VILLAGE OF KINDERHOOK
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

ADOPTED NOVEMBER 1999

SUMMARY OF STRATEGIES
AND RECOMMENDATIONS

October, 2000

Introduction

The Village of Kinderhook Comprehensive plan, officially adopted by the Village Board in November, 1999, reflects the opinions and desires expressed by the residents of the Village of Kinderhook. the Kinderhook Village Board is pleased to provide you these highlights of the goals and recommendations of the Comprehensive Plan which will enable the Village of Kinderhook to craft land use policies that are considered and planned, rather than reactive.

A Comprehensive Plan allows a community to inventory its strengths and resources, identify its needs and articulate a shared vision for the future. Although comprehensive plans contain no actual regulations or ordinances, any subsequently adopted land use regulation and long-range plans must be consistent with the plan's goals and objectives. comprehensive planning also increases the community's eligibility for grant funding and other development programs.

The Village of Kinderhook comprehensive Plan identifies our goals and makes recommendations for planning that reflects our shared vision for the Village.

Public Participation

This plan is the product of extensive research, analysis and thorough public participation that included three surveys, several open meetings, and two public hearings to gauge and gather the community's opinions, values and concerns. This public process enabled the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Committee to better understand and address the issues and opportunities facing the Village of Kinderhook.

Vision Statement

"The Village of Kinderhook preserves and enhances the residential, commercial and agricultural features of the community in a manner consistent with the Village's historic character and aesthetic qualities that make Kinderhook unique in the Hudson River Valley."

Where to Get More Information

The Village of Kinderhook Comprehensive Plan can be purchased for a fee of $10.00 at the Village Clerk's Office at 6 Chatham Street, Kinderhook, NY 12106-0325.

The Village Board encourages all residents to read the Comprehensive Plan and invites everyone's participation as together we work to realize the best possible future for our community.

The plan was, in part, funded by a grant from the Hudson River Valley Greenway Communities Council and a grant from the Rural New York Grant Program administered by the New York Planning Federation.

The Comprehensive Plan received a Small Town & Rural Planning Award for Excellence as an Outstanding Planning Project from the American Planning Association, and a 2000 Outstanding Planning Award in comprehensive Planning from the New York Upstate Chapter of the American Planning Association.

Issues, Goals and Recommendations of the Comprehensive Plan

Protect Kinderhook's Open Spaces, Environment and Historic Character

The natural, rural, historic landscape and buildings of the Village of Kinderhook are defining features of our community

Recommendations

• Protect Open Space and Ecologically Sensitive Areas
   
  • Reduce densities in some residential districts; allow greater range of lot sizes to encourage development of new houses in a more traditional manner.
  • Restrict development in the 100-year floodplain and other sensitive environments and better control development in the 500-year floodplain.
  • Develop an Open Space Plan and coordinate with environmental review of development projects. Reactivate the Village Conservation Advisory Council to assist in environmental reviews.
     
• Secure Agricultural Activity and Resources
   
  • Amend zoning to allow or require subdivisions to preserve open space and conserve prime farmland and ecological areas by concentrating dwellings near existing settlement.
  • Reduce development pressures on agriculture with a variety of tools such as conservation easements, transfer of development rights, and use of conservation subdivisions.
     
• Safeguard Scenic Values
   
  • Inventory prime viewsheds & open spaces and work with local and regional land conservation groups to assist in this effort. Create scenic overlay zones.
  • Link open spaces and reserves with designated Hudson River Valley Greenway corridors.
     
• Encourage Architectural and Landscaping Standards
   
  • Develop design standards to maintain the historic character of the village including streetscaping and signage standards.
  • Encourage tree planting and burying utility lines.
  • Encourage preservation / restoration of historic structures.
  • Enact a new Village Historic Preservation Law to preserve more effectively the historic nature of the Village and modify the district boundaries so that boundaries coincide with property lines.
  • Consider aligning the local historic district boundary with the National Register Historic District boundary.
  • Establish design standards for commercial development to be consistent with the Historic District.
     

Maintain and Improve Kinderhook's Public Services and Infrastructure

Overall, residents are satisfied with Kinderhook's municipal services. Nearly all residents (ninety-six percent) said they feel that the Village is a safe place in which to live.

Increasing traffic, particularly along Route 9 and Route 21, is a primary concern among the majority of residents, where traffic flow has increased two to three percent per year since the 1970's. Roughly half of those surveyed also noted a shortage of parking access as a problem in the Village center. About seventy-five percent of respondents regularly walk or jog in the Village and value the village's relative abundance of sidewalks.

Recommendations

• Maintain Public Safety and Public Works
   
  • Maintain investment in the fire department.
  • Enhance State Police protection.
  • Complete E-911 addressing.
  • Develop Capital Improvement Plan to fund and plan for Village buildings, and other infrastructure.
     
• Mitigate Traffic, Improve Streets and Pedestrian Access
   
  • Prioritize street repairs through use of a Capital Improvement Plan.
  • Initiate traffic calming through innovative street design, re-route trucks, and require interconnection of streets in new developments.
  • Enhance pedestrian access by increasing sidewalk connectivity and requiring sidewalks in new developments.
  • Maintain historic streetlights in the historic district and enhance the aesthetics of the streetlights in the the Village Square area.
     
• Monitor Water, Refuse & Sewage Management
   
  • Maintain shared refuse services with Village of Valatie.
  • Monitor public water quality and reserve.
  • Implement review procedures to mitigate the impact of new growth on municipal water sources.
     
• Enhance Governance
   
  • Provide training opportunities of municipal officers to help them stay current on land use issues and options.
  • Improve inter-municipal cooperation, communication, and coordination of planning and development initiatives.
     

Enhance and Promote Kinderhook's Quality of Life

The community character of Kinderhook is reflected in its residential and business areas and its wealth of cultural resources and civic institutions. Libraries and schools, historical societies and museums, churches and civic organizations, performances and art exhibits, farmers' markets and festivals, and recreational opportunities are all distinctive and vital features that contribute to Kinderhook's sense of place.

Recommendations

• Support and Promote Local Arts and Culture
   
  • Coordinate arts, cultural events and activities with neighboring communities' events and promotions.
  • Work with inter-municipal, County and regional tourism agencies to maximize promotional exposure.
     
• Strengthen Recreational Programs and Opportunities
   
  • Link parks, open space, and other recreational opportunities with regional bike path, trail and corridor systems.
  • Increase access to the Kinderhook Creek.
  • Support recreational programs, and Town plans for a central recreation facility.
     
• Foster Kinderhook's Rural Lifestyle
   
  • Amend land use ordinances to encourage or require that new development, rebuilding and new subdivision reflect and enhance traditional Village patterns, historic and regional character.
     
• Assure Vitality of Village Business
   
  • Develop a "Main Street Approach" to economic development in the Village.
  • Work with the Town of Kinderhook and the Village of Valatie to develop an economic development committee that has a regional perspective.
  • Maintain the existing business districts as in the current Zoning Law.
     

Published October 2000 by the Village of Kinderhook, 6 Chatham Street, Kinderhook, NY 12106-0325

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