The June 6 workshop meeting of the town of Hurley will revolve around the draft comprehensive plan that was released to the public in mid April. Town Planner Bonnie Franson will present on the draft, and there will be a comment period during the meeting in which members of the public can speak.

The meeting is part of a long process to update the comprehensive plan, a 10-year vision of goals for the town. Several weeks ago, the town launched an online survey to receive residents’ feedback on the draft. The town has stated that in the coming months it will host public hearings, focus group discussions, and interviews with stakeholders before finalizing the plan.

Hurley’s comprehensive plan was last updated in 2006. The town expressed interest in updating the plan in 2020, and in 2022, received a grant from the Hudson River Valley Greenway Program to fund the update.

The draft plan takes feedback from public surveys and workshop meetings to conceptualize residents’ greatest hopes and fears for Hurley. According to the draft plan, the public defines “history,” “beauty,” and “rural” community as the town’s strongest and most valued qualities and “development,” “housing costs,” and “taxes” as its greatest threats.

To promote Hurley’s rural character, the plan’s suggestions include establishing a new agricultural zoning district encompassing the Hurley flats and creating a historic design overlay district to protect historic buildings from alterations. The draft also seeks to stimulate the community by finding more or expanding current recreational areas like parks, providing access to Bluestone Wild Forest for hiking, and providing access to lower Esopus creek for paddling and fishing.

In addition, the plan intends to “Encourage a greater variety of housing types, particularly within the neighborhood mixed use zones and control the scale and size of dwellings and development to ensure they fit into the Town’s community character.” Among the housing types suggested are multi-family housing, accessory housing, and age-in-place housing for the elderly. The town has stated repeatedly that it hopes to review and update zoning codes to address development.

The draft notes that Hurley is sensitive to development as its land is “constrained by steep slopes, wetlands, and shallow depth to bedrock” in addition to being subject to many regulations from the NYCDEP to protect the Ashokan Reservoir. The plan further notes that the town lacks public centralized water and sewer service; however it hopes to “Establish septic maintenance rules that ensure [protection of] the Town’s groundwater resources and pursue funding sources to implement septic maintenance/repair/replacement.”

The draft also details ideas for sustainability and environmental conservation in the town. The full draft can be read at tinyurl.com/55umbdd4.

The June 6 workshop meeting and presentation on the draft comprehensive plan will start at 6 p.m. at the Town Hall, 10 Wamsley Place.