Smyrna adopts subdivision regs
SMYRNA – The Town of Smyrna adopted subdivision regulations on Oct. 9 after two years of work by members of the town’s planning board.
“You can thank Christmas & Associates for that,” Board Chairman Peter Maynard said Monday.
The Camden-based real estate development company set its sights on Smyrna Lake in 2005, and proceeded to purchase more than 600 acres there and elsewhere in the town for the purposes of subdividing. Properties already sold, for example, have brought the developers between $89,000 to $96,000 for a 5-acre lot with no improvements.
Maynard said members of the town’s planning board became concerned about whether the developer had created sufficient right-of-way access for emergency and maintenance vehicles, and whether citizens would have to foot the bill for new roads in the future.
“It costs between $50,000 and $100,000 for a mile of new road. That’s a pretty hefty bill to put on the shoulders of the town should it arise,” he said.
Having the regulations in place gives the planning board the opportunity to review similar projects in the future, and comment about parcel size and right-of-way issues. Maynard said his board looked at other towns regulations for the purposes of writing their own. The board did not hire a consultant.
“There wasn’t nearly as much opposition to this as I had anticipated,” he said.
All of Chenango County’s towns except for Preston, Pharsalia and McDonough have adopted subdivision or site plan review regulations, according to the county’s Planning and Development Department. The Town of Guilford adopted subdivision regulations earlier this year.
The county’s Planning and Development Director Donna M. Jones suggests that towns with developers coming in should look at the regulations as a way to control lot size and roads that don’t meet highway standards.
“You don’t want them to force the town to bring them up to code in order to take care of them,” she said, adding that the regulations can be “as stringent” as the towns decide to be.
Maynard said that Christmas & Associates had divided two lots on the 15-acres Smyrna Lake that encompass the lake’s dam. He said each landowner, therefore, would have the responsibility of maintaining the dam.
“How well will they do it, and what does that do to the other landowners who have a vital stake in the dam?” he asked. “Do they realize that all of their neighbors will be counting on them to do this? Things like that don’t make sense.”
Maynard has been the Town of Smyrna Planning Board Chairman since the early 1990s. “It’s one way I can serve my community,” he said.
“You can thank Christmas & Associates for that,” Board Chairman Peter Maynard said Monday.
The Camden-based real estate development company set its sights on Smyrna Lake in 2005, and proceeded to purchase more than 600 acres there and elsewhere in the town for the purposes of subdividing. Properties already sold, for example, have brought the developers between $89,000 to $96,000 for a 5-acre lot with no improvements.
Maynard said members of the town’s planning board became concerned about whether the developer had created sufficient right-of-way access for emergency and maintenance vehicles, and whether citizens would have to foot the bill for new roads in the future.
“It costs between $50,000 and $100,000 for a mile of new road. That’s a pretty hefty bill to put on the shoulders of the town should it arise,” he said.
Having the regulations in place gives the planning board the opportunity to review similar projects in the future, and comment about parcel size and right-of-way issues. Maynard said his board looked at other towns regulations for the purposes of writing their own. The board did not hire a consultant.
“There wasn’t nearly as much opposition to this as I had anticipated,” he said.
All of Chenango County’s towns except for Preston, Pharsalia and McDonough have adopted subdivision or site plan review regulations, according to the county’s Planning and Development Department. The Town of Guilford adopted subdivision regulations earlier this year.
The county’s Planning and Development Director Donna M. Jones suggests that towns with developers coming in should look at the regulations as a way to control lot size and roads that don’t meet highway standards.
“You don’t want them to force the town to bring them up to code in order to take care of them,” she said, adding that the regulations can be “as stringent” as the towns decide to be.
Maynard said that Christmas & Associates had divided two lots on the 15-acres Smyrna Lake that encompass the lake’s dam. He said each landowner, therefore, would have the responsibility of maintaining the dam.
“How well will they do it, and what does that do to the other landowners who have a vital stake in the dam?” he asked. “Do they realize that all of their neighbors will be counting on them to do this? Things like that don’t make sense.”
Maynard has been the Town of Smyrna Planning Board Chairman since the early 1990s. “It’s one way I can serve my community,” he said.
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