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Draft comprehensive plan previewed: stricter warehouse limits, larger vegetative buffers and questions on water and data-center infrastructure
Summary
Board members previewed a draft updated comprehensive plan proposing 500-foot vegetative buffers between distribution warehouses and homes, reducing maximum warehouse footprints (proposed 80,000 sq ft), and raising concerns about water testing standards and the town's ability to host AI data centers due to power and water constraints.
The board reviewed highlights of an updated comprehensive plan ahead of a scheduled public hearing. Members praised measures intended to limit large warehouse footprints and bolster environmental protections but also raised questions about infrastructure and the implementation timeline.
Key plan proposals discussed included expanding vegetative buffers between warehouses and residential areas (draft language increases buffers from around 100 feet to 500 feet), reducing the maximum building footprint for warehouses (the draft proposes a cap near 80,000 square feet versus the current 200,000 square foot allowance), and encouraging a diversity of housing types. Several members said these changes would give the town more control over future industrial-scale development.
Board members also discussed whether the town should proactively ban AI data centers. One member reported a local supervisor's assessment that the regional electrical-transmission infrastructure would not support large data centers for decades and recommended adding protective language or a local law to prevent such uses in the near term. Members linked that concern to water usage and noted the plan's water-study language appears to use lower pump-test thresholds than previous practice (transcript participants said older tests used ~2.5× projected use while the draft seemed to test at 1× projected use), prompting requests for clearer citation and stronger recharge/test standards.
Members urged that the comprehensive plan be accompanied by coordinated zoning amendments; they noted the plan itself is guidance and that statutory changes are required to give the draft measures legal effect. Several in-pipeline development proposals (warehouse projects described as pending) raised questions about how vested rights and preexisting approvals would be treated if the town adopts stricter zoning.
Next steps: the public hearing was set for the following day. Members suggested the planning board consider a special session to develop consolidated comments for the town board, and flagged numerous zoning amendments (dozens of sections were identified in the draft as needing change) that would be required to implement the plan.
Why it matters: The draft plan sets townwide policy and signals a different approach to large industrial projects, transportation infrastructure and water-resource protections; it could reshape how future warehouse or high-tech projects are reviewed and permitted.
