Comprehensive Plan Committee Chairman Art Bassin reports that the committee is currently working through an ambitious timetable of meetings over the next several weeks with a goal of presenting a draft of the plan to the Town Board in mid-December.  

'"We will then hold a bunch of community meetings in December and January to go over the plan . . . and follow that with revisions from the input we receive," said Bassin. Meetings are scheduled for every Monday through December 29 at 7 p.m. in the Ancram Town Hall.

Despite a dramatic change in town government that included the resignation of three councilman and a gubernatorial appointment to the to assure a Town Board quorum, Bassin said the Town Board changeover and pending seating of three new councilman in January has had, and will have, no impact on the work of the Comprehensive Planning Committee.

"The Town Board's roll is to adopt the plan. Our job is to come up with a plan that represents the community's desires and deliver it to the town board. . . . It has taken us two years to develop the plan, and I am sure it will take the Town Board some time to review it, conduct hearings, and consider public feedback," Bassin said.

Asked if they expected any opposition to the plan from the soon-to-be-seated new Town Board or the public, committee members said it was too early to speculate.

"It's too premature to know at this point. . . . We don't anticipate any problems, but we haven't even presented it to the public yet," said committee member Kyle Lougheed.

"Will there be opposition? Like in any community, I am sure there will be. It will be our job to educate the public about the plan and the necessity for a plan," said committee member Leah Wilcox.

Chairman Bassin said that while the plan has been developed through a "very democratic process” which has involved numerous public meetings, informational emails and newsletters distributed to the public, and extensive give-and-take, it is premature to speculate whether there would be opposition to the plan because it has not yet been presented to the Town Board or public.

"There is always concern about opposition . . . but we have had a very open process," noted Wilcox.

Wilcox said rumors of what the plan will include have circulated in the community and are patently false. "There are rumors going around that it will tell people what color they can paint their house and will restrict the size of their house. That's not the case," she said. "That's why the education process will be so important."

While in the development stages, the comprehensive plan has helped the Town secure two grants to fund key aspects of the plan: farmland protection and the assurance of affordable housing. A $21,000 Community Development Block Grant was awarded last spring to assist the Town in the revitalization of its hamlets and the creation of affordable housing. Subsequently, a $25,000 Agriculture and Farmland Protection Grant was awarded to assist in assuring the future of faming in the rural town.

"We can't just say we are going to protect our farmland without looking at how we can make farms more affordable and profitable. Otherwise, in thirty years, all you will end up with is trees," Bassin said.