www.epa.gov/
ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gaseshttps://www.epa.gov/
climate-indicators/greenhouse-gases
Climate Change
Climate change poses risks to the health, safety,
security, and the economy of our Town. Prioritizing
strengthening the resilience of the Town’s built,
natural, economic, and social systems is necessary
given the existential threat of accelerating climate
change as described in the Plan Synthesis section of
this Comprehensive Plan.
Greenhouse gases from human activities are the most
significant driver of observed climate change since the
mid-20th century17.
Joining with the County and sister communities to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, will provide a
consistent and synergistic response to the challenges
of climate change. This can be accomplished by
adopting the same goals of the County as described in
the County’s Energy Roadmap18 which advocate for
reductions of energy and fossil fuel usage along with
the reduction greenhouse gas emissions. This process
will require consistent monitoring, updating, and
intermunicipal collaboration to maintain consistency
with the most rigorous local and national standards.
Where the Town can coordinate its greenhouse gas
mitigation policies, practices, or activities with the
County, adjacent municipalities, and/or those located
in the County, it should try to do so.
Greenhouse Gas Inventories
It is recommended that the Town create and maintain
an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions and use the
most up to date, scientific methods for quantifying all
greenhouse gas emissions.
Efficient Buildings
The built environment accounts for roughly 40% of
energy use in the United States, and as a result the
building sector is a major contributor to carbon
emissions and global climate change19.
The following policies, laws, regulations, standards
and practices are recommended to improve the
efficiency with which the Town's residential,
18 Tompkins County Energy Roadmap. March 2016.
Page 2. http://tompkinscountyny.gov/files2/planning/
energyclimate/ documents/Energy%20Roadmap%203-25-16.pdf
19 Building Codes Assistance Project. Climate Change.
Energy Codes and Climate Change.
http://bcapcodes.org/topics/climate-change/
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
commercial, industrial, and institutional structures are
constructed and perform. Specific actions include:
• Incorporate Ithaca's Green Building Policy (GBP)
and/or County's 239 building standards into our
Residential and Commercial Guidelines
• Incorporate GBP and/or County's 239 standards
into Varna Plan.
• Review and modify the site plan checklist as
needed to reflect changes in the laws, policies, and
regulations.
Efficient Public Infrastructure
The Town should minimize resource use and demand
in local public infrastructure as a means to mitigate
greenhouse gas emissions and conserve water.
Greening the Energy Supply
The Town should adopt policies, laws, regulations,
standards and practices which cause the local energy
supply to transition away from carbon-intensive or
toxic sources toward renewable sources of energy.
Recommendations
The following are examples of policies, laws,
regulations, standards, and practices to support the
Town’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
and support GHG reduction goals:
• Adopt the most up to date version of energy, fossil
fuel, and GHG reduction goals
• Adopt science-based greenhouse gas emission
goals that include upstream methane emissions.
• Include language which automatically adopts
County standards if they become more rigorous
than the one's we are using
• Develop and promote the use of the rail trail as an
alternative to commuting with cars
• Install solar-powered public electric car charging
stations
• Require PB to review County and other
municipalities policies and practices every two
years to remain consistent or to increase our
standards
• Add Town SEQRA form which requires the
estimation of energy use and GHG emissions for
all SEQRA Type 1 actions
• Add to required information for Town's building
permit form answers to all applicable questions
raised by the County’s 239 Review including the
source and efficiency of energy usage
• Require developers to go through the County
Energy Navigator process and share the
Navigator's recommendations with Planning
Department.
• Partnering with other municipalities, the County,
and/or NGOs to seek funding to improve the
Town’s “green” infrastructure and improve
energy efficiency of current building stock.
Public & Semi-Public
Infrastructure
Water & Sewer Service
The extension of municipal water and or sewer service
to limited areas within the town will be necessary in
order to provide the foundation for the denser
residential development in and around existing centers
of population that this plan envisions.
This plan does not advocate that the Town extend
municipal water or sewer service as a means of
encouraging new development. Rather such
extensions should be targeted to correcting identified
needs or to encourage in-fill development within
existing built-up areas. (Map 5-3)
The Town of Dryden should work with the Village of
Dryden, the Village of Freeville and its partners in the
Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Plant and Southern
Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Water Commission to
develop the wastewater treatment capacities and
public water supplies that will be needed to serve
future development.
Providing municipal water service to the proposed
Suburban Residential areas on the periphery of Dryden
village will require construction of at least one water
tank. Currently the approximate limit of the water
service area for the Village of Dryden water system is
around 1,250 feet above sea level. The elevation of
approximately one-half of the proposed Suburban
Residential area adjacent to the village, including a
sizable portion of the area east of the village, is above
this pressure zone limit.
To create a new pressure zone and allow expansion of
municipal water service to serve the new Suburban
Residential areas would require construction of a new
water tank at an elevation of around 1,400 feet. Water
pumped to this tank could then serve the new
residential areas within the town as well as land in the
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
southwest corner of the village that also above the
existing limits of pressure.
Providing municipal sewer service to future
neighborhoods around the village would be less
complicated, as all areas are high enough to be served
by gravity mains. The key question with regard to
providing municipal sewer service is the capacity of
the village wastewater treatment plant, and the role the
Town of Dryden would play in operating the plant and
funding any necessary capacity improvements.
The second area of the town where major investment
in water and sewer infrastructure is recommended is in
Etna hamlet and the areas north of Fall Creek between
Etna and the Hall Road vicinity. Municipal water and
sewer infrastructure in this area can serve as a catalyst
for redevelopment of the hamlet and the creation of
new residential neighborhoods on the periphery of the
hamlet. The public infrastructure would also serve
existing and future industrial development in the area
south of the hamlet adjacent to NYS Route 13.
The proposed Suburban Residential area west of
Freeville would require an extension of the Village of
Freeville sewer system. This area is at a higher
elevation that the village itself, so the system can be a
gravity system. The Town should work cooperatively
with Freeville to develop a joint sewer system and to
fund any required upgrades to the existing wastewater
treatment facility.
Although there is some addition development
proposed on the periphery of Varna, almost all of this
new development will occur within the existing water
and sewer service areas.
Municipal water or sewer does not currently serve the
area between Hanshaw Road and the Ithaca-Tompkins
Regional Airport. It is however immediately adjacent
to existing service areas, and extension of services into
to the properties in that area would likely be
constructed by a private developer of the land.
The financing of the Town's portion of the cost of
extending municipal water and sewer service into the
proposed Suburban Residential areas is expected to be
accomplished through the establishment of benefit
districts. Much of the envisioned system however is
expected to be constructed by the private sector
developers of the new residential neighborhoods.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Insert Map 5-3
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Telecommunications
Given the increasing importance of wireless
telecommunications in both the general economy and
to individual residents, the Town of Dryden should
strive to ensure such technology for is available, to the
extent practicable, in its residential neighborhoods,
businesses and educational institutions.
The future land use patterns proposed on Map 5-1, if
implemented, are likely to indirectly facilitate the
availability of wireless technology to a broader
population of town residents. Focusing future
development in and around the villages and hamlets of
the town, as proposed, could reduce the amount of
infrastructure necessary to serve residents and
businesses and hence the cost of providing desired
levels of service.
At the same time, it is important that the Town ensure
that the placement, construction or modification of the
support network of telecommunications towers and
their support facilities continues to be regulated in a
manner that is consistent with its land use policies,
minimizes the potential negative impacts of the
structures and protects the health, safety and welfare
of residents. Key to accomplishing this will be
monitoring the evolution of the sector, reviewing on a
regular basis the Telecommunications Tower Siting
Law adopted in May 1998 for its applicability and
consistency with state and federal regulations and
amending it as needed.
Public Safety
The longstanding network of volunteer fire and
emergency medical services organizations continues
to effectively serve town residents. While it does not
directly participate in the day to day operations of
these organizations, the Town of Dryden nonetheless
must continue to work with them to ensure provision
of quality fire and EMS services into the future, and a
cost effective manner. Because service areas may
overlap municipal boundaries, the Town should also
work cooperatively with Tompkins County and other
municipalities to enhance the provision of fire police
and emergency services and to minimize the cost of
such services to the public.
A number of recommendations in the adopted Hazard
Mitigation Plan have already been implemented, or are
in the process of being implemented. The Town of
Dryden should continue such efforts, including
proposed infrastructure improvements, disaster and
hazard awareness education, and the acquisition of
training and equipment for local public safety and
public works staffs. By its nature the Hazard
Mitigation Plan requires the development of
partnerships with state, county and local agencies to
implement specific aspects of the plan. The Town has
been very successful to date in doing so, and must
continue to do so in the future.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Fiscal Implications
Introduction
Implementation of the recommendations outlined in
Chapter Five would entail a substantial investment by
the Town of Dryden in new public infrastructure, as
well as a substantial financial commitment to
maintaining this investment. This section provides
estimates of the level of investment that may be
required of the Town, as well as the revenues that may
be generated through property taxes from anticipated
new development over the next two decades.(N.B.:
All figures used in this section are in 2004 dollars.)
The major infrastructure investments will be in:
1. Road improvements consisting of reconstruction
the intersection of Ferguson Rd. and Irish
Settlement Rd. and the reconfiguration of NYS
Rte. 366 through Varna;
2. A network of bicycle and pedestrian paths;
3. A system of neighborhood and community parks;
4. Extensions of public water and sewer service.
In addition to the above investments, this plan calls for
investment in the future of agriculture in the Town of
Dryden, through a purchase of development rights
(PDR) program.
A critical factor that will govern the level of
investment in new infrastructure needed in the future
will be the actual level of population growth in the
coming decades, and where that growth occurs. The
need for the majority of the several neighborhood
parks proposed in this plan, for instance, will be
directly driven by population growth and the
development of specific new neighborhoods. If the
potential growth does not materialize, there would be
no need for the investment in the envisioned parks.
The plan also proposes substantial investment in new
water and sewer infrastructure. This infrastructure
will allow the increases in development densities in
and around the existing centers of population at
Dryden, Etna and Freeville needed to channel the bulk
of future growth into those areas. It could also serve
approximately 500 existing homes in the envisioned
service areas.
Park and Recreation Facilities
The cost estimates for the future park facilities are
based on the envisioned uses and amenities in each
facility. Table 6-1 lists the facilities that the typical
neighborhood park would have.
The site for any neighborhood park should have an
area of at least 15,000 square feet that is level to gently
sloping to accommodate a lawn area that would be
useable for informal games and activities, and a play
structure. This will eliminate the need for any site
grading. Given the open field character of the areas
where the neighborhood parks are proposed, it is likely
that no clearing or grubbing of woodland will be
necessary.
No parking facilities would be provided at the
neighborhood parks.
Based on the above assumptions, the Town of Dryden
can expect to invest an average of $47,500 for each
neighborhood park it develops in the coming decades.
This figure is based on project cost data from other
park facilities recently developed here in Tompkins
County, and cost estimate data from construction
industry cost references.
The proposed community park will represent a
substantial investment by the Town of Dryden. The
park as envisioned will include an athletics complex
comprised of soccer fields, baseball diamonds,
basketball and tennis courts, a day use area with picnic
and playground facilities, comfort station, parking and
other support infrastructure. Table 6-1 lists the
facilities envisioned in the proposed community park.
This plan assumes that the land for the proposed
community park would be purchased by the Town.
Table 6-1
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Proposed Park Facilities and Cost Estimates
Neighborhood Park Projected Costs
Minimum of 1 acre of land, of which a minimum of 1/2 acre would be maintained
lawn; play structure w/ minimum 2 swings, 5ft slide, seesaw, climbing feature, bridge
feature; 5 benches, 2 picnic tables; 200 LF paved walkway (entry walk) 6 deciduous
trees of 3 in caliper; 15 conifer trees 5-6 ft in height; 60 shrubs; directional and
regulatory signage.
$47,500 (ea.)
Community Park
Minimum 20 acres of land (assumed purchased); minimum of 4 acres would be
maintained lawn; play structure w/ minimum 2 swings, 5ft slide, seesaw, climbing
feature, bridge feature; 12 seating benches, 25 picnic tables and 12 barbeque grilles;
20x30ft. picnic pavilion; comfort station; 1,000 LF of access drives and parking for
100 cars; 2,700 LF paved walking/jogging path; athletic facilities comprised of 2
soccer fields, 2 baseball diamonds, 2 basketball courts and 4 tennis courts; 75
deciduous trees of 3 in caliper; 50 conifer trees 5-6 ft in height; 250 shrubs; directional
and regulatory signage.
$823,000
Land required for the development of neighborhood
parks could be acquired through dedication of land by
future developers as provided for in Section 227(4) of
Town Law. Also, the Town of Dryden can establish
a mechanism by which under specific circumstances it
can require developers of residential properties to
contribute funds in lieu of land for public park and
open space purposes. These funds can be applied
toward the cost of improvements in existing and future
parks.
Some costs for rights-of-way may be incurred in
development of the paths between Dryden village and
Game Farm Road, and the path in Ellis Hollow. Given
experience of municipalities elsewhere, however,
much of these rights-of-way may likely be donated by
property owners.
20
These cost estimates and others used
in this plan document are based on generic
cost estimates for construction in Tompkins
Transportation
The investments in transportation that are envisioned
in this plan would be in the form of improvements to
existing roads and a comprehensive network of
bicycle/pedestrian paths.
Because no engineering or design work has been
completed, only a very preliminary estimate of the
potential cost can be given for the reconstruction the
intersection of Ferguson Road and Irish Settlement
Road to allow the two roads to function efficiently as
the connector roads envisioned in Chapter 5.
A minimum-solution scenario could involve
reconstruction of approximately 750 feet of roadway
within existing rights of way to better align the roads
and reconfigure intersections. For planning purposes
the cost of such work is estimated to be $170,000.20
A more involved solution would include realigning the
roadways so that Irish Settlement Road did not pass
through the existing farmstead. This would entail
construction of roughly 1,500 feet of new roadway and
County and surrounding region and are
presented solely for the purpose of assessing
the potential costs of implementing this
plan.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
realigning the western leg of Ferguson Road. For
planning purposes the cost of this project, including
land acquisition, is estimated to be $380,000.
The improvements to the Ferguson Road/Irish
Settlement Road intersections would be a partnership
between the Town of Dryden and Tompkins County.
Because the roads serve a role in the regional
transportation system the improvements should be
included in the County's Transportation Improvement
Program (TIP) and be eligible for State and Federal
funding. Generally such funding covers 75% or more
of project costs. If the Town of Dryden were to be
responsible for 50% of the local share, its costs would
be between $21,000 and $48,000.
The second major investment in transportation
infrastructure would be a reconstruction of NYS Rte.
366 through Varna. This "Highway to Main Street"
conversion of the roadway would entail a substantial
investment of public funds for new street curbing,
sidewalks, street lighting and landscaping. The project
would involve the section of NYS Rte. 366 extending
approximately three-quarters of a mile from just west
of Forest Home Drive to approximately 800 feet east
of Mt. Pleasant Road.
As is the case with the Ferguson Road/Irish Settlement
Road project, no engineering or design work has been
completed, only a very preliminary estimate of the
potential cost can be given.
The cost of the project, however, is expected to be
similar to the costs of the recent reconstruction of
Main Street in Dryden village and the planned
reconstruction of Main Street in Trumansburg, or
somewhere around $800,000 to $1,000,000. As is the
case with the projects in both Dryden and
Trumansburg, the project in Varna would require
outside funding. Trumansburg received a grant from
New York State to cover 75 percent of the
approximately $850,000 cost of its Main Street
reconstruction.
For the purpose of this Comprehensive Plan the Town
of Dryden should expect to invest up to $250,000 in
the proposed "Highway to Main Street" conversion of
NYS Rte. 366 in Varna.
The third major investment in transportation
infrastructure would be in the form of the proposed 12-
mile bicycle/pedestrian path system. This network
would include a central spine consisting of a trail from
Dryden Lake westward across the town to the existing
East Ithaca Recreation Way on Game farm Road. The
overall cost of this future network is estimated to be
approximately $738,000.
Water and Sewer
Infrastructure
This plan assumes that the Town of Dryden will
continue to rely on partnerships with other
municipalities for the provision of wastewater
treatment facilities. It also assumes that there is only
minimal excess wastewater treatment capacity
available through the Ithaca Area Wastewater
Treatment Plant, or the treatment plants owned by the
villages of Freeville and Dryden. Hence this plan
assumes that the Town would have to purchase
additional treatment capacity for at least 80 percent of
all future residential development.
Investment in public water and sewer infrastructure
will be concentrated in the areas in and around the
hamlet of Etna, the area northwest of Freeville and
around Dryden village. Table 6-2 provides a
breakdown of the estimated costs, by area. These
estimates were compiled for the purpose of assessing
the potential fiscal impacts of this plan on the Town of
Dryden only. They utilize generic cost data for such
facilities and are not based on the detailed engineering
studies that would be required if in the future the Town
pursues the proposed improvements.
The financing of the proposed water and sewer
improvements could be through the establishment of
benefit improvement districts as provided for under
Article 12 of Town Law. The cost of the
improvements would thus be assessed to property
owners within the districts. Not all improvements
would be at public expense: land developers would be
responsible for the cost of the water and sewer
improvements constructed as a part of the approved
development plan for their property. The costs of
these improvements are not reflected in Table 6-2.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Table 6- 2
Projected Water & Sewer Improvements and Costs (2004 $$$s)
Area Water Sewer Total
Dryden village $915,000 $767,000 $1,682,000
Freeville village n/a $378,000 $378,000
Etna & vicinity $2,016,000 $2,226,000 $4,242,000
Wastewater treatment plant
capacity purchases
n/a
$1,334,000
$1,334,000
Total projected construction costs $2,931,000 $4,705,000 $7,636,000
Estimated interest on borrowing
(20 yrs @ 6.5%)
$2,314,000
$3,714,000
$6,028,000
Total cost $5,245,000 $8,419,000 $13,664,000
Purchase of Development
Rights Program
The actual cost of an agricultural conservation
easement is determined through a formal appraisal
process. Table 6-3 however outlines the potential
costs of a PDR program for the Town of Dryden, based
on recent land assessment values, the costs typically
associated with acquiring easements and
administering a PDR program. While the following
figures are preliminary it appears that a successful
purchase of development rights, implemented over a
20-year period, would cost approximately $3.3
million, or less than $170,000 per year on average.
According to Tompkins County Assessment
Department data the average price per acre of farmland
parcels sold in the towns of Dryden, Lansing and
Groton between July 1999 and April 2004 was $1,040.
Based on the number the estimated value of the 70
parcels suggested for inclusion in a PDR program is
approximately $8.27 million. General experience in
areas that have established purchase of development
programs is that the value of development rights
should exceed 60 percent of the total value of land.
Sixty percent of $1,040 would be $624. At this rate
the cost of acquiring the development rights to all
candidate parcels would be approximately $4.96
million.
Acquisition of the development rights to all parcels of
land within the proposed target areas however is not
anticipated. Evidence from other places in the country,
with longstanding PDR programs, indicates that pro-
tecting fifty percent of higher-quality farmland can
create a critical mass of protected farmland that would
stabilize agricultural land resources and farm viability
in the town21. Hence the Town of Dryden could
anticipate acquisition of easements on about half of the
target properties.
Furthermore, not all of the above costs would be borne
by the Town of Dryden. There are now in place
funding programs at both the state and federal levels
of government that the Town of Dryden could tap to
fund significant portions of the cost of acquiring
conservation easements. The current New York State
Farmland Protection program funds 75% of the costs
of acquiring agricultural conservation easements.
In some cases, the donation by a landowner of an
agricultural conservation easement to the Town of
Dryden may have positive tax benefits for the
landowner while reducing costs to the public.
21 Daniels, Tom, and Mark Lapping. Farmland
Preservation in America and the Issue of Critical Mass.
Paper presented to annual conference of the American
Farmland Trust. November 13, 2001.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Table 6- 3
Purchase of Development Rights Program for Agricultural Land
in Town of Dryden Over 20-Year Program Timeframe
Program Element 100% Participation Rate 50% Participation Rate
Easement Acquisition Costs (@ $624/ac.) Approx. $4.96 million Approx. $2.48 million
Appraisals, Surveys, Legal Costs Approx. $350,000 Approx. $180,000
Administration
Program Leader (1/2-time position at
$27,000/yr inc. benefits) Approx. $540,000 Approx. $540,000
Easement Monitoring & Enforcement
(approx. $270 per year per easement) $190,000 $95,000
Total Estimated Cost Approx. $6.04 million Approx. $3.3 million
Projected Costs vs. Projected
Revenues
The primary sources of revenues for funding the above
investments are expected to be property taxes for the
proposed park and bicycle/pedestrian facilities, and
benefit assessments for the proposed water and sewer
infrastructure.
The Town of Dryden has a relatively robust base of
taxable property with which to fund its operations and
services to residents. According to the Tompkins
County Assessment Department the total assessed
value of all taxable property in the Town of Dryden as
of July 2004 was $615.77 million. (The total value of
all property, taxable and tax-exempt, was $742.12
million.)
Property values in the Town of Dryden have also been
increasing in recent years. The total assessed value of
all taxable property in the Town has increased by some
22.6% from $502.21 million in 2000.
Commercial and industrial properties in the Town of
Dryden only account for about 6% of all taxable
property. Given this, the bulk of new property tax
revenues that are expected to be generated by future
development in the town are expected to be generated
by future residential development. At the same time,
this anticipated residential development is also
expected to generate the demand for a substantial
portion of the investments in public facilities
envisioned in this plan.
Park & Recreation Facilities,
Transportation Improvements
Altogether this plan envisions the need for an
investment by the Town of Dryden of between $2.7
and $3.1 million in new park and recreation facilities
and transportation improvements over the next two
decades. In addition the Town will be incurring
additional cost for maintaining the new infrastructure.
These costs are broken down in Table 6-4. On average
they represent a cost of between $225,000 and
$390,000 per year.
The table is organized around four different growth
scenarios: accommodating 33% of the projected
increase in population between now and 2022;
accommodating 50% of the projected increase in
population; accommodating 75% of the projected
increase; and accommodating 100% of the projected
increase in population. This is due to the fact that the
anticipated level of investment in park, recreation and
transportation improvements will be tied somewhat to
the level of future growth.
The cost figures shown in Table 6-4 for the proposed
bicycle/pedestrian path network and park facilities do
not anticipate any outside funding for such projects.
For the purpose of this plan the presumption is that the
Town of Dryden would fully fund such projects.
This approach has been taken because, unlike highway
funding, the state and federal governments do not have
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
any permanent funding mechanisms for local
investments in park and recreation funding.
Historically communities have had to compete for
grants from limited, short-term funding programs.
The conservative approach that presumes local
funding only thus presents a "worst case" scenario in
terms of fiscal impact on the Town of Dryden.
Table 6-4 also includes the projected costs of
maintaining the envisioned roads, park and recreation
facilities and bicycle/pedestrian paths. These
projected maintenance costs are based on cost data
from the Town of Dryden, other local municipalities
and industry cost data sources.
The projected road maintenance costs were calculated
by dividing the existing Town of Dryden Highway
department budget by the number of miles of roads
owned by the Town of Dryden. The highway
department budget does include the cost of a number
of non-road related activities of the department that
would be difficult to separate out. Using this formula,
without adjusting for non-road related activities,
results in a cost of approximately $20,550 per mile of
road. For the purpose of future land use policy
planning, however, it is more desirable to use a higher
cost estimate that includes non-road expenses rather
than underestimate the potential future costs
The calculation of future costs also assumes that future
residential lot sizes would be the same as allowed
under the existing Town zoning, and that each new
dwelling would require 125 feet of road frontage.
There is some potential, through the use of land
development concepts such as cluster subdivision
design, to reduce the average amount of road frontage
per lot in future developments. The conservative
approach of assuming no change in average road
frontage however protects against underestimating
future costs, and is thus preferred.
The projected maintenance costs for the proposed
parks and bicycle/pedestrian path system are based on
an analysis of maintenance costs completed by the
Town of Ithaca in 1997, as well as industry cost data
references. Based on these sources, it is estimated that
the Town of Dryden would spend approximately
$8,000 annually to maintain a neighborhood park;
approximately $17,000 per year to maintain a
community park; and approximately $2,150 per mile
of bicycle/pedestrian path, per year.
Table 6-4 also includes the projected costs of
maintaining the envisioned roads, park and recreation
facilities and bicycle/pedestrian paths. These
projected maintenance costs are based on cost data
from the Town of Dryden, other local municipalities
and industry cost data sources.
Not all of the projected investments and attendant
increases in maintenance responsibilities listed in
Table 6-4 can be tied to the envisioned future
development and population growth in the town.
Some of the envisioned investment in proposed park
facilities and the bicycle/pedestrian path system will
actually serve an existing desire or need.
The proposed community park and about one-half of
the proposed bicycle/pedestrian path network,
including the proposed Ellis Hollow path and Dryden
to Ithaca path, will serve existing needs or desires for
such facilities in the town. As a result most of the
costs associated with these facilities should not be
attributed to the envisioned new development.
As Table 6-5 shows the share of park and recreational
facilities that could be attributed to the existing town
population would run between $1,947,200 if only
33% of anticipated population materializes, and
$3,123,500 if the maximum anticipated growth in
population occurs, and maximum amount of park and
recreational facilities is developed. The amount
attributable to future population growth (new homes,
new residents) ranges between $638,100 if only 33%
of the anticipated growth materializes, and about
$1,042,400 if the maximum anticipated growth
occurs.
Whether or not future development in the town will
generate the additional property taxes necessary to
cover the costs outlined above is a key question.
According to Tompkins County Assessment
Department data for 2004, the mean assessed value of
a residential property in the town was approximately
$121,200. At the current property tax levy (2005
Town budget) of $1.48/1,000 this equates to an
average realization of $179 per property, per year in
property taxes.
The amount of revenues that the Town can expect to
be raised over the next two decades will be dependent
on the level of growth and development. Table 6-6
thus outlines the potential revenue stream for each of
the four anticipated levels of growth, compared to the
cost of the envisioned road, park and bicycle/
pedestrian facilities, including maintenance costs.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Table 6-4
Projected Costs of Proposed Park and Transportation Infrastructure
Plan Component
Anticipated Costs
33% Level
Anticipated Costs
50% Level
Anticipated Costs
75% Level
Anticipated Costs
100% Level
Roads – capital improvements * $297,500 $297,500 $297,500 $297,500
New Roads – maintenance costs
(over 20 year period)
$1,069,000
(5.2 mi. new rds.)
$1,603,000
(7.8 mi. new rds.)
$2,425,000
(11.8 mi. new rds.)
$3,206,000
(15.6 mi. new rds.)
Parks – capital improvements
$965,500
construct
community park
plus 3
neighborhood
parks
$1,013,000
construct
community park
plus 4
neighborhood
parks
$1,155,500
construct
community park
plus 7
neighborhood
parks
$1,250,500
construct
community park
plus 9
neighborhood
parks
Parks – maintenance costs (over
20 year period)
$455,000
$533,000
$770,000
$927,000
Bicycle/Pedestrian Paths –
capital improvements**
$738,000
Freeville to Game
Farm Rd.
$738,000
Freeville to Game
Farm Rd.
$738,000
Freeville to Game
Farm Rd.
$738,000
Freeville to Game
Farm Rd.
Bicycle/Pedestrian Paths –
maintenance costs (over 20 year
period, incl. Dryden Lake-Ithaca
link)
$258,000
$258,000
$258,000
$258,000
Total Costs 2005-2025 $3,783,000 $4,442,500 $5,644,000 $6,677,000
* For the purpose of this Plan the proposed investments in road improvements are presumed to be needed at the 33%
growth threshold. The Town of Dryden share is presumed to be 25% of the project costs for the Varna project and
12.5% for the Ferguson Rd./Irish Settlement Road improvements. The higher estimate of $380,000 is used for the
Ferguson Rd./Irish Settlement Road project.
** Because the project is already in the implementation stages the cost of the Dryden to Freeville section of the Dryden
Lake to Ithaca trail is not included.
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Table 6-5
Allocation of Costs of Future Parks & Bicycle Pedestrian Facilities
Anticipated
Costs 33%
Level
Anticipated
Costs 50%
Level
Anticipated
Costs 75%
Level
Anticipated
Costs 100%
Level
Total Estimated Costs – Capital & Maintenance
$2,585,300
$3,508,800
$3,874,900
$4,165,900
% of cost of new community park & 50% of bike/
pedestrian path system construction and maintenance
allocated to new population – 2002 - 2022
10%
15%
20%
25%
Dollar amount allocated to new population – 2002 - 2022
$638,100
$729,900
$883,100
$1,042,400
Amount Allocated to Existing Population
$1,947,200
$3,145,000
$2,991,800
$3,123,500
Table 6-6
Impact of Projected Road, Park and Bicycle/Pedestrian Path Improvements on Tax Rate
33% of
Anticipated
Growth
50% of
Anticipated
Growth
75% of
Anticipated
Growth
100% of
Anticipated
Growth
Potential Revenues From New
Development (over 20 years)
$1,074,000
$1,611,000
$2,416,500
$3,222,000
Projected Cost of Roadway, Park &
Bicycle/ Pedestrian Facilities, incl.
Maintenance (over 20 years)
$3,783,000
$4,442,500
$5,644,000
$6,677,000
Average Cost Per Year
$189,200
$222,100
$282,200
$333,850
Average Annual Revenues From New
Development (@ current property tax rate
of $1.48/1,000)
$53,700
$80,550
$120,825
$161,100
Projected Annual Surplus/Deficit (over 20
years)
-$135,500
-$141,550
-$161,375
-$172,750
Projected Adjustment to Property Tax Rate
+$0.220/1,000
+$0.230/1,000
+$0.262/1,000
+$0.281/1,000
Projected Increase in Annual Property Tax
Bill for Home Valued at Town of Dryden
Mean
$27 +/-
$28 +/-
$32 +/-
$34 +/-
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
As Table 6-6 shows, the amount of revenues that the
Town of Dryden can anticipate from new development
will not fully cover the costs of projected
improvements. If these costs are spread out over the
entire base of taxable property in the town, the
projected average annual amount of additional taxes
ranges from $0.22/1,000 to $0.28/1000 of assessed
valuation. For the owners of a home with the mean
value of $121,299, this would represent an increase of
between $26 and $34 per year in property taxes. (2004
dollars)
This scenario does not take into consideration the
potential availability of outside funding. It is thus the
"worst case scenario" from the standpoint of the
potential future growth and development in the town
over the next two decades. There are existing grants
programs at the state and federal levels for the
development of park and transportation infrastructure
that the Town of Dryden can tap. In addition the town
is home to a number of civic organizations with a long
history of contributing to civic improvements. These
groups can be expected to continue the tradition.
Other municipalities in Tompkins County have
developed extensive park facilities through the
financial support and volunteerism of such groups.
Moreover, the above projection assumes that the
future residential development in the town will follow
the current pattern of single-family detached homes on
conventional lots. As a result up to 15.6 miles of new
roadway may be built to accommodate new residential
development in the coming decades.
Through strategies that allow denser development in
targeted areas and encouraging the use of cluster
design in subdivision developments, the Town of
Dryden could substantially reduce the number of new
miles of roadway it would need to accommodate new
growth and development.
By setting a goal of limiting the amount of new public
roads developed through encouraging more efficient
land use patterns to two-thirds of the projected
amount, the Town of Dryden could substantially
reduce the projected increases in road maintenance
costs, and the projected increases in property taxes
shown in Table 6-6. A one-third reduction in the
amount of projected new road construction in fact
would result in a reduction in the projected average
annual additional property taxes shown in Table 6-6 to
between $0.14/1,000 to $0.16/1,000 of assessed
valuation. The result of this adjustment alone would
be a more modest increase in property taxes of
between $26 and $30 per year for the owners of a
home with the mean value of approximately $121,200.
The impact of new residential development on
property tax rates can be further reduced if the Town
of Dryden were to establish a dedicated fund for park
development. This could be funded through the levy
of a fee on all new residential development on lots
where a dedication of land has not been required as
condition of subdivision approval. Such fee could be
collected at the time of building permit application,
from the applicant for the building permit for the new
dwelling(s), or prior to the filing of a subdivision plat
by a developer.
Table 6-7
Potential Revenues from Park & Recreation Development Fee
Potential Revenues From New
Development (over 20 years)
(collected on 65% of total DUs built)
33% of
Anticipated
Growth
50% of
Anticipated
Growth
75% of
Anticipated
Growth
100% of
Anticipated
Growth
$500 per unit
$195,000
$292,500
$438,750
$585,000
$750 per unit
$292,500
$438,750
$658,125
$877,500
$1,000 per unit
$390,000
$585,000
$877,500
$1,170,000
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
In those areas identified on Map 5-1 as suitable for
Suburban Residential, approximately 35% of
anticipated new development would occur on tracts
where a dedication of land for public park and open
space purposes is anticipated. This includes land
dedicated for the purpose of building
bicycle/pedestrian paths. The remaining 65% of new
residential development would occur on tracts where
no public park facility or bicycle/pedestrian path is
anticipated. A park and recreation facilities
development fee in lieu of land could be assessed on
this remaining 65 percent.
If the Town of Dryden were to establish a $500 per
unit fee, it could see a reduction in the potential
property tax rate increases shown on the bottom row
of Table 6-6 of between $1.58 at the 33% anticipated
growth level and $4.75 at the 100% of anticipated
growth level. With the fee set at $1,000, the reduction
would be in the range of $3.16 at the 33% anticipated
growth level and $9.50 at the 100% of anticipated
growth level. The Town of Dryden should thus
establish such a fund in order to reduce the impact on
property taxes of the envisioned future park and
recreation facilities and bicycle/pedestrian paths. The
actual amount to be levied should be set after a more
in-depth study of the issue is conducted.
Potential Costs - Park & Recreation
Facilities, Transportation Improvements &
Purchase of Development Rights Program
Table 6-8 outlines the cumulative costs of the
proposed park and recreational facilities and
transportation improvements, combined with the
projected cost of a purchase of development rights
program. It combines the data in Table 6-3 and 6-6 to
give an overall picture of the fiscal impacts of the
proposed investments described in Chapter 5.
The costs shown for the proposed purchase of
development rights program assume an ultimate
landowner participation rate of 50 percent, and no
outside funding. This is considered the highest cost
scenario for such a program and the one with the
highest fiscal impact on Town taxpayers.
Table 6-8
Potential Impact on Tax Rate of Proposed Road, Park and Bicycle/Pedestrian Path
Improvements and Purchase of Development Rights Program
33% of
Anticipated
Growth
50% of
Anticipated
Growth
75% of
Anticipated
Growth
100% of
Anticipated
Growth
Projected Average Cost Per Year of
Roadway, Park & Bicycle/ Pedestrian
Facilities, incl. Maintenance (over 20 years)
$189,200
$222,100
$282,200
$333,850
Projected Average Annual Cost of Purchase
of Development Rights Program
$170,000
$170,000
$170,000
$170,000
Total $359,200 $392,100 $452,200 $503,850
Average Annual Revenues From New
Development (@ current property tax rate
of $1.48/1,000)
$53,700
$80,550
$120,825
$161,100
Projected Annual Surplus/Deficit (over 20
years)
-$305,500
-$311,550
-$331,375
-$342,750
Projected Adjustment to Property Tax Rate
+$0.496/1,000
+$0.506/1,000
+$0.538/1,000
+$0.557/1,000
Projected Increase in Annual Property Tax
Bill for Home Valued at Town of Dryden
Mean
$60 +/-
$61 +/-
$65 +/-
$68 +/-
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
Water and Sewer Improvements
As shown in Table 6-2, this plan anticipates a
substantial investment in new public water and sewer
infrastructure. The cost of this infrastructure would be
funded through the establishment of improvement
districts as provided for under Article 12 of Town
Law. Although there may be grant funding available
in the coming years to defray some of the costs of this
envisioned infrastructure, for the purposes of this plan
it is assumed that there will not be outside financial
assistance available to the Town.
Table 6-9
Projected Cost Per Dwelling Unit (DU): Water & Sewer Improvements
Estimated
cost
(2005-2025)
Estimated
number of
dwellings &
cost per
dwelling to be
served
(33% level –
new + existing)
Estimated
number of
dwellings &
cost per
dwelling to be
served
(50% level –
new + existing)
Estimated
number of
dwellings &
cost per
dwelling to be
served
(75% level –
new + existing)
Estimated
number of new
dwellings & cost
per dwelling to
be served
(100% level –
new + existing)
Water
$5,227,200
730
905
1,160
1,410
Cost Per Dwelling
Unit - Water
n/a
$7,160
$5,780
$4,510
$3,710
Sewer
$8,523,200
805
980
1,230
1,485
Cost Per Dwelling
Unit Sewer
n/a
$10,590
$8,700
$6,930
$5,740
Water + Sewer
Cost per Dwelling
Unit
n/a
$17,750
$14,480
$11,440
$9,450
Total Annual Cost
Per Dwelling Unit
Over 20 Years
n/a
$888
$724
$572
$473
Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan December 8, 2005
The proposed investments in public water and sewer services would occur in three discrete locations in the town.
Because it is not possible to accurately predict the level of development in each of the three target areas, no breakdown
between the three areas in terms of number of dwellings is given. Also, given the nature of the improvements, the
number of new homes built over the next two decades in the town is not expected to affect the costs of the proposed
expansions of service. The anticipated costs would be essentially the same whether the amount of growth in the town
is at the above referenced 33%, 50%, 75% or 100% of projected population growth.
This plan also assumes that the Town is successful in channeling 80 percent of its future residential development into
these areas.
The cost figures shown in Table 6-9 show that public water and sewer service can be provided to the areas targeted
under this plan for such service, at a relatively reasonable cost. The key to keeping costs at a reasonable level,
however, is maximizing the number of units served by the proposed infrastructure, taking into consideration, at the
same time, the desire of existing residents to respect the existing character of the community.
The areas around the village of Dryden where investment in public water and sewer are recommended pose a specific
challenge with regard to financing. Almost all of the undeveloped land immediately adjacent to the village is located
within Tompkins County Agricultural District No.1. Under state law the Town cannot charge a benefit assessment
on these lands to defray the cost of any water or sewer improvement. Thus at this time there is essentially no base
upon which to finance those proposed improvements through the traditional benefit district mechanism.